"Motion Sickness" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Lucille Bridgers (born August 17, 1994) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She has released two solo albums, ''Stranger in the Alps'' (2017) and ''Punisher'' (2020), both of which received critical acclaim ...

. It was released on July 18, 2017 by

Dead Oceans Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Dead Oceans is part of Secretly Group, which also ...

as the second single from her debut studio album, ''

Stranger in the Alps ''Stranger in the Alps'' is the debut studio album by American musician Phoebe Bridgers, released by Dead Oceans on September 22, 2017. Background and recording ''Stranger in the Alps'' was produced by Tony Berg and Ethan Gruska. Bridgers recorde ...

''. The song was written by Bridgers and Marshall Vore and produced by

Tony Berg Anthony Rains "Tony" Berg (born October 21, 1954) is an American musician, record producer, and A&R representative, in which role he has been described as an "industry guru". Berg's music career began in the late 1970s as a session guitarist who ...

and Ethan Gruska. "Motion Sickness" was written about Bridgers's ex-boyfriend

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left ...

, whom she later accused of emotional abuse, alongside several other women. In 2022, the song was certified gold in the United States (

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Background and composition

"Motion Sickness" is an

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...

and "

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

-tinged" song that has been compared to the work of

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

in its lyrical honesty. It is the most upbeat song on the album, with a "hopping pulse and singalong chorus." The song was described by Mish Barber-Way of ''The Fader'' as "the epitome of confession-meets-comedy, a big 'fuck you' delivered with a wink and a kiss." The song was written about Bridgers' ex-boyfriend

, who produced her debut EP ''Killer'' and released it on his record label

PAX AM Pax Americana Recording Company, also known as PAX-AM, is a record label founded by Ryan Adams. Established in 2004, the label released certain of Adams’ then-unpublished demo recordings. Following Adams' fulfillment of a recording contract ...

. The song gained renewed attention in 2019 when Bridgers joined a chorus of women accusing Adams of abuse. Of the song's relevance to the situation, ''Flood'' magazine writer Anya Jaremko-Greenworld said "when Bridgers sings sadly on the chorus, 'There are no words in the English language / I could scream to drown you out,' she's wrong. Adams was drowned out last week by the voices of women in the music industry, harmonizing in fury and in liberation."

Music video

"Motion Sickness" was accompanied by a Justin Mitchell-directed video that depicts Bridgers riding a scooter around her

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

neighborhood in a

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

, before ending up in a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

bar. At one point she rides on the

sidewalk A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick ...

past the intersection of Lucile Avenue and Hoover Street. Of the video Bridgers said, "I've had the idea for this video since before recording

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

Probably inspired by my brother Jackson singing "

Down With the Sickness "Down with the Sickness" is a song by American heavy metal band Disturbed. It was recorded in 1999 and released as the second single from the band's debut studio album, ''The Sickness''. "Down with the Sickness" is one of Disturbed's best-known ...

" to me in karaoke with 100% commitment in an orange jumpsuit."

Live performances

Phoebe Bridgers promoted the song through various live performances. On November 27, 2017 she performed the song in her

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Tiny Desk Concert Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of ''All Songs Considered'' host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. The first Tiny Desk Concert came about in 2008 after Boilen and NPR Music editor Stephen Thom ...

with Ethan Gruska and

Rob Moose Rob Moose (born 1982) is an American multi-instrumentalist, arranger, producer, conductor, and orchestrator. He primarily plays the violin, viola, and guitar. Early life and education Moose was born in 1982. He was raised in Windsor, Connect ...

. In the set she also performed ''Stranger in the Alps'' album tracks "Demi Moore" and "Killer" She performed the song on ''

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 ...

''s Basement Sessions on December 7, 2017. She then played the song on

KCRW KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...

on January 11, 2018 and on

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

on July 13, 2018.

Critical reception

Radio station

named "Motion Sickness" their "Song of the Day", calling it "a love-hate song that chooses honesty about heartbreak as opposed to vindictive bitterness towards a past lover." Tully Claymore of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' described the song as "an aching betrayal, a story of a friendship or relationship that collapsed under some unknowable pressure" In a review for the album, Ellen Peirson-Hagger of '' Under the Radar'' singled it out as a highlight, saying "Stand-out track 'Motion Sickness' hits at both the familiarity she spawns with her youthful lyrics, and her controlled and nuanced observational skill. She acknowledges her childishness, singing 'I hate you for what you did/and I miss you like a little kid,' while still rendering the ability to mock her overbearing sensitivity with 'I have emotional motion sickness/Somebody roll the windows down.'" The song was included on ''NME'' and

's lists of the best songs of 2017, placing 16th and 38th respectively.

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Phoebe Bridgers 2017 singles 2017 songs Phoebe Bridgers songs Songs written by Phoebe Bridgers Alternative country songs Dead Oceans singles Ryan Adams