Arcade Fire - Brilliant or Hosers

[GoneOffShore]

So, I'm listening to WXPN yesterday and they're playing their Ten Top Albums of the year. I happen to tune in when they're playing Arcade Fire's newest in its entirety.

I've read a lot about the band, but this was the first time I've actually listened to them.

Yuck - they sound to me like overproduced, pretentious, repetitive, joyless hosers.

So, tell me:

Arcade Fire


And if you vote other - please explain.

[ghostsofgiants]

1. If you think they're joyless you have never seen them live.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vMjM7FKjIg


Nor are they even remotely repetitive.

Neon Bible is definitely one of the best albums of the year.

[GoneOffShore]

2. I stand by my original thought

They're boring in the most pretentious way possible.

Pastiche-y and no vocal skills. And I watched the video all the way through. Five minutes of my life that I'll never see again.

[ghostsofgiants]

3. Well, that's your opinion.

[Maven]

25. Ditto everything you said.

I saw them this year at Randalls Island and they were spectular.

As was Blonde Redhead, which went on before them, and LCD Soundsystem. What a great concert.

[NashVegas]

28. Even If They Are Repetitive (And I Wouldn't Say They Are): Two Words

Daniel Ash.

[nomorenomore08]

4. I'm mostly indifferent, but I thought "Keep the Car Running" was a good song.

nt

[Bryan]

5. I thought "Funeral" was promising

...but I disliked Neon Bible as much as you did. Turgid, nebulous lyrics ("Workin' for the church while the family dies"? WTF does that actually mean?), smothering, dehumanized production ("Keep The Car Running" sounds like a Simple Minds track from 1985), and an oppressively morose tone (except for "No Cars Go", which, tellingly, predates the writing of this album). It's The Black Parade for hipsters and a classic sophomore slump.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. "Working for the church while the family dies"

To me, anyway, is about being taken away from what's really important for something that's not as important as you really think it is. I could be wrong.

I was underwhelmed with Neon Bible at first too, but the more I listened, the more I realized just how great it is.

[SteppingRazor]

8. I agree with that. Neon Bible is one of those rare albums that improves with repeated listenings...

rather than the usual, which is leaving a solid first impression and then getting weaker over time.

It wasn't in my Top 10 of the year, but it was definitely on the short list.

[ghostsofgiants]

9. I remember a friend of mine saying to me "Neon Bible blows Funeral out of the water"...

And I completely disagreed with him. The more I listened though, the more I realized how right he was.

[Maven]

26. At the concert I saw, they dedicated that song (ironically, of course) to Bush.

;)

[redqueen]

6. Other - can't seem to pay attention long enough to decide one way or the other.

Dunno what it is... they just bore me.

[abq e streeter]

10. haven't heard the studio stuff, but saw em on Austin City limits

and joyless and repetitive are NOT the adjectives that come to mind. I thought they were one of the most inventive, and enjoyable to listen to (and watch) new bands in a long time. Just my opinion; if you don't like 'em , so be it. To each his , and her, own.

[no name no slogan]

11. They're no Oasis, that's for sure

[Tektonik]

12. I was surprised that their sophomore album was as good as it was

They are amazing in all senses.

[KamaAina]

13. You don't think hosers can be brilliant?

So, like, you're from the Lower 48, eh? :P

[Taverner]

14. Simple, no frills but no joy indie rock

Fills the world with white noise
Not bad not good
Just plain musings music

[NashVegas]

19. No Joy?

"Keep the Car Running" has plenty of that, to my ears.

[Mojambo]

15. Can't get into it AT ALL.

I basically think they blow.

[underpants]

17. I saw them on SNL

and I just don't get it. Maybe I should look them up on youtube and watch their videos until I want to form a religion based on their life and times

[GoneOffShore]

21. no you don't

unless you want to waste a couple of hours of your life that you'll never get back.

And yes, color me an Arcade whatever hater.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

16. Brilliant.

Funeral is one of my top 20 albums.

[darkstar]

18. An oldie weighs in

I'm 50 and thought I'd never be getting behind anything remotely now and hip and happening ever in my life. That is, all the Modest Mouse and White Stripes and Shins just weren't doing it for me. That's not to say they are bad. I just didn't connect.

A younger friend had tried to persuade me with a burn of this recent CD, and one or two listens didn't sell me.

But then I saw the Austin City Limits thing. The same friend had Tivo'ed this and burned it and I've watched it multiple times. Some of it is a little precious-like everything on ACL--but damn if it isn't kick-ass body moving live music. As my nic here denotes, I'm a Dead fan and the inability to *move* an audience is what I miss most in modern music. These folks aren't prog-like prodigies, nor are they jazz-bos or jam-band types. But like lots of good *live* bands, I think the sum of the parts is where it's at here. Like the Dead or the Velvets. In fact, the repetitiveness of the Velvets, the length of Dead arrangements, and the unison parts of zydeco leave me kind of cold on *studio* recordings as well. But live....

On top of that, I really like the subtle shifts of melody and arrangement. While it seems like rocking through sheer repetition, these songs on the live thing, at least, are so meticulously arranged as to blow my mind. Hardly 4 measures go by w/out a new voice, even if it's just another layer of unison, or a slight twist to the melody/harmonic presentation. I'll bet money, the lead singer--is he the brains?--has listened to tons of Eno.

OK. Enough. And I'll add a complaint. Some of the performers can rub me the wrong way. The woman on keys, in particular, reminds me of a thousand college-town rock act wankers I've seen.

[NashVegas]

20. Somewhere In Between

It's hard to argue against 750k albums sold with no commercial radio play.

In the early 1990s, there was a phrase that made the rounds to explain Green Day's fame: "people miss the Jam."

Well it's 2007 and people miss Echo & the Bunnymen, too.

There are three songs in particular on Neon Bible that really make me move; the rest are cool, but I could walk away and not really have missed much.

[mitchum]

23. You nailed it with "...and people miss Echo & the Bunnymen "

even if its Echo & the Bunnymen without the vocal chops, sense of mystery, charisma, and Will Sargent's guitar

[NashVegas]

27. I Think the Mystery Is There

Especially in something like "Black Mirror."

[mitchum]

22. Stop that! Today's kids HAVE to feel like they are living in incredibly creative times...

even if it's not true

[Maven]

24. Not better than the Beatles, but a great band.

Neon Bible is a great album and the band is even better live.

I think to enjoy their music you have to get into the drama and dysphoria they conjure. Some of their songs may be joyful ("Keep the Car Running" has already been mentioned) but there's always a tinge of dread in the background.

The other thing is that I don't think you can judge the album after one listen on the radio.