The band’s trademark fashion consists in wearing rather formal attire during live events and a use of orchestral instruments. When asked about the rumour that the band's name refers to a fire in an arcade, Win Butler replied: "It's not a rumour, it's based on a story that someone told me. It's not an actual event, but one that I took to be real. I would say that it's probably something that the kid made up, but at the time I believed him." Win Butler and his brother Will grew up in Texas.
Band formation
Arcade Fire formed around the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. Joining together as recently as mid-2003, the current line-up solidified in late 2003/early 2004, when their first full-length album Funeral was recorded. Before this an eponymous EP (often referred to by fans as the Us Kids Know EP) had been sold at early shows. The EP was subsequently remastered and given a full release once the band started becoming more prominent. Arcade Fire are known for their enthralling live performances, as well as its use of a large number of musical instruments. In addition to mainstays guitar, drums, and bass guitar, members play piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, keyboard, French horn, accordion, and harp. With several able musicians, the band take most of their instrumental diversity on tour and members switch instrumental duties throughout their shows. The number of instruments, along with a wide set of musical influences has provided a substantial number of resources on which to draw from during the recording process. The promise showed by the band in its live shows allowed it to land a record contract with Chapel Hill-based independent record label Merge Records.
Funeral
Without a major label backing, the success of the band and the album Funeral has been acclaimed as an Internet phenomenon. After a 9.7 rating from Pitchfork, Merge Records sold out their inventory of Funeral and it became the label's first album in the Billboard 200 chart. An early tip from David Bowie was also influential. The band booked small clubs for their 2004 tour but growing interest forced many venue changes, far beyond the band's expectations, and continued internationally into mid-2005. The MTV2 2005 Review hosted by Zane Lowe named Funeral Album of the Year, and NME named Funeral Number 2 in their list of 2005's best albums and "Rebellion (Lies)" the best track. By November 2005, Funeral had gone gold in both Canada and the UK and sold in excess of half a million copies worldwide, a phenomenal number for an independent release with minimal television or radio exposure. It has also surpassed Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane Over The Sea as the biggest selling Merge Records album to date.
Arcade Fire were featured on the April 4, 2005 cover of Time Magazine's Canadian edition, and hailed as a band who "helped put Canadian music on the world map". On April 2, 2006, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they received the Juno Award for Songwriters Of The Year for three songs from Funeral: "Wake Up", "Rebellion (Lies)" and "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)". Arcade Fire then planned to begin recording a follow up to Funeral in the winter of 2005-2006, having bought an old church forty minutes from central Montreal which they converted into a studio.
Neon Bible
In mid-December 2006 www.neonbible.com went live containing nothing more than a phone number, 1-866-NEONBIBLE where people can listen to a new track called Intervention. Built in the style of customer support lines, the number has other features including a contest and a chance to talk to a live person at a specific time each week.
Then in January 2007, they finally announced that the new album Neon Bible would be released March 5th in UK, March 6th in US. The announcement was made with a video in the album's website, with guitarist Richard Reed Parry using a gramophone and a paper mask of Parry's own face, and sitting on Win Butler´s chair. After the announcement of the album´s release, the website was updated with a streaming version of "Black Mirror", new art and a few phone messages sounding like the band´s members.
The Suburbs
The band released their third album "The Suburbs" on August 2, 2010 in the UK and August 3, 2010 in the United States. It debuted at #1 in both countries. On February 13, 2011, the album won Album of the Year at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Arcade Fire recorded a song for The Hunger Games soundtrack (The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond), called "Abraham's Daughter". The song is featured in the movie's end credits. The soundtrack was released on March 20, 2012, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. It sold more than 175,000 copies in its first week according to Nielsen SoundScan. It's the first theatrical film soundtrack to top the chart since Michael Jackson's "This Is It" debuted at No. 1 on the list. It is also only the 16th soundtrack to debut at No. 1 in the history of the Billboard 200 chart (those soundtracks include film, television, and straight-to-video efforts).
Reflektor
Arcade Fire and Mercury Records confirmed that they would release a fourth album in late 2013. In December 2012, the band's manager Scott Rodger confirmed that Arcade Fire was in the studio working with James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem. The official Arcade Fire pre-order website sets the release date on October 28, 2013. The band announced on January 18, 2013 that they were selling the church they had been using as a studio due to a collapsed roof. Throughout 2013, the band worked on the album in several different recording studios - including Murphy's DFA Records studio in New York. On June 22, 2013, Rolling Stone reported that new material from the album would be released on September 9, 2013.
Everything Now
Arcade Fire's first announced its fifth record, "Everything Now," on May 31, 2017 when it released the record's title track and lead single. The album's release came July 27, 2017. In the weeks leading up to the album's release, the band released three additional lead singles, "Creature Comfort," "Signs of Life," and "Electric Blue." Upon the week of its release, "Everything Now" reached #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming the band's third-straight and third overall #1 record.
