The Circle Married the Line

Album: Metals (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Toronto resident Feist penned most of the lyrics Metals in the fall of 2010. She then headed to Big Sur, on the Californian coast and set up an ad hoc recording studio to record the album. Feist rented a cottage nearby, and each morning walked along a ridge overlooking the ocean to the studio. "My commute to work was with my backpack filled with my laptop, journals, and whatever books I was reading," she told Spin magazine. "I'd tromp along the cliffs between wild cows as condors circled overhead. Some days were stunning and gorgeous; on others the clouds were so thick you couldn't see 10 feet."
  • Feist's morning walks inspired one of the verses for this geometric love song: "All I want is a horizon line / Get some clarity, following the signs / Get some clear ocean signs."
    "It was the only lyric that I wrote there," she explained to Spin magazine. "I added it because I really was getting serious clarity walking across the cliffs every morning."
  • Feist brought in Beck's keyboardist and musical director, Brian LeBarton to help with the song's arrangement.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Janis Ian

Janis IanSongwriter Interviews

One of the first successful female singer-songwriters, Janis had her first hit in 1967 at age 15.

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)

Graham Bonnet (Alcatrazz, Rainbow)Songwriter Interviews

Yngwie Malmsteen and Steve Vai were two of Graham's co-writers for some '80s rock classics.

John Doe of X

John Doe of XSongwriter Interviews

With his X-wife Exene, John fronts the band X and writes their songs.

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

90s Music Quiz 1

90s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

First question: Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson appeared in videos for what artist?