Metric perform in The Current studio
by Mark Wheat
June 09, 2015
Perhaps we should have had some cake ready, because it was an anniversary of sorts. "Ten years ago, we put out 'Live it Out'," Metric's Emily Haines says. "It's unbelievable to imagine."
Haines and Jimmy Shaw of Metric started their in-studio set at The Current with that particular gem from their back catalogue, the title track from their 2005 album. Haines, Shaw and the rest of Metric — bassist Josh Winstead and drummer Joules Scott-Key — are in town to open for Imagine Dragons at the Xcel Energy Center.
Metric have enjoyed a long career as a band, and we've also enjoyed an enduring and symbiotic friendship with them at The Current. "We grew up together!" Emily tells host Mark Wheat.
Mark, Emily and Jimmy reminisced about past in-studio sessions, as well as Metric's spellbinding set as headliners at Rock the Garden 2013. Emily also confirmed Metric will be back at The Current following the Sept. 18, 2015, release of Metric's next album, Pagans in Vegas.
Here are some highlights from the interview:
Emily Haines on recalling her 2007 interview at The Current:
"I remember that I was wearing headphones over my hoodie. The spirit of the record was to disappear inside the music, and it looked like I was trying to disappear inside the hoodie." (You can view that interview here.)
Emily on the audio and visual aspects of performing music:
"I feel like I am a sound. The modern age requires that I also stand there and move about, wave my arms in the air like I just don't care and generally cheerlead the emotions of the masses."
Emily on why Metric titled their forthcoming album Pagans in Vegas:
"It's that we do feel like pagans in Vegas. We feel like spiritual, soulful, primal people in a massive conglomerate casino that is not only the world economy but what the music industry looks like. It's a lot of flashing lights and not a lot of soul. But we're still ehre and we're still wearing our ponchos."
Emily on why "The Shade" was the lead single off Pagans in Vegas:
"Because it sounds like summer. You need a summer jam."
Jimmy on performing in large arenas:
"There's elements of all ways of performing that are awesome. You stand up on a stage in an arena and you look as far back as possible and you see people in the last row — there's something kind of crazy and amazing about that. It's like the thing that removes your surroundings from the experience as much as possible, because if you were aware of where you were, it wouldn't be as good. Whereas there are other places where the setting is a huge part of where you are. Coachella wouldn't be Coachella if it wasn't in the Coachella Valley. Radio City Music Hall wouldn't be it if wasn't the most beautiful building with all that history. The KFC Yum Center [in Louisville, Ky.], on the other hand, is about turning the lights down, bringing in your own lights and just blowing the minds of the imagination."
During the course of the interview, Emily and Jimmy share stories about how they ended up opening for the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden, on playing with Lou Reed, and about encountering fans of the Women's World Cup while in Winnipeg.
Vitally, they perform an awesome acoustic rendition of "Cascades", the second single off Pagans in Vegas, and it made for a mind-blowing studio moment. Emily and Jimmy were kind enough to record it for us as a Web exclusive. Listen to the track by clicking the audio player above.
Songs Played
"Live It Out"*
"The Shade"†
"Synthetica"‡
"Cascades"† — acoustic version, Web exclusive
* Appears on Metric's 2005 album, Live It Out, out on Last Gang Records.
† Tracks from Metric's forthcoming album, Pagans in Vegas, releasing Sept. 18, 2015, on Metric Music International.
‡ From Metric's 2012 album, Synthetica, out on Metric Music International.
Hosted by Mark Wheat
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark and Anthony Cadiz
Web feature by Luke Taylor
