The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness

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"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
Single by The National
from the album Sleep Well Beast
ReleasedMay 11, 2017
Genre
Length3:56
Label4AD
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Aaron Dessner
  • Bryce Dessner
  • Matt Berninger
  • Peter Katis
The National singles chronology
"I Need My Girl"
(2014) 		"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness"
(2017) 		"Guilty Party"
(2017)
Music video
"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" on
YouTube

"The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" is a song by American

Alternative Songs chart early the following month. The song is featured in soundtrack of the EA Sports video game FIFA 18.[2]

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 aggressive—and not just because of Aaron Dessner's gnarly guitar solo in the middle."[3]

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."[4]

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.[5]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6] 4
Czech Republic Modern Rock (IFPI)[7] 16
US
Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[8]
 1
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[9] 33

Year-end charts

Chart (2017) Position
Iceland (Plötutíðindi)[10] 45
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[11] 5

References

  1. ^ "The National unveil new single 'The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness' & announce 2017 UK tour". NME. 11 May 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  2. ^ Connick, Tom (14 September 2017). "The FIFA 18 soundtrack is here". NME. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  3. ^ "The National "The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "The 5 Best Songs of the Week: Sheer Mag, The National and More". Paste. May 12, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Obama's Favourite Songs of 2017". Spotify. December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  6. Ultratip
    . Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "CZ - Radio - Top 20 Modern Rock - The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  8. ^ "The National Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "The National Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "TÓNLISTINN - LÖG - 2017" (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Adult Alternative Songs – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
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