Panda Bear- Primary Research

Interview 1-
Primary Research
Q1: Which do you think has been Panda Bear's quintessential album? Why?
I think Person Pitch sums Panda Bear up over-all, because it shows his potential and what else he is capable of creating
when he focuses on using samples and manipulating them, whilst blending them with electronic sounds. This album creates
an overall feel of calm but also shifting between faster and more upbeat melodies, all in the same album, even in the same
song. His voice and lyrical style is also very typical and fits in with his unique sound.
Q2: Do you prefer Noah Lennox as Panda Bear, or in Animal Collective? Why?
Personally I prefer him in Animal Collective just because I feel on other solo albums, such as Tomboy, he is not as strong.
Even Person Pitch, which I love a great amount still doesn't match up with to other Animal Collective albums such as
Merriweather Post Pavillion, Strawberry Jam, Feels or Sung Tongs. I think that Panda Bear works better with Avey Tare in a
team blending their sounds and ideas.
Q3: Lyrics wise, which is your favourite Panda Bear song? Why?
Lyrically I find it quite difficult to distinguish certain words on a lot of Panda Bear songs, and his songs for me are not about
the lyrics, but what the music makes me feel. But the lyrics in 'Take Pills' stand out to me.
Q4: Which do you prefer, Panda Bear's first album Panda Bear or his latest EP Mr Noah? Why?
Even though I really love the single 'Mr. Noah' a lot, I found the rest of his EP didn't match up to this song, so I'm hoping his
new album will. I found I enjoyed Panda Bear's debut because it was interesting, in a sense that he was just starting out and
was trying to find his own sound, there are also some catchy songs on there as well.
Q5: Which has been the best live performance from Panda Bear? Why?
My favourite live performance of him is the was him singing 'My Girls' with Animal Collective at Hove festival in 2008. I
really love how stripped back it was, the atmosphere seems really magical. I also like how Panda Bear displays his vocals, in
contrast to Avey's.

Q6: Which do you think has been Panda Bear's most experimental album? Why?
I think 'Young Prayer' is the most experimental because it is completely different to the rest of his discography, there are
acoustic guitars and singing acapella, and very little digital or sample elements being displayed. It also deals with different
themes of melancholy and sadness in contrast to his other albums.
Tags: Person Pitch Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion Strawberry Jam Feels Tomboy
Avey Tare Lyrics Take Pills Mr Noah EP Panda Bear My Girls Hove Festival 2008 Sung Tongs Young
Prayer
Interview 2-
Person Pitch, its the one that shaped his style
Animal Collective, cause there is panda bear and more!
Last Night at the Jetty (i don't want to hide the hopes that i have....)
Mr Noah, the first album is just very amateur
Not sure, sorry
i think probably PBMTGR will be his most crazy album

Tags: Person Pitch Animal Collective Panda Bear Last Night At The Jetty Mr Noah Panda Bear
Meets The Grim Reaper PBMTGR
Interview 3-
Person Pitch. It defined a genre (chillwave) and was built using a revolutionary sampling technique to create lush
soundscapes.
I'm assuming this question is asking do I prefer his solo work over his work with AC...? I think he really lets his talents shine
with his solo work, but AC wouldn't be AC without him.
Friendship Bracelet. very relatable
Mr Noah. It's much more cohesive and complete, and really just better in every way
I personally favor the 2004 ZBD Homebase show, just because it shows such an early stage in his music.
Person Pitch, easily. It invented a new way to use samples.
Tags: Person Pitch Chillwave AC Animal Collective Friendship Bracelet 2004 Homebase

Interview 4-
Person Pitch. It is a perfect statement of Panda Bear's musical style, combining candid, relatable lyrics with hypnotic loops
and soaring vocal melodies. However, with an artist like Panda Bear, I think that all of his albums are just about equally
worth the listener's time (with maybe the exception of his first, self-titled album).
I can't pick one over the other; I like them both for separate reasons, so they're hard to compare. I do like the way that his
solo career allows him to push the bounds of his creativity a little bit more, since it gives him the chance to take some risks
that he might not take with Animal Collective. However, like I said, I enjoy listening to both for different and separate
reasons.
Surfer's Hymn. It's a beautifully-put statement of self-affirmation and encouragement.
Mr Noah. The songwriting and production of his first self-titled album are too amateur-sounding to me.
His entire 2014 tour. The instrumentals, the vocals, and visuals—everything worked together to create an amazing
experience unlike anything PB or Animal Collective have done before.
I would say Young Prayer because of its unique mix of Eastern drones, Western pop, and Baroque-like melodies. It's also
pretty stark/makes extensive use of negative space. I think that these qualities can make it a difficult listen at first, but they
also make relistening that much more rewarding.
Tags: Person Pitch Animal Collective Surfers Hymn Mr Noah 2014 Tour Self-Titled Young Prayer Eastern Drones Western Pop
Baroque-like

