Not Of America

Values of our generation:
-money
-excess
-status
-beauty/appearance
-sex
-pop/low culture
-bulk
-technological advances

Topics that Of Montreal covers:
-love
-depression
-Self realization
-nonconformity
-drugs
-death
-beauty


Although the band Of Montreal is classified as Pop, it doesnt seem to fit in with actual Pop culture. I feel like were still in a generation where everyone just wants to get rich and live in a mansion. in fact like 2 seconds a go i overheard the disney channel in the other room and a girl was complaining dramatically and said "im so tired that no amount of money could get me off this couch." ...as if money is the greatest thing in the world. so with wanting to become rich people want to buy things they really dont need like heated bathroom floors or a 5 headed shower. in the song Lysergic Bliss the singer Kevin Barnes sings "Wonder how I'm managing to smile oh when I can't even pay my rent." yes it is possible to be happy without money.

the values of American people are very much based the media's messages that are forced into peoples unconscious minds. People in this country stongly value tv shows, film, music, internet, etc that are the sources of these values and thus become conformists without even meaning to. in The Past Is a Grotesque Animal he sings about how he feels like he has trouble fitting in to society "but it's like we weren't made for this world, though i wouldn't really wanna meet someone who was." he doenst conform to society or fit in but he doesnt care because he'd rather have his individuality than his social comfort.

his view of beauty his also much differnt than this generation's take on beauty. We look to magaizines like cosmopolitan, tv shows like America's next top model and various other sources and connect all the dots to try and idealize a perfect beauty. most of what america finds beautiful these days is artificial and, in a sense, logical. kevin barnes is more interested in aesthetic beauty as we can see when he sings "Come disconnect the dots with me poppet come disconnect the dots, Come disconnect the dots with me poppet, come disconnect the dots. It's so beautiful, Our lunacy, It's so beautiful." what it means is that in order to appreciate beauty we must look past rules and logical "connections" and standards and see everything for what it actually is. what this means that that EVERYTHING is beautiful if you look at it for long enough. i think thats much different than how america classifies with beauty. for example i cant imagine a tv show trying to portray an abandoned shoe factory as beautiful when kevin barnes would argue its a work of art.