Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
Encyclopedia
"Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" was the first single released by Polyvinyl Records from Of Montreal
's 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
. Like the rest of the album, the song was written, performed and recorded by Kevin Barnes
.
"Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" was also released as a music video
directed by The Brothers Chaps
. The song opens up with a Roland Jupiter 8 bass into a lead made with a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
. along with A Linn Drum And a electric piano the quirky electronics give the song a 1985 feel
In an early review of the song, posted shortly after the leak
of the album in September 2006, Pitchfork Media
's Andy Dubbin describes it as "one of the more breakneck, 'old Of Montreal
'-styled songs on an otherwise discofunk-lite album, bringing proper attention to itself without overextending its theme."
s Christopher Frizzelle in direct reference to the song's "chemicals", Barnes says, "Yeah, that has nothing to do with drugs. That's the chemicals in your mind."
on which Barnes lived; the suffix
"-gate" translates from the Norwegian language
to mean "street." "Promethean Curse" alludes to the ancient myth of Prometheus
; Barnes is thought to be employing the curse as it pertains to "the burdens of consciousness and creativity" inflicted upon mankind when, against the demands of Zeus
, Prometheus brought fire to earth.
Heimdal is the Norse god that guards the frozen rainbow bridge between Asgård, where the gods live and Jotunheim
(or Udgård) where the Jötnar (jætter) live. At the Norse Armageddon, Ragnarok, he will blow his horn.
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
's 2007 album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? is the eighth album from indie pop band Of Montreal. It was released January 23, 2007. The album was written, performed, and recorded by Kevin Barnes, with assistance from friends and family: prominent Elephant Six members Bryan Poole, Jamey Huggins and Heather...
. Like the rest of the album, the song was written, performed and recorded by Kevin Barnes
Kevin Barnes
Kevin L. Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group Of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band on his own and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance...
.
"Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" was also released as a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
directed by The Brothers Chaps
The Brothers Chaps
The Brothers Chaps are Michael "Mike" Chapman and Matthew "Matt" Chapman, creators of the Homestar Runner series of animated cartoons. The brothers are originally from Indiana, but now live in Atlanta, Georgia.-Matthew Chapman:...
. The song opens up with a Roland Jupiter 8 bass into a lead made with a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
The Prophet-5 is an analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Sequential Circuits in San Jose, California between 1977 and 1984. The Prophet-5 was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first analog synthesizers to implement patch memory, a feature which stored user settings of every parameter...
. along with A Linn Drum And a electric piano the quirky electronics give the song a 1985 feel
In an early review of the song, posted shortly after the leak
Internet leak
An Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential information is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such...
of the album in September 2006, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Andy Dubbin describes it as "one of the more breakneck, 'old Of Montreal
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
'-styled songs on an otherwise discofunk-lite album, bringing proper attention to itself without overextending its theme."
Song meaning
In his review for Pitchfork, Dubbin suggests that "'Heimdalsgate' takes up the drugs-as-artistic-inspiration vs. drugs-as-personal-ruin dilemma and plays it out with equally conflicted musical gestures." According to Kevin Barnes, this interpretation is not valid. Asked "Are you a stoner?" by The StrangerThe Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
s Christopher Frizzelle in direct reference to the song's "chemicals", Barnes says, "Yeah, that has nothing to do with drugs. That's the chemicals in your mind."
FRIZZELLE: SerotoninSerotoninSerotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter. Biochemically derived from tryptophan, serotonin is primarily found in the gastrointestinal tract, platelets, and in the central nervous system of animals including humans...
?
BARNES: Yeah. I went through this chemical depression, and that's when I was writing a lot of the songs for Hissing Fauna. They're all songs about that experience. And I was experiencing it in the moment that I was writing the songs, and sort of asking myself: What the hell is going on? Why are you all of a sudden totally paranoid and plagued by these anxieties? And why is everything so distorted and confusing and fucked up? My lifestyle hadn't changed that much. And then I realized, well, there's something going on inside of me that I don't have control over, and then you realize how vulnerable you are to these things, these elements that you can't understand, or unless you go on medication and get it under control. It's like you're being betrayed by your body.
FRIZZELLE: Sometimes if you just put on a dress or something your whole mood can change.
BARNES: To some degree. I'd gotten to that point where nothing was working. I was borderline suicidal, and my relationship with my girlfriend had totally eroded and she'd gone back to Norway with our daughter and everything was totally fucked, and I was just like, What can I do? "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" is about that. The lyrics tell the story of what was really going on and the music sort of represents this other emotion that I wish existed. The music was really happy because I wanted to make something that would lift my spirits."Heimdalsgate" is the name of the street in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
on which Barnes lived; the suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
"-gate" translates from the Norwegian language
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
to mean "street." "Promethean Curse" alludes to the ancient myth of Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
; Barnes is thought to be employing the curse as it pertains to "the burdens of consciousness and creativity" inflicted upon mankind when, against the demands of Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, Prometheus brought fire to earth.
Heimdal is the Norse god that guards the frozen rainbow bridge between Asgård, where the gods live and Jotunheim
Jötunheimr
Jötunheimr is one of the Nine Worlds and the homeland of the Giants of Norse Mythology — Rock Giants and Frost Giants.-Legend:...
(or Udgård) where the Jötnar (jætter) live. At the Norse Armageddon, Ragnarok, he will blow his horn.
External links
- Music video, posted by Polyvinyl Records, January 19, 2007