"I am not scared of bold decisions," asserts Metric vocalist Emily Haines. "When we made 'Gimme Sympathy,' being an indie rock band releasing a pop song was bold, and we took so much flak for it from the self-appointed cred police. When we were playing club shows in NY at the height of the garage rock revival, showing up in that scene as a girl with an analogue synthesizer was bold. Jumping from the stage into the audience on live television was bold." In that same audacious spirit, Metric's eighth album Formentera begins with an epic 10-minute song titled "Doomscroller" — a striking opening that throws listeners straight into the deep end.
But after this ominous introduction, the clouds part and reveal an album of futuristic synth rock bangers that channel the signature sound that Metric have been methodically exploring for the past two decades. To mark the new album, as well as Metric's ever-growing catalogue, Exclaim! caught up with Haines to rank the band's five best songs. Her list mixes different eras, popular hits, obscure gems and everything in between — and only one of the songs appears on the band's 2021 compilation Greatest Hits Vol 1.
"A song could become a favourite based solely on how useful it is for other people, how much they enjoy it. Usefulness is a major criteria," Haines says of her ranking system. "But on the other hand, a song could also qualify as a more personal favourite because it is an overlooked deep cut." She notes that her picks aren't in any particular order — although she has ranked them from five to one, so that's how we're presenting them.
5. "Wet Blanket"
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
There are so many potential functions for a song. Here are just a few: to pass the time in a dentist office waiting room, to make people want to have sex/party/run a marathon, to soothe a broken heart. But some of my favourite kinds of songs are the ones that call out social or political bullshit, and that's what "Wet Blanket" is here to do. My whole life, I've encountered people, usually guys in the music industry, who present themselves as these easygoing hippie icons in sweaters of stoned harmony when in fact they are mean and resentful. And, for some reason, they would always keep hanging around us, wielding an acoustic guitar like it's an axe of superiority instead of a beautiful musical instrument of expression. What a drag! Meanwhile, I've met so many loving, generous, warm people without a hypocritical bone in their bodies making music that is blisteringly loud and often involves lots of swearing and screaming into a microphone. This paradox used to really get under my skin, so it felt good to put my observations into a song. Plus, I love that our producer Michael Andrews had us do that elaborate vocal arrangement in the bridge. This song is so weird. Long live weird.
4. "Black Sheep"
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2010)
My life in Metric has been full of unpredictable things but perhaps none more so than the adventures of "Black Sheep." This song started out being called "Freddy Mercury" and was recorded at Bear Creek Studio outside Seattle. It was supposed to be part of the album Fantasies, but we decided it didn't fit and left it off. This was lucky, because shortly after the album came out, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright asked us for an unreleased song for his movie based on Brian's graphic novel about a "fictional" band, and the rest is history.
3. "Fortunes"
Pagans in Vegas (2015)
Making a list like this is challenging because I see every one of our songs like they are our kids, which makes them hard to rank. Also, sometimes I feel guilty, like as a parent I failed my song. This is the case with "Fortunes." I feel like we should have tried harder to adapt the album version to make it work live. I think we tried it a couple times and it was bad and we were busy so we gave up. I think it might have been recorded in the wrong key? And I wish we didn't go back to the synth line melody recap at the end. "Fortunes" had such potential, and I feel like I let the song down. Please forgive me, "Fortunes."
2. "White Gold"
Grow Up and Blow Away (2007)
Rhyming "porn" with "sirloin" is one of the highlights of my career as a lyricist. I wrote this in 1999 about a dispiriting trip to Los Angeles when [guitarist] Jimmy [Shaw] and I got back from England and were being supposedly courted by various major labels. It was after this trip that we took an abrupt turn away from recording bedroom electronica and decided the only way forward was to go back to Brooklyn, find a rhythm section, be a real band and start playing shows at the very bottom of the ladder. No more demos for record labels ever. And then we met [drummer] Joules [Scott-Key], who introduced us to [bassist] Josh [Winstead]. Love at first sight.
