Lyrics:

Will you find my (taste)

Am I really all the things that are outside of me?

Would I complete myself without the things I like around?

Does the music that I make play on my awkward face?

Do you appreciate the subtleties of taste, bud?

My friend and me were having a laugh

In a living room filled with arts and crafts

He said “I like their clothes and their china plates

But what I really want is a simple place

With no flashy clothes ’cause you cant eat those”

(I don’t get them, not their hearts, their taste

There’s no need to protect my comforts

Serious threats, threats, threats)

Only Ma’d pretend to like the clothes she showed to me

Something in my heart can tell me it’s a weakness

And maybe you would have more luck playing those tasty games

But me, I called and called and never heard from her again

(I know that body’s built like rock

But I’ll take you on How would you talk to all your kids?

Keep them on your knee)??

It’d sure feel good to share our favorite things

I’ll keep an open mind if you let me in

Don’t let your temper rise, don’t get a bitter face

Try not to judge me on my kind of taste

And don’t go changing clothes when they don’t like yours

(I don’t get them, not their hearts, their taste

There’s no need to protect my comforts

Serious threats, threats, threats)

Is it best we share our taste?

Am I really all the things that are outside of me?

Song meaning: 😉

This song is not about food.

Its got nothing to do with your tongue.

This song is the existential wail of a teenager.

The first verse starts with the line, “Am I really all the things outside of me?”they question the nature of free will, asking anyone who will answer, is this it? am I no more than the sum of the things I experience?

In this light, the narrator asks, “does the music that I make play on my awkward face?” or, is my music a good representation of who I am?

The lyrics then weave tales of people sharing their taste with others, starting with “my friend and me,” where his friend lets him know he doesn’t care for the way fancy people live. Next we see the narrators mom pretending to like the clothes a mystery girl gave to him. the narrator states that he feels its a weakness to pretend to like something you don’t. <- “Something in my heart can tell me its a weakness.”

In the final verse the narrator tells us that he wishes it were possible to share his “favorite things” with someone who does not share his taste. wishing they would “keep an open mind” and “try not to judge him on his taste,” but rather on the quality of whatever it is he is showing.

the narrator leaves us with some advice, “…don’t go changing clothes when they don’t like yours.” even if it is a little cheesy, he is saying, stay true to who you are even if other people don’t like it.

Whats interesting is, there are always two separate verses going on at once, the second set of lyrics, (found in parentheses) are much more straight forward and aggressive. Saying, “I don’t get them, not their hearts, their taste”this person is clearly not following the advice the first narrator gives.

The two simultaneous verses make this song confusing and uncomfortable to listen to in the beginning, but as you begin to understand the lyrics it becomes clear that this was a choice. Animal collective wrote this song so that people wouldn’t like it because of their taste in music, and ask people to put aside their taste and instead listen to what they are really trying to say.