Oblivion (Grimes song)

"Oblivion" is a song by Canadian musician Grimes from her third studio album, Visions (2012). It was released as a promotional single in 2012 by 4AD.

"Oblivion"
Promotional single by Grimes
from the album Visions
Released	2012
Recorded	August 2011
Genre	Electropop synth-pop dream pop experimental pop
Length	4:11
Label	4AD
Songwriter(s)	Grimes
Producer(s)	Grimes
Music video
"Oblivion" at YouTube

Creation

In an April 2012 interview with Jacinda Govind for Music Feeds, Boucher explained that the song is about a violent assault:^[1]

It made me crazy for a few years. I got really paranoid walking around at night and started feeling really unsafe. The song is more about empowering myself physically amongst a masculine power, and the hate of feeling powerless, making light of masculine physical power, making it jovial and non-threatening. I took a typically violent cultural situation and made it pop and happy.

Chandler Levack for CBC in 2020^[2] and Caz Tran for ABC in 2022 have reported on Grimes' sexual assault, with Tran writing that "as a survivor of a violent sexual assault, 'Oblivion' was the result of [Grimes'] most determined efforts to turn feelings of fear and paranoia into something light hearted and innocuous".^[3]

Composition

"Oblivion" has been described as electropop,^[4][5] synth-pop,^[6][7] dream pop,^[8] experimental pop,^[9] with a "futurepop beat".^[10] The song was described by NME as "Kraftwerk teaming up with Blondie for a rework of 'Heart of Glass' and performing it several hundred leagues under the sea".^[11]

Critical reception

It is one of Grimes' most successful releases and was ranked at number 38 on Australian alternative music station Triple J's 2012 Hottest 100 countdown. It was named the best song of 2012 on Pitchfork, which in 2019 also named it the second best song of the decade.^[12] It placed at number 229 on NME magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.^[13]

Music video

The music video was co-directed by Grimes and Emily Kai Bock,^[14][15] on a "shoe string budget".^[14] It features Grimes, in a black coat and her signature pink hair, with headphones on at a sporting match with a largely male crowd. It was shot in Montreal at Olympic Stadium and at McGill University's Molson Stadium,^[16][17] during a football game and a supercross event.^[18][19]

The video debuted on March 2, 2012 and shows Grimes amongst shirtless frat boys,^[19] as well as in a men's locker room surrounded by weightlifting athletes.^[20]

Grimes stated for Pitchfork:^[18]

Art gives me an outlet where I can be aggressive in a world where I usually can't be, and part of it was asserting this abstract female power in these male-dominated arenas—the video is somewhat about objectifying men. Not in a disrespectful way, though.

In an interview with Spin; when asked about her "videos [playing] with ... clichés of powerful and powerless female archetypes", she answered:^[21]

I was interested in the Japanese archetype of a female protagonist who is very small and very cute and very physically powerful. You don't see that archetype in America. But in Japanese culture, there are female characters who can embody this girl uniform and still cut someone's head off with a sword. "Oblivion" embodies that kind of archetype, going into this masculine world that is associated with sexual assault, but presented as something really welcoming and nice. The song's sort of about being — I was assaulted and I had a really hard time engaging in any types of relationship with men, because I was just so terrified of men for a while.

Track listing

• UK promotional CD-R single^[22]

1. "Oblivion" (radio edit) – 3:10
2. "Oblivion" (album version) – 4:11

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)[23]	92
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[24]	39

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[25]	Silver	200,000‡
United States (RIAA)[26]	Gold	500,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Use in media

• The song was most recently used in the 2024 Netflix documentary “Biggest Heist Ever.”

• The song was used in the short film The Everything directed by Humberto Leon, co-creative director of Kenzo.
• The song was used in an episode of the BBC series, Silent Witness.^[27]
• The song was used in the 2019 film, Good Boys.^[28]
• The song was used in the second season episode of the Netflix series, Baby.
• The song was used in the BBC/HBO series, I May Destroy You.^[29]
• The song was used as the theme song for the PBS series A Brief History of the Future

References

1. Grimes (April 16, 2012). "The Grime on Grimes". Music Feeds (Interview). Interviewed by Jacinta Govind. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
2. Levack, Chandler (February 24, 2020). "Grimes Went From Industry-Shaking Genius to Punchline In a Decade. Are We Treating Her Fairly?". CBC. Archived from the original on February 24, 2020. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
3. Tran, Caz (March 7, 2022). "Grimes Wanted to Make Pop Music More Meaningful on Her Third Album Visions". ABC. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
4. Breihan, Tom (March 2, 2012). "Grimes – "Oblivion" Video". Stereogum. Archived from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
5. Cooper, Leonie (August 23, 2013). "Franz Ferdinand cover Grimes' 'Oblivion' – watch". NME. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
6. Phares, Heather. "Visions Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
7. "The Best Cover of Grimes' "Oblivion" You'll Ever Hear". Fuse. May 22, 2013. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
8. Ramirez, AJ (December 3, 2012). "The 75 Best Songs of 2012". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
9. Govind, Jacinta (April 16, 2012). "The Grime on Grimes". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
10. Thomas, Lou (2012). "Grimes Visions Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
11. Schiller, Rebecca (October 26, 2011). "Grimes – 'Oblivion'". NME. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
12. "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
13. Barker, Emily (January 31, 2014). "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time - 300-201". NME. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
14. Saxelby, Ruth (June 3, 2012). "The story behind Grimes's 'Oblivion' video". Dummymag. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
15. Dombal, Ryan (March 5, 2012). "Grimes: "Oblivion"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
16. Govind, Jacinta (April 16, 2012). "The Grime on Grimes". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
17. Aaron, Charles (December 9, 2012). "Spin's 40 Best Songs of 2012". Spin. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
18. Dombal, Ryan (March 5, 2012). "Director's Cut: Grimes: "Oblivion"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
19. Dobbins, Amanda (March 2, 2012). "'Oblivion' Video: Grimes Knows a Lot of Shirtless Frat Boys". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
20. "Video: Grimes – 'Oblivion'". Fact. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
21. Hopper, Jessica (December 6, 2012). "Grimes Comes Clean: Synth-Pop Provocateur on Her Big Year". Spin (Interview). Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
22. "Grimes (4) – Oblivion (CDr)". Discogs. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
23. "Discography Grimes". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
24. "Grimes Chart History Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
25. "British single certifications – Grimes – Oblivion". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
26. "American single certifications – Grimes – Oblivion". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
27. "Series 17, In a Lonely Place Episode 1 of 2". BBC. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
28. Moran, Sarah (August 16, 2019). "Every Song On The Good Boys Soundtrack". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2022.
29. Dobbins, Amanda (August 24, 2020). "Michaela Coel Always Knew How She Wanted I May Destroy You to Sound". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2022.