The New Pornographers

The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released seven studio albums to critical acclaim for their use of multiple vocalists and elements of power pop incorporated into their music.

History
The New Pornographers' name was chosen by Carl Newman, who has said that he came up with it after watching a Japanese film called The Pornographers. Many writers have assumed that the name was a reference to Jimmy Swaggart's claim that rock and roll was "the new pornography." The band has released seven albums to date: Mass Romantic (2000), Electric Version (2003), Twin Cinema (2005), Challengers (2007), Together (2010), Brill Bruisers (2014), and Whiteout Conditions (2017). A live album recorded on their 2006 tour is available only at concerts and on the band's website. In 2005, the band was the subject of Reginald Harkema's documentary film Better Off in Bed.

The New Pornographers' first four albums each placed in the top 40 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a solo album from one of the band's members ranked in the top 40 on the list each year. In 2007, Blender magazine ranked The New Pornographers' first album, Mass Romantic, the 24th best indie album of all time. In 2009, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the band's second studio album, Electric Version, No. 79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".

All of The New Pornographer's original members were prominent within the Vancouver music scene prior to forming the band. Kathryn Calder, who is also Newman's niece, joined the band in 2005 largely as a live replacement for Neko Case, whose solo career often left her unavailable to perform with the band. Calder's first lead vocals for the band were on 2007's Challengers, singing the lead on "Failsafe" and sharing the lead with Newman on "Adventures in Solitude".

In 2009, The New Pornographers contributed a cover of the Destroyer song "Hey, Snow White" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night, produced by the Red Hot Organization. The band released their fifth album, Together, on May 4, 2010, on Matador Records. The album includes collaborations from St. Vincent, Beirut's Zach Condon, and Okkervil River's Will Sheff.

In 2012, The New Pornographers contributed a cover of the song "Think About Me" for the Fleetwood Mac tribute CD called Just Tell Me That You Want Me released by Hear Music. The band's sixth album, Brill Bruisers, was released on August 26, 2014. The album was their highest charting to date in the United States, peaking at #13 on the Billboard 200.

On January 26, 2017, The New Pornographers announced their seventh album, Whiteout Conditions, would be released on April 7. The album was preceded by the single "High Ticket Attractions". The album is the first to feature drummer Joe Seiders as a full-time member after replacing drummer Kurt Dahle in mid-2014. It is also the first New Pornographers album to not feature Dan Bejar. Newman has since, however, gone on the record to note that Bejar's absence does not mean he has left the band entirely; telling Stereogum that "he [Bejar] was right in the middle of doing a Destroyer record... [w]hich was something we’d narrowly skirted for our whole career. I’m always amazed that we managed to. Sometimes we avoided Destroyer, sometimes Destroyer avoided us, but eventually we hit at the same time. It wasn’t anything weird."

On November 29th, 2018, A.C. Newman announced via Twitter that he had begun work on a future New Pornographers album.

Members
Members' other projects in brackets
 * Current members


 * Carl Newman – vocals, guitar (solo artist (as A.C. Newman), also of Superconductor and Zumpano) (1997–present)
 * Neko Case – vocals (solo artist, also of Maow, The Corn Sisters, and Cub) (1997–present)
 * John Collins – bass (The Evaporators and Destroyer) (1997–present)
 * Blaine Thurier – keyboards, synthesizer (independent filmmaker) (1997–present)
 * Todd Fancey – lead guitar (solo artist (as Fancey) and of Limblifter) (2003–present)
 * Kathryn Calder – vocals, keyboards, guitar (solo artist and of Immaculate Machine and Frontperson) (2005–present)
 * Joe Seiders – drums, vocals (Beat Club) (2014–present)
 * Dan Bejar – vocals, guitar (Destroyer, Swan Lake, and Hello, Blue Roses) (1997–present; currently inactive)


 * Touring members
 * Simi Stone – violin, vocals (solo artist and of Suffrajett) (2015–present)


