Metric’s Emily Haines reflects on legacy of ‘Black Sheep’: ‘You have really no idea what’s gonna happen next’

Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at 2:44 AM

Metric's All the Feelings tour in support of their new album, Romanticize the Dive, resumes Friday in Chicago. During the first leg of the tour in June, Emily Haines and company closed each show with their 2010 song "Black Sheep," which, despite never being on [...]

As Haines tells ABC Audio, "Black Sheep" was originally written around the sessions for Metric's 2009 album, Fantasies, but it didn't make the cut.

"This is something that I had brought in, lyrically, they're just like, 'What the f*** are you talking about?"" Haines recalls of the band's initial "Black Sheep" thoughts.

As fate would have it though, a new movie called Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, adapted from the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley, was in the works. The books feature a fictional band called The Clash at Demonhead, which O'Malley based on Metric, though Haines laughs that she's "sweeter" than The Clash at Demonhead's singer, Envy Adams.

Naturally, the film's director, Edgar Wright, reached out to Metric, who volunteered "Black Sheep" for the project.

"When [Wright] heard it, he was just like, 'This sounds like it was written for the scene,"" Haines says. "And I completely agree, and I don't know why."

In the movie, a pre-Captain Marvel Brie Larson plays Envy Adams and sings "Black Sheep," which adds another level to its legacy. Beyond that, though, Haines feels the success of "Black Sheep" reinforces one of her beliefs on life.

"I love that stuff, because it just confirms my belief that we're basically powerless," Haines says. "You just have to truck along and, like, do your best, follow some instinct, but you have really no idea what's gonna happen next."

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