Arcade Fire kicked off their tour recently and played Toronto last night as you probably already know if you know anyone in Toronto or if you listen to Q with Jian Ghomeshi. He and his guests have been talking about the concert throughout the show, forcing those of us who have been avoiding spoilers to plug our ears and hum “Reflektor” loudly. Tonight they take the Reflektor tour to the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa where a handful of the Mixtape team will see the Montreal band tonight. Editor-in-chief Jonathan Briggins left us with this list of Arcade Fire songs before leaving to finalize his costume for the show.
To listen to the entire playlist, check us out on YouTube or Soundcloud.
“Headlights Look Like Diamonds” from Arcade Fire EP
The band’s first EP featured a different lineup and certainly sounds unpolished. “Headlights Look Like Diamonds” features raw energy with a multitude of instruments banging and clanging while Win Butler shows hints of a twang in his vocals.
“Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” from Funeral
Funeral is one of my favourite albums of all time. The opening sounds of “Tunnels” are like waking up to a dreamy winter world where you’re a kid again and your entire world basically consists of your house, your friends house and whatever lies in between.
“Haiti” from Funeral
One memory I’ll never forget is seeing Arcade Fire perform this song in Quebec City with ten or more members RAM, a Haitian mizik raisin band. Arcade Fire vocalist Régine Chassagne always adds passion to the song, with her memories of growing up in Haiti coming through. But having the members of RAM made it extra special and made me realize I’ll never grasp growing up in poverty.
“Born On A Train” cover of Magnetic Fields
This song was played on Morning Becomes Eclectic on Los Angeles radio station KCRW in January, 17, 2005. Win Butler explains in the intro this song is a big reason why the band is signed to their label Merge. He was working at a shoe store in Boston at the time and kept requesting it on the radio station.
“Ocean of Noise” from Neon Bible
The first half of Neon Bible is full of themes that feel very dark: losing faith in the church, daunting black waves and paranoia in times of war. “Ocean of Noise” comes in with a gentle roll of thunder and a vocal driven track that grows into a beautiful wall of sound delivered by horns and violins.
“(Antichrist Television Blues)” from Neon Bible
Opening line “Don’t want to work in a building downtown” has always resonated with me. That fear of being suckered into some mindless task for the rest of life swam around my brain all throughout university.
“Empty Room” from The Suburb
It’s easy to be drawn into the personalities of Win and Regine, but the string section of Arcade Fire, along with pal Owen Pallett, is such a driving force on a handful of songs including this one. It’s chaotic, it’s full of energy and then it slowly melts away into the next song on the album.
“We Used To Wait” from The Suburb
I had a pen pal in elementary school, but I never replied to him because all he wanted to talk about was Pokemon. Even thought I can’t relate to the letter-writing aspect of the song, the overall theme of nostalgia and growing up too fast and hoping “something pure can last” rings true.
“You Already Know” from Reflektor
A great dance rock song from a very danceable album. The chorus hook of “You Already Know” is the polar opposite of “I don’t know”, a phrase displayed in huge letters on the booklet of the expanded edition of the Suburbs. A lot of Arcade Fire songs are filled with nostalgia and questions, making the assurance on this song refreshing.
“Reflektor” from Reflektor
I tip my hat to Arcade Fire for releasing a seven-plus minute song as the first single. It doesn’t come across as a band trying to make a point or throwing out the traditional three minute single theory. This song defines the new direction of the band and it took this long to deliver a tight, well articulated thesis for the double album.
Photo: Mixtape/Scott Blackburn