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As she promotes one of the most anticipated albums of the fall, St. Vincent has undoubtedly been asked the same tired questions, and she’s sick of it. As such, the artist aka Annie Clark has released a series of videos to serve as a handy guide for would-be interviewers without any original material. The “interview kit,” which she mentioned in a recent New Yorker profile, was scripted by Carrie Brownstein.
The tongue-in-cheek clips were rolled out on social media over the weekend, and feature Clark answering typically asked questions. Each video is even shot against a green screen, allowing media outlets to mix and match at their whim.
To kick the series off, the first video offers a behind-the-scenes look at the shoot. Keeping things weird from the jump, it shows the camera crew clad in short dresses with cutouts in the chest and butt area. The next clip shows Clark engaging in “light banter” as directed by the script before she gets down to business.
The first installment in the interview kit answers the oft-asked question about advice she would give to young musicians. In response, Clark deadpans, “I would tell young musicians today to get into the film industry.”
Next up, Clark takes on the dreaded question about what it’s like to play a show in heels. “You do have to rehearse but it does something to your posture that I really like,” she admits, adding “It also does something crippling, which I also like.”
In the subsequent clip, Clark addresses the importance of being political in these times with her lengthiest answer. “I think relevance is an act of political fluency and my goal is to stay relevant as an artist,” she says while ignoring the teleprompter. “All political art is not great art, and great art is not all political. Art will always be judged in relation to the time and place in which it was made. So, if an artist claims if they are apolitical, then I feel they’ve already lost the battle. An audience is more damaged, I think, and betrayed by voids rather than substance.”
Finally, she’s asked whether Annie Clark and St. Vincent are the same person. “Honestly, you’d have to ask her,” the multi-hyphenate quips.
Watch the series of videos below.
(Read: The 25 Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2017)
In the run-up to Clark’s currently untitled album, she’s released her first single since 2015, “New York”, and its visually striking music video. Last month, she debuted another new song, “LA”, during a performance in Tokyo.