WE
On October 21, 2020, Butler was interviewed for the Broken Record podcast, where he commented about Arcade Fire's sixth album. The band had been writing for a year before the COVID-19 lockdown. In March 2022, fans received postcards marked with the band's logo; the postcards included the note "We missed you", musical notations, as well as an image of an eye with the word "Unsubscribe" written below. Those same images began to appear in signage around London as well as on the band's social media pages, indicating the earliest signs of a new album. On March 14, the band announced a new song titled "The Lightning I, II" would be released on March 17.
On March 17, 2022, Arcade Fire announced that the album would be titled WE and be released on May 6, 2022. Later that week, Will Butler announced he had amicably left the band in 2021 shortly after the completion of WE.
Following the release of WE on May 6, 2022, Arcade Fire announced the group’s first world tour since 2018, starting in August 2022. They again appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 7, 2022, playing "Unconditional I (Lookout Kid)", "The Lightning I, II", and "End of The Empire II" over the closing credits.
Antichrist Television Blues)
Arcade Fire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No, I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't know what I'm gonna do
Cause the planes keep crashing always two by two
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
No, I don't wanna see when the planes hit the ground
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
Parking their cars in the underground
Their voices when they scream, they make no sound
I wanna see the cities rust
And the trouble makers riding on the back of the bus
Dear God, I'm a good Christian man
In your glory, I know you understand
That you gotta work hard and you gotta get paid
My girl's thirteen, but she don't act her age
She can sing like a bird in a cage
Oh Lord, if you could see her when she's up on that stage
You know that I'm a God fearing man
You know that I'm a God fearing man
But I just gotta know if it's part of your plan
To seat my daughters there by your right hand
I know that you'll do what is right, Lord
For they are the lanterns, and you are the light
Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near, but my heart is far away
Tell me what to say
I'll be your mouthpiece!
Into the light of a bridge that burns
As I drive from the city with the money that I earned
Into the black of a starless sky
I'm staring into nothing, and I'm asking you why
Lord, will you make her a star?
So the world can see who you really are
Little girl, you're old enough to understand
That you'll always be a stranger in a strange, strange land
The men are gonna come while you're fast asleep
So you better just stay close and hold on to me
If my little mocking bird don't sing
Then daddy won't buy her no diamond ring
Dear God, would you send me a child?
Oh God, would you send me a child?
Cause I wanna put it up on the TV screen
So the world can see what your true word means
Lord, would you just send me a sign?
Cause I just gotta know if I'm wasting my time
Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near, but my heart is far away
Now the war is won
How come nothing tastes good?
You're such a sensitive child
Oh, you're such a sensitive child
I know you're tired, but it's alright
I just need you to sing for me tonight
You're gonna have your day in the sun
You know God loves the sensitive ones
Oh, my little bird in a cage
Oh, my little bird in a cage
I need you to get up for me, up on that stage
And show the men that you're old for your age
Now ain't the time for fear
But if you don't take it, it'll disappear
Oh, my little mockingbird, sing
Oh, my little mockingbird, sing
I need you to get up on that stage for me, honey
And show the men it's not about the money
Wanna hold a mirror up to the world
So that they can see themselves inside my little girl
Do you know where I was at your age?
Any idea where I was at your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage
And I'm not gonna let you just throw it all away
I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice
Oh, tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?
The song "Antichrist Television Blues" by Arcade Fire is a satirical analysis of the entertainment industry's manipulation of talent for profit. The song tells the story of an ambitious father who wants his daughter to become a singing sensation, a mockingbird that can entertain and captivate audiences. The father is willing to exploit the girl's talent and innocence to achieve his dreams of fame and wealth. The lyrics reflect the father's struggle to balance his religious beliefs and his desire for fame and fortune.
The opening lines "I don't wanna work in a building downtown" sets the tone for the song, expressing the father's contempt for ordinary life and his yearning for something grander. The line "Cause the planes keep crashing always two by two" is a metaphor for the girl's journey into fame, always accompanied by a steady stream of disasters. The line "Parking their cars in the underground, their voices when they scream, they make no sound" refers to the industry bigwigs who control the entertainment world, hidden beneath the surface and without conscience.
