"Night Reconnaissance" is a song by American dark cabaret

Dark Cabaret

Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...

 duo The Dresden Dolls

The Dresden Dolls

The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione...

. It was released as the only single from their album No, Virginia...

No, Virginia...

No, Virginia... is the second compilation album by American dark cabaret band The Dresden Dolls. It was released in Europe on May 19, 2008 and North America on May 20, 2008. A special edition was released in the U.S. via the iTunes Store and Amazon.com's MP3 service on June 10, 2008...

.

Theme

The song centers around a girl who lived in a rich suburban neighborhood as a child, and was a victim of bullying. The song implies that she has become an aspiring script writer, basing her films' characters on the personas and prejudgments assumed to her by the bullies, which she hopes will be directed by Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

. She attempts to get back at all the people who had done her harm by stealing garden gnome

Garden gnome

A garden gnome or lawn gnome is a figurine of a small humanoid creature, usually wearing a pointy hat, produced for the purpose of ornamentation and protection from evil sorcery, typically of gardens or on lawns....

s and other various lawn ornaments from the homes in her old town. Soon however, she develops a strong emotional attachment to the stolen ornaments.

Video

The video mostly follows the storyline summarized above. It was directed by Michael Pope

Michael Pope

Michael S. Pope, is an award-winning underground filmmaker and multi-media artist best known as auteur of the feature Film/Event: Neovoxer....

 and filmed mostly on Amanda Palmer's parents' front lawn.

Personnel

• Amanda Palmer
  Amanda Palmer
  Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
  
   – piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
  , organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  , vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , lyricist
  Lyricist
  A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
  
  
• Brian Viglione
  Brian Viglione
  Brian Viglione is the drummer for The Dresden Dolls. Additionally, he was a prominent member of New York City's cabaret punk orchestra, The WORLD/INFERNO Friendship Society...
  
   – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , backing vocals
  Backing vocalist
  A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...