Arcade Fire is an indie rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 200… Read Full Bio ↴Arcade Fire is an indie rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2001. The band consists of Win Butler (vocals, guitar, piano), Régine Chassagne (vocals, accordion, keyboards, hurdy gurdy, drums), Richard Reed Parry (bass, guitar), Tim Kingsbury (bass), and Jeremy Gara (drums). Montreal percussionist Dane Mills performed on the EP and in early live shows. Will Butler (keyboards, guitar) left the band in 2022 to focus on his solo career. The touring band includes horn players and violinists.

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.

Supersymmetry
Arcade Fire Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I know you're living in my mind
It's not the same as being alive
I know you're living in my mind
It's not the same as being alive

Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry

If telling the truth is not polite
Then I guess you'll have to fight
If telling the truth is not polite
Then I guess we'll have to fight

Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry

I lived for a year, in the bed by the window
Reading books, better than memories
Wanna feel the seasons passing
Wanna feel the spring

Of supersymmetry
Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry

It's been a while since I've been to see you
I don't know where, but you're not with me
Heard a voice, like an echo
But it came from you

Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry (supersymmetry)
Supersymmetry (supersymmetry)
Supersymmetry (supersymmetry)

Ah, lalala lala
Ah, lalala lala
Ah, lalala lala
Ah, lalala lala

Supersymmetry
Supersymmetry

Overall Meaning

Arcade Fire's song 'Supersymmetry' explores the concept of a metaphysical connectedness between two beings. The lyrics suggest that the singer is aware of someone who lives in their mind but is no longer physically present. This understanding is further emphasised in the repetition of the line "I know you're living in my mind / It's not the same as being alive." Here, the singer is acknowledging that though the person is not present in the physical world, their existence is still felt by the singer.

The song title 'Supersymmetry' alludes to the scientific theory stating that for every known particle, there exists a corresponding partner. In the chorus, the repetition of the word 'Supersymmetry' suggests that just as every particle has a partner, every person has a connection to someone else. The line "Wanna feel the seasons passing / Wanna feel the spring" may suggest a desire to experience life with this person or to feel their connection again.

Line by Line Meaning

I know you're living in my mind
The singer acknowledges that they are constantly thinking about someone else.

It's not the same as being alive
Just because the person is in their thoughts does not mean they are physically present or living.

Supersymmetry
The concept of the physical world having a parallel existence or mirror image is introduced to the song.

If telling the truth is not polite
The artist highlights the fact that sometimes honesty is not socially acceptable or welcome.

Then I guess you'll have to fight
In these cases, the only way to express honesty is through conflict or confrontation.

Supersymmetry
The concept of parallelism or mirrored existence is reiterated.

I lived for a year, in the bed by the window
The singer recalls a time in their life where they were immobile and limited in their experiences.

Reading books, better than memories
During this time, the artist relied on books as a source of intellectual stimulation and escape.

Wanna feel the seasons passing
The artist expresses a desire to experience the changes and progression of time.

Wanna feel the spring
Specifically, the artist desires to feel the freshness and renewal of spring.

Supersymmetry
The concept of parallelism or mirrored existence is once again reiterated.

It's been a while since I've been to see you
The artist has not seen the other person in a long time.

I don't know where, but you're not with me
The singer is uncertain of the other person's whereabouts or current state of being.

Heard a voice, like an echo
Despite this, the singer hears the other person's voice echoing in their mind.

But it came from you
The singer recognizes that the echo originated from the other person's memory or existence.

Supersymmetry
The concept of parallelism or mirrored existence is reiterated for the final time.

Ah, lalala lala
A nonverbal refrain is included, perhaps to emphasize the recurring theme of the song.

Supersymmetry
The song ends with the repeated concept of parallelism or mirrored existence.

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

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