1. "Formentera"
Formentera (2022)
From the opening note of Todor Kobakov's string arrangement performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra, this song fulfills its purpose. It is meant to sweep the listener off and out from the here and now into a place of peace. Why not just let go? Reckon with what's wrong. Find a way to accept your ultimate insignificance and how little you can control. Escape to Formentera.
But after this ominous introduction, the clouds part and reveal an album of futuristic synth rock bangers that channel the signature sound that Metric have been methodically exploring for the past two decades. To mark the new album, as well as Metric's ever-growing catalogue, Exclaim! caught up with Haines to rank the band's five best songs. Her list mixes different eras, popular hits, obscure gems and everything in between — and only one of the songs appears on the band's 2021 compilation Greatest Hits Vol 1.
"A song could become a favourite based solely on how useful it is for other people, how much they enjoy it. Usefulness is a major criteria," Haines says of her ranking system. "But on the other hand, a song could also qualify as a more personal favourite because it is an overlooked deep cut." She notes that her picks aren't in any particular order — although she has ranked them from five to one, so that's how we're presenting them.
5. "Wet Blanket"
Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
There are so many potential functions for a song. Here are just a few: to pass the time in a dentist office waiting room, to make people want to have sex/party/run a marathon, to soothe a broken heart. But some of my favourite kinds of songs are the ones that call out social or political bullshit, and that's what "Wet Blanket" is here to do. My whole life, I've encountered people, usually guys in the music industry, who present themselves as these easygoing hippie icons in sweaters of stoned harmony when in fact they are mean and resentful. And, for some reason, they would always keep hanging around us, wielding an acoustic guitar like it's an axe of superiority instead of a beautiful musical instrument of expression. What a drag! Meanwhile, I've met so many loving, generous, warm people without a hypocritical bone in their bodies making music that is blisteringly loud and often involves lots of swearing and screaming into a microphone. This paradox used to really get under my skin, so it felt good to put my observations into a song. Plus, I love that our producer Michael Andrews had us do that elaborate vocal arrangement in the bridge. This song is so weird. Long live weird.
4. "Black Sheep"
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2010)
My life in Metric has been full of unpredictable things but perhaps none more so than the adventures of "Black Sheep." This song started out being called "Freddy Mercury" and was recorded at Bear Creek Studio outside Seattle. It was supposed to be part of the album Fantasies, but we decided it didn't fit and left it off. This was lucky, because shortly after the album came out, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright asked us for an unreleased song for his movie based on Brian's graphic novel about a "fictional" band, and the rest is history.
3. "Fortunes"
Pagans in Vegas (2015)
Making a list like this is challenging because I see every one of our songs like they are our kids, which makes them hard to rank. Also, sometimes I feel guilty, like as a parent I failed my song. This is the case with "Fortunes." I feel like we should have tried harder to adapt the album version to make it work live. I think we tried it a couple times and it was bad and we were busy so we gave up. I think it might have been recorded in the wrong key? And I wish we didn't go back to the synth line melody recap at the end. "Fortunes" had such potential, and I feel like I let the song down. Please forgive me, "Fortunes."
2. "White Gold"
Grow Up and Blow Away (2007)
Rhyming "porn" with "sirloin" is one of the highlights of my career as a lyricist. I wrote this in 1999 about a dispiriting trip to Los Angeles when [guitarist] Jimmy [Shaw] and I got back from England and were being supposedly courted by various major labels. It was after this trip that we took an abrupt turn away from recording bedroom electronica and decided the only way forward was to go back to Brooklyn, find a rhythm section, be a real band and start playing shows at the very bottom of the ladder. No more demos for record labels ever. And then we met [drummer] Joules [Scott-Key], who introduced us to [bassist] Josh [Winstead]. Love at first sight.
1. "Formentera"
Formentera (2022)
From the opening note of Todor Kobakov's string arrangement performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra, this song fulfills its purpose. It is meant to sweep the listener off and out from the here and now into a place of peace. Why not just let go? Reckon with what's wrong. Find a way to accept your ultimate insignificance and how little you can control. Escape to Formentera.
