Masseduction

Album: MASSEDUCTION (2017)
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Songfacts®:

  • This juxtaposition of pain and pleasure is the title track of St. Vincent - or to give her her real name - Annie Clark's fifth album. The record was produced by Clark and Jack Antonoff at Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan.
  • Annie Clark announced the album in a mock press conference on Facebook, explaining the title's correct pronunciation. "It's 'mass seduction', not 'mass education', which is a noble and worthy cause for sure, but it's not the title of my record", she said. "And you're probably wondering, and the answer is yes, I did toy with calling the record 'Ass Education'. But it seemed to me that that was much better suited to be the title of the sequel. We've gotta build up to something, you know."
  • An unhinged Clark repeats throughout the song, "I can't turn off what turns me on." The lyric is the album's mission statement, making it the obvious choice for the title track.
  • Clark recalled the story of the song to Pitchfork:

    "It was the last track to come together. The words to all the verses and everything just came out in a torrent, and I sent them to [producer] Jack [Antonoff]. I was like, "Is this too oblique?" Jack, who is the ultimate cheerleader, just said, "No, this is really interesting. Keep going."
  • Clark performed this at the 2019 Grammy Awards with Dua Lipa in a mashup with Lipa's Calvin Harris collaboration, "One Kiss." Lipa took the trophy for Best New Artist; St. Vincent went home with Best Rock Song for "Masseduction."
  • The surreal and creepy doomsday clip finds Annie Clark wearing what seems to be a hat made of gloves while nuclear bombs explode in the background. She is accompanied by dancing, faceless figures clad in orange jumpsuits. What it all means is unclear to us.
  • "Masseduction" appears in the soundtrack for the 2018 romantic comedy Second Act.

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