Vanessa is a promotional single by Grimes. It is the second track on her split EP with d'Eon, Darkbloom.
Background[]
The song was made available for digital download on March 29, 2011.[1][2]
Composition[]
Meaning[]
In early interviews Grimes said that she named the song after a girl she went to elementary school with.[3][4]
In 2012, Grimes told Dazed:[5]
❝ I hate 'Vanessa'! I've always hated 'Vanessa'. As soon as I'd made it I was like, I hate this! [Why?] It's an empty song. 'Vanessa' was literally: I'm going to make a pop song. It had nothing to do with emotions. ❞
The chorus of the song, in Grimes' words, features nonsense lyrics:"(..) I used to be so crazy that I didn't realize songs had lyrics, like, I thought everyone was just saying nonsense, like, I actually thought that, yeah, I just thought it was okay to just be, like, say a bunch of random sh*t and, like, use the word baby a lot."[6]
Media[]
Video[]
| Video | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Title | Vanessa | |
| Premiere | 13 Apr 2011 | |
| Length | 5:48 | |
| Director | Grimes | |
| DP | John Londono | |
Additional Credits
- Stylist: Marilis Cardinal
- Dancers: Ally Mackinnon, Ashley Obscura, Caroline Dutka, Claire Boucher, Emily Kai Bock, Jane Penny, Marilis Cardinal, Ming Lin, Miriam Gallou
Background
Grimes directed the video for Vanessa herself after being unhappy with the video made for Crystal Ball.[7] The video was made on a $60 budget. John Londono encouraged her to try her hand at directing:[5]
❝ If it wasn't for John, I wouldn't have even thought of making a music video. Until then I hadn't even thought of making an image or anything like that. I hadn't even thought of music as possibly being a career. But when 'Vanessa' came out and that was a thing, I was like... Oh, that's actually a very powerful tool. It was really, really fun and really rewarding. That was a big step in me becoming more mentally powerful. That video changed my mind, my game or whatever. Previous to that it was like running shoes at all times. I've always had crazy hair and s*** but then it was like, why not make everything as beautiful as it can be? Why wouldn't you do that? ❞
When asked in an interview about the use of reverse motion in the video, she replied:[8]
❝ I just love things that are unsettling…and I feel like backwards motion really accomplishes that because you still see the image, it’s just slightly unnatural but not super overt or in your face. [...] but I love the contrast with like, the beautiful girls. Or undoing the make up. I love the undoing of something. Going back in time. ❞
Grimes recalled this about the filming:[9]
❝ I feel like a lot, most of the performers in this music video were completely blacked out. Everyone was just regular girls that I knew, mostly highly unprofessional. But shoutout to John Londono, who filmed it and let us use his studio. It's very nice of him, especially because I think people were, like, puking in the studio and stuff. So it's, you know, we really put him through it, but yeah, this was my debut. ❞
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
I've been
[Verse 1]
Oh, I've been waiting destiny
And my heart is here right next to me
And I'm caught waiting in the rain
Oh, I've been waiting destiny
And my heart is here right next to me
And I'm caught waiting in the rain
[Pre-Chorus]
And I know and I need you in the storm
And I oh-oh-oh-I-I, oh-oh-oh-I-I-I-I
[Chorus]
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Baby I would throw you, if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
[Verse 2]
I hold on, and I don't care what you say
But the way it goes it's happening everyday
I can see space on the radio
I can see space on the radio
I hold on, and I don't care what you say
I can see space on the radio
But the way it goes it's still happening everyday
I can see space on the radio
[Bridge]
Everyday, everyday, everyday, everyday
Everyday-day-y-day-y-day, everyday-y-day-y-day
Everyday-y-day-y-day
[Chorus]
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Hey, hey, you want to play
Well baby, I can go and go
And every other day you're running off with so and so
Well baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Baby, I would throw you if I didn't know you
But I'm paying for it
Trivia[]
- The lyric "I can see space on the radio" previously appears on the song Weregild.
References[]
- ↑ https://www.gorillavsbear.net/mp3-grimes-vanessa/
- ↑ https://www.thefader.com/2011/03/29/grimes-vanessa-mp3/
- ↑ https://theconcordian.com/2011/01/Indecisive-girl-makes-decidedly-experimental-tunes/
- ↑
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/19961/1/grimes-ready-to-fly
- ↑ https://youtu.be/umoqd0VbRI4?si=7DEMK2UoJiuoYLuk
- ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/fashion/claire-boucher-known-as-grimes-mines-beauty-from-the-dark-side.html
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120605085419/http://www.bullettmedia.com:80/article/grimes/
- ↑ https://youtu.be/dv5UUH4cZeU?si=_qoIK66Vpahv_l12&t=230
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