Record Shopping with Of Montreal Issue #37

The band's husband-wife duo tries to recapture youth in Athens

By Chris Appleton
Published: September 1st, 2008 | 2:09pm

Of Montreal frontman Kevin Barnes and his wife, Nina Barnes, walk into Wuxtry Records in their hometown of Athens, Georgia, with sunglasses on, looking like a hypsterized version of a 1977 Funkadelic group.

Concerned with the detachment that music fans have from packaging, production, and ingenuity, Kevin’s brother, David Barnes, and Nina are working on a design project called Apollinaire Rave Productions. They’ll produce rugs, stickers, 12-by-12 prints, and lanterns to be packaged along with Of Montreal’s Skeletal Lamping full-length — set for release in October. Purchasers can choose the “objects” that come with their album. Kevin says he believes the packaging of an album is another opportunity for the musician to connect with his audience. “There will be no boring objects with the release of this album,” he says. “CDs are boring.”

As we stand over a crate of Prince records and talk of Sly and his Family, Nina begins to talk of her childhood and how she misses the days of vinyl. She calls Skeletal Lamping an attempt to reclaim the originality music once had.

When it comes time to spend money, Kevin ignores the vinyl and heads immediately for the soul/R&B/funk CD case, asking a Wuxtry employee to grab Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain. “Prince was a fan,” he says.

Barnes lingers in the same spot, talking of Rumble In the Jungle, Jackie Mittoo, and Cedric Brooks. Nina, on the other hand, is all over the place. She peruses recordings ranging from funk to indie rock to ’90s soul, and talks of the sultry Erykah Badu — “There are few females as political as her,” Nina says. A bit indecisive, she chooses Studio One Roots, Volume 2, a compilation of Jamaican roots and reggae. “It’s great party music,” Nina says. “It’s lo-fi and makes me feel good.”

Nearly $40 into the $50 shopping budget, Kevin and Nina resolve to go no further. I follow them to the counter to fork over the money, and there are a few “staff favorites” near the register. Clearly buddies with the Wuxtry worker, Kevin asks for a hometown discount. He gets his request and manages to add a Slits record to the pile without breaking the bank.

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THE BARNES SHOPPING LIST
• The Slits, Revenge Of the Giant Slits
• various artists, Studio One Roots, Volume 2
(“ I don’t like that I am classified as an indie artist. I identify more with African roots and reggae.”)
• Funkadelic, Maggot Brain
(“Do we have this one?,” Kevin Barnes asks his wife. “Maybe it will change my life.”)