Breathing Underwater

It’s been over a year and a half since I posted something by the alternative rock band Metric. While I don’t listen to them as much as I used to in the early 2010s, they are still one of my favourite Canadian bands.

The two previous Metric songs I’ve shared are “Artificial Nocturne” and “Gimme Sympathy,” both from the deluxe, expanded version of their 2012 blockbuster album, Synthetica.

“Breathing Underwater” is an uptempo piece that I believe is about persistence in facing the challenges life brings and adapting to changes beyond our control. It’s about accepting our existence instead of looking for something fake to replace it. And it’s about realizing that everything in life is flawed, including our heroes… so it’s not wise to elevate anyone too highly in our perceptions, as that can become fantasy; they’re human and will probably disappoint us sometimes. In short: stay grounded, and stick with the real thing.

“I’m the blade
You’re the knife
I’m the weight
You’re the kite
They were right when they said
We were breathing underwater
Out of place all the time
In a world that wasn’t mine to take

I’ll wait
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?

I’m the blade
You’re the knife
I’m the weight
You’re the kite
They were right when they said we should never meet our heroes
When they bowed at their feet, in the end it wasn’t me

Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?

Nights are days
We’ll beat a path through the mirrored maze
I can see the end
But it hasn’t happened yet
I can see the end
But it hasn’t happened yet

Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?
Is this my life?
Ahhh
Am I breathing underwater?

Am I breathing underwater?
Am I breathing underwater?”

“Breathing Underwater,” by Emily Haines and James Shaw.
Lyrics retrieved from AZLyrics.com.

The official video for the song is a mashup of quick edits of indoor and outdoor scenes from the Synthetica series of concerts, studio photoshoot scenes, and various backstage and street scenes while on tour. I particularly enjoy the brief clip starting at 0:22, where the band frontperson and lead singer Emily Haines skips across the stage to the beat of the music in front of a massive outdoor crowd. It looks like she’s having such a fun time! The indoor concert scenes remind me of the concert, which my sweety and I saw in November 2012. It was a fantastic show with high energy and excellent music.

In 2012 Haines told Spin magazine Synthetica is “about forcing yourself to confront what you see in the mirror when you finally stand still long enough to catch a reflection. Synthetica is about being able to identify the original in a long line of reproductions. It’s about what is real vs what is artificial.”

I remember the release of the album was a considerable and ambitious, multi-pronged marketing effort for Metric and their label. They went all-in, producing three different versions of the album, and creating a word hunt game on their website, allowing listeners to stream the album a month before its June 2012 release. Playing with Haines’s quote about originals vs. copies or fakes, they also launched a mobile app that allowed listeners to remix songs on the album, blurring the lines between the original and reproductions. I also remember many clever ads with themes from the album, and of course the music videos. These elements worked together to successfully push the new music out, selling high numbers quickly in Canada and the USA pre- and upon release.

Synthetica is one of those albums I enjoy playing in its entirety occasionally, and I always appreciate the bouncy, driving beat of today’s selection.

Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here.

Here is the official video from the metricmusic YouTube channel:

With my best wishes,

Steve