Music Review - Arcade Fire's "The Suburbs"

BY HUNTER CHRISTIAN

In the suburbs I...I learned to drive...

In 2004, a little band by the name of Arcade Fire released a little record by the name of "Funeral", a dark and hauntingly emotional meditation on life, death, and moving on, inspired by the passing of several of the band's family members. Three years later, after "Funeral" was proclaimed one of the greatest rock albums of all time almost unanimously by fans and critics, they released their sequel, "Neon Bible". While not quite matching up to Funeral's emotional mastery, the album, whose themes consisted of social out-lashing and political statements instead of death and loneliness, was still met with universal acclaim. Now, another three years later, arguably the most famous band in the independent music industry returns with their third LP, "The Suburbs". Question is, when does the slump come? Now? How do you follow up two massively successful records with expectations sky high? An even better question, is it possible?

According to Arcade Fire, hell yeah. Making a leap from their original 10-11 song structure to an album consisting of 16 songs, AF once again reaches for the stars, and their ambition plows through with epic force. Returning to some of the themes from Funeral such as loneliness and repression, the band still manages to create and album that feels like them and at the same time something totally new.

The Breakdown:

The album begins with "The Suburbs", a darkly hypnotic yet simple chord-riff of a song, which was also the record's first single. While the tune is immediate, it takes a while to fully grasp; but once it takes hold of you, it will haunt you and not let go.

We then fade into track 2, "Ready to Start", one of the highlights of the album. The song moves at a steady pace with an irresistible beat, soaring into a beautiful chorus by frontman Win Butler backed up by backup singer Regine Chassagne.

"Modern Man" is next, a simple yet gorgeous motion on living in our world and facing the failures of life. The pretty chorus is one of the high points of the album.

"Rococco" slows things down a bit, not quite as catchy or haunting as the record's first three tracks, but definitely an interesting listen, with a chorus consisting of vocal experiments with the title word.

"Empty Room" is short and fast, in fact the shortest song on the album besides the outro, and carries an explosive anxiety to it. The beginning rush of violins will catch you right off the start.

Next is "City of Children", for me the low point of the record. It's based in an interesting and well-paced riff - and keep in mind the low point on this album is hardly a "low point" - but at a 16-track length, if one song had to be let go, this one just doesn't have the energy or magic of most of the rest.

We then move into one of the album's two-part tracks, "Half Light I", a gorgeous, ambitious, and epic track with a pulsating heart and beautiful vocals, putting it at one of the best on the album. Part 2, "Half Light II (No Celebration)", however, loses much of the steam of it's predecessor, and while carrying a great chorus and full of energy, definitely could have been cut down from its 4 minute-27 second running time.

Up next is "Suburban War", a gentle meditation on the anxiety of youth, carried by a beautifully quiet and simple guitar riff.

If upon reaching track 10 you're beginning to run out of steam, the album's other single released with The Suburbs, "Month of May", will wake you the hell up. Moving quicker and with more edgy flare than anything Arcade Fire has ever written, this rocky punk anthem explodes with energy and is a total blast - a refreshing shake up to mix the genre around. As a single, the song loudly proclaimed that Arcade Fire was back, and taking fuckin' names.

Things then slow down again as we move into "Wasted Hours", a gentle and pretty song that even continues the lyrics of Month of May - "we're still driving around and around" (this repetition of theme and continuation of lyrics happens frequently throughout the album and adds a touch of magic to its concept and ensuing effect). While the song is nice to listen to on its own, being track 11 of 16, it will definitely have you questioning its necessity on the album.

Without the followup track to Wasted Hours, "Deep Blue", this question may not sneak through, but Deep Blue is more of the same pretty quietness, only it does it better, with a subtle sadness to it's edgy chorus.

"We Used to Wait" is next, another song released early by the band. The song takes a little too long during its buildup, but the payoff in the last half of the song or so is so vibrant and electric that you don't even care.

The album begins to reach its ending with the peak of the entire record: the second track pair, beginning with "Sprawl I (Flatland)". Sprawl I is a soft, haunting, tragic build, quietly sneaking into your soul and hypnotizing you, paralyzing your thoughts before rushing you into part 2, "Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)". Sprawl II rings with 80's pop fuzz and techno rhythm, with Arcade Fire swirling in their own edgy influence. Alone, these two songs don't match the catchy rhythms or mind bending thematics of The Suburbs or Ready to Start, but combing as part I and II, the Sprawl pair caps the album's high point.

Finally we reach the closing, which may be my personal favorite part of the album: a slow, haunting, strung out, minute and a half reprise of the album's opener, "The Suburbs (continued)". It's tough to call it a stand alone song, since it really is just a continuation as its title states, but the way this gentle track hypnotically closes out the record leaves you so stunned and pinned to your seat that at that point the album's length doesn't even matter, you just can't help but think: wow.

