"My Girls" is a song by Animal Collective, released as the first single from their critically acclaimed 2009 album ''

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''. It was released on March 23, 2009 by Domino Records as a promo CD only. During the tours of 2007 and 2008, the song was known as "House".

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explained to '' Clash'' that lyrically the song is about his "desire on a basic level to own my own place and kind of provide a safe house for my family and the people I care about." The song resembles a seminal piece of early house music, " Your Love" (1984), by Frankie Knuckles and

Jamie Principle Jamie Principle (born 5 July 1960) is an American house music artist and producer born in Chicago, Illinois. _Biography_))).html" ;"title="allmusic ((( Jamie Principle > Biography )))">allmusic ((( Jamie Principle > Biography )))/ref> Biography J ...

. The song's intro contains an audio sample from the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, which explored Saturn's atmosphere and rings and gathered information about its moons; as part of its mission, the probe was destroyed in September 2017.

Video

A promotional music video was created, showing the three members who worked on the album performing the song with samplers, synthesizers and percussion instruments. The video was animated by Jon Vermilyea, whose illustrations were used in the artwork for the band's live compilation '' Animal Crack Box''. Only

Avey Tare David Michael Portner (born April 24, 1979), also known by his moniker Avey Tare, is a musician and songwriter who co-founded the American experimental pop band Animal Collective. He has released three solo albums, as well as three collaborative a ...

and

's lips and

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's caving headlamp can be seen, with complete black bodies in colored scenarios, eventually becoming green and melting at the end of the video.

Use in media

An edited version of the song was used in the

BBC Panorama ''Panorama'' is a British BBC Television current affairs documentary programme. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running television news magazine programme. ''Panorama'' has been presented by many well-known BBC presenters, ...

program

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. An edited version of this song appears during Jake Johnson's part in

Alien Workshop Alien Workshop (AWS) is an independent American skateboarding company that was founded in 1990 by Chris Carter, Mike Hill, and Neil Blender in Dayton, Ohio. Following periods under the ownership of the Burton snowboard company and original team ...

's skate film, ''Mindfield''. The song can also be heard briefly during a party sequence in the 2012 film '' Project X''. Beyoncé interpolated "My Girls" in her song "

6 Inch "6 Inch" is a song by American singer Beyoncé featuring Canadian singer the Weeknd from the former's sixth studio album ''Lemonade'' (2016). The song's original portions were written by the artists alongside DannyBoyStyles, Ben Billions, The-Dream ...

" from her sixth studio album ''

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'' (2016).

Accolades

* "My Girls" was named the #1 Song of 2009 by

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

. * In 2009, Pitchfork listed the song at #9 of their Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s. * ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' named "My Girls" the 5th best song of 2009. * '' Slant Magazine'' named "My Girls" the best song of 2009. * ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' named "My Girls" the third best-song of 2009 on their annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abs ...

critics' poll. * In October 2011, ''NME'' placed it at number 91 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". * In 2014, ''

'' named "My Girls" the 248th best song of all time.

Cover versions

* 2009 – Taken by Trees, '' East of Eden'' (as "My Boys") * 2011 – The Becca Stevens Band, ''Weightless'' * 2013 –

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* 2014 – Tall_Tall_Trees_(band) '' The Seasonal''Bandcamp - https://talltalltrees.bandcamp.com/album/the-seasonal-ep

References

{{authority control 2009 singles Animal Collective songs 2009 songs Domino Recording Company singles Experimental pop songs