The Arcade Fire Are Just TOO White

Apparently, indie rock has lost it's soul.

Sasha Frere-Jones is apparently upset that The Arcade Fire just aren't black enough. They donm't syncopate their rhythms like The Clash tended to do in their later music endeavors.

He also says that "The Chronic" is probably one of the most important pop albums of the nineties. Does anyone really believe that to be true? You're going to tell me that "Let Me Ride" is more of a pop success than say Nirvana? Lest we forget that I still fondly remember Nirvana as THE band that had significant airtime - be it television or the radio. Oftentimes, I look back on those days, when bands like Nirvana were IT and become nostalgic for the music industry.

Seeing The Arcade Fire two weekends ago at Randall's Island made me happy with music again. I've been frustrated with new bands that go for simplistic dance riffs or anthem-like, empty lyrics, but bands like The Arcade Fire break the mold. Every song they played gave me that "whoa, I love this song!" feeling. Every single song. Their songs are thought provoking, multi-layered and musically refined. Where does soul fit in if a band is great? And moreover, why should a band have to have this so-called soul to be considered seriously? Where is the argument?

This article is chock full of contradictions. Dr. Dre and Snoop are the most important pop musicians since Bob Dylan, and Sasha apparently loves Grizzly Bear even though they don't exhibit any kind of African roots, but yet the Arcade Fire still somehow falls short of his expectations, in spite of the fact that they are currently one of the most powerful forces in music to-date?

Wah wah wah. If you really want your soul, turn off Neon Bible and turn on Sandinista. I'm a fan of both, but I'm not a fan of whiners that don't really make sense.