If You’re Looking for Arcade Fire Hate, You’ve Found the Right Place
There are some bands that are difficult to criticize. If you try to point out some faults, you’re immediately branded by the faithful as some kind of ignorant hater who needs to be shouted down.
Such is the case with Arcarde Fire. So many accolades have been piled upon them that when it comes time for anyone to say “Yes, but…” a shitstorm quickly gathers.
I’ve always been ambivilent about the band. I understand their appeal but for whatever reason, their music just doesn’t move me to ecstasy that some people feel. Reflektor is a fine album, I’m sure, but it’s just not for me.
There. I said it. It’s not hate or ignorance. It’s just how this music makes me feel. I should apologize for that?
Supporters will yell at me for not listening properly and/or being too dumb to recognize the band’s genius.
Yet I’m not alone. Check out this list of the ten most scathing reviews of Reflekor compiled by Paste magazine.
I'm with you Alan. I find their music does nothing for me and the band(maybe it's their fans really) far to pretentious for my tastes.
I also agree. I don't necessarily find Arcade Fire pretentious, I find them boring. Their early work showed a lot of promise: it was passionate and joyful. But the Suburbs was the aural equivalent of watching paint dry and from what I've heard of the new album, it's more of the same.
My rule of thumb: the more money spent on promo, the worse the album.
I also agree. I have been 'shamed' for sharing my feeling on Arcade Fire. When I've told people that "I just can't get into Arcade Fire" it's usually suggested that I listen to them again. One individual actually wanted to sit and listen with me to show me what I was missing and ensure I heard it.
Sadly, I've also noticed that the individuals who are quick to fight to the death to defend Arcade Fire's honour are also the same ones who are quick to criticize other artist and are even closed minded and won't even listen to some artists.
I sometimes feel like the music press in general feel like they're *supposed* to be championing Arcade Fire because there's a complete drought of current-generation bands that are highly-respected, critically-loved and commercially successful like Radiohead was/is.
It feels like overcompensation sometimes. I have far from a tin ear, but AF just sounds boring and emotionally detached to me.
Agreed.
Arcade Fire are the current media darlings that can apparently do no wrong. Lie Foo Fighters/Dave Grohl before them. Like Coldplay before them. Like Radiohead before them. etc, etc.
With the exception of Arcade FIre, I like all of these bands, but the media frenzy around them really turns me off, to the point where I kind of stop listening or paying attention. I get a little sick of them
Ah well. Plenty of other bands out there.
Well said. I've never been a fan, I'm to the point I will change the station on the radio if Arcade Fire comes on. I have seen them live (opening for U2) and while they may have plenty of talent, I just don't find that the music they produce is particularly good for me.
Danny – If someone wants to sit down with you and force feed you their music, pointing things out along the way, I suggest you return the favour with something at the total end of the spectrum – even if you know the band you are feeding them isn't your absolute favorite, find some band you can turn on them.
I am also 'on the fence' about Arcade Fire. Things happened pretty quickly for them which leads me to believe that Win Butler is a careerist manipulator. Courting elder rock statesmen is kinda shallow IMHO. I don't really see him as being Canadian either because he grew up in the American South.
Their music does capture a youthful vibrance that will remain timeless for the ages. They also have served a defining moment for many Generation Y who are searching for an identity. So its all not bad. It seems they lack life experience to be so revered, sorry but that is my opinion. Wayne Coyne felt the same way.
I have a real problem getting into bands that I'm TOLD (by media, friends, whoever) that I HAVE TO love! Arcade Fire being the best example of that. It's not that I dislike their music, but it just doesn't resonate with me. Throw in all the hype about them & they disappear right off my radar.
I've become a huge fan of the band because of their music and live performance's, are they pretentious? I think alot of legendary perceived artists ie. david bowie, mick jagger come of as larger than life which is a term I feel suits them than "pretentious", at the same time your damned if you do or don't, if they were in a different spectrum people would whine about them being "too earnest".
