Sounds like he’s bitter because only about 3% of the record buying public have even heard of his band, and even fewer care.

Arcade Fire actually got a lot of attention after they opened for, guess who, U2. U2 also used an Arcade Fire song as their entrance music on the Vertigo tour. U2’s done a lot for that guy, he should probably keep his mouth shut and say thank you.

That said: Oasis sucks.

Well, I think Win has a point. It all depends on tastes, mind you, but there is so much overmanufactured music shoved down our throats, that for someone with my tastes, it’s tough to handle. I did not like the last two U2 records at all. Not one bit. But here’s all this praise about how great they are when, I think what it really meant was thankfully they’re back to rock songs and not that Popmart shit. But they positioned and pushed like rock classics that will stand the test of time. No, sorry. Look at American Idol. Do you think any of those “stars” who win or come in second will not sell records? Of course they will because they are jammed down our throats.

Now, and I love Arcade Fire to death, but haven’t they also benefitted from magazines such as RS and others relentlessly plugging their records and music and talking about how great they are? It’s a smaller scale, but it’s quite similar. Like, if I have to read one more Strokes story, I’m going to kill someone. OK, they’re from New York. They’re cool guys. But their music? Not that interesting. To me anyway. It might not be a monster marketing company doing the push, instead the magazines are. Same thing.

i dont think he’s criticizing the music so much as the marketing. i mean nobody in their right mind is going to criticize let it bleed or exile. but he has a valid point, some bands, like u2, oasis, and at least later stones run the risk of sacrificing their bands potential dynamism for the sake of maybe not money, but certainly general recognition. not that there is anything wrong with that. yet when artists risk popular success and try to do something new it often produces phenomenal work. lets hope neon bible exemplifies this. one quick note, im not dissing u2 or oasis or least of all the stones.

I think he makes an excellent point. Take Oasis for example. They’ve tried to hard sell every album they’ve put out since Be Here Now as their “Best” since Definitely Maybe and every album they put out shows their steady and inevitable decline into mediocrity, while they keep selling millions of albums. Personally I think he’s hit the nail on the head.

He should go visit Alex Chilton and see what that kind of bullshit attitude will get him.

whos butler is he?

He’s got a point – how else can you explain why 90’s bands starting with Limp Bizkit got so huge? Marketing genius – not talent. I’m the biggest U2 & Oasis fan, and totally respect the Stones body of work. But lately I feel like a Stones fan must feel, a couple of great songs among mediocre material. But the mktg will tell you their latest album’s are their best work ever – which RS totally plays into. Arcade Fire aren’t the greatest band, but their music is a whole lot more interesting than anything those 3 bands have put out in 10-25 years (when they weren’t huge). Now these bands are so big, but their work is weak. Butler, at this point would rather be good, yet small, than crap and massive. That will change once he gets tired of not making money for all the work he puts in. It happens to all bands. Credibility doesn’t pay the bills. And say what you want about the huge bands, they’re pissing themselves to the bank.

Oasis rules!

Ironically the only reason a lot of people have heard of Arcade Fire is because U2 played on of their songs as their entrance music on their last tour. Like Bono once said, it almost identifies you as bourgeois if you take this half-assed elitist stance “Oh we’ll never sell out!!” What is the point of being in a band if you don’t want to be the biggest and the best? Don’t you want everyone to love your music? Hey I have nothing against this guy, but define your goals on their own terms, not against someone else’s. Yes, people can be easily led to buy certain records more than others. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the records being “marketed” aren’t good. And just because you want to stay in the underground doesn’t give you automatic “street cred” and make your music good either.

You can market to me all you want. Let’s say you tell me 1000 times how great peas are. Everybody is eating them. It doesn’t mean I am going to like them. I know what I like and it ain’t peas. It is metal. Marketing sucks for metal right now and thank God.

He’s not saying this for street cred. Win Butler doesn’t give a **** what other people think about him, which is why he (and the band) is so awesome. He only cares about making music that people can connect to. You should be able to do that without marketing. Although Arcade Fire have benefited from celebrity endorsements and a good pitchfork review, they’re so popular because their music is just that good.

everybody speaks a bit of truth…

More people “connect” with music if they know about it beforehand. The two best ways to get people to know about music are marketing and word of mouth. Does Arcade Fire have a manager? A record label? Fans? A budget? A profit margin? Sure they do, and sure he cares. He’s just cool because he says he doesn’t. It’s much cooler to do that than to actually come out and say we want to be the biggest and the best. Whatever. It doesn’t really matter. Arcade Fire is good, U2 is good, if one record company promotes the hell out of a record more than another one then oh well. Give props to those who came before you and keep busting your ass.

