| "Actor Out of Work" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by St. Vincent | ||||
| from the album Actor | ||||
| B-side | "Bicycle" | |||
| Released | April 20, 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:15 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Annie Clark | |||
| Producer(s) | ||||
| St. Vincent singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Actor Out of Work" is the first single from Actor, the second album by American musician St. Vincent. Written in one night as a reaction to her producer's comments on the rest of Actor, the song features an aggressive rock sound and lyrics addressing a deceitful lover.
Released as a single, "Actor Out of Work" was accompanied by a music video featuring actors crying at an audition run by St. Vincent. The song saw positive reviews from music writers upon its release and has since attracted praise as a highlight of Actor and as one of St. Vincent's best songs.
Background
St. Vincent wrote "Actor Out of Work" in one night at the request of her producer John Congleton, who was frustrated with how the rest of the material for the Actor album "sounded like outtakes from the Lion King on Broadway." St. Vincent recalled, "I wrote 'Actor Out of Work' at my mom's house in my childhood bedroom. I felt like a fraud. I felt like people were frauds. I wanted to be hit. I wanted to hit."[1]
The song's studio arrangement took influence from Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets.[1] Lyrically, the song uses the image of an out-of-work actor to represent an unconvincing lover.[2]
Release
"Actor Out of Work" was chosen as the lead single for the Actor album, being released by 4AD in April 2009. The B-side of the single was "Bicycle". The single did not chart.[3]
Critical reception
"Actor Out of Work" saw a positive critical reception upon its release as a single. Pitchfork stated, "Her acerbic lyrics and skewed production—the kind that wouldn't sound out of place at the mixing board of a beardy noise-rocker—belie a crystalline voice and a face that could land any actor work. Tough love never sounded sweeter, and 'Actor Out of Work' is no exception."[4] Complex commented, "The song features some nice backup vocals, driving drums, and has a nice hummable melody. ... Check it out."[5]
In reviews for Actor, "Actor Out of Work" was often singled out for praise. Heather Phares of AllMusic described it as "forceful" and noted, "The song's brisk dance between hot and cold is dazzling." The A.V. Club noted how the song evoked the "tumultuous marriage of prog and new wave typified by Scary Monsters-era Bowie and early Peter Gabriel."
The song has also appeared in several rankings. Pitchfork listed it as the 52nd best song of 2009, noting, "Annie Clark gave herself exactly 135 seconds for this audition, and makes the most of them."[6] Additionally, the Guardian,[7] Paste Magazine,[8] and Stereogum[9] all included the song on their lists of the best St. Vincent songs.
Music video
A music video directed by the team Terri Timely[10] was produced for "Actor Out of Work", where St. Vincent holds auditions for a series of actors, each of whom attempts their best performative crying breakdown. St. Vincent commented on the reaction to the video, "A lot of people got confused and thought I was so mean that I made people cry, which was not what I intended... but I sort of like it."[11]
The video also brought St. Vincent to the attention to future collaborator David Byrne, who later said, "When I met Annie I complimented her on how disturbing her video was."[7]
References
- ^ a b Clark, Annie. "St. Vincent Reflects on Ten Years of "Actor"". FLOOD. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "St. Vincent: Actor". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "St. Vincent – Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
- ^ "St. Vincent: "Actor Out of Work"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "New! St. Vincent - Actor Out of Work". Complex. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2009 - Page 5". Pitchfork. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ a b Allen, Jeremy (1 July 2015). "St Vincent: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "The 20 Best St. Vincent Songs". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ "The 10 Best St. Vincent Songs". Stereogum. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Stosuy, Brandon (10 April 2009). "New St. Vincent Video – "Actor Out of Work"". Stereogum. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
- ^ Ryzik, Melena (6 May 2009). "Friendly, and Just a Bit Creepy: St. Vincent Defies Categories (Published 2009)". New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2023.