Music / Miss Anthropocene

"I, poet of destruction, hereby declare that Global Warming is good. So, you humans have carved your existence into the earth, lest you be forgotten. Why lament? Be who you are, embrace your demise, for you are the architect of it. How smart you are, to eradicate a species as resilient as your own. Why deny your power? It’s the greatest show in the universe. Celebrate with me, the most momentous of deaths. Now is the time to burn twice as bright and half as long. Sincerely, Miss Anthropocene."

— Miss Anthropocene's letter to humanity.

This is the sound of the end of the world.

Miss Anthropocene (released February 21st, 2020) is the fifth studio album by Canadian producer, songwriter, and singer Grimes. Combining the words "misanthrope" (someone who hates people) and "anthropocene" (the proposed name of the epoch of man-made climate change), it is a loose Concept Album about the anthropomorphic goddess of climate change, each track corresponds to a different aspect of human extinction or a "demon" that plagues modern society. Recorded from 2017-2019, she wanted to make climate change "more fun" instead of just "abstract doom" by anthropomorphizing it into a character. Additionally, she wanted to explore "artistic villainy" since she felt she had been villainized by media publications who spread falsehoods about her, citing characters such as Thanos and the Joker as inspirations for embracing a "villainous" role. The album was preceded by the singles "Violence" with producer i_o, "So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth," "My Name Is Dark," "4AM," and "Delete Forever."

The album was met with a generally positive reception from critics, though some criticized its concept for being too murky. A Remix Album, Miss Anthropocene Rave Edition was released in 2021.

Preceded by Art Angels in 2015. Soon to be succeeded by Book 1.

Tracklist

1. "So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth," the Demon of Gender
2. "Darkseid" (with 潘PAN), the Demon of Sexual Assault
3. "Delete Forever," the Demon of Addiction
4. "Violence" (with i_o), the Goddess of Gaming
5. "4AM," the Goddess of Simulations
6. "New Gods," the album's "thesis"
7. "My Name Is Dark," the Demon of Apathy
8. "You'll miss me when I'm not around," the Demon of Suicide
9. "Before the Fever," the Goddess of Ego Death
10. "IDORU," the Goddess of Digital Lust
11. "We Appreciate Power" (with HANA), the Goddess of Artificial Intelligence^note Deluxe Edition bonus track

---

That's What The Tropes Are For:

• Addiction Song: "Delete Forever."
• Alternate Album Cover: Multiple. There's the vinyl cover, which Grimes describes as the program the Gods use to design the simulation. The deluxe version of this one shows Miss A using it on a stone computer. The streaming versions are paintings by artist Rupid Leejm (commissioned by Grimes), white Razor Wings for the standard, teal-gray regular wings for the deluxe. Originally the vinyl covers were on streaming, but Grimes felt that the effect was lost due to the covers being so small on streaming platforms, making the text on it hard to read.
• Ambiguously Bi: "Before the Fever."
• And I Must Scream: According to the Chaos Manual, as punishment for attempting to destroy the world, Miss Anthropocene was imprisoned in the astral plane.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: The basis of the album, which personifies climate change as a world destroyer goddess who relishes in the end of humanity.
• Bittersweet Ending: The album's outlook is pretty bleak, but it ends with "IDORU," a song about loving someone even if it's going to end badly.
  I wanna play a beautiful game, even though we're gonna lose
  I adore you
• Careful with That Axe: "My Name Is Dark" and "We Appreciate Power" feature wordless screaming from Grimes.
• Cherry Blossoms: The "IDORU" video has this as an overlay effect.
• Civilization Destroyer: Miss Anthropocene herself, depicted as literally skewering Earth with a sword.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to the bubbliness of Art Angels, absolutely.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The original cover of the album is a detailed illustration of the concept of the simulation creator used by the new gods, based on the interfaces of Photoshop and Ableton Live.
• Dissonant Serenity: The "Delete Forever" video shows Grimes sitting on a throne as the planet around her is destroyed.
• The Dragonslayer: The visualizer for "So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth." According to Grimes it was Based on a Dream she had that she was fighting a Balrog while falling from the sky.
• The End of the World as We Know It: "Before the Fever" seems to describe hooking with up a stranger just before the world is about to end.
• Epic Rocking: "IDORU" is seven minutes and Grimes' longest song to date. "So Heavy," "My Name Is Dark," and "IDORU" all have shortened "Algorithm Mixes" due to the vinyl's spacial restrictions.
• Gaia's Lament: The album describes a Class 6 event.
• Genre Roulette: The album crosses Dark Wave, Industrial, Nu Metal, Alternative Dance, Hip-Hop, and Techno. "Delete Forever" stands out especially an electro-country song complete with banjo and fiddle-playing.
• Giant Woman: Miss Anthropocene, who is many times larger than the Earth itself.
• Grief Song: "Delete Forever" is about the many friends Grimes lost to opiate addiction. The verses to "Darkseid" are about a friend of Pan's who committed suicide after being sexually assaulted.
  What does it mean to be a survivor?
  Your death becomes apart of the eternal pain of my body
• Misanthrope Supreme: In the album title, as well as the lyrics in "My Name Is Dark."
• Multilingual Song: "Darkseid" has verses in Mandarin and a refrain in English.
• New Sound Album: Much Darker and Edgier than previous releases, bringing in elements of Industrial and Nu Metal.
• Precision F-Strike: "My Name Is Dark."
  Unfuck the world, unfuck the world, you stupid girl, you stupid girl
• Pregnant Badass: Several of the music videos show her wielding swords and being generally badass while very pregnant.
• Punny Title: "Misanthrope" + "anthropocene" = Miss Anthropocene.
• Shout-Out:
  • "New Gods" is named after the series by Jack Kirby.
  • "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" by The Smashing Pumpkins is referenced on "My Name Is Dark."
  • Grimes reads The Art Of War in the "Violence" video, though it ended up having to be censored.
• Sophisticated as Hell: "Imminent annihilation sounds so dope."
• Stock Sound Effect: The bird sounds on "IDORU."
• Suicide by Sea: On "You'll miss me when I'm not around."
  I'll tie my feet to rocks and drown
• Winged Humanoid: Miss A. In some paintings she has regular bat-like wings, in others she has Razor Wings, sometimes she has both.