What's The Story?
They won 2011's Grammy for album of the year, and David Bowie has said many times that they're one of his favorite bands going. This is the fifth track from the winning album, The Suburbs.
Who's To Blame?
A singer who always seems to both hate and love people as much as I do.
Why ♥ It?
Anyone who talked music with me prior to three months ago would probably believe that someone killed me and wrote this entry. I have long been a detractor of the Arcade Fire; I respect them as musicians, but my driving complaint was that they had so many members doing so many things that it diluted anything they had going for them, and they just bored me personally.
This is the song that singlehandedly changed my mind.
It's hard to be bored with the pure elation coming from the string section in this tune. From start to finish, never wavering; one could dance and fight and fuck all for those few notes played over and over again at such a high pace. The vocals are exactly what indie rock staples like Arcade Fire are often known for, a male and a female vocal collaborating to deliver emotion, and at this tempo, the emotion is heavily positive. The chorus/hook (1:02, 1:46), both lyrically and musically, feels like a triumphant downfall, recalling the hard moments at a high watermark of manic contentedness. The fade at the end of the song is well-picked, and could really be the only way to end the song without a jagged letdown.
If you're not an Arcade Fire fan, give this one a try as a gateway drug. If you're a fan of only early Arcade Fire, reconsider this one*. If you're a fan of the band and the song, my work here is done!
* = this means you, hipster.
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