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.
Two Lips Two Lungs And One Tongue
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He kept trying
But he couldn't find out
Why he couldn't stop crying
Only so many songs can be sung
With two lips, two lungs and one tongue
She kept praying
That she would understand
What she was saying
Only so many songs can be sung
With two lips, two lungs and one tongue
He kept dreaming
He kept dreaming
Of the day they'd realize
What he was feeling
Only so many songs can be sung
With two lips, two lungs and one tongue
The song "Two Lips Two Lungs And One Tongue" by NoMeansNo highlights the struggles of trying to communicate one's feelings and emotions effectively. The lyrics express how the singer, a man, kept trying to understand why he couldn't stop crying. Similarly, the woman in the song kept praying that she would be able to understand what she was saying. Both characters are grappling with their inability to express themselves fully and accurately, despite having two lips, two lungs, and one tongue.
The repetition of the phrase "Only so many songs can be sung with two lips, two lungs, and one tongue" emphasizes the limitations of spoken language and the difficulty of conveying emotions with words alone. The song suggests that there's only so much one can do to express themselves, and some things are beyond the capabilities of language.
Overall, "Two Lips Two Lungs And One Tongue" is a poignant commentary on the limitations of language and the struggles of communication. It highlights how difficult it can be to express one's innermost thoughts and feelings effectively, even with the tools of language at one's disposal.
Line by Line Meaning
He kept trying
He persisted in his attempts
He kept trying
He persisted in his attempts
But he couldn't find out
But he was unable to discover
Why he couldn't stop crying
The reason for his inability to cease crying was unknown
Only so many songs can be sung
There are limitations as to the number of songs that can be sung
With two lips, two lungs and one tongue
Using only one's mouth, there is only so much that can be expressed through singing
She kept praying
She persistently engaged in prayer
She kept praying
She persistently engaged in prayer
That she would understand
She hoped to comprehend
What she was saying
The meaning of her own words eluded her
He kept dreaming
He persistently had a vision
He kept dreaming
He persistently had a vision
Of the day they'd realize
He envisioned a future moment when they would understand
What he was feeling
It was his desire that they would comprehend his emotions
Only so many songs can be sung
There are limitations as to the number of songs that can be sung
With two lips, two lungs and one tongue
Using only one's mouth, there is only so much that can be expressed through singing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Imagine Pithy Name Here
This is brilliant! And they're just such little kittens, here!!
I wish I'd jumped on the chance to see them live when I could.
I was born in '82, (in Victoria!) but: I had sisters who were 8 and 10 years older. I was spoonfed The Radness that is NMN.
"Why do they call me Mister Happy? Because I'm so .... fucking....... smart" and "If every fourth animal in the world was a beetle...." were quoted lovingly around our house growing up.
Coulda, shoulda, woulda....didn't. I suck.
Still treasure their tunes, though.
I went as one of their songs for Halloween this year.
rubberneckk
I can’t believe I’m still discovering brilliant shit at nearly 50!!..I’m hearing these guys for the first time today early August 2019 goddamit!!..why!!! WHY!!!!
Drakki Cosmodrakken
A friend of mine tell me about then in 1994, rock´s god bless him.
CHORVAT
Playfair - Spokane 1992. (and about 10 other places and parties throughout the PNW. Pre-grunge. Fk Yeah. )
YogaBrice
The live and cuddly is soooo good!!!!
William Stamper
It's all out there and Good For You finding these canada freaks!
I'm 52 and heard these punks in 1989.
Detroit might have something to do with that
Douglas Johnson
@Dave Anchovies You speak the truth sir!
Claus Mohr
one of the best rock bands in the world!!!
William Goldsmith
10-4
Nadia Gibson
The best!!
NefastusJones
That's a kick-ass bass tone, right there!