In spirit of their first embark to Kuala Lumpur, the land of diverse foods and culture, 10 fun facts about the band will be laid out for your extended knowledge prior to their upcoming show at Urbanscapes’ Satellite Show #2!

1. They’re a four-man band. Metric comprises of leading lady, Emily Haines and James Shaw who initially found the band in 1988 after the completion of the band with Joshua Winstead and Joules Scott-Key.

2. The band”s name has absolutely no relation to the metric system in Canada. Some would come to think that the Toronto based band to be named ‘Metric’ being in a country that applies the metric system in calculation, but the origin of their bands name came about after a sound that enthralled the original two members Emily and James that came from a sound programmed into James’s keyboard.

3. The bands original name was ‘Mainstream’. Yes you read that correct, the dynamic band was originally named ‘Mainstream’ by Emily Haines and James Shaw in 1997. They had an EP released under the name and fact is, both of them don’t even own a copy of it themselves.

4. Emily Haines has been online casino involved in two other bands. Besides being the front lady for her primary band, metric, Emily haines is also involved in two other projects under the moniker Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton being her solo act. On top of that, Emily along with James are also involved in Canadian based band ‘Broken Social Scene’

5. Emily Haines is 39. Yeap guys, this bombshell of a gal is 39 years old and is engaged/married to Phillip Kressin of the band Neon Legion. Sorry to burst your bubbles fanboys.

6. The band has performed alongside rock legends. In their early years the band was approached to open for The rolling stones and Emily also had a unique relationship with the rock legend, Lou Reed (R.I.P). They’ve performed together in several shows, Lou Reed played “Pale Blue Eyes” before their song co-produced by him “The Wanderlust”

7. The band was side featured in a movie. Aside their other TV stardoms from concerts and videos, The band was side-featured in a 2004 movie directed by Olivier Assayas, “Clean”. The band was in the movie acting as them selves, even having minor dialogue in the background.

8. Emily Haines and James Shaw used to date. Back when the band was forming out the original two members tried their run at a romantic relationship but evidently decided to part and be “Creatively Involved” with each other throughout the years. Safe to say that’s probably why their music is so amazing. The chemistry is just there.

9. The band is under their own record label. Alike other bands like Wilco and Radiohead, Metric also strays away from the traditional record label deal. Not just musicians, they’re also their own bosses. The band stated that being a great singer isn’t enough nowadays, being a great marketer is also part and parcel with the career.

10. It’s going to be their first time in Malaysia! 3rd December 2013 during the satellite show as a part of Urbansacapes would be the first time the band has ever been to this region of south east asia, Malaysia. The band has yet to say anything about their performance, but we’re all excited to hear what they have to say!

11. Hayley Williams – Paramore

Hayley Williams must have taken a huge role in influencing girls to perform rock songs. Her presence in Paramore also takes the band to the level where girls are like “Oh my god, she’s my hero!”. In the early age of Paramore and ofcourse in that time Hayley Williams has been noted by the industry as the most intriguing and eclectic front woman for a rock band.

10. Shirley Manson – Garbage

As the person who grew up in 90s music folder, not mentioning Shirley Manson will be one of the fatal mistakes to do. Her compelling appearance for Garbage is very remarkable as The New York Times stated “Temptress, lover, sufferer, scrapper — those have been Ms. Manson’s personae since Garbage started in 1995. In other eras she might have been a pop torch singer, a soul belter or a new-wave frontwoman: a Shirley Bassey, a Dusty Springfield, or a Chrissie Hynde. There’s a little of each of them in her voice”

9. Alison Mosshart – The Kills

VV or Baby Ruthless or anything radical that you want to name her, Alison Moshart is just a mirror of a title like “Bad ass woman in rock bands”. She definitely brings her name because of the Kills. But her amazing music skills drag her to another rock scene. In 2009, Jack White teamed up with her for the amazing The Dead Weather and also helped out Primal Scream and Placebo.

8. Meg White – The White Stripes

No one would ever think that the crazy drumming skill is hiding in that super shy personality. Meg White. For being not so talkative (Unlike Jack White), Meg White was the backbone for most of the White Stripes’ rhythm and she was the band’s muse.