Interview 5-
Tomboy
I enjoy both. He has a unique solo style. However, the dudes from anco bring something special out of him as well.
Sheherazade. I'm not sure what he is describing. Personally I believe he is speaking of a wait something from his past which
surrounds his being. That is what I think of when I hear the lyrics and relate to it.
I love both. Panda bear lp because it's very raw and the foundation to what would come later. And enjoy mr noah because it
is a reflection of the mastery he has over his particular voice. Sort of as if he were graduating.
I've only seen him once solo. But I enjoyed the energy he puts into his singing. You can't appreciate that in the YouTube
videos but you can if your there live.
Person pitch. It's the least structured and emotionally all over the place.
Tags: Tomboy Anco Animal Collective Sheherazade Panda Bear LP Mr Noah Live Person Pitch

Interview 6-
Person Pitch—not sure there's an alternative!
I prefer Panda Bear TO Animal Collective, but I like his AC songs a lot (more than Avey's probably). I think this question is
phrased kind of funny!
Comfy in Nautica—posi, personal, etc.
The EP—the s/t has some bright moments but is strictly "juvenilia" that's only interesting for the superfan.
2013 ATP, premiere of GR material—really high level of performance both vocally and with the new samplers. These are
always the most interesting AC performances.
Young Prayer—brave record lyrically + instrumentally and the live performance shows how highly-composed it is.. [good
luck with the paper. jfw7.]
Tags: Person Pitch Panda Bear Animal Collective Avey Comfy In Nautica EP Mr Noah 2013 ATP GR Panda Bear Meets The
Grim Reaper AC Young Prayer

Interview 7-
person pitch bc it came out when i was a sophomore in college and i connected to it immediately. it is just perfect.
panda bear, because i feel we get a more unique approach, he can bo overshadowed a bit by avey in AC sometimes.
Carrots, specifically: "take a risk just for yourself and wade into the deep end of the ocean" that sums up what that album is
all about for me, and is a good mantra for life really.
Mr Noah. The songwriting and production is just tops. But I do love listening to his first album every now and then.
Live at Warsaw, Brooklyn, fall of 2013. I've seen panda bear three times, once during person pitch era, once for tombay, and
once for grim reaper. These grim reaper songs are amazing live, and the special light show at warsaw was unbelievable.
I'd say peson pitch. nothing like that had really ever been done before.
Tags: Person Pitch Panda Bear Avey Tare AC Animal Collective Carrots Mr Noah Warsaw Brooklyn 2013 Tomboy Grim Reaper
Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper

Interview 8-
Person Pitch, even though I somewhat prefer Tomboy's aesthetic, especially the single versions of the songs, the mixing was
really disappointing on the album, while his attention to detail on Person Pitch made it a real masterpiece. Don't discount
the impact good/bad mixing can have. :P
As Panda Bear. I've personally grown less interested in Avey Tare's style lately while the repetitious, monotonous (in a good
way) style of Panda Bear has gotten even more interesting for me.
Tomboy (the song), because of it's very frank and open pouring out of dissatisfaction with life that has at times been very
relatelable for me.
Mr Noah, I guess, his first album has some good songs but it's overall feel is of a bedroom demo of a 16-year old. On Mr
Noah I really enjoyed Untying the knot, but I was I thought the singing and mixing of Faces in the crowd was a bit of a
letdown. I don't know how I feel about the title track, sometimes I like it sometimes I don't, while This side of paradise feels
a bit sappy and awkward to me.
Hard to say, either his early stuff (07 and pre-07) or some of his later performances (post-13) when he got in-ear monitors.
The live performance of young prayer is awesome. He has said he pretty much always drink before performances to calm his
nerves and I think that affects his voice in a negative way, he often sounds pitchy and strained.
Person Pitch i think, it was really groundbreaking in it's innovation and had a lot of influence on younger artists. Young
prayer had less of a pop sound but was in a lot of ways a reflection of Animal Collectives earlier work. (Or maybe I'm wrong
and it was the other way around.)

