People seem to be going wild over Animal Collective’s new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, with some even calling it the best album of 2009. I haven’t been able to give the whole album a listen yet. I’m guessing that assessment is probably a bit premature, however the track “My Girls” has been really resonating with me. It’s been seeing seriously heavy rotation on my ol’ iTunes in the past week.
Here’s the video:
The lyrics, according to songlyrics.com are:
Is it much to admit I need
A solid soul and the blood I bleed
With a little girl, and by my spouse
I only want a proper houseI don’t care for fancy things
Or to take part in a precious race
And children cry for the one who has
A real big heart and a father’s graceI 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
The song is a manta on simplicity – something I’ve wanted to strive towards with often little success. The problem is I’m a fan of shiny pretty things – I even just wrote a post about the spiffy products I tried and liked in 2008. Moreover, I’m a pack rat by nature and there’s a whole storage unit back in L.A. full of my and Bronwyn’s “stuff.” But that’s all the more reason why this song appeals to me. Moving to Japan has shown me how little we need materially, having arrived with only a couple of suitcases and a bicycle and not acquiring much more since then. I’ve got the things I need at this point in my life. Four walls and my girl? Check. If I can remember that then hopefully I can keep clear of the clutter, and when we get back to L.A. maybe it’s time for a garage sale.
