Get Famous

Album: Transparency (2021)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Twin Atlantic frontman Sam McTrusty wrote this scathing song about influencer culture with The Killers and U2 producer Jacknife Lee. Inspired by the vocalist's obsession with the Instagram account Influencers In The Wild, "Get Famous" explores how desperate people can be for online clout.

    "Jacknife and I were talking about an Instagram account, Influencers in the Wild, which is people taking selfies or filming a travel blog or doing yoga in the sea, all of the typical things that we've come to accept as normal," McTrusty told Apple Music. "Totally harmless fun on the face of it, but there's that darker seedy underbelly to the whole thing that interests me as a people-watcher. I thought maybe I could make fun of that and pick some of the language out and be clever with how I use wordsmithery."
  • Twin Atlantic released "Get Famous" as a single on November 5, 2021 from their sixth album, Transparency. McTrusty and Jacknife Lee, who'd produced the band's Great Divide and GLA records, worked on the material during lockdown. Because McTrusty lives in Glasgow and Lee in LA, the Scottish singer set up a home studio in his two-bedroom flat and collaborated over nocturnal songwriting sessions with the producer.
  • Transparency is Twin Atlantic's first album as a two-piece following the departure of founding drummer Craig Kneale.
  • McTrusty filmed the song's tongue-in-cheek music video on his phone. It sees the singer imitate a variety of influencer tropes like giving make-up tutorials, juicing, posing in expensive clothes, and landmark tours. "In filming this video, I also became elements of what I hate," McTrusty said. "Even still, it was fun to make and indulge in all these guilty pleasures. Keeping little snippets of setting up and failed attempts was important. Those are the darkest moments of social media that we rarely get to see."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Grateful Dead Characters

Grateful Dead CharactersMusic Quiz

Many unusual folks appear in Grateful Dead songs. Can you identify them?

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"

Billy Steinberg - "Like A Virgin"They're Playing My Song

The first of Billy's five #1 hits was the song that propelled Madonna to stardom. You'd think that would get you a backstage pass, wouldn't you?

James Williamson of Iggy & the Stooges

James Williamson of Iggy & the StoogesSongwriter Interviews

The Stooges guitarist (and producer of the Kill City album) talks about those early recordings and what really happened with David Bowie.