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.
Stutter
Marianas Trench Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I never make this easy
It's easier to disappear
You said give me something
A thing that I can go on
Together, yeah anywhere but here
Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh
Hey
Oh-oh, oh whoa ooh whoa ooh
And I'm begging you bring me back to life
I just can't stand leaving you alone tonight
It's too late to go
Already taken me forever just to try, you know
One for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, and four to go
For the life of me
I don't know why it took me so long to see (I just)
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
Sunshine
Blinds you if you stare but
Now I see, yeah
(Crystal) crystal clear
So here I am
You can take or leave me
But I won't ever be anywhere but here
Sing it back
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
I'll sing it back to me yeah
Oh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh
And I'm begging you bring me back to life
I just can't stand leaving you alone tonight
It's too late to go
Already taken me forever just to try, you know
One for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, and four to go
For the life of me
I don't know why it took me so long to see (I just)
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
Oh, na na na
Stutter
Oh, na na na
Did I
Oh, na na na, (Yeah)
Di-di-di-di-did the guy
Di-di-di-di-did I
Di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di, di-di-di-di
Di-di-di-di-did I?
Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh
Have you been singing
Oh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh
Hey
(4, 3, 2, 1)
Bring me back to life
I just can't stand leaving you alone tonight
It's too late to go
Already taken me forever just to try, you know
One for the money, two for the show
Three to get ready, and four to go
For the life of me
I don't know why it took me so long to see (I just)
Stutter, stutter, stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, stutter, stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, stutter, stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Stutter, stutter, stutter
Di-di-di-di-di-di-did I
The lyrics of Marianas Trench's song "Stutter" tell a story of someone who finds it difficult to communicate or express themselves clearly, hence the use of the word "stutter." They talk about how they never make things easy and how disappearing is often the easier option. However, they found someone who wanted something to hold onto and go anywhere with, except where they are. The singer knows that they have been too slow to realize that they were stuck in a rut and that they have been left behind by the person they cared about. They sing about begging for a chance to be brought back to life and that they can't bear the thought of being alone tonight. They sing about the journey ahead of them and that they can't take it without the person they care about. They end the song with a countdown, leaving listeners wondering what comes next.
Line by Line Meaning
I know
I'm aware of my behavior
I never make this easy
I tend to complicate things
It's easier to disappear
I find it simpler to run away
You said give me something
You asked for a gesture from me
A thing that I can go on, Together, yeah anywhere but here
Something to hold onto, that will take us away from here
Sing it back, Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh, Oh-oh
Repeat what I'm saying, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
And I'm begging you bring me back to life
I'm asking you to rescue me
I just can't stand leaving you alone tonight
I can't bear the thought of leaving you
It's too late to go
The time has passed to depart
Already taken me forever just to try, you know
It's been a long time since I've started trying
One for the money, two for the show, Three to get ready, and four to go
Counting down, getting ready to leave
For the life of me, I don't know why it took me so long to see (I just)
I can't understand why it took me so long to realize
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter, Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Did I stutter?
Sunshine, Blinds you if you stare but
Sunlight can blind you
Now I see, yeah (Crystal) crystal clear
Now I understand clearly
So here I am, You can take or leave me
I am here, you can accept or reject me
Oh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh whoa-ooh
Ohwoaho
Have you been singing
Have you been joining in on my song
Bring me back to life, I just can't stand leaving you alone tonight
Rescue me, I can't bear to leave you alone
Stutter, stutter, stutter, Di-di-di-di-di-did I
Did I stutter?
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lordjj3
Josh : "Di-di-di-di-di-did I?
Stutter, Stutter, Stutter"
Me: Yes, Yes you did.
@jmitchell8721
He did
@sir7277
When I was younger I was like, yEs YoU StUtTeRed
@austinwestbury2207
LOL HAHAH :D
@baronhandler
Lmao
@niloo_12344
God Bless! ✝️ (Lord Jesus is coming back soon, be ready!) - IL SIGNORE GESÙ STA PER ARRIVARE, SIATE PRONTI!
@bonesburrow8541
It took me an entire year to realize the guy in underwear that Josh ran into was the guy he stole the uniform from.
Face palm.
@taylorp.9175
Thanks for saying that, i didn't know that until now 😂
@mollybimm3326
Lydia Juice OMGGGGG YOU’RE RIGHT
@paulobrito.ekvega
he is a rapper called Anami Vice.. see Pop 101