There's not a lot of metaphor in St. Vincent's (aka Annie Clark) video for 'Actor Out of Work,' off the singer-songwriter's forthcoming new album, 'Actor.' Directed by Ian Kibbey and Corey Creasey -- together known as Terri Timely -- Clark holds auditions for actors in a Los Angeles warehouse wherein they're promoted to cry on cue.

"At first I was a little reticent to interpret the video in such a literal manner -- ie, with actors, casting calls, etc.," Clark tells Spinner. "However, I fell in love with Ian and Corey's treatment instantly. There is something so darkly comic and eerily unnerving about the act of crying on cue. It feels like such a lie -- a betrayal in a sense -- to see someone burst into hysterics in one moment, and then, as if it had never happened, stand up, smile and go back to checking their text messages. Sometimes I had to restrain myself from laughing out of discomfort, and sometimes I had to restrain myself from crying -- it's as contagious as yawning."

As for Clark's favorite music video, look no further than robots and Griswalds. "George Harrison's 'Got My Mind Set on You' and Paul Simon's 'Call Me Al' really stick out as winners," she says. "The animatronic woodland creatures in the former probably reminded me of the singing robots at Chuckie Cheese, while the Chevy Chase cameo in the latter reminded me of the worn out 'National Lampoon's Vacation' VHS in the family VCR."