Video: Animal Collective – “My Girls”
Produced by Knowmore Productions, animated by Jon Vermilyea, edited/VFX by Chad Von Nau. From Merriweather Post Pavilion (vinyl), out now on Domino.
So this is what all the fuss is about? Okay, it’s a nice psychedelic pop song with a great hook. It sounds great, especially the drums. The lyrics are pure dad rock: “I don’t mean to seem like I care about material things like a social status / I just want four walls and adobe slabs for my girls.” That’s what the kids are into these days? Songs about supporting your family? Huh. I thought you didn’t start to get all defensive about your success until your mid-30s…
You are the first person, besides myself, to question the ridiculous hype surrounding this band. As with the Panda Bear record and the other records from this camp…there are no damn songs! They sound great, cool artwork, you can get fooled into thinking it’s something special. But after a few listens you realize they don’t have a single damn song. Same with the Fleet Foxes. I’m so sick of these bands with the right pop record fetishes getting away with this crap. Loving Odyssey & Oracle, Village Green,Pet Sounds, Who Sell Out, etc…it’s no longer unique or enough. All the mellotrons, glockenspiels, bicycle bells, toy pianos in the world won’t cover the fact that there isn’t a real song underneath. Those classic pop records we all love work because the songs stand up. I do not believe for one second that anyone but the members of Animal Coll or Fleet Foxes will be listening to their records in ten or twenty years
Bob, trust me, you are FAR from alone on this one.
To each their own and I agree with some of what’s been said. I think that people will be listening to [i]Merriweather Post Pavilion[/i] in 20 years, and that it just may take 10-20 years before it finally hits you. Or it may take that long for the album to influence another band to tweak what they’re doing to the point where you finally realize how mindblowing it is. And what “it” is may be the first album with a cinematic scope that can effectively be translated in the sonic confines of an MP3 player.
Put it on repeat a few times while as a soundtrack during life and report back to see if some of those hidden pop gems finally come out.
Todd, I dig what you’re saying and I believe you are sincere. I just think a great, or the rare “Classic” album (whatever that is) will pretty much reveal good songs the first time you listen. Repeated listens will reveal new layers and songs you didn’t get the first listen will start to take hold. The truly best ones will reveal things years and years down the line. I don’t think it’s the same thing as listening to something repeatedly until you learn to like it. Familiarity is not the same thing as quality. Not that I’m the final authority on this album, but I’ve listened to it several times and return to my original point. Where are the songs man?
Actally, you pretty much did everything that I recommended. Since it didn’t work, I guess we’ll just have to disagree. The songs were there for me; your mileage may vary.
There are many albums that I now love that I didn’t get the first time I listened to them: Paul’s Boutique, Fear of a Black Planet, Straight Outta Compton, Pinkerton, Separation Sunday, and on and on. Sometimes your expectations cloud your appreciation, and it takes a few listens (or a few years) to alter your frame of reference to render you more open to what an album offers. At least that’s been my experience.
Haven’t listened to this album yet. But I like this song. It gets stuck in my head. I’m just surprised by the lyrical content. Family values. Who knew!