me: "he thinks my music is pretentious and obscure."
rhianna: "please. could you be more pretentious than saying you like the arcade fire?"
it's true. "i like the arcade fire" has become the trigger that lets us know whoever we're talking to knows next to nothing about music and shouldn't really be pursued beyond light-topic conversation.
"oh, the arcade fire, huh... nice weather we're having. lots of cloud coverage. yeah. "
they have one or two decent songs under their belts. otherwise, they are shoddy sails full of their own wind. boats afloat on the current created by people who listen to disinteresting music and think a band with 7+ members and a sack-load of gimmicks are "immense". like there aren't those by the dozen. seriously. only pitchforkmedia blowholes still want to get down on their knees before the band and give them a good 'job.
they're just not that good. why are they so gigantic? because arcade fire
is pretension. pretension with instruments. 200yr old organs, seriously? it's like that "to kill a mockingbird" book. it's an obligation to keep them up on the list.
there are more interesting bands. more interesting songs. better bands. better songs. better performers. if you are one of those people who thinks the arcade fire is the best thing out there: dear, sweet lord... get off your ass and listen to better music.
it's possibly the most pretentious band out there. even broken social scene isn't that bad. their performances certainly aren't that pretentious... despite the "read this and this" lecture beforehand, they're very generous and i only really enjoy BSS in concert. in-doors, otherwise you lose the reverb... i digress.
and don't take my word for it.
in response to a SNL performance (less well-received than expected by performers..):"perhaps the audience's response was the way it was because they were expecting a good band and what they got was a pretentious, self-important indie rock fusion of U2 and Big Country, with little or no hooks. I don't get what you people like about this stuff. It's dull, uninteresting and....did I say dull?
Trust me when I say that in five years Arcade Fire will be what The Gin Blossoms are to this generation. One hit wonders relegated to the $1 bin.
Argue all you want. I'm right."
"what is up with win smashing his guitar. it looks so forced and stupid. he did it when I saw them in central park summerstage a few years back. LAME"
"they're dull. and what's with the amish look? this band is overrated to say the least. there's so many better bands out there and everyone's raving about some pretentious indie band smashing acoustic guitars."
"The band got the response they deserved, they're a boring overrated band with a singer who can't sing. I know it's really cool to pretend that all the indie kids are so much smarter and know what bands are really cool and ahead of their time, and you're a dumbass if you don't "get it" like they do...but sometimes they make mistakes. Latching on to Arcade Fire as the second coming is one of them. TV on the Radio is another. Do I need to keep going?"
"I liked the Arcade Fire on SNL performance-wise, but their songwriting is a somwehat lacking this time around(am I crazy or does some of it have a heavy Springsteen vibe?) That's why they need a bunch of superfluous instrumentation - to hide average songs played by a rock band lacking in instrumental style."
