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The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness
| cover = TheSystemOnlyDreamsinTotalDarkness.png
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = The National
| album = Sleep Well Beast
| released = May 11, 2017
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
| label = 4AD
| writer =
| producer =
| prev_title = I Need My Girl
| prev_year = 2014
| next_title = Guilty Party
| next_year = 2017
| misc =
}}
"'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness'" is a song by American indie rock band The National. It was released as the lead single for their seventh studio album, 'Sleep Well Beast', at 12:01am Eastern Time on 11 May 2017. The song was written by Aaron Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Bryce Dessner and produced by Aaron Dessner (with co-production by Bryce Dessner, Matt Berninger, and Peter Katis). A music video for the song was released on the same day and was directed by Casey Reas. It was the band's first song to appear on any airplay chart in the United States, ultimately topping 'Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart in August 2017 and peaking at No. 33 on 'Billboard's Alternative Songs chart early the following month. The song is featured in soundtrack of the EA Sports video game 'FIFA 18'.
Critical reception
On the day of its release 'Pitchfork' named it Best New Track, noting that "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" is "heavy and urgent and surprisingly aggressiveand not just because of Aaron Dessner's gnarly guitar solo in the middle."
Also 'Paste' magazine named it one of the five best songs of the week, placing it at position 4 and wrote: "Floating in with poignant piano chords and twitchy guitar, 'The System' features multiple instrumental layers, with trumpet fluttering over propulsive percussion and Matt Berninger's thundering baritone. It's a fine return to form."
The song was also cited as one of Barack Obama's favorite songs of 2017 in a Spotify playlist compiled by Obama at the end of the year.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
Category:The National (band) songs
Category:2017 singles
Category:2017 songs
Category:4AD singles
Category:Rock ballads
Category:Songs written by Matt Berninger
Category:Songs written by Aaron Dessner
Category:Songs written by Bryce Dessner
Category:Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner
Category:Song recordings produced by Bryce Dessner
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