Tags: Person Pitch Tomboy Panda Bear Avey Tare Tomboy Mr Noah Untying The Knot Faces In
The Crowd This Side Of Paradise Young Prayer Live Person Pitch Pop Animal Collective
Interview 9-
Tomboy. It's his most lyrically interesting and showcases what he can do w/o samples.
As Panda Bear. I tend to enjoy his songs that end up on AC albums the least compared to Avey's AC songs.
Alsatian Darn. "Drop a bomb on the spots where my doubt streams grow”
Mr Noah. Better sounds. Better songs.
Haven't seen him live but his most recent tour seems like the best.
His first/self-titled. It's not very cohesive and he's clearly just figuring out how he makes music. His later stuff has been
much less experimental and much more grounded in pop sensibilities.
Tags: Tomboy Samples Panda Bear Avey Tare AC Animal Collective Alsatian Darn Mr Noah Recent Tour First Self-Titled
Experimental Pop

Interview 10-
Person Pitch. Because it not only marked his transition to more sample based music in his solo career, but also signaled a
transition for the music group Animal Collective to follow his unique take on electro-pop . Between Person Pitch and the
Animal Collective albums Panda Bear helped create afterwards, the impact on the world of alternative music and
contemporary electronic music in general, was tremendous.
While I feel there are few solo contemporary artists that come close to Panda Bear, I prefer the rich and diverse music he
creates as a part of Animal Collective. That in itself sums up Animal Collective sounds, a diverse and layered landscape that
showcases the personal and unique tones of each musician involved.
All of Panda Bear's solo lyrics come from a personal place of expression for him, which is why they draw such appeal, but for
myself I would say "Take Pills" off of Person Pitch is my favorite. While many of PB's songs lend themselves to repetition in
beat and lyrical styles, Take Pills covers a wide gamma of rhythms, tones, and tempos and the lyrics themselves are the
guide. The content of the lyrics also covers addiction, attempting to escape reality through artificial means, and the love
and care a family has. Something that hits home for many people.
Panda Bear's first album will always hold a place in my music heart, but this new EP Mr Noah is groundbreaking in many
ways and is the hint of another dramatic shift in the world of electronic and alternative music.
The best was when I saw him live at the Fillmore in San Francisco earlier this year. I had seem him perform solo twice
before, but this felt the most organic as well and polished. His set list included new songs, coupled with some older ones,
that showed his diverse sound, skill, and songwriting ability. I will remember it forever!
Young Prayer is the most experimental album in his discography. Like his other albums, the style of Young Prayer led to a

new era of Animal Collective's sound, but it also showed Panda Bear in self-imposed isolation. He is solo on the album with
a guitar. Very bare bones, acoustic, gritty, yet playful. The playfulness of Young Prayer, coupled with the dark intensity and
personal meaning it had for him and his family's loss, are themes that would repeat throughout his career. The mantra and
meditative quality of Young Prayer is what makes Panda Bear the unique musician he is. This album was the sign to his
audience and the alternative music world that he was and is not afraid to experiment outside of the comfort zone and push
himself to create. In Young Prayer, Noah finds the light even when life feels overwhelming and full of darkness.
Tags: Person Pitch Animal Collective Electro-pop Panda Bear Alternative Music Contemporary Artists Take Pills EP Mr Noah
Electronic Fillmore San Francisco 2014 Young Prayer
Interview 11-
Person Pitch
Panda Bear
Good Girl/Carrots
Mr Noah
Governers Island, NYC
Young Prayer
Tags: Quintessential Album Person Pitch Noah Lennox Panda Bear Animal Collective Lyrics Song Good Girl/Carrots EP Mr
Noah Governors Island NYC Live Experimental Young Prayer

Interview 12-
Person Pitch. It combines a warm, tropical aesthetic with Panda Bear's simple and insightful lyrics as well as his booming
vocals (that have a honeyed quality like their heavily manipulated in the throat rather than, say, in the mouth).
I prefer him slightly in Animal Collective. Not only are the songs written by him and performed by Animal Collective more
appealing to me, I also greatly enjoy his contributions to Avey Tare's songs. This includes drumming, but also small vocal
additions and harmonies sung by Panda Bear.
At the moment, This Side of Paradise. It features odd and idiosyncratic nature imagery that is framed under sound parental
advice and tone of lyrics. The parental frame is an excellent example of the simple insightfulness in Panda Bear's lyrics that I
referred to in an earlier question.
I prefer Mr Noah, simply because I haven't heard his first album in full.
If including Animal Collective performances of Panda Bear -written songs, I would go with either the 2007 Coachella
performance of My Girls or the 2007 Midi Festival performance of Brother Sport. I choose these performance for no other
reason than his vocal performance that anchors both and, in addition, on purely personal and nostalgic grounds.
Person Pitch. It has unique uses of sampling as well as interesting song structures and sequencing.
Tags: Person Pitch Panda Bear Animal Collective Avey Tare Drumming This Side Of Paradise Mr Noah My Girls 2007
Coachella Midi Festival Brother Sport Sampling Structures Sequencing

