Digital Witness

"Digital Witness" is the second single from St. Vincent, the eponymous fourth album by American musician St. Vincent. It was released with another single, "Birth in Reverse", on a gold vinyl triangle packaged with the album. The song, whose lyrics deal with dependence on social media, and its music video have both received positive attention from critics. Darkside produced a remix soon after the song's release.

"Digital Witness"
Digital release cover
Single by St. Vincent
from the album St. Vincent
B-side
ReleasedJanuary 6, 2014 (2014-01-06)[1]
Recorded2014
Genre
Length3:22
Label
Songwriter(s)Annie Clark[1]
Producer(s)John Congleton
St. Vincent singles chronology
"Birth in Reverse"
(2013)		 "Digital Witness"
(2014)		 "Prince Johnny"
(2014)
Alternate cover
Vinyl single
Music video
"Digital Witness" on YouTube

Release

"Digital Witness" was released as an advance single from St. Vincent on 6 January 2014.[3] The music video premiered on 31 January 2014.[4] Prior to its release, the single was available to pre-order on a die-cut vinyl triangle with "Birth in Reverse" as its B-side. The record was a limited edition of 1,000 copies, packaged with CD and LP copies of St. Vincent.[5]

Composition

Annie Clark has said that the song "encapsulates this idea where we've become very dependent on other people [...] a million digital eyes, validating our experience". The lyrics are a clear commentary on social media, including Clark's own experience on websites such as Twitter, which self-deprecatingly she describes as "pathetic". In an existential sense, the lyrics question how people evaluate what is and is not important in the digital age.[6]

Writing for Pitchfork, Katherine St. Asaph compared "Digital Witness" to "I Should Watch TV", a track from Love This Giant, Clark's 2013 collaboration with David Byrne; she concluded that Clark likely took a cue from Byrne in composing "Digital Witness". St. Asaph noted similarities between the funky rhythms and brass instruments in both tracks, as well as their shared lyrical themes. She calls "Digital Witness" "celebratory as it's cautionary", like "I Should Watch TV", which she describes as "half-embracing" and "half-disdaining" popular television culture.[7] Reviewer Heather Phares expressed a similar sentiment, calling "Digital Witness" a song with "close kinship" to Love This Giant.[8]

Critical reception

"Digital Witness" received positive attention from music critics. Cady Drell, in a review for Rolling Stone, gave the song 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "the sound of an art-pop weirdo throwing a curveball by playing it delightfully straight".[9] Heather Phares, in an Allmusic review of St. Vincent, cited "Digital Witness" as an example of Clark's "razor-sharp wit". The track is designated as an Allmusic "pick".[8] It placed 14th on The Village Voice's 2014 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[10]

Music video

The music video for "Digital Witness" was directed by Chino Moya and was recorded in Madrid. The video is surreal in nature, featuring Annie Clark moving robotically, surrounded by pastel colors and geometric architecture. The style is reminiscent of the 1927 German epic film Metropolis.[11] Upon its release, the video was praised for its visual appeal and subtle critique of contemporary music videos.[4] Writing for SPIN, Marc Hogan described the video as depicting "dystopian conformity" in conjunction with the song's lyrical commentary on social media.[12]

The music video was rated as the tenth-best video of 2014 by Rolling Stone.[13]

Remix

Darkside produced a remix of "Digital Witness", which was released on March 30, 2014. The remix pitch shifts Clark's vocal into a lower range. Although Darkside preserved the song's prominent saxophone, it was mixed down in favor of a bass synthesizer that they introduced. The remix was released as a 12" vinyl single, with the a cappella track from "Digital Witness" as its B-side.[14] The track is also included with the deluxe edition of St. Vincent, which was released in February 2015.[15]

Track listing

7" vinyl
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Digital Witness"3:22
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Del Rio"2:55

Triangular 7"
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Digital Witness"3:22
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Birth in Reverse"3:15

Personnel
Technical personnel

References
  1. "Digital Witness – St. Vincent". AllMusic. 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  2. "St Vincent: St Vincent - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  3. Battan, Carrie (6 January 2014). "Listen: St. Vincent: 'Digital Witness'". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  4. de Revere, Paul (31 January 2014). "St. Vincent Shares her Paranoia in 'Digital Witness' Video". Radio.com. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  5. Hilliard, Cameron (11 December 2013). "St. Vincent – St. Vincent // Limited to 1000 Golden Triangle Vinyl LP + CD or Black Vinyl LP". Sly Vinyl. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  6. Clark, Annie (13 March 2014). "Watch: St Vincent Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Jerico Mandybur. Oyster. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. St. Asaph, Katherine (6 January 2014). "St. Vincent: "Digital Witness"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  8. Phares, Heather (2014). "St. Vincent - St. Vincent". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. Drell, Cady (10 January 2014). "Digital Witness". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  10. "The Village Voice's 42nd Pazz & Jop Music Critics' Poll: The Last Word on the Year in Music". The Village Voice. Retrieved 15 February 2015.
  11. Locker, Melissa (5 February 2014). "Music Video of the Week: St. Vincent, "Digital Witness"". Time. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  12. Hogan, Marc. "Watch St. Vincent's Gloriously Coiffed 'Digital Witness' Dystopia". SPIN. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  13. "10 Best Music Videos of 2014". Rolling Stone. 2014. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  14. Coplan, Chris (30 March 2014). "Listen: Darkside remixes St. Vincent's "Digital Witness"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  15. Gordon, Jeremy (9 January 2015). "St. Vincent Announces St. Vincent Deluxe Edition, Expands Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
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