One night, armed with a borrowed 8-track and locked inside their warehouse with friend Cam Loeppky, they proceeded to record a demo tape of original songs. Their friends (Sinisa and Darcy) loved it, but no one else cared.
One fall night in 1995, they played a festival in Winnipeg. A certain Mr. Peter Jenner, the infamous manager of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd, The Clash, and recently Billy Bragg, was in attendance. "These lads are pretty good," he was heard saying.
Then things started to happen. A local show with the wonderful Smugglers that summer eventually led to our joining the Mint Records family in March of 1996.
Their first album Smash the Ships and Raise the Beams (recorded by Darryl Neudorf in Vancouver) was released in September, 1996, and eventually climbed to #2 on the Canadian College charts. They toured Canada numerous times, and down through the States in early 1997. They even made it to Europe with Huevos Rancheros in early 1998.
A second album The Cons and the Pros (recorded by Brendann McGuire in Toronto) was released in May of 1998, and climbed to #1 on the Canadian College charts. That summer they toured Canada with The Weakerthans and Plumtree. Angus Kirkpatrick joined them on second bass for their next tour in the fall of 1998, during which they played with the Archers of Loaf in Toronto and Montreal. In the spring of 1999, they (including Angus) returned to Europe with The Hi-Fives for a fun-filled, six-week tour.
The Message
Duotang Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We haven't made contact in thousands of years
Surprised you forgot us so soon
And now you've got your own stance
You fly in our space without asking our guidance
We want you to know there ain't room
For two
[Ba ba ba]
We can no longer afford to [Ba ba ba]
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba]
You're such an arrogant crowd
To think you're the only species that counts
We want you to know how it feels
To know your rights have gone wrong
And ... yourself it's taking too long
Well have a step in a reveal
We're real
[Ba ba ba]
We have always ignored you [Ba ba ba]
We can no longer afford to [Ba ba ba]
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba]
Satellites always get in our way
We simmer our sets and get crap from LA
Told you before in an underhand way
Orbital ... will go the wrong way
Ancient crafts just fly in our space
And 90 percent are left to this waste
90 percent are left to this waste
[Ba ba ba]
We have always ignored you [Ba ba ba]
We can no longer afford to [Ba ba ba]
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba]
We have tried to ignore you [Oooh]
We can no longer afford to
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba ba ba]
[Ba ba ba]
[Ba ba ba]
[Ba ba ba]
The lyrics of Duotang's "The Message" talk about an extraterrestrial species that's unhappy with humans using their space without permission. The message is clear here that humans have been flying in the extraterrestrial species' space without seeking their guidance, and the extraterrestrial species cannot afford to ignore humans anymore. The lyrics also highlight the arrogance of humanity, thinking that they are the only species that counts.
The extraterrestrial species threatens to destroy humanity because of their arrogance and ignorance. They remind humanity of their rights, which have gone wrong, and they want humans to know how it feels to be in their place. They also mention satellites always getting in their way and their craft flying in their space, which amounts to waste. Therefore, they have decided to reveal themselves as real and no longer ignore humans.
Line by Line Meaning
I hope our message is clear
We have a message for you and we hope you understand it clearly.
We haven't made contact in thousands of years
It's been a very long time since we last made contact with you.
Surprised you forgot us so soon
We're surprised that you seem to have forgotten about us so quickly.
And now you've got your own stance
You seem to have developed your own way of doing things now.
You fly in our space without asking our guidance
You're entering our space without seeking our permission or guidance.
We want you to know there ain't room
We want you to understand that there's not enough space for both of us.
For two
For both of us to coexist peacefully.
We have always ignored you [Ba ba ba]
We've been aware of your existence but have chosen to ignore you in the past.
We can no longer afford to [Ba ba ba]
We can't continue to ignore you anymore.
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba]
If we can't peacefully coexist, we'll have to destroy you as a last resort.
You're such an arrogant crowd
You seem to be a very arrogant and self-centered group of beings.
To think you're the only species that counts
You seem to believe that your species is the only one that's important.
We want you to know how it feels
We want you to experience what it's like to be ignored and disrespected.
To know your rights have gone wrong
We want you to realize that your actions have violated our rights and boundaries.
And ... yourself it's taking too long
We've been patient for a long time but it's taking too long for you to acknowledge and respect our presence.
Well have a step in a reveal
We will take action and reveal ourselves to you.
We're real
We're not just some imaginary myth or legend, we're real beings.
Satellites always get in our way
Your satellites are interfering with our existence and activities.
We simmer our sets and get crap from LA
Our signals and communications are being disrupted or ignored by your cities, especially Los Angeles.
Told you before in an underhand way
We've made indirect attempts to communicate this to you before.
Orbital ... will go the wrong way
Your satellites and other orbiting technology will eventually cause problems or move in the wrong direction.
Ancient crafts just fly in our space
There are ancient spacecrafts and other objects in our space that we must deal with.
And 90 percent are left to this waste
Most of these objects are no longer functional or useful, and are just debris cluttering up our space.
We have tried to ignore you [Oooh]
We've made an effort to ignore your existence and actions, but it's no longer possible.
We can no longer afford to
It's become too important for us to address, for our own survival and well-being.
So we'll just have to destroy you [Ba ba ba ba ba]
If we can't find a way to peacefully coexist, we'll have no choice but to take action to protect ourselves, even if it means destroying you.
[Ba ba ba]
A repeated musical phrase that reinforces the message and mood of the song.
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PAUL DAVID HUMPHREYS, ANDREW MC CLUSKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind