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With their 2004 debut, Funeral, Montreal's Arcade Fire won over legions of fans, including David Bowie and U2 -- and scored a nomination for the Best Alternative Album Grammy. "Statistically, we're long shots," says frontman Win Butler. "But I'll bet on us in Vegas. If we had 5-to-1 odds, I'd take that bet. Might as well bet on yourself."
What was your reaction when you heard about your nominations?
It's cool, but it's not like something that you're really thinking about when you're making music.
Was there disbelief?
No, it was more like, "Didn't our record come out last year?" It didn't really catch on in the States until 2005, though. At least we're not like one of those bands that's been around for, like, fifteen years and gets nominated for Best New Artist.
If you guys win, who is the first person you'd thank?
I'll make Regine do a little dance or something. But I really don't think we have much of a chance of winning, because the voting panel doesn't have to listen to the album or anything. It seems like less people would know our album than most of the other albums that we're up against.
Who would you most want to be paired with for a Grammy performance?
We just played with U2 -- that was pretty cool. We opened for them in Montreal, and we did a Joy Division cover with them. Maybe I'd try that again so we could nail it, because we only got to practice it in the backstage room.
Any artists that you think should have been nominated?
Wolf Parade is amazing. There's a song on their album called "I'll Believe in Anything" that's the best thing I've heard this year.