Sunbathing Animal

Album: Sunbathing Animal (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song was inspired by vocalist Andrew Savage's two-year-old pet cat Frida. She is named after Frida Kahlo for her mustache. (The Mexican artist famously depicted herself in her self-portraits with a woman's mustache.)
  • Savage directed the black-and-white minimalist video with Andrew Clapper. It shows Frida soaking in some rays as a record player spins the song. Speaking with Noisey, the Parquet Courts frontman explained his pet cat's role in the clip and how exactly they got her to do what she did: "Every afternoon [Frida] takes a nap in that spot, but that afternoon she knew she was being observed," he said. "So I created a special tea that I found on a cat lady website that was full of herbs that could allegedly make a cat sleepy. You got some valerian root, some poppy seed extract, skullflower caps, chamomile."

    "And I guess we basically made the sofa area of my apartment into a cat paradise in order to get her to perform," Savage continued. We had bird songs playing on the iPhone, the window was open for bird noises outside. We put some food on the couch and then finally some cat nip."

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