Let me preface this buy saying that Funeral is one of my top 10 favorite albums of all-time...

Like many people, March 6th was like a second christmas for me, afterall, Neon Bible was released.

I was so excited when the album was released that, on first and second listens, I thought they had surpassed Funeral and made an even more timeless album.

And then week 3 rolled around... I still liked it, but didn't care for the quality of the mixing. Yeah it was recorded in a church and that's great, but it doesn't sound so good...

Week 4 is here and I don't feel the replay value that Funeral still has... Several songs sound too similar and my favorite song "My Body is a Cage" sounds a bit too much like "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.

Any similar other similar experiences by the Arcade Fire fans?

I'm the opposite of you. I never cared about Funeral. I'll admit that it starts off pretty well, but it never called out to me on any personal level, and it's frustrating to listen to it when the second half rolls around, and I don't really feel anything. This has happened with a lot of other people's favorite and seminal albums, but I'm not going to turn this into a mark's gonna crap on your fave albums thread. I just want to preface my comments.

Anyway, although I'm currently listening to a lot of older music, I am up to snuff on about 20 albums released this year, and Neon Bible is still my number two album of the year. I enjoy every song and everything about it. I liked it so much, I played Funeral a few more times, but it's still not something I feel the need to listen to very much, if at all.

I realize that you're new here and don't know me from Adam, but I'm a real old fart. I've been buying and obsessing about music since 1966. I like all eras equally, but my first love today is BRAND NEW music. True, being an old fart, you don't find a lot of "newer genres" on my favorites lists, but that's something for another thread.

Anyhow, this is a decent thread, so everybody post away. I'm just gonna move it over to Indie where the other Neon Bible thread is.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

I also feel exactly the opposite way that you do sh6ne. I think that it is an album that will successfully age well and that it is a great listen from front to back. Sometimes "Neon Bible" is skipable but other than that song, all of the rest are great and are written much better than its predecessor's, Funeral, batch of songs.

I loved that album when it came out. Maybe I overplayed it, but I don't feel that Funeral aged well. I know a lot of people here love it so I won't put it down too much, but I also don't really "feel" much when I hear it, except for the opener and "The Crown of Love;" which are two beautiful songs.

I think that Neon Bible is a really strong album. I have heard about 15-20 albums this year and even four weeks later, that album is the number one album of the year for me--so far. Give it another chance sh6ne. Maybe you should shelve it for a while and then revisit it, the songs are strong, the arrangements are stunning and it is just an overall great album.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I also feel exactly the opposite way that you do sh6ne. I think that it is an album that will successfully age well and that it is a great listen from front to back. Sometimes "Neon Bible" is skipable but other than that song, all of the rest are great and are written much better than its predecessor's, Funeral, batch of songs.

I loved that album when it came out. Maybe I overplayed it, but I don't feel that Funeral aged well. I know a lot of people here love it so I won't put it down too much, but I also don't really "feel" much when I hear it, except for the opener and "The Crown of Love;" which are two beautiful songs.

I think that Neon Bible is a really strong album. I have heard about 15-20 albums this year and even four weeks later, that album is the number one album of the year for me--so far. Give it another chance sh6ne. Maybe you should shelve it for a while and then revisit it, the songs are strong, the arrangements are stunning and it is just an overall great album.

yeah dont get me wrong, I think it's a great album - definitely better than most of the stuff out there. I just don't think from track to track that it's as strong of an album as Funeral.

The poor mixing kills me. I wish I could hear all the instruments as clearly as in Funeral.

I have heard this criticism, actually quite a bit, but I don't understand it. I believe that I hear everything which I'm supposed to be hearing.

I have heard a lot of people complain about the production. But I dont get it either, you would think they were listening to Loveless or something. That album sounds just fine to me and I can hear everything just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
I have heard a lot of people complain about the production. But I dont get it either, you would think they were listening to Loveless or something. That album sounds just fine to me and I can hear everything just fine.

Yeah guys I hear everything, but the mixing is muddy... When an album is mixed in a church that's what happens and if this was a "Live" album I'd be okay with it; but it's a studio album and that's why it makes me slightly upset.

There are degrees of clarity and being able to "hear everything." But compare the mixing in Funeral to the mixing in Neon Bible and there is a noticeable difference - that's all I'm saying.

