Released March 16, 2010 on the album HabitsAnimal was the first-ever single release for the band with connections to California and Utah. Their break came via an association with the rock band, The Killers, who choose them to be the opening act for several of their stops during a tour in 2008. Before that, Neon Trees was unknown outside of the Provo and Salt Lake City, Utah area.
The band's name has a sort of romantic ring to it, with the thought of illuminated branches for the holidays, or at a nice restaurant, or maybe in a decked out City Park (such as Phoenix, Arizona's downtown Arizona Center mall area, here's a picture). But the idyllic visual gets KO'd by the reality: the name comes from the lighted trees that are a part of some of the In and Out Burger Restaurant signs (the chain has become famous in the West not only for their Burgers, but also for the crossed palm trees that are a part of many locations, a tradition which began at a California location). Here's an example: In and Out crossed Palm Trees. Lead singer and keyboardest Tyler Glenn's father did work for the chain at one time, which was the apparent inspiration for the name, though the restaurants are also known for a couple of other quirks: Their not so secret "Secret Menu" which has the Animal Burger and Animal Fries (no mention if these inspired the name of this song, or not!) and the interesting fact that all the cups, napkins, and other paper utensils have Bible Verse references printed on them. The references are very discreet, but they are there (here's an example from the bottom of a drink cup, and more is in a writeup on the Snopes.com site).
I didn't find anything that indicates that the band has a religious background. Nor did I discover anything about the use of In and Out's signs for the band name were a subtle clue about the band's feelings on religion because of the Bible Verses in use at the restaurant. So, I guess any speculation about some deeper meaning behind the band's choice in its name (which it has used since 2005) pretty much ends there! So much for any future for me as a private detective! :-)
Animal - regardless of its possible connection with a family-owned restaurant chain's item on its Secret Menu - was quite a breakout single for the group. It hit #1 on the Alternative charts, #2 on the Rock chart and has so far reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time of this writing.
Presently, they are on tour with the band 30 Seconds to Mars after a summer that saw them at the Lalapalooza Festival and as one of the co-headliners on the Bang The Gong Tour.
Another interesting music video - again, not really focused on what I would have expected. Not sure if the band was trying to make a point about art galleries (is it the old "What is Art?" philosophical question?). Whatever the case, what they do to the gallery patrons while they are all knocked out by some kind of gas is worth the time to watch the video!
No comments:
Post a Comment