not logged in
| re: Arcade Fire | |
Posted by:  |
Shoebox (shoebox@wormquartet.com) 07:03 pm UTC 03/07/07 |
| In reply to: | Arcade Fire - Scaramouche 07:58 pm UTC 03/06/07 |
| I didn't know the Arcade Fire had a new one out - I'll pick it up today or tomorrow! -=ShoEboX=- > Interesting read, although Jim didn't say much; does he > normally do interviews at 2.15am ?!? > > Arcade Fire are great and 'Funeral' is one of my top > albums ever. > > Bought 'Neon Bible' yesterday and there are definately > Steinman & Springsteen influences all over it. > > In fact the song 'Intervention' sounds like Springsteen > doing 'We Shall Overcome', produced by Steinman (church > organ, choirs et al). > > 'Antichrist Television Blues' 'is' Springsteen, with a > dash of cajun spices, via a dollopp of Abba piano!! > > No Cars Go - Glorious 'soul-lifting' coda, featuring an > Hungarian choir, and great drums. > > Keep The Car Running - Hypnotic!! > > My Body Is a Cage - As the article says, the church organ > to end all church organs, with a great lyric 'My mind > holds the key, set my spirit free'. > > I've had it on almost non-stop play and, like Jim's songs, > definatley 'takes you to another place'. > > Would love to have seen Jim work on 'Neon Bible', but I'll > forgive him if he produces Muse's next record (Matt > Bellamy is talking of 15 minute piano solo's in the middle > of songs - LOL). > > Their album 'Black Holes & Revolutions' was THE record of > 2006, and a Steinman produced album would be glorious!! > > Do yourselves a favour and get 'Neon Bible', 'Funeral' & > 'Black Holes...', your heart & soul deserves it!! > > > > > > > > > > http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=d26b477d-3528-4d94-bcc6-dfb0a25ca7cd&k=63823 > > > > Arcade Loaf: Montreal's most operatic indie band is > > constantly being compared to Springsteen, but they're much > > closer to The Boss' more theatrical contemporary > > > > Mike Doherty > > National Post > > > > > > Tuesday, March 06, 2007 > > > > > > > > CREDIT: Olivier Laban-Mattei, AFP, Getty Images > > The Arcade Fire's Win Bulter is finding the epic drama of > > his band's new album being likened to Bruce Springsteen at > > his most anthemic, but could the quasi-religious fervour > > of much of the disc be directed at a Paradise closer to > > ... > > > > Judging by the number of times he has been name checked in > > the music press in recent months, you would think Bruce > > Springsteen was the most important rocker on the planet. > > From mega-sellers (The Killers) to critical darlings (The > > Hold Steady), a raft of young artists is said to have been > > inspired by The Boss. They've either named albums after > > his (like Badly Drawn Boy's Born in the U.K.), used > > elements of his aesthetic or both. > > > > But for all the Jersey rocker's influence, these bands and > > many more reach beyond Springsteen's marriage of > > blue-collar grit with fist-pumping anthems. Between Brooce > > and today's indie rockers, a large and unexpected presence > > looms: that of Meat Loaf. > > > > Starting with 1977's Bat Out of Hell, the stage veteran, > > along with composer Jim Steinman, popularized a brand of > > apocalyptic, theatrical rock that is making a comeback, > > from Muse's universe- spanning epics to The Flaming Lips' > > cosmic existentialism to the dark, cinematic glam of > > Kasabian. Startling as it may seem, a striking comparison > > can be made between Meat Loaf's critically reviled debut > > and The Arcade Fire's brand-new Neon Bible, now receiving > > hosannas from congregations of zealous music writers. The > > similarities begin, fittingly, with The Boss. > > > > "When I saw Springsteen at the Bottom Line in New York," > > recalls Steinman, "I was blown away. I remember saying to > > Meat Loaf, 'God, he's doing what I?m doing!' " > > > > On 1975's Born to Run, which ends with the 10-minute > > Jungleland, Springsteen showcased a theatrical > > presentation of Americana, which he then more or less > > abandoned. Springsteen's label boss, Clive Davis, rejected > > Steinman's songs as being too bizarre, but he and Meat > > Loaf soldiered on. With help from producer Todd Rundgren > > and Springsteen's own pianist and drummer, they took > > operatic rock to absurd heights with Bat Out of Hell > > (which has since sold around 40 million copies) only to > > outdo themselves with1993's immensely overblown Bat Out of > > Hell 2. > > > > Steinman, reached at his Connecticut home yesterday