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“Smoke hood! M’lion! Female erection! You fetishize the archetype!”
Of Montreal‘s new song, charmingly called “Teenage Unicorn Fisting,” is ripe with shrill non sequiturs. With its catchy bass-driven acoustic riff, talking breaks, two-part harmonies, and abrupt leaps into almost-parodic falsetto, it sounds like the sort of song Flight of the Conchords might compose if they went suddenly insane. “I want someone to frisk me / I want this night to distort me / I didn’t come here just to see you dancing, I came to see you ride my bike / Oh, that’s the you I think I really like / Anyways, I’m crippled inside.” It is possible that there is deep meaning beneath these impenetrable metaphors, but it reminds me of the nonsense I used to get when trying to translate my Latin homework using Babel Fish.
Kevin Barnes‘s glib introduction and unforgivably hip ensemble at the band’s live performance of the song for Rolling Stone‘s Smoking Section seemed to say, “We’re artists, trust us.” But it sure feels like they’re putting us on.
Watch and listen here. Feel free to offer your interpretation in the comments section.
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