So far, Metric has released eight studio albums: Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003), Live It Out (2005), Grow Up and Blow Away (2007), Fantasies (2009), Synthetica (2012), Pagans in Vegas (2015), Art of Doubt (2018), and Formentera (2022).
Besides Metric, Emily Haines and James Shaw also perform with Broken Social Scene. Joules Scott-Key and Joshua Winstead have their own side project, Bang Lime. Emily Haines released her debut album Cut in Half and Also Double in 1996 and two records under the moniker Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton: the album Knives Don't Have Your Back in 2006 and the 6-track EP What Is Free to a Good Home? in 2007. She also has been a guest on albums by Stars, The Crystal Method, KC Accidental, Delerium, The Stills and Jason Collett.
Emily Haines was born in New Delhi, India and raised since the age of 3 in Peterborough, Ontario. The daughter of poet Paul Haines grew up as a dual citizen of Canada and India. Her father would often make cassettes of rare and eclectic music for his daughter to listen to and her early influences included Carla Bley and Robert Wyatt. By her teens she followed her parents' footsteps by attending the Etobicoke School of the Arts. There she met Amy Millan and Kevin Drew, with whom she would later collaborate in hHead. Haines and Millan briefly formed their first band around 1990 while at ESA and with songs later written and recorded while at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 1992–1993, at Toronto in 1995 and at Concordia University in Montreal in 1995–1996, Haines distributed in 1996 an early effort called Cut in Half and Also Double with a limited number of copies.
James Shaw was born in the UK. He was a student at a Boston music school and was friends with Torquil Campbell, a vocalist who would later form Stars and Chris Seligman, the future synthesizer player of Stars. Torquil had plans to move to New York City and on his suggestion Shaw applied to Juilliard Music School and moved to New York with him. In 1998, Shaw and Torquil returned to Toronto, where Haines met Shaw through mutual friends in the local music scene. Shaw moved to Montreal where Haines was still living and the two worked on filling out each other's projects. The first song made by Shaw and Haines was "Butcher" and eventually they had completed in 1998 several other tracks in their home studio, gathered on Mainstream EP, a collection of demos with an overall downtempo and electronic feel.
In the fall of 1998, Shaw moved back to New York City, this time accompanied by Haines, Campbell and Seligman. There they shared a loft in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. During their two-year stay at the loft, Haines and Shaw were erstwhile room mates with future members of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV on the Radio.
Haines and Shaw set off to London in early 2000 and signed a publishing deal with Chrysalis Records. With the help of producer Stephen Hague, Metric worked on a new batch of New Wave/electropop drum-machine paced songs that would form the nucleus of their debut album. The effort dubbed Grow Up and Blow Away, revealed a more musically-layered and mature sound than the earlier Mainstream EP. Haines and Shaw completed the album in April 2001 and by this time had found a label for their release, Restless Records. The album was delayed for years by their record label.
The band performed in New York in early Spring and late Summer 2001, personally circulating handmade CD-R copies of their unreleased music to fans at shows and by mail, eventually giving the music away for free on the internet. Metric at the time was for the most part a studio band and live shows approximated the synthesizer-centered and drum-machine driven sound of the recordings. In the same year they issued a 5-track EP entitled Static Anonymity and two promo singles: "Grow Up and Blow Away" and "Raw Sugar".
In the winter of 2001, Metric had gained two new bandmates: the drummer Joules Scott-Key (born in Flint, Michigan) and the bass player Joshua Winstead. Joules Scott-Key was attending college in Texas was in town with his friend Joshua Winstead performing in the local music scene. Scott-Key and Winstead had known each other for about a decade and they met Shaw and Haines at the Brooklyn loft and at local performances.
On 2 September 2003, Metric released their first official studio album Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? on Last Gang Records. The album was received with positive reviews and it has gone gold in Canada. They released 2 singles from the album, "Combat Baby" and "Dead Disco".
On 27 September 2005, the band released their second studio album, Live It Out on Last Gang Records. The album was well received and has since gone twice platinum in Canada, selling over 200,000 units. They issued 4 singles: "Monster Hospital", "Poster of a Girl", and "Empty". The band has toured the world extensively for several years. They also opened for The Rolling Stones in NYC.
On 26 June 2007, Last Gang Records released Metric's 2001 album Grow Up and Blow Away, after purchasing the rights to the album from band's previous label. In 2007 they released a live EP entitled Live at Metropolis followed a year later by a DVD with the same name featuring a concert recorded from Montreal.
On 7 April 2009, Metric released their fourth album Fantasies on their own label, Metric Music International. In the US it debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers and peaked at #76 on the Billboard 200, in Canada it debuted at #13 on the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at #6 and in Australia, the album debuted at #48. The album received mostly positive reviews and it's their most successful record to date. They released 6 singles: "Help I'm Alive", "Front Row", "Gimme Sympathy", "Sick Muse", "Gold Guns Girls" and "Stadium Love".
Amazon.com listed Fantasies in eleventh in its "Best Albums of 2009" list. This album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize and also won two Casby Awards, the NXNE favourite new indie release award and favourite new album award. On 18 April 2010, the album won the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year at the 2010 Awards, as well as the band winning Group of the Year.
On 27 October 2009, Metric released a 5-track EP called Plug In Plug Out containing acoustic versions of five songs from Fantasies. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Metric, along with several other Canadian music acts, came together in Vancouver to re-record K'Naan's song "Wavin' Flag" to benefit Haiti in a movement called Young Artists for Haiti.
In 2010, the band contributed to Twilight: Eclipse movie soundtrack with a song entitled "Eclipse (All Yours)". In the same year, a previously unreleased song "Black Sheep" was used on the soundtrack of the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In 2011, Metric issued the live EP iTunes Session.
On 18 September 2015, Metric released their sixth album, Pagans in Vegas.
On September 21, 2018, Metric released their seventh album, Art of Doubt.
On July 8, 2022, Metric released their eighth album, Formentera .
On October 13, 2023, Metric released their ninth album, Formentera II.
EPs
Mainstream EP (1998)
Static Anonymity (2001)
Live at Metropolis (2007)
Plug In, Plug Out (2009)
Spotify Acoustic EP (2010)
Spotify Covers EP (2010)
iTunes Session EP (2011)
The Shade EP [Cassette only] (2015)
were featured in:
3 films
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Cosmopolis
"Handshakes" and "Gold Guns Girls" were used as a radio soundtrack in Test Drive Unlimited.
Official site: http://www.ilovemetric.com
The Twist
Metric Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Friends and family looking in to my only hiding place
The rhythm of a strangers skin
Infidel to die for
What I am doing
Will happen in the morning
When the mirror won't recognize me
He holds a certain gesture
When we're loving to ask each other
Do you want it
Do you want me
I want it, it is you
You are where I want to be
Who is he
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
I can drive
Twist
Who is she
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
When I can drive
Twist
Somebody put me back in school
I forget everything
I used to know
How to leave the boy behind
Without having to watch him go
Infidel to die for
What I am doing
Will happen in the morning
When the mirror won't recognize me
He holds a certain gesture
When we're loving to ask each other
Do you want it
Do you want me
I want it, it is you
You are where I want to be
Who is he
Circumstantial, oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
I can drive
Twist
Who is she
Circumstantial
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
When I can drive
Twist
Circumstantial
Do the twist...
The lyrics to Metric's song "The Twist" portray a sense of confusion and instability in a relationship. The use of the phrase "too wasted to close the window" suggests that the singer and their partner are somewhat self-destructive, possibly engaging in risky or dangerous behavior. The line "friends and family looking in to my only hiding place" implies that the singer is struggling to maintain some semblance of privacy or independence, despite being surrounded by people who are keeping a watchful eye on them.
The following lines - "the rhythm of a stranger's skin/infidel to die for/what I am doing/will happen in the morning/when the mirror won't recognize me" - paint a picture of the singer engaging in an affair with someone they don't really know, and feeling guilty about it. They believe that their actions are going to have serious consequences, but are unable to stop themselves. The repeated use of the phrase "who is he/she/circumstantial" suggests that there is a lot of uncertainty and doubt in the singer's mind about their relationship and the choices they are making.
Overall, "The Twist" is a song about the struggle to maintain a sense of identity and autonomy within the confines of a complicated relationship. The singer is grappling with feelings of guilt, confusion, and a sense that they are losing control of their own life. The lyrics are poignant and relatable, and perfectly capture the emotional turmoil of a difficult romantic situation.
Line by Line Meaning
We were too wasted to close the window
We were so high or drunk that we forgot to shut the window.
Friends and family looking in to my only hiding place
People who are known to me are peeping inside my personal and secure area.
The rhythm of a strangers skin
The feel of someone's unfamiliar physical touch.
Infidel to die for
I am willing to risk my life for someone who is unfaithful.
What I am doing
I am involved in an act that is most likely morally incorrect.
Will happen in the morning when the mirror won't recognize me
The consequence of my actions will not only be reflected in the disappointment of the person that looks back at me in the mirror; but I will also become someone unknown.
He holds a certain gesture When we're loving to ask each other Do you want it Do you want me I want it, it is you You are where I want to be
During intimacy, my partner gives me a special signal to ask if I desire them. I affirm my desire and admit that they are my true destination.
Who is he Circumstantial, oh Why would I Do Hitch a ride The I can drive Twist Who is she Circumstantial Oh Why would I Do Hitch a ride The When I can drive Twist
Given the situation, why would I depend on someone else when I have the ability to take control or lead?
Somebody put me back in school I forget everything I used to know How to leave the boy behind Without having to watch him go
I wish someone could teach me how to unattach myself emotionally from those who are incompatible without suffering from their absence.
Circumstantial Do the twist...
Taking into account the circumstances, it's most advantageous to start moving and dancing in the current direction or navigating a new path.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EMILY HAINES, JAMES SHAW
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michelletrevizoponce9109
We were too wasted to close the window
Friends and family looking in to my only hiding place
The rhythm of a strangers skin
Infidel to die for
What I am doing
Will happen in the morning
When the mirror won't recognize me
He holds a certain gesture
When we're loving to ask each other
Do you want it
Do you want me
I want it, it is you
You are where I want to be
Who is he
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
I can drive
Twist
Who is she
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
When I can drive
Twist
Somebody put me back in school
I forget everything
I used to know
How to leave the boy behind
Without having to watch him go
Infidel to die for
What I am doing
Will happen in the morning
When the mirror won't recognize me
He holds a certain gesture
When we're loving to ask each other
Do you want it
Do you want me
I want it, it is you
You are where I want to be
Who is he
Circumstantial, oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
I can drive
Twist
Who is she
Circumstantial
Oh
Why would I
Do
Hitch a ride
The
When I can drive
Twist
Circumstantial
Do the twist...
@michaelpetersonjr
I had first listened to this group in the early 2010's when I was in my mid-to-late-twenties. I am now 39 years old and still enjoying their music. They, along with the band Garbage from Madison, WI, had performed at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, NY, on July 8, 2023. It was my first SPAC concert there. I went with my friends and we had an awesome time!
@joseangelsancheznayares9310
this song is fucking amazing, I've like 8 years listening it and my ears still enjoying every fucking time
@AureliusR
Infidel to die for what I am doing...
@yagirlkae203
FINALLY I FOUND THIS SONG AGAIN! This was my favorite song 3 years ago and i only remembered bits and pieces of the lyrics but i finally found it
@2k3familytv80
This is a song you never forget 😮
@lifeonenceladus4420
This song is a masterpiece. I have loved listening to this for over a decade now. Metric is so unique!
@lifeonenceladus4420
Definitely in my top 5 Metric songs.
@NotTheeAlice
I can't even pick my favourite Metric album let alone a favourite song of theirs. I've been listening to them for 18 years now and they have been nothing but amazing.
They were just in Calgary last week but I couldn't go due to being sick :(
I did see them in 2012 when Synthetica came out and it was everything I imagined and more.
I absolutely have the biggest crush on Emily. She's so Succexy. I will never get tired of their music. The new album "Formentera" is AWESOME! It's another one of their albums where I don't need to skip any songs. 💋💓
@barnacleguy
Amazing melodies, great bass line, ambiguous to lyrics that keep it interesting, super vocals. This song really has it.
@narv4l
each day i get angrier and angrier over the fact metric isnt much popular