Interview 13-
Person Pitch due to its aural and thematic qualities
Hard to say. Animal Collective, I guess. Person Pitch is by far his best release, but his collaboration with the Animal
Collective bandmates enhances many of his best qualities as a musician that are otherwise more on the periphery in his
most recent solo releases (e.g. his drumming).
Ponytail - the lyrics touch some beautiful sentiments without getting "preachy.”
Mr. Noah strikes me as more dynamic. His vocals are a strength, and he comes across as tentative on his debut solo record.
The production is fairly weak on his debut as well.
That's hard to say; I have only seen him at the Pitchfork Music Festival (in 2010, I think?), and I thought that set was
phenomenal.
Person Pitch, I suppose, for its experiments with form, structure, and samples. Young Prayer is a close second as it is an
atypical "folk" album.
Tags: Person Pitch Animal Collective Drumming Ponytail Mr Noah Debut Pitchfork Music Festival 2010 Young Prayer Atypical
Folk

Interview 14-
Person Pitch; most influential/first "Panda album, very unique
Noah at his best can trump most things AC puts out as a group, but I feel like those instances are fewer than the amounts of
time he really makes the band sound good
You Can Count On Me; "Know you can" or "No, you can't"? Fun stuff
Mr. Noah; hard to compare these two since one's an assortment of songs and the other's a very professional production
The one I went to in May of this year! (El Rey 5/26/14) Live Preakness!!!
Young Prayer; it manages to eschew lots of traditional song structures yet does it without ever feeling alienating
Tags: Person Pitch Influential Noah Animal Collective You Can Count On Me Mr Noah May 2014 Live Preakness Young Prayer

Interview 15-
Person Pitch. It's the one most associated with him and most influential.
If I had to chose, solo. Because he has more room to play around.
Bros. Good storytelling.
Mr. Noah. More advanced songwriting.
My favorite was Dallas 2011. He played Tomboy front to back and 4 Person Pitch songs.
Person Pitch because of the dense soundscapes and long songs.
Tags: Person Pitch Influential Solo Bros Mr Noah Dallas 2011 Tomboy Person Pitch

Interview 16-
Person Pitch! The approach to song writing on the album was done in a way that has rarely or never been done before it.
Truly a standout piece of art.
Both. Probably more in Animal Collective but that could be about to change with the release of PBVSGR. I think I prefer him
in AC because of the way that he and Avey Tare mesh so well together both vocally and melodically. When it comes to
sounds there's little to no way of telling who is doing what, so I'd have to say I just really prefer Panda's vocal more when
Avey is right in there with him.
This is a tough choice but I would probably have to go with either Bros or Carrots. Bros is an interesting take on a friend who
won't leave you alone, someone who always wants to hang out and spend time together even through you might be trying
to get something done on your own, or in your own headspace. Carrots is interesting because of a certain section which
always hit me pretty hard where he tells you to not act like you're better than anyone for having listened to his music and
considered his musings. Something which I tended to do for quite some time after I got into AC and PBear.
His EP, there is no debate here. His first album was underdeveloped, before a lot of his work with AC and before the summer
of 2001. The EP is an encapsulation of nearly everything he's done up until this point.
I don't know I've only seen 1.
Young Prayer. The uneasiness of this one make it's almost unpleasant to listen to if you're not ready for it. While it still has
some excellent melodies and a couple poppy gems, it is generally far off in space somewhere. Plus, no song names?
Tags: Person Pitch Art Animal Collective PBVSGR Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper Avey Tare Bros Carrots EP Mr Noah AC
2001 Young Prayer

Interview 17-
Person Pitch
As part of AC. Brothersport.
Alsation Darn.
Mr Noah. He's come into his own as a songwriter.
Austin, Texas at Mohawk. Clear vocals, new jams.
Person Pitch
Tags: Person Pitch AC Animal Collective Brother Sport Alsation Darn Mr Noah Austin Texas Mohawk

Interview 18-
Person Pitch, it literally changed my perception of music and Bros is my favorite song of all time
Impossible to choose. Animal Collective are my favorite artists, but I appreciate Panda and Avey's solo work on the same
level.
Bros. The lyrics are so simple yet so meaningful and emotional at the same time and completely relatable.
Mr Noah. The first album is an interesting experiment that shows Panda's abilities in their earliest stage but Mr. Noah, even
though it's really short, is mind-blowing and makes me think PBVSGR has the chance to be on a Person Pitch level.
His Grim Reaper set this year was the best concert I've ever been to. I saw him at the El Rey Theatre in LA and was moved to
tears.
His first album is probably the most experimental, it has way less vocals and memorable melodies than his later work.
Tags: Person Pitch Bros Animal Collective Panda Bear Avey Tare Mr Noah First Album PBVSGR Panda Bear Meets The Grim
Reaper

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