Their self-titled album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005. In the Future was a finalist for the 2008 Polaris Music Prize and was also nominated for "Best Alternative Album" in the 2009 Juno Awards. The song "Stay Free" from In the Future was featured on the Spider-Man 3 soundtrack.
In 2005 the band opened for Coldplay on their Twisted Logic Tour for three weeks, with their final opening in San Diego.
In September 2010 Black Mountain performed in an amphitheater located in the woods of Oisterwijk at the Incubate (festival) in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Leader Stephen McBean also heads another similarly named band, Pink Mountaintops, who are the more experimental side of McBean's musical abilities. Black Mountain is the front line band for Black Mountain Army, a collective of musicians, artists and friends in Vancouver. In an interview the band said "Black Mountain is just the five of us. The Black Mountain Army… which has kind of gotten blown out of proportion, it was kind of just a joke, because everybody thought we were this hippie collective, like we all lived in one house. But it’s basically just our friends at home in Vancouver, just our extended family of creative people that we know."
Several members of the band have, for as long as a decade, worked for organizations that meet the basic living requirements of the chronically poor, drug addicted and mentally ill in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside neighborhood, such as Insite. In an interview, the band said: "After work we all try not to think too hard about the effect it has on our lives. It keeps us grounded."
Wilderness Heart was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.
March 11, 2014 The Black Mountain song "Wucan" was featured on season 2 of the FOX drama "The Following" during the eighth episode entitled "Messenger".
The Black Mountain song "Druganaut" is featured in a June, 2014 Father's Day commercial for J.C. Penney.
Faulty Times
Black Mountain Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In nineteen thirty-three.
Splitting out of my seams,
Can't you see what I've seen?
I'll be one one four,
By the third world war.
Faulty times.
Faulty times.
Let's smoke some kill,
And get outta this place.
Lived a life of crime,
Since about grade nine.
So whose side you on?
Whose side you on?
But ain't it a loss,
A dental floss?
Faulty times.
Faulty times.
Let's smoke some kill,
And get outta this place.
'Cause nobody likes your,
Fucked up plans,
Of shooting up some foreign land,
That's spread it's weight,
In spite of all your laws.
That's spread it's weight,
In spite of all your laws.
I was seventeen,
In nineteen thirty-three.
Splitting out of my seams,
Can't you see what I've seen?
I'll be one one four,
By the third world war.
Faulty times.
Faulty times.
Let's smoke some kill,
And get outta this place.
'Cause nobody likes your,
Fucked up plans,
Of shooting up some foreign land,
That's spread it's weight,
In spite of all your laws.
That's spread it's weight,
In spite of all your laws.
The lyrics of Black Mountain's "Faulty Times" are a reflection of the social and political turmoil of the early 20th century. The first verse captures the feeling of living in a world that's falling apart with the 'splitting out of my seams' referring to the singer's own sense of being overwhelmed by the chaos around them. The line 'Can't you see what I've seen?' suggests that others are not seeing the same things, either by choice or ignorance. The reference to being 'one one four' by the third world war speaks to the inevitability of global conflict and how young people are caught up in it, often without understanding the reasons behind it.
The second verse takes a more personal turn, with the singer reflecting on a life of crime since adolescence. The question of whose side they are on is not clear, and the line 'But ain't it a loss, a dental floss?' suggests a sense of cynicism or even apathy toward the consequences of their actions. The chorus- 'Let's smoke some kill and get outta this place' - is a call to escape the world's problems, either through intoxication or physical leaving.
The last verse shifts the focus to the political, with nobody liking 'your fucked up plans of shooting up some foreign land'. The repetition of 'spread its weight, in spite of all your laws' suggests that the 'foreign land' is a force that cannot be contained or controlled by conventional means. The song ends as it began, with a reflection on inevitability, the singer still 17 and still stuck in faultiness.
Line by Line Meaning
I was seventeen,
At the age of 17, I was just a teenager.
In nineteen thirty-three.
It was the year 1933 when I was 17.
Splitting out of my seams,
I was overwhelmed with emotions and feeling like I could burst.
Can't you see what I've seen?
I have experiences and memories that have shaped who I am today.
I'll be one one four,
I will be 114 years old in the future.
By the third world war.
I fear that there will be another world war in the future.
Faulty times.
These are difficult and troubled times we are living in.
Let's smoke some kill,
Let's smoke some marijuana to escape our problems and the world.
And get outta this place.
Let's escape the current reality we are living in.
Lived a life of crime,
My past involved criminal activities.
Since about grade nine.
I have been committing crime since I was in the ninth grade.
So whose side you on?
Which side are you supporting or fighting for?
But ain't it a loss,
Isn't it a shame or disappointment?
A dental floss?
Is this conflict or situation even worth fighting over?
Cause nobody likes your,
Because nobody is in favor of your
Fucked up plans,
Terrible and flawed plans.
Of shooting up some foreign land,
Of attacking and bombing another country.
That's spread it's weight,
That has expanded its influence or power.
In spite of all your laws.
Despite your attempts to contain it with laws and regulations.
That's spread it's weight,
That has expanded its influence or power.
In spite of all your laws.
Despite your attempts to contain it with laws and regulations.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Amber Erica Webber, Jeremy Victor Schmidt, Joshua Mark Wells, Matthew Camirand, Stephen Gordon McBean
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind