The band have never had, or have ever seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe. They tour fairly often on both continents and maintain a dedicated fan base.
The band was formed in 1979 by brothers Rob Wright (bass guitar and vocals) and John Wright (drum set, keyboards and vocals). Their name derives from an anti-date rape slogan. For their first four years the duo's music would seem to be influenced as much by jazz and progressive rock as punk rock. The musical press described their earliest recordings as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." NoMeansNo have been credited with being an influence on, and perhaps even the genesis of, math rock.
The brothers Wright began recording as a two-piece in their parents' basement in 1979. These recordings, heard on their first two self-released 7"s, consisted of full rock band arrangements and had a new wave, warped-pop sound, different from subsequent recordings. When, in the early 1980s, the duo began gigging simply with bass, drums and vocals, the present form of their distinct sound slowly took shape. The songs they played in this period are documented on the "Mama" LP (re-released in 2004 on their own Wrong Records.)
In 1984, they added Andy Kerr (who played with John Wright in Infamous Scientists) on guitar and vocals. Kerr preferred pseudonymity and used such pseudonyms as "Buttercup" or "None-Of-Your-Fucking-Business". He brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to the group, and stayed until 1991. He is often erroneously credited for penning the lyrics of NoMeansNo songs on which he sang, perhaps due to deliberately vague liner notes and frequent vocal moonlighting (Kerr sings lead or co-lead vocals on nearly half the songs on Wrong for example). Kerr's vocals were a necessity for a period of time in the 1980s when Rob Wright was recovering from nodules on his vocal cords. While Rob Wright is the band's lyricist and main songwriter, all members have contributed songs to NoMeansNo records, and nearly all their material is credited to the entire band.
Wrong is widely considered the band's best and most representative record ("The playing is incredibly skilled, with the Wright brothers effortlessly shifting tempos and time signatures and Kerr's razor sharp lyrics clicking right into place").
After Kerr's departure, the Wright brothers recorded "Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?" as a duo. They subsequently recruited guitarist Tom Holliston from Showbusiness Giants and The Hanson Brothers, and have continued touring and releasing records, including "Worldhood of the World (as such)", "Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie", "One", and most recently, "All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt" which was released on August 22, 2006. The album was released by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern Records in Europe.
The album "One", released in 2000, featured "two stunning covers that only make sense coming from NoMeansNo": a slow stoner rock-styled version of The Ramones' Beat On The Brat, and rather authentic fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, (complete with electric piano and congas) featuring lyrics by Rob.
NoMeansNo initially released records with seminal punk rock record label Alternative Tentacles. This relationship ended in 2002. The band has since been reissuing old albums through Southern Records under their own Wrong Records imprint.
Even their earliest recordings demonstrate impressive instrumental technique ("some of the most complex instrumentation you're ever likely to find in punk rock"). Jazz has been an influence on the group; Rob's basslines have a loping, melodic quality often reminiscent of Charles Mingus, and John's drumming sometimes sounds a bit like Elvin Jones or Art Blakey.
NoMeansNo's output features a seemingly endless flow of "Wright/wrong/right" puns, and significant measures of black humour, with "pointedly warped lyrics", such as on "Dad" from Sex Mad. The song was a minor college radio hit, and has been called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at slam-pit's pace". The first person narrator details a rampaging father's physical and sexual abuse, ending with what's been called a "killer end touch—the baldly delivered line 'I'm seriously considering leaving home.'". One critic (while noting the group's "savage intelligence") suggests that NoMeansNo might well be "the secret influence on a fair amount of both early-'90s math rock and emo, what with the barely controlled fervour of the singing and the sudden jerks back and forth in the rhythm section."
Equally striking about the band's back catalogue is their ability to jump from style to style and still maintain their musical identity. They leap from dirge to thrash, complication to simplicity, discordant to melodic and still sound like themselves.
John's drumming style has been mentioned as an influence to others, including Dave Grohl.
NoMeansNo's alter ego is TheHanson Brothers, a quartet with John singing and different drummer. Nearly a Ramones tribute band, the Hanson Brothers play fun punk rock as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey fans. The lyrics centre on ice hockey, beer and girls. The name comes from characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman.
Rob Wright's alter ego is Mr. Wrong, who dresses as an authoritarian priest and often poses with a shotgun. Mr. Wrong is simply Wright on bass and vocals with no other instrumentation. It is rumoured that Wright also plays upright bass in a traditional jazz band who play standards, but he keeps this side of his life fuzzy in interviews.
