Last week, St. Vincent released an excellent self-titled album that you can stream right here on Zumic. Last night, Annie Clark joined Stephen Colbert for an interview and to perform a couple of the new tracks with her band. Check out the videos below.
St. Vincent Interviewed by Stephen Colbert 2.25.2014:
St. Vincent "Digital Witness" on Colbert Report 2.25.2014:
St. Vincent "Birth In Reverse" Colbert Nation Web Exclusive:
As usual, Stephen Colbert makes the interview extremely interesting and poignant. Topics range from Catholicism to deep philosophical statements inherent in the "art rock" found in St. Vincent's music. St. Vincent won a 2013 American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts, which prompts Colbert to ask "Is that why you have Einstein's hair, now?" as he references The Bride of Frankenstein.
In regards to the philosophical questions and concepts of the St. Vincent album, Clark gives great insight to her work. In reference to lyrics about the digital world, she says there is an element of "Techno shamanism" in her music. In reference to her place as an artist, she says "I've always tried to live at the intersection between accessibility and lunatic fringe... I think there's someplace in the middle of that venn diagram that is where I try to live and is most interesting to me, artistically." Colbert responds "That's the corner of Paxil and Prozac," which gets a lot of laughs. St. Vincent herself is cracking up throughout the interview. All in all, very clever and funny.
The musical performances of "Digital Witness" and "Birth In Reverse" by St. Vincent and her band are great. They aren't just copying the album versions of the songs, and the energy of the live performance pushes things to another level. Clark's guitar playing is on point, and she's doing some cool things vocally as well. There's something really catchy about the way she says "yah" in "Digital Witness."
The bass and drum sounds are a really interesting mix between the organic analog side and the digital synth side. I might call this a robo-band or a cyborg band. During "Birth In Reverse," synchronized dance moves reinforce this idea as the Clark and the other guitar player move around like robots. There's something perfectly strange about the whole thing. It should also be noted that Clark is wearing clothing with big shoulder pads, a lot like David Byrne in The Talking Heads' 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense. Giving the look a more feminine spin, she's also wearing a short skirt and high heels.
For St. Vincent's latest music, news, and tour dates, check out her Zumic artist page.
Source: Colbert Nation
