– Gilad Mishiyev, Staff Writer
Over the last decade, Phoebe Bridgers has emerged as one of the most exciting voices of independent music, and with the release of her latest album Lost Weekend, she has no intention of letting this momentum go. With her new single On Video, Bridgers takes us to a world all too familiar for us: suburbia in the 2000s.
Her Primetime
As the end credits to A24’s new thriller Primetime roll, Phoebe Bridgers’ new single “On Video” washes over the theater as the crowd makes their way out the doors. She composes the song alongside an incredible debut performance in the film as Del Harvey, one of the decoys on the show “To Catch a Predator,” which the movie is based on.
The film, a Videodrome-esque descent into the surreal and oftentimes horrifying world of reality television, feels almost like falling through a portal to another world, one reminiscent of our childhoods and yet feeling like an alien planet altogether.
With “On Video,” Bridgers captures the analog quality of the film seamlessly; the dynamic between the harsh dissonance of her heavy guitar and the lighter synthesized chords feels like the kind of garage grunge song that would fall out of the sky in 2006. This instrumental pairs beautifully with her signature heartfelt and tender lyrics, words about childlike innocence left in the past with things like making angels in the snow, and what it means to live a life through a screen.
This follows her previous single for I Saw the TV Glow in 2024, another film reflecting on the often lonely but tender childhoods of the 2000s, when it was all too easy to get lost in a pixelated world.
Dynamic Duo
Primetime is not the first collaboration between director Lance Oppenheim and Bridgers; he also directed the music video for the track “Lost Boys” off her latest album. The medieval iconography paired with mundane, everyday suburban locations like gas stations makes for gorgeous visual contradiction and is trademark for Oppenheim, who loves to bathe his films in an array of vibrant hues and high-contrast cinematography.
We’ll be sure to see more of this incredible partnership in both of their future projects, with both having said they’re looking forward to finding any opportunity to share a creative space again.
What’s Next?
Phoebe Bridgers is currently on “The Lost Tour” and is bringing her new album to Boston this week! Be sure to catch either of her shows on October 6 and 7th at TD Garden.
