By shelz.
When Spike Jonez created the story line for Where the Wild Things Are, he said he built the story and its mood around his singular inspiration, Arcade Fire’s first album, Funeral. The song he said he listened to the most from that album was “Wake Up.” The Roots/John Legend album by the same name started as a simple cover of the same Arcade Fire song. It’s been performed by Macy Gray, David Bowie and a handful of other well known musicians.
“Wake Up” is light in lyrics and heavy on passion; a story about looking back to the beauty of childhood bliss and being able to retrieve some of it for future use. It’s a statement about the chill of adulthood and how we move from this beaming existence of happiness into the dark as we get older because it’s wrangled out of us by bitter adults. It’s also a nudge to enjoy a bit of your undercover Peter Pan syndrome. Even if you don’t like Win Butler’s voice, this song is glorious in thought and theme.
Arcade Fire – “Wake Up”
the arcade fire – 07 – wake up
While it’s their most popular single to date, “Wake Up” isn’t all the band has been able to accomplish to bring them to the forefront of the indie rock scene. Another single from Funeral, “Cold Wind” was used in the HBO series 6 Feet Under and was nominated for a Grammy (Best Single Used in a TV Show Or Movie) as was Funeral (Best Alternative Rock Album).
If you are are numbers person, then you will be surprised to learn that Arcade Fire’s second album, Neon Bible sold over 400,000 on an indie label back in 2007. This album was also nominated for a Grammy award (Best Alternative Rock Album.) One of the singles from Neon Bible “No Cars Go” was used for play montages during the 2008 Super Bowl.
Arcade Fire – “No Cars Go”
This band has been around for almost ten years plugging away in the indie underground and crafting a cult like following. All three of their albums have been beautifully written and thoughtful, touching on ideas and subject matters that get lost in music’s dessert of hump, thump and bump tunes. And I guess after winning the Grammy and moving on to the Brit awards for more accolades, Arcade Fire has cemented themselves as rock contenders on the main stage. So get hip.
Below is just a smattering of what the band has done. The Suburbs made Planet Ill’s best albums of 2010 list so you can check that here. We reviewed The Suburbs here. We even suggested they deserved that Grammy they won before they won it and you can see that there. The rest are just songs to get you familiar with some homage thrown in as well. You may have slept on Arcade Fire for this long, but it’s time to “Wake Up.” Enjoy.
Arcade Fire – “Haiti”
[pro-player width=’450′ height=’350′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMrZxLwQB4Y[/pro-player]
John Legend and The Roots “Wake Up”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKXKJc5DmT4
Arcade Fire – “My Body Is A Cage”
[pro-player width=’450′ height=’350′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXr3CCQPxJY[/pro-player]
Foo Fighters – “Keep The Car Running”
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