Arcade Fire have yet again proved they're the best in the business by creating a third album that pulls off the impossible: being hugely ambitious and branching out from the sounds of the past two albums, while retaining the qualities we love about the band. It's not even the least of the three, soaring high above Neon Bible. It isn't perfect; not all of its songs match the grand scale or power of the others. The record's tragic flaw is that at 16 songs, it's definitely a long haul, yet none of the songs feel so unnecessary or bland that they could be removed; instead, perhaps a shortening of some of the lesser songs or combination of the best parts of them would have worked better. In the end, though, it doesn't really matter. The Suburbs rocks so hard that it puts most other modern bands to shame, and makes you forget the question of when Arcade Fire will slump and asks, when will they reach their peak?

While their worldview may be bleak, Arcade Fire pours more honesty into their music than any other band in the business, and asks you to dive into their emotions with them. What they create is so refreshing and universal, that there's nobody you'd rather get lost with.

9.6 /10 (Incredible)

-The Scale-

0: Failure

1: Horrendous

2: Awful

3: Terrible

4: Bad

5: Average

6: Passable

7: Good

8: Great

9: Excellent

9.5: Incredible

10: Classic

Loyalty in Sports

I'm not one to be shy when it comes to giving my opinion, so excuse me if I offend anyone in this next article. The last months has been the hardest of my young, 17 year old life. You see, I'm a Cleveland Cavaliers fan. A lifetime fan. My favorite player, to this day, remains Zydrunas Ilgauskas, despite the fact that he just left for the Miami Heat. There's nothing special about Ilgauskas. He's tall, sure, but he doesn't have an outstanding post move, and his main move is a sweet jumper followed by a slow jog back. His story is amazing. Almost never played in the NBA after 3 seasons due to a year and a half of foot problems. Almost has an all metal foot due to breaking his foot multiple times and receiving metal plates. Almost won an NBA championship - 3 times.

But he didn't. And he has chosen to chase his dreams in South Beach. And I respect that. I do. I'm not mad, and I'll watch his games for that one reason. I'd be fine with the Heat winning an NBA championship, just so I can see Ilgauskas, or Big Z as us Cavalier fans lovingly called him for 14 up and down seasons, hoist that trophy over his big, bald, shiny head and smile as his wife and twins watch and cheer. Hell, I'd love that!

But I hope LeBron fails. I hope Chris Bosh fails. I hope Dwayne Wade starts thinking "Wow these guys are selfish, image based players who don't care about the team picture. Pat, I want a trade!". On July 8th, I finally accepted what I've been trying to find an exception to: There truly is no loyalty in sports. For 7 years, I cheered for LeBron. I bought jerseys, t-shirts, hats, and twice I bought tickets. All from allowance money I received from mowing my lawn and watching my neighbors cat. But that's not the point. The point is that I was loyal. To the team, not just LeBron. Was he our best player? No doubt about it. But he was the worst PERSON on our team. I used to think he was better than Jordan, Kobe, Russell, Magic, Dr. J, EVERYONE. Now, I think that he has no legacy. Sure, he'll put up great stats in Miami. But he will never again be compared to Michael Jordan or Bill Russell. Jordan and Russell would have wanted to beat the living crap out of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. How do I know this? Jordan has said it. Not publically, but it's been revealed. Michael Wilbon, host of Pardon the Interruption, a program that airs daily on ESPN, is close with Jordan and many former NBA players. Apparently Jordan is OUTRAGED by LeBron leaving, and this whole "let's team up and win championships together!" mindset. That makes two of us.

I can tell you right now that I didn't watch 'The Decision', the now infamous LeBron announcement on ESPN held in Greenwich, Connecticut. Not because I didn't want to, I probably would have. No, I was busy working. And I think that saved my image of LeBron a little bit. Because from what I've heard, LeBron was arrogant in the way he answered questions. He didn't thank Cleveland, the fans, the millions of people who supported their "hometown hero". I would probably hate LeBron right now. I don't hate him, I just will never like him again. There really is nothing he could do to get me, and I'm sure thousands of others, back on his side. And I'm sure he's ok with that. I'm just a writer, and he's partying in Vegas and making millions of dollars. My opinion doesn't matter to him.

But it should matter. Fans opinions should matter to LeBron, and they don't. He seemingly doesn't understand that in order to have a legacy, you must be liked. You MUST be loyal. Loyalty is a two way street. If you are loyal to your team, and not give up in games (see: Celtics series, Magic series of 2009), you will be loved. And the fans will be loyal to you. It works both ways. He doesn't understand this. The greats have loyalty. Jordan stayed with one team his whole career (Wizards don't count!). Russell was loyal till the very end, and he's saved his legacy (more on this later). I just don't see LeBron saving his legacy. A sign in his hometown of Akron used to read "Akron. Hometown of LeBron James". Now this sign reads "Akron. Home of LeBron James, 2010 NBA Traitor of the Year. Akron Hates You, and so does the rest of Ohio". Ouch. That should hurt him. But I doubt it does.

LeBron "wrote" a letter for the Akron Beacon Journal that was published today, August 3rd. I doubt he really wrote that. It was too kind for him. He's angry, and everyone knows it. I don't think he has anything nice to say about Ohio, so I think one of his high school buddies who control his every move and will inevitably ruin his career and legacy wrote the letter. Cleveland isn't mentioned once in the letter. That's fair play. We burnt his jerseys, took back his "King" nickname, took down the egotistical billboard of him, and Dan Gilbert hilariously and wonderfully blasted him in all capital letters and Comic Sans font. Classic. So I'm fine with him having nothing nice to say to Cleveland, because we don't want to hear it.

