Succexy

Album: Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? (2003)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The title "Succexy" combines the words "success" and "sexy," but the song is about neither of those things - not literally, anyway. Like the "Combat Baby" track that follows it on Metric's debut album, Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?, "Succexy" is about the United States' 2003 war with Afghanistan and the tensions with that were building with Iraq at that time.

    Detractors of those wars felt that corporate media was spinning events to put them in a positive light and to make the war appear sexy and easily winnable. Metric frontwoman Emily Haines gives voice to all those detractors with this song. She also calls out the war for being about money and oil with the line, "Faces to fill and cars to feed."
  • Emily Haines wrote the song with her Metric co-founder James Shaw, the guitarist in the band. She explained to Better Propaganda: "I think the irony is twofold, in that we are, in many ways, an American band, because the two other members of the band are from Texas, and we all met in New York. And I'm in fact dual citizen, my parents are American, they're ex patriots. And James is also um, whatever with his green card and stuff... So this band was definitely formed in America. I would love to have a more outsider feeling, but I recognize that every dollar I spend in America goes towards things like the military. We feel complicit in the things that we're concerned about." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.