Metric has no shortage of life-changing songs, but among the most notable is one from their (technically) first album, Grow Up and Blow Away (released after Live It Out in 2005). “Soft Rock Star,” the sixth track on the record, is about the “novelty, cheap pink spotlight” of most soft rock stars (barring, of course, Celine Dion) that also applies so well to office workers willing to bask in the bargain-basement appeal of a middle class tier paycheck.
As Emily Haines describes the life of a sellout singer, she also chronicles the day-to-day of a cubicle prisoner on the prowl for work, essentially telling temp agencies and websites that advertise their resume, “Choose the highest bidder was my answer when they told me I was up for sale.” ‘Cause when you’re working in a profession as nebulous as the kind placed in an office setting, the higher the price for your soul, the better.