I've grown to like this album better than Funeral, and I like Funeral a lot.

As far as the production goes, I really like the space in the songs. It feels big and anthemic and religious. I think they got the sound they really wanted.

Where you might have been OK hearing Funeral in a club, I think Neon Bible wants a big, spacious theatre.

quote:

Originally posted by sh6ne:
Any similar other similar experiences by the Arcade Fire fans?

I too love Funeral, and had been anticipating Neon Bible for quite a while. I kind of wore myself out on it after listening to it the first few days I had it. I think I obsessed about it too much and the songs were relentlessly on repeat in my head. As a result, I didn't listen to it again for a couple weeks. The one song that bothered me most was "Antichrist Television Blues." The repetition of the lyrics and the way Win sounds a bit too much like Springsteen to be coincidence, kind of left me sour about the rest of the album. So I listened again after a couple weeks and skipped that one song. I fell in love with Neon Bible again, and wanted to play it again when it was over.

I'd just recommend putting it down for a while. When you listen to it again, expect it to be disappointing, then be surprised by how much you actually like it (I know you will ) .

Ugh, I feel like such an outsider.

We aren't being personal concerning you, just us. We hear YOU, but we hear something else too.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
We aren't being personal concerning you, just us. We hear YOU, but we hear something else too.

I don't understand what you're getting at, my brain is dead and those two senteces were cryptic.

Reread it when your brain's resurrected.

quote:

Originally posted by SDF:
I'd just recommend putting it down for a while. When you listen to it again, expect it to be disappointing, then be surprised by how much you actually like it (I know you will ) .

I agree with this theory, it should work.

I guess I'll also come out as being mystified by this band's popularity. To me, it just sounds like every song has the same driving drumbeat and the same simple chord progressions. Most songs are too long and I find the whole recording-in-a-church thing to be a little hoaky and played up way too much.
I do enjoy "Crown of Love" and "My Body is a Cage" though.

quote:

Neon Bible: Four weeks later...

its still my album of the year so far.
btw, l love the production n the sound of that album.

I never actually get caught up in the production sounds of music. Unless it sounds like there's a blanket over the speakers, everything sounds solid to me.

I like Neon Bible a good bit, but Funeral's definitely my favorite album of the decade so far. Neon Bible had a lot to live up to, and even if it's not as good as Funeral, I'm glad that it's a really solid album and not a fall from grace like some people expected.

And JGlass and treesgetwheeledaway... the way you guys feel about this album is the way I feel when people gush about Animal Collective. Sounds like a whole lot of ambient yowling, but people dig it a lot. Some things are just not for us, sometimes.

I'm really conscious of production when I listen to a record. After recording and mixing some of my own music I became very aware of how much control over a band's sound can happen post-recording in the studio. I've always loved the lo-fi grainyness of Guided By Voices and I usually lean towards more non-conventional production techniques (as opposed to standard arena rock mixing). For this reason I've had a hard time with the newest Modest Mouse because everything sounds too shiny and clean and crisp. I know that sounds strange but sometimes I like some messy, dirty sounds in my music.

With that said, I don't like Neon Bible's mixing very much at all. I figured I would love it since it sounds like the kind of reverb-heavy mess that I would enjoy. I don't know, I'm still listening and trying to like the album but I can't. Of course, this isn't just a production fixation, it has to do with the songs and lyrics as well. Anyways just my .02

I'm still thoroughly enjoying it. "Windowsill" really grated on me during early listens, particulary the lyrics about MTV, living in my parents house, etc. They just seemed really emo/teen age angsty. Somehow I've gotten completely beyond it, and I now love the song. "Black Mirror" has never done anything for me. The run from track 6 through the finish is just amazing.

6. "Ocean of Noise"
7. "Well and the Lighthouse"
8. "Antichrist Television Blues"
9. "Windowsill"
10. "No Cars Go"
11. "My Body is a Cage"

Too bad you don't really dig "Black Mirror." For a while there that was my favorite song on the album; its spectral, brooding music sets up the album very well. I will agree with you that the last half is killer and what's even better is that the first half is great as well. The only song that I can say is weak is "Neon Bible," other than that, every song is a stand-out.