State Magazine: What do you make of the whole album leakage scenario with Web Sheriff policing your album?
Avey Tare of Animal Collective: I obviously think it's a bummer for the fact that [the French magazine who first leaked the track 'Brother Sport'] would leak one of our tracks or do that kind of thing because I feel like more often than not, we're so willing to comply with certain requirements that magazines have, doing things that are almost a little bit hard for us to organise like special photoshoots and stuff like that. It feels like you're kinda being taken advantage of when you put all this work into something and you're doing this for somebody else and they go behind your back almost and do that kind of thing. It doesn't bother to me that's its out on the web.

Have you met Ed from Grizzly Bear? It was quite a silly situation he was in a few weeks back?
I've met Ed a couple of times and he's a really nice guy. None of that stuff came from us personally.

But it is a representation of your band..
Totally and to look like we have no idea what's going on is a little bit unfortunate. To attack people that just kind of enjoy the music. I think that's kind of a shame but at the same time, the [French] magazine was also reprimanded. Once it's out there there's not a lot you can do. I find it a little intense and almost tabloid-esque that it becomes so newsworthy at this point. I think that blogs or websites like Pitchfork have to take it to that level where it becomes this like they have nothing better to write about. I think it's a little unfortunate.

I can try to be funny here and point out that I just wrote about it again, or I can be serious and say I think this is actually interesting and indie-rock-silly-web-sheriff-anticipated-album-leaks-blogs-Brooklyn-bands-with-animal-names-etc newsworthy.

In related news, Ed Droste picked his top 10 albums of 2008 and Animal Collective added a show at Bowery Ballroom and are playing ATP NY.

Grizzly Bear @ Hammerstein Ballroom (more by Zach Dilgard)

This is to inform you that, currently your relevant artist's web-site is acting as the global-leak-source of the track, "Brother Sport", by our aforementioned client,Animal Collective, which track is not due for release by Domino until January 2009 (please see http://www.grizzly-bear.net/media/brothersport.mp3 ). As such, both the individuals collectively trading / performing as "Grizzly Bear" and, indeed, yourself are personally liable to our said clients for all commercial and other losses arising from this blatant act of piracy.

In all of the circumstances, we must insist that you now A. removethis pirated file / track without further delay and that you also B. publish the following apology on the Home Page of the Grizzly Bear web-site :-

Animal Collective - Apology
Following contact from Web Sheriff, we can confirm that Grizzly Bear
has withdrawn its stream of unreleased material by the Domino Records artist Animal Collective :
Grizzly Bear wish to apologize to Animal Collective, Domino and Web Sheriff
for the disruption caused to their marketing and release plans by this leak.

This apology must be published for a minimum period of 7 days.

As you will appreciate, this is no laughing matter and, as such, should you refuse or otherwise fail to comply with the above request, we would ask you, in the alternative, to simply provide us with the details of the US attorneys, UK solicitors, French advocats and German advocats whom you would instruct in relation to the service of such multi-jurisdictional proceedings as shall ensue. [Grizzly Bear's blog]

If you want to get technical, Grizzly Bear did not actually "leak" this song. It was already out there. They just posted it.

Tickets are still on sale for Grizzly Bear's upcoming show at BAM.

If I didn't know better, I would think the whole Web Sherriff thing was some kind of practical joke, but their surreal messages left all around the Internet are actually real.