Fronted by the husband-and-wife team of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, the Arcade Fire's emotional debut -- rendered even more poignant by the dedications to recently departed family members contained in its liner notes -- is brave, empowering, and dusted with something that many of the indie-rock genre's more contrived acts desperately lack: an element of real danger. Funeral' s mourners -- specifically Butler and Chassagne -- inhabit the same post-apocalyptic world as London Suede's Dog Man Star; they are broken, beaten, and ferociously romantic, reveling in the brutal beauty of their surroundings like a heathen Adam & Eve. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)," the first of four metaphorical forays into the geography of the soul, follows a pair of young lovers who meet in the middle of the town through tunnels that connect to their bedrooms. Over a soaring piano lead that's effectively doubled by distorted guitar, they reach a Lord of the Flies-tinged utopia where they can't even remember their names or the faces of their weeping parents. Butler sings like Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood used to play, like a lion-tamer whose whip grows shorter with each and every lash. He can barely contain himself, and when he lets loose it's both melodic and primal, like Berlin-era Bowie or British Sea Power. "Neighborhood #2 (Laďka)" examines suicidal desperation through an angular Gang of Four prism; the hypnotic wash of strings and subtle meter changes of "Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)" winsomely capture the mundane doings of day-to-day existence; and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)," Funeral's victorious soul-thumping core, is a goose bump-inducing rallying cry centered around the notion that "the power's out in the heart of man, take it from your heart and put it in your hand." The Arcade Fire are not bereft of whimsy. "Crown of Love" is like a wedding cake dropped in slow motion, utilizing a Johnny Mandel-style string section and a sweet, soda-pop stand chorus to provide solace to a jilted lover yearning for a way back into the fold, and "Haiti" relies on a sunny island melody to explore the complexities of Chassagne's mercurial homeland. However, it's the sheer power and scope of cuts like "Wake Up" -- featuring all 15 musicians singing in unison -- and the mesmerizing, early-Roxy Music pulse of "Rebellion (Lies)" that make Funeral the remarkable achievement that it is. These are songs that pump blood back into the heart as fast and furiously as it's draining from the sleeve on which it beats, and by the time Chassagne dissects her love of riding "In the Backseat" with the radio on, despite her desperate fear of driving, Funeral's singular thread is finally revealed; love does conquer all, especially love for the cathartic power of music.
Reader’s Choice: Madvillain – Madvillainy Like most great albums, Madvillainy creates discussion. It dichotomizes people and they either love or hate the album. The argument usually comes down to what type of hip-hop fan you’re talking to. Those who love modern hip-hop (or glitz-hop as I’m gonna call it) seem to hate this album. They [...]
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Their name is known in almost every corner of the Earth and they've released just two records; Arcade Fire are the true definition of a success story. In 2004 when their debut record Funeral saw release, the musical world was shook to it's very foundations by an expected, rare gem that earned more than just a few accolades.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/magazine/04arcade.t.html?th&emc=thNY Times on Arcade Fire, again.And here's the MySpace page for AF.www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficialThere is also an interesting recent article in the NY Times about Antoine Dowdell, jazz pianist, and his brother (in jail for terrorist associations). I wrote a post about it earlier, but the whole damn thing was accidentally er...
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I wish they had shows like "Pancake Mountain":http://www.pancakemountain.com/index2.htm when I was a kid. Make sure to check out the "Watch This" section for loads of really fun clips with Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Wolfmother, George Clinton, and lots more!This show is the coolest thing since maple syrup. Believe it.
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And the pointless title goes to . . . ARCADE FIRE for "FUNERAL"! Yep, that is definitely the best album of 2006 and it was released in 2004! Such is the power of AF. Seriously, today I got an e-mail from NPR's "All Songs Considered" reminding me again to vote for the best album of 2006 and I could think of nothing. I don't mean to disrespect any artists that have released an album this year...
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Their name is known in almost every corner of the Earth and they've released just two records; Arcade Fire are the true definition of a success story. In 2004 when their debut record Funeral saw release, the musical world was shook to it's very foundations by an expected, rare gem that earned more than just a few accolades.
