L.E.S. Artistes
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"L.E.S. Artistes" is the second single by American artist
Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...
(known then as ''Santogold''), and along with " Creator", the first to be taken from her self-titled debut '' Santogold'' (see
2008 in music This topic covers notable events and articles related to 2008 in music. This year was the peak of record sales in the United States, with sales declining year on year since then. Specific locations *2008 in British music * 2008 in Canadian m ...
).


Background

"L.E.S. Artistes" was written after Santi White moved to New York City. The song "is playing on the fact that everyone tries to make things fancy and it's really pretentious" and "about being accosted by the New York scene and the scenesters and hipsters, who are really not artists and are just pretending to be. They're all about just being seen." The title stands for New York's
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...
. "It's not a French thing," White stated in an interview with
PopJustice Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 by UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for ''NME'', ''The Guardian'', ''Attitude'' and many others. It is composed of the work of editor Robinson, features editor Michael Cra ...
. On
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's
FNMTV ''FNMTV'' (officially ''Feedback New MTV''; informally ''Friday Night MTV'') is a music video program on MTV focused on premiering new music videos and airing viewers' instantaneous feedback from its website."" F N was branded to stand for "Frida ...
, Santigold stated that the title literally meant Lower East Side Artists. A custom edit of the XXXChange Mix appears in "Grid", a
Mark Romanek Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...
directed computer animated commercial for
Ford Flex The Ford Flex is a full-size crossover SUV or wagon that was manufactured by the Ford Motor Company; a single generation was produced from the 2009 to 2019 model years. Introduced as the successor to the Ford Taurus X, the model line also funct ...
that began running nationally in June 2008.
Curtis Santiago Curtis Santiago (born 1979, Edmonton, Canada) is a visual artist and dance-rock musician. As a musician, he was previously signed to Finger Lickin' Records. Santiago’s paintings, installations and sculptures are exhibited internationally at mus ...
recently did a remix of this song featuring Kevvy Mental of the band
Fake Shark - Real Zombie! Fake Shark (formerly known as Fake Shark – Real Zombie!) is a Canadian electronic indie-pop band from Vancouver, British Columbia. Formed in 2005, their early musical style mainly combined elements of dance punk and IDM but have since shifted ...
for a mix tape produced by Mickey Fax. The song also appears in the video games
Band Hero ''Band Hero'' is a spinoff video game as part of the ''Guitar Hero series'' of music rhythm games, released by Activision on November 3, 2009, for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS consoles. The game is structu ...
and
EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
'
NHL 08 ''NHL 08'' is a video game released on September 11, 2007 in North America; the Xbox 360 version was supposed to be released on the same date as the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 versions, but was postponed for a day due to s ...
. It also appears in the 2009 comedy 17 Again and the season 3 episode of
The Mindy Project ''The Mindy Project'' is an American romantic comedy television series created by and starring Mindy Kaling that began airing on Fox in September 2012 and finished its run of six seasons on Hulu in November 2017. The series was co-produced by Uni ...
'Best Man'. This song was in the book ''1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die''.


Release and reception

The single's first commercial release was via the US
iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
on March 25, 2008, as a joint single with " Creator". It was released as the b-side to "Creator" through a limited edition 12" vinyl in January 2008, before receiving a full release on May 5. The XXXChange remix was also released. "L.E.S. Artistes" was featured as
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
' Discovery Download for the week of April 28. The song has received heavy radio play in the UK and was on Radio 1's B List,. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the video game ''
NHL 08 ''NHL 08'' is a video game released on September 11, 2007 in North America; the Xbox 360 version was supposed to be released on the same date as the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 versions, but was postponed for a day due to s ...
'', which was released in September 2007. The song was also featured on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
reality show, '' The Hills'' and has been used twice on 90210. The song appeared in and was featured on the soundtrack of the 2009 movie '' 17 Again''. The song is also used in the advertisement of Blackberry Pearl 3G models. ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' said that the track sounds like a "
Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...
/
Strokes A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...
mash-up" and that "the lyrics blast pretentious downtowners, but the taut guitars epitomize New York hipness.".
Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
noted that the song is "a slow-burning gem of palm-muted guitar chords." ''
The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' praised the "understated,
Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
-style guitars that drive" the song, calling them "almost hypnotic, especially with White's intoxicating mezzo-soprano yelping along." ''Rolling Stone'' placed ''L.E.S. Artistes'' at #2 on ''Singles of the Year'',''
McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...
'' listed as one of its "favorite songs of 2008", and ''
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
'' ranked it #4 at ''The 100 Best Tracks of 2008'' and at #151 on its "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s." ''Rolling Stone'' also ranked it as the #69 song of the 2000s. In October 2011, ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' placed it at number 121 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".


