To me this is about how in the past, before the days where technology and the pace of modern society felt natural to us, we had NATURE as our natural environment...and somehow the separation from the natural world that so many of us have has given us an altogether different view of "fantasy,"
In the past, fantasy was actually fantasy, where vikings brought back wild stories from the bogs and fantasies were inspired by the imagination...
Whereas today the "fantasy" we have is more like escapism, trying to relate something imaginative in away that is so realistic it hardly resembles the grandiose myths and legends of the past (which were unteathered by any kind of factual basis)
The idea is that by being in the natural world we feel more natural, and find less of a need for the escapism that helps us cope with modern life ---- when we get rid of the need for escapism, our imagination is allowed to be totally free from the constraints of "being realistic enough to actually believe"
As a note, "Big Raven" (Kutkh) refers to an entity in Russian far east indigenous cultures who represents a trickster, shaman, and creation spirit. This is where the reference to Amanita Muscaria comes in; the indigenous people of this Russian region were known to use the mushroom as an entheogen. It is somewhat unusual for Animal Collective to feature blatantly references to drugs, and the use of Amanita in particular is interesting: the drug, which is legal, has been known to produce unpredictable effects on the user (often when taken by irresponsible people in the wrong setting at high doses,) however other people who have used the mushroom successfully say that it has increased natural understanding and appreciation for the natural world/beauty
Animal Collective seems to have an understanding of the use of drugs and such things that's very different from the typical ideas found in psychedelic culture: rather than "tune it, turn on, drop out," Animal Collective (from my personal interpretation) seem to see these substances as catalysts for personal growth and not just entertainment and "tripping out"
When drugs are used for escapism, you're more likely to become the prisoner of the limits of your mind. When they are used to gain different understanding, your mind can accomplish things that ordinary consciousness simply cannot do.
(I'd like to add that this applies not just to drugs, but also the alterations of consciousness that come from meditation, religious spirituality, trance, and so fourth)
As human beings we have the capacity for other forms of consciousness; these other forms aren't there just so that we can merely be entertained. They have a purpose, and can be used to our benefit or our destruction (a similar theme in Pulleys, I think)
To me this is about how in the past, before the days where technology and the pace of modern society felt natural to us, we had NATURE as our natural environment...and somehow the separation from the natural world that so many of us have has given us an altogether different view of "fantasy," In the past, fantasy was actually fantasy, where vikings brought back wild stories from the bogs and fantasies were inspired by the imagination... Whereas today the "fantasy" we have is more like escapism, trying to relate something imaginative in away that is so realistic it hardly resembles the grandiose myths and legends of the past (which were unteathered by any kind of factual basis) The idea is that by being in the natural world we feel more natural, and find less of a need for the escapism that helps us cope with modern life ---- when we get rid of the need for escapism, our imagination is allowed to be totally free from the constraints of "being realistic enough to actually believe"
As a note, "Big Raven" (Kutkh) refers to an entity in Russian far east indigenous cultures who represents a trickster, shaman, and creation spirit. This is where the reference to Amanita Muscaria comes in; the indigenous people of this Russian region were known to use the mushroom as an entheogen. It is somewhat unusual for Animal Collective to feature blatantly references to drugs, and the use of Amanita in particular is interesting: the drug, which is legal, has been known to produce unpredictable effects on the user (often when taken by irresponsible people in the wrong setting at high doses,) however other people who have used the mushroom successfully say that it has increased natural understanding and appreciation for the natural world/beauty Animal Collective seems to have an understanding of the use of drugs and such things that's very different from the typical ideas found in psychedelic culture: rather than "tune it, turn on, drop out," Animal Collective (from my personal interpretation) seem to see these substances as catalysts for personal growth and not just entertainment and "tripping out" When drugs are used for escapism, you're more likely to become the prisoner of the limits of your mind. When they are used to gain different understanding, your mind can accomplish things that ordinary consciousness simply cannot do. (I'd like to add that this applies not just to drugs, but also the alterations of consciousness that come from meditation, religious spirituality, trance, and so fourth) As human beings we have the capacity for other forms of consciousness; these other forms aren't there just so that we can merely be entertained. They have a purpose, and can be used to our benefit or our destruction (a similar theme in Pulleys, I think)