Sound CheckBarenaked Ladies on their new album ‘Grinning Streak’ and their advice for Justin Bieber
To celebrate the release of their latest album “Grinning Streak” (out June 4), Barenaked Ladies members Ed Robertson and Tyler Stewart talked to Yahoo! Canada Music about how they came up with the name of the record -- plus, they offered their words of support for Justin Bieber.
In order to decide on their twelfth album’s title, BNL brainstormed and wrote numerous suggestions out on a board. They came up with suggestions like “Sustained,” “Five Seconds from Perfect, and “Popes Don’t Quit” (which was contributed by Robertson), before ultimately landing on “Grinning Streak.”
Check out a behind-the-scenes look at the naming process:
“‘Popes Don’t Quit,’ that was a good one,” Robertson said, explaining that the suggested title was in reference to Pope Benedict XVI’s retirement.
“I think I wrote it on the board because I just thought it was interesting that you could be God’s literal voice here on earth and decide, ‘I don’t really like this gig anymore,’" he said. "It’s just to make us laugh and amuse us. I think ‘Grinning Streak’ hit me right away as a contender. I liked the implications of it. Tyler came up with it.”
Added Stewart: “I think with ‘Grinning Streak,’ it ended up being a really good metaphor for how the songs are feeling. We feeling pretty good, we’re grinning.”
It seems like feeling good had a tremendous influence on the creation of this new album. Robertson admitted that at this stage in his career, he has acquired a new level of confidence in BNL -- especially after the hardships they experienced before their last release, “All in Good Time.”
In addition to being the first album since the departure of BNL founding member Steven Page, Robertson’s mother also passed away during the making of “All in Good Time” and he was involved in a plane crash.
“I think that the greatest achievement on ‘All in Good Time’ was just us standing up again,” the vocalist revealed. “It had been such a tumultuous couple of years that, frankly, it was a fairly herculean achievement to just make a record … [On ‘Grinning Streak,’] it’s the first time in our career where I have felt this level of confidence about we’re doing. Confidence in the material [and] in the band. That to me is incredibly rewarding.”
Even though Robertson has only recently acquired this new sense of sureness, we think that it could also come from their ability to last in the Canadian music scene. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Toronto group, and when it comes to sharing words of wisdom, they Ladies aren’t shy about sending their support to fellow Canadian musician Justin Bieber, who has recently been the subject of much scrutiny.
“I don’t think that any of us can relate to the level of fame and catapult to stardom that he’s experiencing,” Robertson said. “If I could give him any advice, I would just say to keep it together because he has so much f---ing talent. It would be a shame. He is an insanely talented young man. I challenge anyone to keep their s--- together while touring all over the world.”
“Take some time off,” Stewart added. “Take a year off and go find a place where you can work on your music because it’s good. I think he’s really got it in him to be a career artist because he’s an amazing entertainer; he just has to not burn out.”
Check out BNL’s latest music video “Boomerang,” and head here to find out how you can catch them on their 2013 “Last Summer On Earth Tour,” featuring Ben Folds Five and Guster.
