Remember how I mentioned I was a wee bit late for the Neutral Milk Express? Well I must bite my tongue, black my eyes, stub my toes, bite my fingernails, reach to scratch an itch on the small of my back but never quite be able to locate it and instead allow it to consume the back of my mind for the next forty-five minutes all over again. Arcade Fire. Neon Bible. Wow.
Funeral came out in 2004. I latched onto the band early enough to realize they were going to be popular in the "indie" circle (which is more of two circle-like shapes connected by this little curved line...oh shit, wait, it's a pair of wayfarers [yes, the wayfarer-bash count is now at 2]). This was just as Canadian "indie" bands were becoming notoriously cool; Metric, Broken Social Scene, Stars (zzzzzzzz), etc. Arcade Fire stood out from their CanRock peers, however. I saw them perform on Conan and the two background percussionist fellows began drumming on everything around them, including each other's heads. Their music and videos provided one with the experience of viewing the 1980s avant-garde music scene through a futuristic prism. Then everything fell apart (for me anyway...the band actually went on the critical acclaim and commercial success). Right around the time the indie-wayfarer-circle exploded and Dance Cave became overrun with assholes in polo shirts, the following happened to me, interestingly enough, at Dance Cave:
Irritating Drunk Girl probably wearing all H&M: Woah, you like look totally like that guy
Me: Um, okay, thanks
Irritating Drunk Girl probably wearing all H&M: Yeah, you do, you know, like, that guy from the Arcade Fire
Me: Oh, right, because I'm wearing a vest, good job
That just about sums up what happened to Arcade Fire and why I lost complete interest in them.
Well yesterday I stumbled upon Neon Bible, their newest album, released back in March. As per my complete negligence regarding the band I had no preconceived notions regarding the album. I had not read a review or heard a single song in advance. It is an absolutely incredible album. Every single track is fantastic. The album is self-produced, which is notable as well (at least for a self-acclaimed DIY music aficionado such as myself). The standout track for me is "Intervention," which is a track that reaches epic proportions without self-consciously attempting so (like any piece of shit track from American Idiot vainly attempts).
I admit my foolishness. Sometimes my "moral" rejection of anything overly mainstream really ends up in me feeling a mild testicular discomfort. This would be one of those times. I'll be in the bathroom with some ointment if you need me....