7. Karen O – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

If you want to see a crazy stage acts, throat-killing vocals, or even deephroathing the microphone, Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O should be on your list. Karen O is the fresh air of the typically boring front woman era, when she popped out with the band, she will literally pop your eyes with her infamous stage acts. Her quirk and eye-striking sense of fashion is one of the best thing to see when she hits the stage!

6. Nico – the Velvet Underground

We should hail to Andy Warhol for this. The addition of Nico to the Velvet Underground is a very brilliant combination. The multi talented Nico has brought her to one of the Warhol Superstars and some musical work with Bob Dylan.

5. Debbie Harry – Blondie

“Colour me your colour baby, Colour me your car, Colour me your colour, darling, I know who you are” No one can beat Debbie Harry! Ask your father how amazing she was back in 70s. She is definitely the mother of every girl who jumps their ass in rock bands. Debbie Harry was the punk rock icon and being a magnet of the-girl-who-pushes-the-boundaries’ look. In short, she is the queen of the punk girl.

4. Kim Gordon – Sonic Youth

If Debbie Harry is the queen of the punk scene, then Kim Gordon is the queen of American alt-rock scene. With her ex-husband and fellow in Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore, she has created one of the most distinctive musical catalogs for the last 30 years. Lately in 2013, she also featured by the powerhouse in fashion industry, Yves Saint Laurent, for their exclusive campaign.

3. Gwen Stefani – No Doubt

Here comes the media darling who takes over the world. The ska-version of Gwen Stefani was a total hype at that time. She has been known for her sense of fashion, even when she only wore training pants for No Doubt until the Harajuku style invades her. Gwen Stefani also left a remarkable path of her solo career by seeling a million copy of her albums, but really we still miss her in No Doubt. Wish granted! In 2012, Gwen decided to do a reunion with the band and still, we miss her ska’s vibe back in the 90s.

2. Siouxie Sioux – Siouxsie And The Banshees

Are you a goth dresses? If yes, here is the girl who made into a worldwide trend. The lead singer of 70s rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, broke the stereotype of how a frontwoman looks like. She appeared in an edgy way and very different to the current things. Viv Albertine from The Slits said “Siouxsie just appeared fully made, fully in control, utterly confident. It totally blew me away. There she was doing something that I dared to dream but she took it and did it and it wiped the rest of the festival for me, that was it. I can’t even remember everything else about it except that one performance.”

1. Courtney Love – Hole

Courtney Love, Courtney Love, Courtney Love. There’s nothing about her that is not bad ass. In 1994, she and her rock band , Hole, emerged as a major rock force. Unfortunately, after the dark eras, Courtney Love seemed dragged backwards from her music career and turn into a headliner for some scandals. However, if there was a lifetime achievement award for a female rock icon, she would end up bringing home the trophy.

Stillwater (Almost Famous)

What’s not to love? Russell the leader of this fiction band from Almost Famous is really cool. He has vision and he can lead the band. And their song ‘Fever Dog’ ? More than words to describe it as good!. They give a really good vibes about the band’s live in 70’s. This movie actually inspired us to be a music journalist.

Sex-Bob-Omb (Scott Pilgirm vs. The World)

Women plays drums in a band?? So interesting! We would love to see the band from movie portrayed by Michael Cera as Scott in real life. Like if they’re playing in our town right now We’d probably buy the ticket and will be at the front row.

The Wonders/The Oneders (That Thing You Do!)

“You doing that thing you do.. breaking my heart into a million pieces like you always do..” The Wonders is a fictional band from 60’s who’s trying to be the next ‘The Beatles’ but they didn’t succeed. Film critic Roger Ebert saying he was impressed by this song because the film had to have an original song that the film-goers would believe could actually be a hit and this song was a hit.

The Weird Sister (Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire)

If this band is a real band they’re going to be a superb british band with great members. Seriously Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) on vocals, Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead) on lead guitar, Jason Buckle (All Seeing I) on rhythm guitar, Steve Mackey (Pulp) on bass, Steve Claydon (Add N to (X)) on keyboards, and Phil Selway (Radiohead) on drums,  it’s epic. The songs “Do The Hippogriff”, “Magic Works”, and “This is The Night” were written by Jarvis Cocker. We can say that Cocker really nailed it.

Questionable Goods (Girls)

Charlie and Ray’s band from the HBO series Girls would be a typical indie band from New York. But that’s what makes Questionable Goods interesting. We’d love to see a cute indie band members on the stage playing guitar with a-not-so-good voice. Too bad Girls’ production team didn’t really take care with their small details, like when Ray said ‘Fully downloaded on questionablegoods.tv they should really make the web and also the song.

