Wordsmith

Yet with all that originality, Of Montreal got started in an almost clichéd way. The story stars Barnes as the stereotypical loner, a troubled teen whose parents moved often, allowing him few opportunities to form real friendships. Because you know how the story ends, you can probably guess the rest. First a guitar and then a four-track recorder provided focus for adolescent angst; insecure and lonely, Barnes found refuge in music, spending hours alone in his room, playing his guitar. Blissful pop was still a few years away, however. His early musical heroes Poison, Ratt, and Mötley Crüe influenced initial attempts at songwriting. Later he would discover the Beatles, followed by the Who and Frank Zappa, and Of Montreal would be born.

Now, the inspired Of Montreal feeding frenzy is so enormous that it threatens to overtake the boundaries of the usual CDs-and-tours paradigm. The artistic collective is considering branching into other media. "We're talking about starting a very ambitious animation project," Barnes says. "I'm really excited, because it seems like you can do everything at once, and the possibilities are limitless." They're already envisioning the distribution of this latest project over the Internet.

"The hardest part is getting started with the first image, the first sound," Barnes concludes. "A record is much easier. You just write fourteen songs and string them together."

If putting together a record as impressive, masterful, and enjoyable as Satanic Panic is "easy" for Barnes, I can see why he's ready for the challenge of a new medium. Most artists toil for years, attempting to create an album as rich and complete as Panic, and most never succeed.

As it turns out, there's only one word that can truly describe Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal: brilliant.