My second collaboration with director Kyle Garrett was for this single from The Present. “Perfect” is inspired by a saying attributed to Voltaire: “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.“ That kind of declaration is particularly meaningful to people—like me—who just can’t let that email, or essay, or soufflé, or artwork out into the world until it’s flawless. When it came time to do a video, setting the action at a talent show featuring a talentless but tenacious contestant and three unforgiving judges felt like a fun way to relate that story. I happened to be in Los Angeles—a commuter flight away from Kyle's hometown of Oakland—in March 2024, and Kyle and I (with a fantastic cast and crew) ended up spending a very intense day in a beautiful old theater he found in San Rafael shooting what we both felt was an homage to the more story-driven music videos of the ’80s and ’90s. I've never had so much fun humiliating myself.