The band released their second studio album on February 24, 2009 entitled Masterpiece Theatre.
It takes some real cojones to include the word 'Masterpiece' in your album title, but Josh Ramsay isn't too worried. "I suppose I could be digging myself into a hole calling the record Masterpiece Theatre," he chuckles, "but it's tongue-in-cheek. And I'm not the kind of person that people would assume as being an egomaniac. I hope not, anyway."
Given his feverish imagination and comprehensive musical gifts, Ramsay could probably get away with a little egomania. And with the release of Masterpiece Theatre, the frontman of Vancouver's Marianas Trench makes a iron-clad case for a prodigious set of talents - both his own and those of his bandmates, guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley, and drummer Ian Casselman.
Marianas Trench had already elevated itself above the rest of the pack with a 2006 debut, Fix Me, that showcased a knack for colouring outside the lines of factory-issue millenial punk, shrewdly-built pop, and super-adrenalized modern rock. The single and in particular the video "Shake Tramp" was enough to demonstrate these qualities, coupled with Ramsay's uninhibited urge to be the complete song-and-dance man.
But with both the industry and the fans beating down the door for a quick second album, the Trench decided to put on the brakes. "All of a sudden you have six months to do your next record," Ramsay sighs. "So I really had to just put my foot down and say, 'No, I need the time to do this.' I was not interested in putting something out for the sake of putting something out."
Two years later, Marianas Trench has re-emerged with Masterpiece Theatre. And not surprisingly, it's a work of soaring ambition and decisive technical prowess – that easily might not have happened. "It's one thing when you're Chad Kroeger and you just finished writing 'How You Remind Me'," Ramsay states. "I didn't have some mega-platinum song to back up my argument with, so I was lucky that the band and the label trusted me enough to do it."
By "it", Ramsay means he was allowed to indulge a high-concept fantasy for the band's sophomore album, which is built, for starters, around a song called "Masterpiece Theatre". Adopting Brian Wilson's notion of the 'pocket symphony' and then running with it, the three distinct versions of “Masterpiece Theatre” dotted across the record feature an almost perfect balance between the vocal theatrics of Queen and the more hymnal qualities of the Beach Boys.
By the time “Masterpiece Theatre” is reprised for a final, climactic time, every other song on the album is quoted and incorporated into an intricately constructed dramatic revue that swings from pristine pop, to propulsive riff rock, to quasi-doo wop, to robotic new wave, and finally into a wholly satisfying thematic payoff.
"You know in the climax of a musical, there's always that medley at the end, and I thought that would be cool on a rock record," explains Ramsay, "but it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I wrote it in the studio as we recorded it, and it took about three weeks."
After a beat, he adds, "But really it took me two years because it draws from all the songs on the whole album."
Bassist Mike Ayley readily admits, "I don't think any of the three ‘Masterpiece Theatre’ songs could have gone on Fix Me had they been written at the time. ‘Masterpiece’ 2 and 3 in particular are amazing songs that really explore the potential of Josh's writing. You really have to hear them to get it. It's like trying to explain ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to somebody who has only heard Kanye West and Katy Perry."
Ramsay agrees. "I really wanted to have a 'Good Vibrations'/'Bohemian Rhapsody’ style song on the first record,” he says, “but I don't think I was a mature enough writer to have written it yet, and I still feel like I was in over-my-head when we did this one, and I just barely made it."
Ramsay is unnecessarily modest; the whole of Masterpiece Theatre demonstrates a startling compositional maturity compared to the Marianas Trench of two years ago.
"Beside You" is a panoramic exercise in big emotions, with a dash of the Dream Academy's "Life In a Northern Town”. "Acadia" begins with a clipped, bright acoustic guitar, and blossoms into something like the Who reconsidered by U2, reimagined for the net generation. In the crunchy "All to Myself", the power ballad "Lover Dearest", and the strident "Good to You" (in which he duets with Kate Voegele), Ramsay pulls out the kind of honeyed vocals more attuned to modern RnB than white, adolescent rock.
"I always had that aspect in my voice but the first record just didn't have songs that were conducive to me singing that way," he states. "I think it's from growing up listening to a lot of Michael Jackson. With these songs, it made sense to stretch out a little more."
On "Cross My Heart" and "Celebrity Status", the band conjures up a kind of perfect pop crossover. Producer Dave 'Rave' Ogilvie was responsible for the latter track, which cops a move he used on Marilyn Manson's "Beautiful People" with three drummers (Casselman, Ramsay and Shane Wilson) playing at once - much to Ramsay's delight. "He's just worked with so many great artists which makes his well of tricks and ideas so vast," he says.
True to Ramsay's quest for "more diversity on this album" - not to mention the indulgence of his record label - Rave was just one of four prominent guest producers eventually roped into Masterpiece Theatre. Their collective resume includes Nine Inch Nails, Sum 41, Iggy Pop, Avril Lavigne, and Hedley among others.
