Just purchased Arcade Fire's new album "Neon Bible" off iTunes, despite limited funds. I chose wisely. Inexplicably, this album rendered me wistful for an evening on the porch of a beachhouse. Perhaps it's the Hungarian orchestra or the military choir, both which make an appearance (or, should I say an "audio-ence"?), somehow reminiscent of the wind whipping off the waves and swirling sand around in my face, or the nocturnal call of sea creatures.
Doesn't the title sound like an image Flannery O'Connor would have chosen? Turns out someone else already used it: John Kennedy Toole and his first novel, for which the album was named. All the same, the eccentric undertones of the organ and religion-infused chants like "you know I'm a God-fearin' man" and song titles like "Antichrist Television Blues" recall Flannery's dark Southern small-town religious milieu. But that's all I will say on first listen, because I'm sure I'm reading far too much into it.
On a colder note, today the windchill dipped to -30 and won't let up much until this weekend. I can deal with fierce cold. Fierce wind alone doesn't affect me much. But both at the same time? Global climate change, what hast thou wrought?
okay, you have moved me to purchase the album. Darn you and your stellar reviews
i think stephen liked what he heard of the album... and i think the comparison to o'connor is justified, from what he's told me about the lyrics, etc. i think that's a clever connection.
yeah, the Flannery O'Connor comparison really pins down the uncomfortable feeling the album gives me. I like it, but it has that surreality and symbolism in real life (can't quite describe it, is there a genre term for that?) tone that makes me feel a little lost in the world. I really like Windowsill. This album totally makes me re-evaluate my perception of Funeral and the band in general. Also, that line "I don't want to be an American (or is it "live in America"?) anymore." Took me like five minutes before I remembered, wait! they're Canadian!