More >
DPrince74 turned me on to this Montreal band and I was very happy to hear good Canadian music; especially from Montreal - the only city in which the sun rises in the south, the only city in which I ever got lost (twice, once in the Metro and once aboveground) - because the music scene wasn't all that hot when I lived there a hundred years ago or so. Speaking of years, my annee wasn't sans lumi...
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The Uber-Cool looking movie Where The Wild Things Are has a trailer that uses Arcade Drie's song, "Wake Up" It really adds to my anticipation of this film.
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I had a great day at work, and a pretty big part of the greatness was thanks to having Arcade Fire playing for most of the time. Posting Wake Up while I head out to the porch to wind down and watch the bats defy gravity in the dusk.
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Damn, adding Arcade Fire music to a trailer works so well. It actually was a big factor in me wanting to see Benjamin Button. That unofficial trailer featuring "My Body Is A Cage" was awesome. Then I saw the movie. Here's a trailer for Where The Wild Things Are, the Spike Jonze directed movie based on the Maurice Sendek book, that features "Wake Up". The movie will be out in October. Looks cool...
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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/magazine/04arcade.t.html?th&emc=thNY Times on Arcade Fire, again.And here's the MySpace page for AF.www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficialThere is also an interesting recent article in the NY Times about Antoine Dowdell, jazz pianist, and his brother (in jail for terrorist associations). I wrote a post about it earlier, but the whole damn thing was accidentally er...
More >
Reader’s Choice: Madvillain – Madvillainy Like most great albums, Madvillainy creates discussion. It dichotomizes people and they either love or hate the album. The argument usually comes down to what type of hip-hop fan you’re talking to. Those who love modern hip-hop (or glitz-hop as I’m gonna call it) seem to hate this album. They [...]
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I woke up and tried to check to see what time it was, but the power was out so I couldn't. I thought of Arcade Fire ("I woke up with the power out"), and then put itunes on shuffle. The first song that came up was "I saw the Light" by Hank Williams, and then I started to tell Philip about it. As soon as I started typing, "Power Out" came on! Isn't that weird???
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just saw the trailer for the upcoming movie, "Where The Wild Things Are.." with an alternate version of Arcade Fire's "Wake Up' song.. looks very cool, can't wait to see it!
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I had a weird dream that a band was playing this song, Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), at a show that for some reason was played with the band across the street of a four-lane highway and the fans were on the other side watching the madness. Also, it wasn't Arcade Fire's arrangement, it was an arrangement with less piano and more rocking guitars. I had to listen to this song at least 5 times today...
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I wish they had shows like "Pancake Mountain":http://www.pancakemountain.com/index2.htm when I was a kid. Make sure to check out the "Watch This" section for loads of really fun clips with Bright Eyes, Arcade Fire, Wolfmother, George Clinton, and lots more!This show is the coolest thing since maple syrup. Believe it.
More >
The full video and audio can be (and should be) watched/heard on the KCRW website.
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And the pointless title goes to . . . ARCADE FIRE for "FUNERAL"! Yep, that is definitely the best album of 2006 and it was released in 2004! Such is the power of AF. Seriously, today I got an e-mail from NPR's "All Songs Considered" reminding me again to vote for the best album of 2006 and I could think of nothing. I don't mean to disrespect any artists that have released an album this year...
More >
"Miroir Noir" is the name of the film that Arcade Fire will be releasing on Monday December 15. The DVD will be released in 2009. It follows trough the making of "Neon Bible" the following tour and it also shows the making of their videos and various short films. Directed by Vincent Morisset, who directed their video for 'Neon Bible' and made their website. The film was shot by La Blogotheque...
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The Spike Jonze directed movie looks like it’s going to be awesome. The monsters look amazing, the Jim Henson Company (most known for creating The Muppets) did a fantastic job, Peter ;-) ;-). Anyways, the trailer looks fantastic and it features a wonderful version of the Arcade Fire song “Wake Up.” If anyone has [...]
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) |
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| 2 Neighborhood #2 (Laďka) |
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| 3 Une Année Sans Lumičre |
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| 4 Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) |
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| 5 Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles) |
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| 6 Crown of Love |
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| 7 Wake Up |
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| 8 Haďti |
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| 9 Rebellion (Lies) |
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| 10 In the Backseat |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Funeral")
