An Obsession with the Past

Listening to Animal Collective and mediating on the Death card

I drew this.

Every so often I relive my high school years by listening to my favorite Animal Collective songs, which includes Peacebone. If you’ve never heard it, you’re in for a treat, because the only thing better than the song itself is the music video. Without giving too much away (because you should just really watch it), you witness the falling in love between two monstrous-looking creatures. It’s horrifying and heartwarming all at once.

I don’t know why the song is called Peacebone, or what that word means when it’s repeated in the lyrics. But I vibe with it. There is a yearning for peace. A nod toward mortality.

The lyrics could be described as Nirvana-esque or Dadaist. Words combine to make sentences, but there isn’t necessarily a flow of logic or a plot line from beginning to end. Yet the words are provocative in the same way a dream feels meaningful and meaningless all at once. This is the chorus:

And an obsession with the past is like a dead fly
Only a few things are related to the “old times”
Then we did believe in magic and we did die
It’s not my words that you should follow, it’s your insides

As a tarot reader, for me, these lyrics capture the essence of the Death card. Not at all tarot…