"I feel really fortunate to have worked with all those guys," Ramsay says, "coz they all bring really unique things. Dave Genn and I have a really good working relationship with each other, and he has such a unique style with arrangement and stuff. Greig Nori was a really pleasant surprise. As far as I can tell, he wanted to work with us because he liked our video. The whole time he was just trying to get me to dance around like an idiot. And Raine Maida, man? Raine's a trip!"
Bassist Ayley also credits Maida for encouraging the band to “find a personality-identity that wasn't as evident when we started the production process," while also praising Ramsay for his production efforts. Ramsay took charge of four songs on the finished record. “Josh is really about capturing the emotion and power which isn't surprising considering all the feeling in the writing,” he says.
Oddly enough, Ramsay also wanted Disney's in-house genius Alan (Little Mermaid) Mencken to twiddle the knobs for the climactic version of "Masterpiece Theatre", but admits, "it's a pretty tall order to get an Academy Award winner to come and work on your record."
Still, the album is certainly not diminished by the few things Ramsay didn't get. And once the world gets a load of this Masterpiece, Mencken, Pharrell Williams, Phil Spector... you name it. They'll probably be lining up.
Primetime
Marianas Trench Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I smile like Ritalin - the razor and me
This is the falling you are the underground
This is the deep end you are the drowning
One more hit and you'll get better
Tin foil, cigarettes - you'll be okay
This is not an after school special;
This is the final you are the failing
This is the retro you are the out of style
This is the grinding you are the decay
This is the funeral you are the casket
Chorus
This is the once was you are the has been
You keep saying - I'm in over my head
Chorus
One more hit and you'll get better, tinfoil, cigarettes, its not okay
The lyrics of "Primetime" by Marianas Trench depict a toxic and destructive relationship between two people. The singer seems to be addressing their partner, accusing them of being the source of their problems. The line "this is the dying, you are the disease" suggests that the singer is struggling with addiction and their partner is enabling or contributing to it. The comparisons to Ritalin, razors, and heroin allude to the dangerous and damaging nature of their substance abuse.
Despite the negative implications of their relationship, the singer seems to be unable to resist their partner's influence, as they suggest that "one more hit and you'll get better." The chorus emphasizes the theme of decline and decay, with references to failing, out of style, and funerals. The repetition of the line "one more hit and you'll get better" adds to the sense of desperation and hopelessness in the situation.
Overall, "Primetime" is a dark and unsettling portrayal of a relationship that is destroying both people involved. The lyrics suggest that the addiction is all-consuming, with references to death and decay permeating the song.
* "Primetime" was released as a single in 2015 and is featured on Marianas Trench's fourth studio album "Astoria"
* The song was written by lead vocalist Josh Ramsay
* The music video for "Primetime" features intense and explicit imagery, including drug use and violence
* The chorus of the song was inspired by a comment made by musician Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, who said "One more hit and you'll get better" during a discussion about addiction
* The song was produced by Canadian producer Ryan Stewart
* "Astoria" was inspired by 1980s culture and pays homage to movies like The Goonies and Stand By Me
* The album was named after the city in Oregon where Josh Ramsay spent time as a child
* Marianas Trench is a Canadian pop rock band that formed in 2001
* The band has won several awards, including four Juno Awards and two Canadian Radio Music Awards
* "Primetime" features instrumental elements like synthesizers and electric guitars to enhance the dark and moody tone of the song
Chords (as played on acoustic guitar):
Verse: Em G C G
Chorus: Em D/F# G Am C D
Line by Line Meaning
This is the dying you are the disease
I am slowly dying while you are the disease that is killing me
And I smile like Ritalin - the razor and me
I am masking my pain with a smile, similar to how Ritalin masks the symptoms of ADHD, and I am contemplating self-harm with a razor blade
This is the falling you are the underground
I am in a state of decline and you are the darkness that I am sinking into
This is the deep end you are the drowning
I am in a difficult and dangerous situation and you are the cause of my struggles and potential demise
One more hit and you'll get better
You believe that taking one more dose of heroin will make you feel better
Tin foil, cigarettes - you'll be okay
You are seeking solace in trivial things like tin foil and cigarettes to numb your pain and convince yourself that you will be alright
This is not an after school special;
This is not a fictional story with a happy ending, this is a harsh reality
This is primetime, reload, and heroin
This is a high-stakes situation and the only way to cope is to constantly reload on heroin
This is the final you are the failing
This is the end and you are the reason for my demise
This is the retro you are the out of style
I am stuck in the past and you are no longer relevant
This is the grinding you are the decay
I am deteriorating and you are the cause of my decline
This is the funeral you are the casket
This is the end and you are the final resting place where I will lie
This is the once was you are the has been
I used to be something great and you are the reason for my fall from grace
You keep saying - I'm in over my head
You acknowledge that you are in too deep and don't know how to escape
One more hit and you'll get better, tinfoil, cigarettes, its not okay
Regardless of how many times you repeat the cycle of drugs and numbing yourself with trivial things, it will never truly make things better and you need to face the reality of your situation.
Contributed by Adam N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.