Oblivion (Grimes song)


"Oblivion" is a song by Canadian singer Grimes from her third studio album, Visions. 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. It placed at number 229 on NME magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. From over 35 outlets, global critic aggregator Acclaimed Music went on to rank "Oblivion" as the 2nd greatest song of the 2010s.

Music video

The music video was co-directed by Grimes and Emily Kai Bock, 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, during a football game and a supercross event. The video debuted on March 2, 2012 and shows Grimes amongst shirtless frat boys, as well as in a men's locker room surrounded by weightlifting athletes. "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. Additionally, part of the music video took place in a convenience store.
In an interview with Spin, she revealed that the song is about "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

  1. "Oblivion" – 3:10
  2. "Oblivion" – 4:11

    Charts

Use in media