I think most people are mistaken with why Cavaliers fans are upset. It isn't because he left. Honestly, it's not. I began to understand during the Cavaliers-Celtics series of this year that he wasn't coming back. And it made me numb to any further moves by James. We're upset that he left without a word. He didn't have the respect to call Gilbert and say "Hey Dan, I'm sorry but I've decided to go to Miami. It's the right place for me, and I want to win a championship. Thanks for the 7 years you gave me, I'll never forget them". That's all Gilbert deserved, and he never got it. That's what hurts the most, and I won't ever forget it.

Maybe I should grow up a little bit and realize that sports are a business first and foremost, and that I'm a child for thinking that a player could want to play in his hometown for the most money possible for the most loyal fans in the business. At least Toronto fans knew Chris Bosh would leave. He seemed disinterested this year, didn't care if the Raptors made the playoffs or not, and publically asked fans on Twitter where he should play next year. Now LeBron and Bosh are together. It's only fair that they should have to play with each other.

So that's it. LeBron will play in Miami for at least 6 more years, Cleveland will be rebuilding, Chris Bosh will be upset quickly that he's the 3rd wheel and will probably demand a trade. The cycle will continue. I should have seen the signs. Loyalty in sports doesn't exist. Whether it's Bill Russell leaving the Celtics with no center, no coach, and then selling his story for $10,000. Whether it's Roger Clemens giving a big F U to all of Boston, with eery similarities to LeBron James. And now LeBron James. I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know how this will finish. But I can assure you that LeBron will no longer be universally liked, like Jordan, Bird, Russell, Magic, Julius Erving, and Pistol Pete. Even Kobe has less haters now. And it's sad that LeBron let Maverick Carter be his manager. Because LeBron's making all the wrong moves.

I'll finish with a quick story. Last week, LeBron held a 3 day party in Las Vegas. This story was recently on ESPN, and quickly removed by his PR people. But those who saw it, like me, had a taste of a LeBron James previously not seen before. An Akron DJ was hired to host the event. That was class by PRMR, Maverick Carter and companies firm, the group that advises LeBron. I'll give them that. But when the Akron DJ yelled out "Hey LeBron, Akron still loves you!" LeBron gave the man "the finger". And that's how this whole thing played out. The cities of Akron and Cleveland gave LeBron nothing but love, support, adoration, and financial security, and he gave them the finger as he dribbled a ball out the door.

It's not about you, LeBron. It's about the team. Good luck, Ilgauskas. LeBron, break a leg.

Movie Review - Dinner for Schmucks

"I can make you say it Barry. Just say it: You can eat my pudding."

Another Paul Rudd and Steve Carell comedy? What is this, The 40 Year Old Virgin all over again? I admit, I was skeptical about seeing this movie. I was never a huge fan of Austin Powers, and to learn that the director of that series, Jay Roach, had signed on to direct this movie made me even more skeptical. And THEN I find out that it's a remake of a brilliant French film called "Le diner de cons". I'm always skeptical of remakes, especially if it's horror movies. But when my friend offered to pay for my ticket, I jumped at the chance to go.

And I was surprised. Enthralled actually, by what I saw. This movie is hilarious. I haven't laughed at a movie more since The Hangover came out, and this rivals it for most laughs. To explain briefly, Dinner for Schmucks is about an analyst named Tim, played by Paul Rudd, who is looking for a promotion. And after a clever idea, he is offered the chance to finally move up in the firm. But first, his boss wants to learn to trust him, and invites Tim to a dinner he hosts. Each guest to the dinner must bring an idiot, or "schmuck", and present him/her to the rest of the group. Which is where Barry comes along (Steve Carell). Tim soon finds out that Barry has the ability to mess up someone's life within 5 seconds, and quickly destructs Tim's apartment and relationships. I won't ruin the rest for you, as it's all hilarious. I honestly have never laughed harder in a movie, and this is by far the funniest movie I've seen this year.

However, the highlight of the movie comes not from it's 2 stars, but from 2 of the minor characters. Jermaine Clement plays Kieran, an artist and borderline psycho fashion model. His performance is outstanding, as he often borders genius and insane at the same time. Another highlight comes from Zach Galifianakis. Previously seen in The Hangover, Galifianakis plays a man working for the IRS convinced he has the ability to control people's minds. His main test subject? Barry. Their battles, later revealed to be more private than previously thought (see quote up top), become a major focal point for comedic fodder. The climax of the dinner is one of the longest nonstop laughs I've had in recent memory, and only makes this movie more memorable.

See Dinner for Schmucks. Then see "Le diner de cons" for comparison, which I plan to do. Both are amazing movies, and you won't regret seeing them. Easily the funniest movie of the summer, and possibly the year. A great cast, screenplay, and direction make this movie a great laugh and comedic masterpiece.

9.0/10