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.
The Tower
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me live for just one more second
I see a woman, she's holding flowers
A bouquet of roses that are blood red
From a burning building, a man leaps to his death
I stand above these mansions of the dead
Red tombs and above us looms
The tower
I see a tower against the sky
Beneath a red unblinking eye
Radiowaves curve and cross
I stand below them - lost!
Above me is a black obelisk
And the dangers that I risk
Here gather the ghosts of the mind
That tear my heart and here I find
All the traps that have been set
Everything I would forget, beneath
The tower
I see red
I see a tower against the sky
Beneath a red unblinking eye
Violence is close at hand
You are damned if you do
And if you don't - damned!
A red eye, tyrant full of hate
Glares from the sky, it's captive state
If it should blink or deviate
A thousand worlds would obliterate
I do not move, nor do I speak
Beneath that hard and pitiless peak
Of concrete, steel and antennae wheels
The tower
I see red
I see a tower against the sky
Beneath a red unblinking eye
The lyrics to NoMeansNo's song "The Tower" paint a grim picture of a world dominated by violence and control. The first verse begins with a cynical statement about the "sword of truth," suggesting that even our most cherished convictions can become tools of oppression. The singer then begs for just one more second of life, perhaps in the hope of finding some kind of redemption. Next, we see a woman holding blood-red roses, a potent image of both love and violence. From a burning building, a man jumps to his death, underscoring the theme of self-destruction that pervades the song. The singer stands above mansions filled with dead bodies, a harrowing image that contrasts sharply with the beauty of the roses. Finally, we see the looming tower, surrounded by a red sky and a sinister "unblinking eye." The tower represents the ultimate symbol of power and control, and the singer is trapped beneath it, haunted by the ghosts of the past.
The chorus repeats the phrase "I see red," suggesting both anger and fear. The tower, with its concrete, steel, and antennae wheels, is an ominous presence that dominates the landscape. The singer feels lost and trapped beneath the tower's shadow, surrounded by "radio waves" that seem to cross and curve at will. He is constantly at risk, facing "traps that have been set" and struggling to forget the horrors of the past. The second verse is even more bleak than the first, with the singer suggesting that violence is never far away. The final lines of the song describe a tyrannical red eye that glares down from the sky, threatening to destroy everything in its path.
Line by Line Meaning
The sword of truth is just another weapon
Truth can be twisted and used as a weapon
Let me live for just one more second
A plea to extend life by any means possible
I see a woman, she's holding flowers
Observing a peaceful image amongst chaos and destruction
A bouquet of roses that are blood red
Even love and beauty are tainted by violence and death
From a burning building, a man leaps to his death
Witnessing the desperation and hopelessness of those trapped in tragedy
I stand above these mansions of the dead
An outsider looking down on the destruction of society
Red tombs and above us looms
The remnants of death and destruction that surround us
The tower
A symbol of power and control
I see red
The color of blood, violence, and danger
I see a tower against the sky
The tower is an unstoppable force, overwhelming and ever present
Beneath a red unblinking eye
The feeling of constantly being watched and controlled
Radiowaves curve and cross
Technology can be used to both connect and oppress
I stand below them - lost!
Overwhelmed by the complexity and power of technology
Above me is a black obelisk
Another ominous symbol of power and control
And the dangers that I risk
Every action taken has consequences and inherent risk
Here gather the ghosts of the mind
The mental toll of living in a violent and oppressive society
That tear my heart and here I find
The emotional weight of trauma and loss
All the traps that have been set
The systems and structures in place to maintain power and control
Everything I would forget, beneath
The pervasive nature of violence and oppression
Violence is close at hand
The constant threat of violence and danger
You are damned if you do
No matter what choice is made, there will be negative consequences
And if you don't - damned!
Even inaction has consequences in a violent and oppressive society
A red eye, tyrant full of hate
The tower is a tyrannical force, filled with rage and hate
Glares from the sky, it's captive state
The tower is all-seeing, controlling and manipulating from a distance
If it should blink or deviate
The fear of a breakdown in the system of control
A thousand worlds would obliterate
The catastrophic consequences of the collapse of the oppressive system
I do not move, nor do I speak
Feeling paralyzed and powerless in the face of overwhelming oppression
Beneath that hard and pitiless peak
The tower is an unfeeling and unsympathetic entity
Of concrete, steel and antennae wheels
The lifeless and dehumanizing architecture of the oppressive system
The tower
A constant reminder of the impossibility of escape from oppression
I see red
The inescapable presence of violence and danger in a violent society
I see a tower against the sky
The oppressive forces in society are always looming, inescapable and overwhelming
Beneath a red unblinking eye
Always under the watchful eye of the oppressor
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CARL MCCOY, CARL WISKER, NOD WRIGHT, PAUL WRIGHT, TONY PETTITT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jackdareviewer8823
Just discovered this album yesterday. Absolutely incredible
@michaelkottler
Agreed. Dropped in '89, I didn't pick up on it until like '91 but one listen and wow, game changing bad-assery.
@Joeybananas100
I saw this song live in Fredericton in 1993 or 1994 or whenever. IT was a game-changer. They had 2 drummers that night. It was the most powerful show I'd ever seen.
@KRIS-KILO
Pure adrenaline. Moves like a bullet. Cannot be duplicated.
@michaelkottler
Abso-f-cking-lutely
@davidhicks2900
These Canadians are old -
But paved the road for some kick ass music. The bass is burned into me and a huge influence!!!
@michaelkottler
Monster track, electrifying and epic beyond all language. Used an excerpt as my answering greeting back in the day. An existential firestorm - "You're damned if you do, and if you don't: Damned!" Evoke that hard and bitter truth, NoMeansNo!
@fotoplastikon.
I remember This song like yesterday.
@simonaskoira
good music nerver gets old - ic about NMN !!! - i should die and return or smth
@SergioIggy
Impresionante, muy buena cancion, me encanta.