Grammy Award-winning country star Sturgill Simpson (@wherethefuckissturgillsimpson) takes viewers behind the scenes of the official music video for “Turtles All The Way Down,” celebrating the 10th Anniversary of “Metamodern Sounds In Country Music,” in the latest installment of Vevo Footnotes.
Sturgill Simpson – “Turtles All The Way Down” Vevo Footnotes
In the episode, Sturgill describes how he wrote “Turtles” in a motel shower. He recalls hitting his head on the toilet after getting out of the shower, and elf angels telling him he had to deliver the song’s message. He says that after singing the first verse of the song to his band, they looked at him as if he had asked them to join a cult.
Sturgill says he wanted the song to sound like a combination of late ‘60s Gene Clark/Godson Brothers and The Beatles. Furthermore, he reveals that while he’s always described the song publicly as being about drugs, it was actually inspired by his reading of books such as “DMT: The Spirit Molecule” by Rick Strassman and “The Omega Point Theory” by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.
Additionally, Sturgill discusses the Electric Sheep screensaver in the music video, pointing out that it had nothing to do with the song. Director Graham Uhelski adds that an edited-out shot where they lit a cymbal on fire with moonshine lying around the shoot looked forced, so they decided to remove it. Finally, Sturgill revealed that shooting music videos has always been “extremely awkward and unnatural,” and that during filming the entire band was “high as giraffe balls.” Sturgill jokes that if he had to reshoot today, he’d “wear a mask and change his name.”
FULL FOOTNOTES BELOW:
00:03 – Sturgill Simpson’s ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music‘ is celebrating its 10th Anniversary
00:22 – I wrote “Turtles” in the shower in a motel. I jumped out to write it all down and slipped and hit my head on the toilet. Everything went dark and the elf angels came to me and said I had to deliver this message for them. I sang the first verse to the guys in the van, and they all looked at me like I just asked them to join a cult. – Sturgill Simpson
00:44 – I wanted it to sound like a combination of late 60’s Gene Clark/Godsin Brothers and The Beatles. – Sturgill Simpson
01:03 – To appease lazy music journalists, I’ve always said this song was about drugs. It actually came from recreational reading. ‘DMT: The Spirit Molecule’ by Rick Strassman and the Omega Point theory by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. – Sturgill Simpson
01:23 – The video has nothing to do with the song, which really doesn’t matter since nobody really ever knew what the song was about. It’s just four guys pretending to play, with Electric Sheep screensaver graphics overlaid on the performance. – Sturgill Simpson
01:43 – We used an Electric Sheep visualizer, which is essentially data translated into complex fractal patterns. They looked stunning. I figured an LED video wall would be an immersive way to shoot these trippy visuals. It allowed the colors to bleed in on the entire band. – Graham Uhelski (Director)
02:04 – There was a shot where we lit a cymbal on fire with some moonshine we had lying around. It looked cool but felt forced and out of place in the final edit. – Graham Uhelski (Director)
02:24 – By now most fans have probably noticed that during the video, when the names of the drugs are listed, I subtly edited their molecular structure inside of the psychedelic imagery. – Graham Uhelski (Director)
02:43 – [Shooting a video is] extremely awkward and unnatural for me. We were all high as giraffe balls while filming this. If I were to reshoot this video today I would wear a mask and change my name. – Sturgill Simpson
About VEVO:
Vevo is the world’s leading music video network, connecting an ever-growing global audience to high-quality music video content for more than a decade. Founded by Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment in 2009, Vevo offers fans worldwide a vast array of premium content to choose from, showcasing official music videos alongside a constantly developing lineup of live performances and innovative original programming. From top superstars to rising new talents, Vevo brings incomparable cross-promotional support to artists across the musical spectrum, at every stage of their careers.
Sturgill Simpson – “Metamodern Sounds in Country Music” album
We recommend adding Sturgill Simpson’s “Turtles All The Way Down” single to your favorite contemporary Country playlist. Let us know how you feel in the comment section below. Mel Blanc’s famous catchphrase, That’s All Folks! Thanks for reading another great article on Bong Mines Entertainment – the hot spot for new music and positive entertainment news. Always remember that (P) Positive, (E) Energy, (A) Always, (C) Creates, (E) Elevation (P.E.A.C.E). Contact us on social media via Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, and let us know what’s going on. Also, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter, support our merchandise, and become a Patron of Bong Mines Entertainment. Disclaimer: This post contains Apple Music affiliate links. We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through links on our site. That little compensation will be used towards keeping this website up and running.