Win may be bitching a little bit, but he’s right for the most part. Bands can and do become part of a marketing machine rather than making music for art and letting people decide for themselves what they like. And as for the last guy who said only 3% of the record buying public have heard of this band, you obviously weren’t in coachella in 2005 when less than 6 months after releasing their first album they had 40,000 fans screaming during their set. I was there, and it was amazing and to me they are the best band in the world . I have heard Neon Bible in its entirety and its amazing.

it’s not always the case, but the general rule is; the shorter one is ~ the bigger one hopes to be…

(in other words, the napoleonic syndrome; like bono, axl rose, dio, prince, neil shone, don dokken, DLR etc)

stages make short people look really tall, and this satisfies the short person’s ego, and being as ‘big’ (or as popular) as possible just adds a few more inches to all of this perceived smallness…

(while it is not good to generalize and it is not always the case; i have personally found the people who are the most driven to suceed are also generally the most shallow as well)

These bands made/make great music. This pony is crying because he will never be a horse. There are plenty of great bands that never “made it,” or got huge, but there are few that were as great as U2 and did so only because they “manipulated” anybody. Cry about some chick you couldn’t bag. You’d probably get more respect.

everyone has their own perspective on the situation….. by the way i dont think ive seen more advertising for any up and coming album as ive seen for the arcade fires “Neon Bible.”

and eh hem….aren’t Win and his chaps playing Saturday Night Live this weekend….haha you think they don’t want any attention?…to quote quote Deerhoof…rrrrrright

Didn’t Arcade Fire support U2 for a handful of dates on the Vertigo tour? How horrible it must have been to have been caught up in all that marketing, how horrible to have taken all that applause and adoration. He really has my sympathy

He’s entitled to his opinion, and on some points he’s right! But to knock having ambition, and then to imply that the only reason U2 and the Rolling Stones are popular is due to marketing…well, that’s a bit silly. I mean, in short, the Rolling Stones are the the Rolling Stones. They’ve made some crap records, but their crap is better than some of what people consider good today!

As for being the biggest band in the world,that’s what rock music is about. It’s about swaggor, if you don’t get that, then why are you in rock music!

Funeral was good, Neon Bible is blah. I heard the live show on NPR and thought Holy s***, this is bad. Sorry Win, but you guys have been sold as the indie messiahs, which is another marketing ploy.

once again, people taking what NME posts as the gospel

here is Win’s rebuttal regarding the NME article posted today on arcadefire.com:

I cringe to ever write this post, as if It needs to be said, but some people seem to not have figured out that the NME has never printed an article that doesn’t take all the quotes out of context, and put some things in bold that make it seem like people are talking shit about each other!!!
So please no oasis hate mail, I really don’t care…
Marketing is not evil, just trying to express some distaste for the whole shitstorm, but we are still dancing!
we are about 3 steps from WWIII, but life is too short!

George Orwell wrote an essay called “Why I write”, if you are a writer or musician, I really reccomend picking it up…
my favorite quote
“no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.”
also this little passage from a poem he wrote as a young man…

“But girls’ bellies and apricots,
Roach in a shadedstream,
Horses, ducks in flight at dawn,
All these are a dream.

It is forbidden to dream again;
We maim our joys or hide them;
Horses are made of chromium steel
And little fat men shall ride them”

see you waving from the tv!
we have a cameo in a skit!
hi mom!

luv
win

arcadefire.com – check Win’s journal.

Is your journalism really this bad, or do you take things out of context so you can get a few extra views on the website?

Stop behaving like a tabloid newspaper and retain some integrity please.

Arcade Fire is the best thing since sliced bread, and Win Butler has the right to speak his mind.

People who can connect with the songs Arcade Fire puts out will get it and those who don’t will be left wondering. In other words, say whatever you want about the band, they will always do their own thing. They are not ruled by critics or success. This may mean that they will always stay on the “fringe” and never truly sell albums like U2 or Oasis. But know what? – They are fine with that.

Resistance IS futile.

This is kinda funny, considering the Arcade Fire have been riding on Bowie’s tailcoats for several years now.

It’s called freedom of speech, people, and we’re in america.
Plus, chances are Win Butler is jesus incarnate (just look at all the signs). You don’t want to make jesus sad, do you?

It’s called freedom of speech, people, and we’re in america.
Plus, chances are Win Butler is jesus incarnate (just look at all the signs). You don’t want to make jesus sad, do you?

spencer, if you’ve actually followed arcade fire for a while and not just got interested when a few songs got big, you’d know that it’s bowie that had been clinging onto arcade fire for a year.

the arcade fire is a revelutionary force. thoes who do not understand have yet to dwell in musical euphoria.