Digital Witness

Album: St. Vincent (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds St. Vincent's Annie Clark tackling her frustration that the Internet is leaving us incapable of living without documenting everything. It is the most vitriolic of several tracks on the St. Vincent album where Clark shares her concerns about the world seen through screens. She sings:

    "If I can't show it
    If you can't see me
    What's the point of doing anything?"

    Clark told Uncut magazine: "A lot of the record touches on this digital reality of total connection, and total lack of connection, where it feels like every day is an episode of Black Mirror. This record is me trying to figure out how to navigate that malaise."
  • Clark described her songwriting process during a Reddit Ask Me Anything as such: "I collect ideas, words, melodies when I'm on the road. When it's time to write an album, I go to work every day. 10-7. Day job!"
  • Clark explained the St. Vincent artwork to NME: "On each of my records, an archetype starts to emerge. On Strange Mercy it was, like, housewife on barbiturates and white wine, and on this one it's near-future cult leader. So that was that visual directive, and I also reference one of my favorite films – The Holy Mountain, the Alejandro Jodorowsky movie. In design, I'm drawn to symmetry and patterns so I wanted to create a visual world that was analogous to the music – not just analogous, but an enhanced musical language."
  • The music video was nominated for three UK Music Video Awards. It was directed by Chino Moya, who also did the Marina and the Diamonds clip for "Froot."
  • Clark took her St. Vincent moniker from a line in the 2004 Nick Cave song "There She Goes, My Beautiful World" about St. Vincent's hospital in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, where a drunk Dylan Thomas passed away.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

In The Cards

In The CardsSong Writing

Songwriters have used cards and card games to make sense of heartache, togetherness, and even Gonorrhea.

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

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.