Oblivion (Grimes song)

"Oblivion" is a song by Canadian singer Grimes from her third studio album, Visions (2012). It was released as a promotional single in 2012 by 4AD. The song 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.[3] It placed at number 229 on NME magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4] From over 35 outlets, global critic aggregator Acclaimed Music went on to rank "Oblivion" as the 2nd greatest song of the 2010s.[5]

"Oblivion"
Promotional single by Grimes
from the album Visions
Released2012
RecordedAugust 2011
Genre
Length4:11
Label4AD
Songwriter(s)Grimes
Producer(s)Grimes
Music video
"Oblivion" at YouTube

Music video

The music video was co-directed by Grimes and Emily Kai Bock,[6] on a "shoe string budget". 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,[7][8] during a football game and a supercross event.[9][10] The video debuted on March 2, 2012 and shows Grimes amongst shirtless frat boys,[10] as well as in a men's locker room surrounded by weightlifting athletes.[11] "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," Grimes explained.[9] Additionally, part of the music video took place in a convenience store.

In an interview with Spin; when asked about her "videos [playing] with ... clichés of powerful and powerless female archetypes", she answered:[12]

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[13]
  1. "Oblivion" (radio edit) – 3:10
  2. "Oblivion" (album version) – 4:11

Charts
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 92
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[15] 39

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Use in media
  • 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.[17]
  • The song was used in the 2019 film, Good Boys.
  • 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.

References
  1. Ramirez, AJ (December 3, 2012). "The 75 Best Songs of 2012". PopMatters. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  2. Thomas, Lou (2012). "Grimes Visions Review". BBC Music. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  3. "The 200 Best Songs of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 7, 2019. Archived from the original on October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  4. "The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time - 300-201". NME. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  5. "EOD 2010s Songs Spreadsheet Updates". Acclaimed Music. Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. "Grimes - Oblivion - YouTube". Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. Govind, Jacinta (April 16, 2012). "The Grime on Grimes". Music Feeds. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  8. 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.
  9. Dombal, Ryan (March 5, 2012). "Director's Cut: Grimes: "Oblivion"". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  10. 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.
  11. "Video: Grimes – 'Oblivion'". Fact. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  12. Boucher, Claire (December 6, 2012). "Grimes Comes Clean: Synth-Pop Provocateur on Her Big Year". Spin (Interview). Interviewed by Jessica Hopper. Archived from the original on July 5, 2017. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  13. "Grimes (4) – Oblivion (CDr)". Discogs. Archived from the original on December 11, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  14. "Discography Grimes". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  15. "Chart Search: Oblivion – Grimes". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  16. "American single certifications – Grimes – Oblivion". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  17. "Series 17, In a Lonely Place Episode 1 of 2". BBC. Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
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