Alot of the inernet snark feels more just like inernet snark, just a way for someone to get their almighty loud opinion heard over anything positive which even goes down to some music critic's who want traffic to their reviews of highly anticipated albums, mature/professional reviews panning an album is fine as to a writer who wants to make him/herself the story by going the extra mile with a grade of highschool snark and that could be applied to us commenters as well.
I actually like Reflektor a lot. That being said, I think it's always healthy to dislike an 'untouchable' band. For me it's the Smiths, and believe me, I've had some serious disagreements with snarky, judgey music nerds that always end with me having to stand my ground. Whatever.
Add me to the list. Funeral was a really good album but they got hyped so much that there is no way they could live up to it all and Neon Bible showed that. They really tried too hard on it and Suburbs wasn't much better. The new one sees them relax a bit but it's still over-hyped. Not a big fan of theirs at all.
No band is for everybody. No band. When Arcade Fire were upstarts and underdogs the people who weren't really feeling it just sort of shrugged and expected them to die like so many young bands do. Besides, back then it was just your friend that dressed like Woody Allen talking about them and he was harmless and generally did have good taste. But Arcade Fire didn't die like the rest. They grew. And they did it without the kind of frontman that you would expect a band of this caliber to have. And they did it without high charting singles. They did it mostly from word of mouth from teens all the way up to people nearing retirement. That tends to happen when you win a Grammy for Album of the Year. It's been a decade since Funeral and now there are young bands on the radio who seem almost to be polished up parodies of Arcade Fire. It's become too much for those people who weren't that keen to begin with. When will this end, right?
No band is for everybody. No band. I imagine a band like the Talking Heads back in the 1980s faced similar criticisms from people who just didn't see the appeal. "How are these guys so big? This song 'Once in a Lifetime' is horrible. What are others hearing that I'm not? This Byrne guy can't even sing!" But as music fans — as people who at one point in time or another fell in love with at least one band hard — is it really so hard to simply acknowledge that some people out there really do truly love this band and are enjoying this run (A band comprised primarily of Canadians both born here and immigrated here no less) and just let them have their fun? Remember what it felt like to love a young band and watch them grow? Because in the end there is music that you're hearing all the time on the radio that isn't for you that you don't like. You change the channel. Will it anger you to the point where you want to take them down? Probably not. What makes this different? It's the fact that you're hearing about these guys more and you're hearing friends talk about how fun their shows are and it's really just the hype that drives these backlashes. You're confused by their success. You're wondering what you're missing. You're wondering why your friends love them so much and can't wait to see them live. That's a natural reaction. People tend to lash out when they can't relate or are confused by a growing trend of some kind. In fact, some of the worst things humans have ever done stems from that very natural reaction. So, ask yourself why ruining the enjoyment of others brings you joy? Ask yourself whether this is truly the worst music you've heard on mainstream radio and that you want to strike it down for that reason. Ask yourself why you want this band to struggle or for others to like it less? I think you'll see that the answers are petty. No band is for everybody. This band just isn't for you. Thankfully, there are bands out there that are for you. Go find them. Enjoy them. That's a hell of a lot better than ruining the enjoyment of others.
This album is deep. It's lyrics are heavier than mere words. Clearly Win's religious studies influenced Reflektor in so many ways and their trip to Haiti must have ascended their spirits to the next level, I can hear it – good for them! Listening to the album for its beats and melodies is one thing but opening your soul to the message will take you to a frame of mind you may have never been to. This isn't an album you listen to once and move on to the next big thing. This is an album you listen to over and over again, you let it breathe and you let it take over. This may sound stupid but after listening to the second album for the fifth or sixth time i suddenly feel the need to get in touch with my spiritual side. Arcade Fire if you are reading this – thank you. This album is the best album i have heard all year – sorry Daft Punk, The National, and Edward Sharpe, you guys released amazing stuff but Reflektor is more than just music.