Tom Holliston released several albums with his band Showbusiness Giants as well as three solo albums.
Andy Kerr and John Wright played in the early 1980s in the Infamous Scientists. Kerr, after leaving NoMeansNo, released a solo CD and collaborated with Victoria musician Scott Henderson in Hissanol. Kerr most recently has begun a duo called Two Pin Din in the Netherlands.
Rags And Bones
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My father was married to my mother
And I am married to a cigarette butt lying in the gutter
And I am married to a cigarette butt lying in the gutter
Oh, that's too bad, isn't it
Rags and bones, are we finally alone?
White Man, you, you just starting to get the blues
I said, White Man, you, you just starting to get the blues
Rags and bones, are we finally alone?
The beast has arisen, all sins are forgiven
The beast has arisen, all sins are forgiven
In the belly of the beast I shall be released
In the belly of the beast I shall be released
She rises, Captain! She rises, Captain!
Captain---dive, dive! Captain---dive, dive!
If I could choose to believe or not to believe
You know I would choose not to
If I could choose to believe or not to believe
You know I would choose not to
But I can't choose
Not to
Rags and bones, are we finally alone?
Any old rags and bones?
Who would have thought that I would be
A sailor on the deep blue sea
Any old rags and bones?
The lyrics to NoMeansNo's song "Rags And Bones" are complex and multi-layered, exploring themes of religion, marriage, addiction, and existentialism. The opening lines of the song set the tone for the rest of the lyrics, as the singer reflects on Christ's marriage on the cross and his own connection to a discarded cigarette butt. The repetition of the phrase "Rags and bones, are we finally alone?" suggests a feeling of isolation and detachment from the world around us.
The song then shifts to address the listener directly, with the singer addressing a "White Man" who is "starting to get the blues." This could be interpreted as a commentary on privilege and oppression, with the singer suggesting that those who have never experienced hardship are only now beginning to understand the pain of others.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, Christ was married on the cross
Just as how Christ was wedded onto the cross, I am in a committed (but not desirable) bond with a cigarette butt lying in the gutter
My father was married to my mother
My Dad was married to my Mom
And I am married to a cigarette butt lying in the gutter
I'm committed to a cigarette butt that's lying abandoned in a dirty place
Oh, that's too bad, isn't it
A sarcastic response to the preceding line
Rags and bones, are we finally alone?
Are we finally free from pain and suffering?
White Man, you, you just starting to get the blues
White Man, you're just beginning to feel unsettled
The blues
Refers to a feeling of depression, anxiety or sadness
The beast has arisen, all sins are forgiven
The most harmful creature is now active, and our sins are forgiven
In the belly of the beast I shall be released
I'll be freed from all pain and fears once I'm inside the creature's body
She rises, Captain! She rises, Captain!
Calling the Captain as the creature emerges
Captain---dive, dive! Captain---dive, dive!
Captain must dive to ensure safety from the monster above
If I could choose to believe or not to believe
If I had the power, I would choose not to believe
You know I would choose not to
I'm certain that I would choose not to believe
But I can't choose
Regrettably, I don't possess the ability to opt out
Not to
To not believe
Any old rags and bones?
Are there any old things unwanted?
Who would have thought that I would be
A sailor on the deep blue sea
Who could've guessed that I'd go on to become a sailor in the vast ocean
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BarrelShape
I don't know how they come up with these riffs. Their albums are piles of monstrous riffs that other bands spend their careers trying to write. incredible.
@alexanderkasner8770
Their riff cred is up there with many bands out of the mainstream. They are locked down all the time.
@EchoLog
God plays their instruments through them.
@Mop909Head
Fucking beast on bass just not giving a fuck and playing his God damn innards out
@gianninissim1537
i 51 and this still rocks' one of the best bands ever!
@mr.hedgehog420
I'm 17 and this rocks! I agree one of the best bands. Glad im from their city
@Mop909Head
35 and a bass player
Fucking amazing
@TheChannelofaDisappointedMan
The louder you play it, the better it gets. The head-smashing combinations of bass and drums are absolutely spot-on. So often this kind of music, one element is missing, the songwriting, the vocals, the production, something. Only No Means No get everything right.
@horsesflu
I saw them live in Kelowna a few years ago, in a campus bar. There was about 20 hipsters standing backs to the wall, opposite the band. My friend and I were choked, and so danced right up front. The guys from the band danced with us. Though the scene sucked, it was so god damn awesome being so close to No Means No that we were literally dancing with them. They're extreme gentlemen.
@faunaflage
WHITE MAN! You're just STARTING to get the blues!