Music video

The music video, directed by
Nima Nourizadeh Nima Nourizadeh ( fa, نیما نوری‌زاده; born 12 November 1977) is a British-Iranian film, music video, and commercials director. Nourizadeh is the son of political activist Alireza Nourizadeh and his siblings are electronic music ...
and shot by director of photography Adam Frisch, is an
homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
to the film '' The Holy Mountain''. ''Rolling Stone'' placed the music video at number four on their bi-weekly Hot List. The video received attention after it was praised by
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
on his blog. The video starts with Santigold in a forest, singing on top of a black horse, while two similar looking women in sunglasses stand at her side and occasionally strike poses. The forest scene ends up with a light snow, following to a scene on a seemingly peaceful street/block. Santigold releases her black horse. People are simultaneously dying, but the gruesome things are replaced with various items: green hot dogs instead of intestines, paint instead of blood, being shot with paintballs rather than bullets. Santigold comes walking down the streets, without dying herself. The video ends with Santigold atop her black horse with her eyes closed.


Track listing

*U.S. digital download #Creator – 3:32 #L.E.S. Artistes – 3:43 *U.S. digital EP #L.E.S. Artistes – 3:24 #L.E.S. Artistes (XXXChange Remix) – 4:20 #L.E.S. Artistes (Switch Remix) – 5:15 #L.E.S. Artistes (Instrumental) – 3:45 *UK CD single (ATUK078CD) #L.E.S. Artistes – 3:24 #L.E.S. Artistes (Video) – 3:24 *UK 7" vinyl (ATUK078) #L.E.S. Artistes – 3:24 #Your Voice – 4:00 *UK digital EP #L.E.S. Artistes (Switch Remix) – 5:15 #L.E.S. Artistes (XXXChange Remix) – 4:20 #L.E.S. Artistes (Herve Edit) – 6:08


Official versions and remixes

* Original Version — 3:43 * Album Version/Radio Edit — 3:24 * Instrumental — 3:45 * Grahm Zilla Remix — 4:26 *
Hervé Hervé is a French language, French masculine given name of Breton language, Breton origin, from the name of the 6th-century Breton Saint Hervé. The common latinization of the name is Herveus (also ''Haerveus''), an early (8th-century) latinizati ...
Edit — 6:08 *
Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
Remix — 5:15 *
XXXChange Alex Brady Epton, known professionally as XXXChange (formerly known as XXXCBIOSCCC), is an American, New York-based record producer, mixer and film composer. In 2014, he joined XL Recordings in New York, and as their in-house producer/engineer wor ...
Remix — 4:20 * XXXChange Remix feat. Mavado — 3:50 (appears on ''
Top Ranking ''Top Ranking: A Diplo Dub'' is the first mixtape by American musician and singer Santigold (then going by ''Santogold'') and Philadelphia-based DJ Diplo, released on July 15, 2008. Background ''Top Ranking'' features remixes of songs from Santo ...
'')


Release history


Chart positions

"L.E.S. Artistes" entered the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number fifty-one on May 4, 2008. The single rose to number thirty-seven and then a week later climbed to its peak of twenty-seven. It entered ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
s
Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
at number forty in August 2008, and rose four places the following week.


Other versions

*British girl group
Girls Can't Catch Girls Can't Catch were a British girl group. Their debut single, " Keep Your Head Up", entered the UK Singles Chart at number 26. Their second single, "Echo", was released on 18 January 2010, debuting at number 19 on the chart. The band were dro ...
covered the song for their cancelled 2010 debut album. *
Lilly Wood and the Prick Lilly Wood and the Prick (also known simply as Lilly Wood and LILLYWOOD) is a French folk pop duo composed of Nili Hadida and Benjamin Cotto. Although the duo is French, Nili was born in Israel. They are best known for their single "Prayer in C ...
also covered the song on their EP ''Lilly Who and the What?''


References

{{authority control 2008 singles Santigold songs Songs written by Santigold Songs written by John Hill (record producer) Song recordings produced by John Hill (record producer) 2008 songs Atlantic Records singles