"The Shade" by Metric, Monday, July 26, 2021
Metric certainly isn't a household name when it comes to alternative rock music, even though they have been around forever. Had some success with their fourth album, Fantasies, seeing Top 20 singles in the U.S. Alternative Rock charts, but mostly the band has been confined to the Canadian charts. Lead singer Emily Haines, though, is a duel American-Canadian citizen, born to American parents in New Delhi, where her mother started a school. Haines collaborated with fellow indie rock band Broken Social Scene, singing on several albums, though Metric was her main gig. Metric's music varies album to album both thematically and musically. Haines often writes about feminism, war, and dreams. On their sixth album Pagans in Vegas, the music is synth-heavy, taking influence on British New Wavers.
I'M FOLLOWING THE SUN THAT'S SETTING IN THE WEST. Speaking about first single, "The Shade," Haines wrote: "When you feel yourself becoming a coward, the best thing to do is force yourself to get out of bed and be willing to feel everything, including rejection and confusion, all over again." The song and video seem to have a duel message. The first is what Haines writes about: courage to succeed. The other theme is a little more implicit. The video has many images including beautiful scenes of nature, but there are some off-putting images as well. There are the melting ice caps, a scene of civil unrest, an overflowing landfill, massive flooding, and finally a skeleton. There are subtle reminders of climate change and the impact of humans who "want it all." As a rock mid-tier rock band, Metric may feel frustrated that they aren't as successful as the American rock bands. The band mostly opens for the big names like Paramore, Imagine Dragons, Arcade Fire, and the 1975, to name a few. At some point there seems like there should be some payoff for being faithful in the scene. Maybe when guitarist burns the "Hot 100 Bored" songs magazine, this is showing frustration at the band's limited success on the American charts. Although there are more and more problems (the flooding) there are new technological advancements (the robot arm), constantly shifting our attention away from crisis at hand. When the music video shows Hollywood and Haines bathing on the roof with a glass of champaign, we get an idea about the decadence that this rock band is due. Yet, this decadence plays a role in destroying the planet.
WE GOT REWARDED, WE GOT REFUSED. Seventy-five dollars was all the money Jerod had when he decided that he needed help. He'd rather starve than ask his father-in-law for help. But now was not the time for pride, not with three young kids. His father had told Jerod, just work harder. But working hard didn't help when it rained for weeks and you have to cut down trees. Working hard did nothing for bastards who refused to pay for honest labor. The food bank at the church kept the kids fed for the most part, but seventy-five dollars, wasn't much to keep the lights on. He could see that his father was so weighed down by taxes, and he had already given away the family inheritance to the older kids. All that was left was a plot of land and some food from the farm. But his wife's father had money. Jerod knew that he had to tell his father-in-law that he wouldn't take one of those degrading jobs for the church he tried to set Jerod up with. No he wouldn't muck stalls at the church camp, nor be the grounds keeper. The job would keep the family starving. No, his father-in-law would have to invest in a skill because you can't raise a family with just a high school education these days. He would take it as loan and pay back every single penny. His father-in-law couldn't see his daughter and his grandkids starve.
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