All My Famous Friends

Album: Secrets I'll Never Tell (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • There was a time when our screens were filled with celebrities and other famous folks. They still are, but now they're joined about streams of pictures and videos from our friends and family, putting them on the same level. The British singer-songwriter Benedict Cork explores this on "All My Famous Friends," a track from his EP Secrets I'll Never Tell. Cork grew up in the digital age, but spent a lot of time working in a piano bar, which was still very analog.
  • Benedict Cork discussed this song when he was a guest on the Songfacts Podcast, saying: "It's all about social media and how we're living in a very strange time now, where on one hand, having all these devices which connect us to everyone around the world has been such a godsend throughout the pandemic - I've been having monthly Zoom calls with my family in Australia, and I've got family in America as well, and friends around the world - and it's been so amazing to have that and to be able to do that. If we were in lockdown 10 years ago, it would have been so different.

    Yet at the same time, we've all been living our lives online, and I'd say that song came out of the dark side of social media and how it can become quite overwhelming. At times it feels like everybody is sort of famous in their own lives and they're curating their own TV shows every day with photos and videos all filtered and carefully selected to paint this idea of what we all are. I do it as well and I'm really trying not to these days more and more because I want to just live my life truthfully. So, if I'm having a bad day, I'll just say it, and if I'm having a great day, I'll try not to over-egg it so that other people who are having a bad day don't feel worse because of that. So I'm just trying to live as authentically as possible. That song was kind of born out of that feeling."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)

Donnie Iris (Ah! Leah!, The Rapper)Songwriter Interviews

Before "Rap" was a form of music, it was something guys did to pick up girls in nightclubs. Donnie talks about "The Rapper" and reveals the identity of Leah.

U2 Lyrics

U2 LyricsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the lyrics of U2?

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers

Bill Medley of The Righteous BrothersSongwriter Interviews

Medley looks back on "Unchained Melody" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" - his huge hits from the '60s that were later revived in movies.

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley WorkmanSongwriter Interviews

One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.