 * Former members
 * Fisher Rose – drums (Destroyer and A.C. Newman) (1997–1999)
 * Kurt Dahle – drums, vocals (Limblifter and The Age of Electric) (1999–2014)


 * Former touring members
 * Lindsay "Coco" Hames – vocals, percussion, acoustic guitar (The Ettes) (2014)

Live albums

 * Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (2005)
 * LIVE! (2006)
 * LIVE from SoHo (iTunes Exclusive) (2008)

Singles
B-sides: "The End of Medicine", "When I Was a Baby" (The Donner Party cover) (UK No. 139) B-side: "Graceland" B-sides: "Fugue State"; "Silent Systems" B-sides: "Joseph, Who Understood"; "Arms of Mary"/"Looking at a Baby" (Chilliwack cover medley) B-sides: "Georgie, Don't You Know"; "Electric Child Of Witchcraft Rising" B-side: "A Drug Deal Of The Heart"
 * "Letter from an Occupant" (2002, Europe)
 * "Use It" (2005)
 * "Sing Me Spanish Techno" (2005)
 * "High Art, Local News" 7" (2005), available with purchase of Twin Cinema
 * "My Rights Versus Yours" (2007)
 * "Myriad Harbour" (2007)
 * "The Spirit of Giving" (2007)
 * "Togetherness" 7" (often titled as "Togetherness: The New Pornographers Play Outrageous Cherry") (2010)
 * "Your Hands (Together)" (2010)
 * "Crash Years" (2010)
 * "Moves" (2011)
 * "Brill Bruisers" (2014)
 * "War on the East Coast" (2014)
 * "Dancehall Domine" (2014)
 * "High Ticket Attractions" (2017) (#6 on Billboard Adult Alternative Songs)

Contributions

 * Queer as Folk (2000) – "Mass Romantic"
 * Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) – "Letter from an Occupant"
 * Men with Brooms (2002) – "Mass Romantic"
 * FUBAR: The Album (2002) – "Your Daddy Don't Know"
 * CBC Radio 3 Sessions, Vol. 1 (2004) – "The Fake Headlines"
 * Matador at Fifteen (2004) – "Graceland"
 * Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story (2004) – "Mass Romantic"
 * The Office (Season 2, Episode 7: "The Client") (2005) – "Use It"
 * Weeds (2005) – "The Laws Have Changed"
 * Waiting... (2005) – "Electric Version"
 * Gilmore Girls (2004) – "The Laws Have Changed"
 * Gilmore Girls (2005) – "Twin Cinema"
 * The Hour (Main Title Theme Season 3) (2006) – "Use It"
 * Chuck (Season 1, Episode 2: "Chuck Versus the Helicopter") (2007) – "Challengers"
 * Heroes (Season 2, Episode 6: "The Line") (2007) – "All for Swinging You Around"
 * Rock Band (2007) – "Electric Version", "Use It", "All of the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" (DLC)
 * University of Phoenix commercial (2007) – "Bleeding Heart Show"
 * Stone of Destiny (2008) – "Mutiny, I Promise You"
 * NBA playoffs (2008) – "Use It"
 * Numb3rs (2008) – "Challengers"
 * Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Series 2, Episode 2) (2008) – "Adventures in Solitude"
 * Management (2009) – "Adventures in Solitude", "All the Old Showstoppers"
 * Dark Was the Night (2009) – "Hey, Snow White"
 * Ugly Betty (2010) – "Adventures in Solitude"
 * The Good Wife (Season 2, Episode 13) (2011) – "Testament to Youth in Verse"
 * Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe (2011) - "Hey, Snow White"
 * Amazon Kindle commercial – "Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk"
 * T-Mobile commercial (2011) – "Moves"
 * Hyundai commercial (Canada) – "Moves"
 * Go On (opening credits) (2012) – "Moves"
 * Between (Season 1, Episode 1) (2015) – "Moves"
 * Speechless (Season 1, Episode 22: "M-A-- MAY-JAY") (2017) – "Dancehall Domine"
 * Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac (2012) – "Think About Me"
 * Blindspot (Season 3, Episode 1) – "The Bleeding Heart Show"