The father's conflict between his religious beliefs and his ambition is evident in the lines "Dear God, I'm a good Christian man, In your glory, I know you understand, That you gotta work hard and you gotta get paid." He wants to believe that his actions are righteous, but his greed and lust for success contradict his sincere faith. By the end of the song, the father is agonizing over his choices, wondering if he is the "Antichrist" and whether his pursuit of fame will be the end of him.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't want to be part of the corporate rat race
No, I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't want to work in a lifeless, monotonous environment
I don't know what I'm gonna do
I feel lost and uncertain about my future
Cause the planes keep crashing always two by two
The world is full of chaos and tragedy, always in pairs
No, I don't wanna see when the planes hit the ground
I don't want to witness the destruction and suffering caused by tragedies
Parking their cars in the underground
Symbolizing conformity and the mundane routine of daily life
Their voices when they scream, they make no sound
The people around me are silently accepting their meaningless existence
I wanna see the cities rust
I desire to witness natural decay and non-human control of the world
And the trouble makers riding on the back of the bus
the marginalized sections finding their voice and challenging the normative order
Dear God, I'm a good Christian man
I am a God-fearing person, who strives to do what is right
In your glory, I know you understand
I trust in God understanding my motives
That you gotta work hard and you gotta get paid
Only hard work and financial stability is rewarded in modern society
My girl's thirteen, but she don't act her age
My daughter has developed skill while still remaining innocent
She can sing like a bird in a cage
She has natural talent that others fail to recognize
Oh Lord, if you could see her when she's up on that stage
Asking for divine intervention in her success
But I just gotta know if it's part of your plan
Questioning God's role in human lives
To seat my daughters there by your right hand
To ensure the safety and well-being of my child
For they are the lanterns, and you are the light
My child is a symbol of hope and God is the guiding force
Into the light of a bridge that burns
A metaphor for chasing money on a path of self-destruction
I'm staring into nothing, and I'm asking you why
I'm confounded and searching for meaning in the pointlessness of life
Little girl, you're old enough to understand
Realizing her child will face the harsh realities of the world
That you'll always be a stranger in a strange, strange land
Life is foreign and overwhelming for a young child
So you better just stay close and hold on to me
The father playing the role of protector
If my little mocking bird don't sing
A metaphor for the daughter's individuality
Then daddy won't buy her no diamond ring
Implying the threat of monetary gain over his daughter's suffocation
Cause I wanna put it up on the TV screen
A desire to showcase her child prodigy for the world to see
So the world can see what your true word means
Trying to spread a message of hope through music
Now the war is won
Achieving his goals
You're gonna have your day in the sun
Assuring his daughter of her success
You know God loves the sensitive ones
Belief that God values those with sensitivity
I know you're tired, but it's alright
Comforting the daughter amid her struggles
I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice
Striving to be taken seriously
Oh, tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?
Expressing doubt in himself and questioning if he is opposing God's will
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jeremy Gara, Regine Chassagne, Richard R Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler, Win Butler
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A Not So Ordinary Jedi
Translate this: I don't wanna work in a building downtown
No I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't know what I'm gonna do
Cause the planes keep crashing always two by two
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
No I don't wanna see when the planes hit the ground
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
I don't wanna work in a building downtown
Parking their cars in the underground
Their voices when they scream, well they make no sound
I wanna see the cities rust
And the troublemakers riding on the back of the bus
Dear God, I'm a good Christian man
In your glory, I know you understand
That you gotta work hard and you gotta get paid
My girl's 13 but she don't act her age
She can sing like a bird in a cage
O Lord, if you could see her when she's up on that stage!
You know that I'm a God-fearing man
You know that I'm a God-fearing man
But I just gotta know if it's part of your plan
To seat my daughters there by your right hand
I know that you'll do what's right, Lord
For they are the lanterns and you are the light
Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near but my heart is far away
Tell me what to say
I'll be your mouthpiece!
Into the light of a bridge that burns
As I drive from the city with the money that I earned
Into the black of a starless sky
I'm staring into nothing
and I'm asking you why
Lord, will you make her a star
So the world can see who you really are?
Little girl, you're old enough to understand
That you'll always be a stranger in a strange, strange land
The men are gonna come when you're fast asleep
So you better just stay close and hold onto me
If my little mocking bird don't sing
Then daddy won't buy her no diamond ring
Dear God, would you send me a child?
Oh! God, would you send me a child
Cause I wanna put it up on the TV screen
So the world can see what your true word means
Lord, would you send me a sign
Cause I just gotta know if I'm wasting my time!
Now I'm overcome
By the light of day
My lips are near but my heart is far away
Now the war is won
How come nothing tastes good?
You're such a sensitive child!
Oh! You're such a sensitive child!
I know you're tired but it's alright
I just need you to sing for me tonight
You're gonna have your day in the sun
You know God loves the sensitive ones
Oh! My little bird in a cage!
Oh! My little bird in a cage!
I need you to get up for me, up on that stage
And show the men that you're old for your age
Now ain't the time for fear
But if you don't take it, it'll disappear!
Oh! My little mocking bird sing!
Oh! My little mocking bird sing!
I need you to get up on that stage for me, honey
And show the men it's not about the money
Wanna hold a mirror up to the world
So that they can see themselves inside my little girl!
Do you know where I was at your age?
Any idea where I was at your age?
I was working downtown for the minimum wage
And I'm not gonna let you just throw it all away!
I'm through being cute, I'm through being nice
O tell me, Lord, am I the Antichrist?!
Dylan Updegrave
Listening to this as a teenager, I never really paid attention to the meaning of the lyrics, but listening to this 15 years later, holy hell this song is heavy
Ithaca 7080
Dude! No kidding! This has to be one of their most underrated songs
Terence Reed
Perfect album. This will be held up in 30 years time as timeless and nuanced beyond its years.
Antiochia ad Taurum
absolutely
Eric Foster
I’d be sing this to myself every morning as I caught the train headed towards my job in the building downtown.
KelbenAZ
Love this , especially the version played in the Miroir Noir.
La Chaîne de Yamaël
That cover picture is one of the best
Trista Golike
This is the song I was looking for. It sounds different when I'm no longer so angry.
Hugo Paz
Great song
Mario Basic
Love this song. I would kill for the opportunity to play with Win.