Years ago now… maybe 2004 or 2005 or 2006? Wow, James Sutton (the Zone’s music director) came across a song from a Vancouver band called Northern Alliance or NA.
The song was called “Take Me Higher” and we played it a bit on the radio here and like tons of feature songs before and after, it was played and drifted away into obscurity.
The funny thing about this song is that it still gets requested from time to time on the radio despite the fact the band was a story of never was.
What happened to Northern Alliance?
Searching the internet and there is a smattering of circa 2005 websites that are big on promises. A band full of bravado and breaking the status quo and how we’re all Sheeple but they have the answer to break the cycle and blah blah. One website, their shtick is to end every paragraph with “f*** Northern Alliance.”
I always find it adorable when counter-culture types edit themselves.
Its really too bad, they had an awesome song that I still remember and listen to and is still remembered by some Zoners to this day.
The song “Take Me Higher” is a pretty impressive Nu-metal rap/rock dealio. remind me of Linkin Park if I took them seriously (maybe how Linkin Park sounded when they were hungry).
Its a song about cogging your way through the day, through life. A great anthem for the people out there maintaining life but wanting a little more.
Musically, its not changing your world. Rap verse, soaring chorus, huge hooks… back to rap and repeat. But where I like this song compared to say something from most early 2000 nu-metal bands is that I believe the hardship from the singer. Its just hard to take the angst from millionaire douche-bags. But from Vancouver skids, its real.
Time and reflection add to the drama of the song. We now know they had designs on rock stardom to escape the deary madness of life… and it failed ( that I know of, perhaps their lives are in good places, and I hope they are).
This song is full of bravado and optimism. Their website screams the same. But we, the world of 2005-ish… weren’t buying it. And so fade to black on the chapter of music that was NA (METAPHORS!).
Who knows, maybe the band will google themselves and find my blog and smile that someone remembers their music. They’ll drop me line, let me know they’re still grinding and rhyming. Until then, download this old song that I think me and James ripped off MySpace many moons ago.
Northern Alliance – “Take Me Higher”
Download MP3 >> Take Me Higher
Some websites I found about the defunct band: Soundclick and CBC 3.
Go with yourself.
The Morning After 