Ed Robertson, Andrew Creeggan, Tyler Stewart, Jim Creeggan, and Steven Page. And of course Kevin "the new guy" Hearn. :-)

Thanks to martin, anotherone, Phssthpok, and Al.

Being that I'm an avid fan of the group, it frustrates me to no end when people refer to them simply as a "Canadian geek humor band", because they are so infinitely much more than that. They are crazy amounts of talented, and the only songs that are really "geek humor-ish" are the ones that got a lot of air time, like "One Week" and "If I Had $1000000". I mean, damn, so what if they make light of some things, add a bit of humor into their music.. that doesn't mean that's *all* they are. And can we get a big EXCUSE ME for the radio stations in the United States who said they were a NEW group when "One Week" came out.. ahem. These guys have been around and even popular here in Canada since, well, a very long time! Ignorance bothers me.

Let me introduce you to some of the dreamiest, best songs by this group that you've probably never heard: That just scratches the surface.. they've got some pretty amazing lyrical content and the music is very impressive. Oh, and they've a new album coming out soon I believe, it will be called "Maroon", I think.

I'm passionate about my plant life, but I'm probably even more passionate about my music.
Way back in 1991, the Toronto band Barenaked Ladies was due to play in Nathan Philips Square, Toronto on New Year's Eve. A big gig, excellent publicity. Unfortunately, the cluelessly unhip and politically correct mayor at the time, June Rowlands, cancelled the show. Why?

Because the name objectified women.

The band was very embarrassed. They had chosen the name as a goofy reference to how children talked, and because it would look silly on a marquee. Ironically the negative publicity was a huge career boost for the band, because it got people talking about them.

On September 21, 2000, BNL finally played Nathan Philips Square, and were presented the key to the city by Toronto's then-current mayor, Mel Lastman.
The Yellow Tape, released in 1991. This was the Ladies' third indy cassette. It features a tasty looking club sandwich on the yellow J card. The songs on this cassette sound almost like their counterparts on Gordon.

  1. Be My Yoko Ono
  2. Brian Wilson
  3. Blame It On Me
  4. If I Had $1000000
  5. Fight The Power

The last track, Fight The Power, is an all-acoustic silly version of Public Enemy's hit.

Owning this cassette is a mark of pride in Toronto, akin to having Ben Kerr over for dinner.

The Ladies are famous for their live shows, in which they do a lot of improv and comedy. Songs are tweaked slightly, or greatly, lyrically to suit the news of the day or some random thought that crosses the mind of Ed Robertson or Steven Paige. The changes are often subtle (the joys of live taping, you can catch things that you couldn't even hear when it was happening), like in "These Apples" they'll sing "and mix up my grandma" instead of grammer. They also have a tendency to come up with new songs on the spot usually based on some slip of the tongue or odd phrase or news story.

The medley section is also popular, in which they do a medley of popular songs of the day, often to highly comedic effect. They really do put a lot of heart into the section, which is what makes it so great, but Steve trying to sing "And I will always love you" and hit (and sustain) those notes is hilarious.

On occasion they'll play an obscure unreleased track like "McDonald's Girl" or "Steven Page Is Having A Baby"

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