Robin Sparkles/ Robin Daggers (How I Met Your Mother)

‘Let’s Go to The Mall‘, ‘Sand Castle in The Sand‘, ‘Beaver Song‘, and ‘P.S. I Love You‘ are the song from the not-so-famous teenage singer from TV series How I Met Your Mother. The songs are catchy. Cobie Smulders sings it very well.

School of Rock (School of Rock)

When the kids gone wild with rock music. Who doesn’t want to see a bunch of kids and Jake Blake rock the stage pretty hard? If School of Rock was a real band, we’ll put Zach Mooneyham in our list as the greatest lyricist because Zach’s song lyric is really kicking a lot of asses.

Fuck Norris (Skins 6)

As we know Skins introduced us to many great indie bands such as Born Ruffians, Dog Is Dead, and so on. But they also made a good fictional band. Fuck Norris is the name of Alo and Rich band. They appeared on the second episodes from series 6 with song ‘We Are One’.

Mission Control/Creation (Freaks and Geeks)

Another fictional band from TV series, Mission Control/Creation from Freaks and Geeks a popular TV show in 1999. A Band with Jason Segel, James Franco, and  Seth Rogen in it would be impressive. A little fun fact about this band is although Segel never played the drums before working on “Freaks and Geeks,” he and his on-screen persona do share a common appreciation for the music of Led Zeppelin.

The Beet (Doug)

Famous band from Liverpool in classic cartoon Doug. This fictional band actually did release an album called ‘Let It Beet’ with three songs ‘Killer Tofu‘, ‘Shout Out Your Lungs’, and ‘I Need More Allowance’. The guitar sound in Killer Tofu is really awesome.

With two side-by-side stages and 14 acts St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival in Singapore this year probably was one of the biggest festival, which been waited by 7800 Indie music lovers around Asia.

The festival itself started around 2pm in the middle of the day, and lots of nice good looking hispters already gather to see Cults, duo from NYC with their first song Abducted followed by You Know What I Mean, Slow Song and after 40 minuets perform they closed it with their hits Oh My God which taken from their self titled album.

Band which famous with Shook Down song, Yuck came out as the second band and with their noise and shoegazing sound, the band start to play their hits like Holing out, The Wall, Georgia, Suicide Policeman, Milkshake and closed with Rubber. As the venue getting full with hipster crowd, another NY duo Chairlift which just released their second album Amanaemonesia recently, played hits songs both from their first and second albums such as Take It Out on Me, Wrong Opinion, Bruises, Met Before, I Belong in Your Arms, Evident Utensil and off course Amanaemonesia.

The crowd also can enjoy their late lunch inside the venue companied with sounds from Austra with their unique girl-band appearance. Followed by Girls, the crowd was led by Christopher Owens and his guitar to paid tribute to Whitney Houston by sang I Will Always Love You before playing the band’s set.

Another band that have gain lots of Asian fans since their tour last year was The Drums. The band played songs all dancing shoes lover wants to hear such as Best Friend, Let’s Go Surfing, What You Were, Money, The Future, Me and The Moon and Forever and Ever Amen.

As the sun goes down, the hype on the fest gets up. Continued with Twin Shadow, Anna Calvi and Laura Marling, the crowd can cater around and enjoyed the late sunset with their friends and loves one. And then the emotion gets rock again when The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart went to the stage and played their nu gaze indie pop songs like , I Wanna Go All The Way, Belong, Young Adult Friction, A Teenager In Love, and Heart In Your Heartbreak. Wasn’t enough with rock sound, Toro Y Moi come up and made the crowd dance to their New Beat, All Alone, Talamak, Still Sounds, Freaking Out and even Low Shoulder.

Feist, The Horros and M83 probably was the most waited band of the night, and with songs and live act that holding breath the bands succeed to made the crowd jumping around, nodding their heads and even dancing like no tomorrow. And to top it all of Anthony Gonzalez and his live band closed the festival with epic performance from the stage atmosphere, lightning, to their act itself succeed made every penny paid off. Surely after this festival as Danny Rogers of Laneway said, we couldn’t wait to see more of ‘right music’ come to asia next year!