at > > 2:15 a.m. (like bats, he's nocturnal), may have written > > hits for the likes of Bonnie Tyler and Air Supply, but > > he's also a Wagnerian at heart who likes to challenge his > > audience. His modus operandi is not just to throw the > > kitchen sink into his work, but also to chuck the pipes in > > after it, set it on fire and then add strings. > > > > You can hear elements of Bat's orchestral grandeur on Neon > > Bible. The New York Times' claim that "the Arcade Fire has > > managed to avoid any gestures toward the operatic" is > > belied by the album's opening song: Black Mirror sounds > > like the Rolling Stones' Brown Sugar as re-imagined by the > > Phantom of the Opera, underpinned by a menacing low > > rumble. You can't get much more Sturm und Drang than > > this. > > > > Steinman cites "extreme passion, or fever" as a necessary > > element in good rock music, and the Arcade Fire's lead > > singer, Win Butler sings with a dramatic fervour that > > recalls Meat Loaf's desperate romanticism. Butler's lyrics > > are shot through with end-of-the-world apocalyptic > > imagery: "World War III, when are you coming for me?", he > > warbles on the eerie Windowsill. > > > > Steinman's oeuvre looks ahead to a quasi-Biblical rock 'n' > > roll apocalypse: "I find heaven and hell, light and dark, > > to be eternally exciting conflicts," he says. "From the > > time I was a little kid, I loved religion for its > > accessories. I used to go to St. Patrick's cathedral [in > > New York] just to hear the music and liturgies." > > > > Most of Neon Bible was recorded in churches outside of > > Montreal; what with its shivering strings, big reverb and > > 500-pipe church organ, the album is as gothic as the > > lettering on Bat Out of Hell's cover. All the same, the > > Arcade Fire are hardly reverent: On Saturday Night Live > > last month, Butler shattered an acoustic guitar. > > > > The guitar-smashing Pete Townshend was himself an > > influence on Steinman: "I had never seen violence so > > beautifully portrayed," he says of seeing The Who for the > > first time. "There's a great fun in destroying things and > > tearing them down, and it's also politically the essence > > of rock 'n' roll." > > > > Significantly, the Arcade Fire, together with bands like > > The Hold Steady and even The Killers, are apt to write in > > character, or about events outside themselves. "If I was > > teaching songwriting," says Steinman, "I would say: 'Stop > > looking inward.' I can't imagine Wagner sat down and said, > > 'Let me start a four-part epic cycle about my personal > > life buying female underwear.' He had a much different > > mission." > > > > Wagner wrote about the twilight of the gods; Meat Loaf > > sings about "killers on the bloodshot streets," and Win > > Butler sings about falling bombs --it's all very dire, but > > it works only if you can enjoy the music viscerally. Hence > > the exhilarating rhythms and sweeping arrangements that > > accompany both Meat Loaf's finding paradise by the > > dashboard light and Win Butler's ode to going where No > > Cars Go. > > > > Canadian musicians (aside from Celine Dion and Rush) have > > mostly shied away from the grandiose. Nonetheless, Bat Out > > of Hell first reached platinum status here, and Meat Loaf > > has claimed, "More people in Canada owned Bat Out of Hell > > than owned snowshoes" (which is not really that many, but > > you get the idea). > > > > If Neon Bible's hugely uplifting closer, My Body is a > > Cage, with vocals by a choir of fallen angels, crashing > > drums that could set a whole army marching and, of course, > > the pipe organ to end all pipe organs, is any indication, > > the Arcade Fire could give Steinman a run for his money. > > > > As for the songwriter, he played little part in this > > year's Bat Out of Hell "threequel," The Monster is Loose, > > but fear not: He's writing new songs for a musical version > > of the first two albums, to premiere in London in 2008, > > complete with 3-D animation. Steinman likens it to a > > musical version of last year's apocalyptic film Children > > of Men. > > > > "The first review of Bat Out of Hell said I'm way over the > > top," he recalls. "But how are you going to see the other > > side if you don't go over the top?" > > | |
| URL: | Worm Quartet, dammit! |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | Arcade Fire - Scaramouche 07:58 pm UTC 03/06/07 |
| Next: | re: Arcade Fire - Vin 08:25 pm UTC 03/06/07 |
| Thread: | |