"Where did the title Neon Bible come from? Was it at all related to the John Kennedy Toole novel?
WIN BUTLER: It's a physical thing you see from time to time, a neon sign on a church. I thought of the name a while ago, and then read the book and thought, "Oh, too bad I can't use that." But as the record went on, I knew it was the title of the record. I'd thought of it as an idea, and then I read his other book, Confederacy of Dunces, and then heard reference to this book. It was more inspiring to me that a 16-year old wrote a book that isn't the best book in the world but deals with some interesting themes. The idea of a 16-year old writing a novel-instead of watching TV and doing whatever 16-year olds do-is pretty inspiring.
RICHARD REED PARRY: It's also about blind consumerism. Not in a direct way, but I feel like that's there: humans living in the world as consumers, as participants, how people choose to be in the world and react to the world and treat the world.
JEREMY GARA: That ties into the Red Campaign as well, if you want to take it further. That's the only thing we've said yes to all year. It's the only thing that admits to the blatant consumerism of North America. So let's tap into that for good, or at least try, instead of pretending that's not the way responsible people are. [Arcade Fire licensed the song "Rebellion (Lies)" to the Red Campaign during Christmas 2006, which raised funds for African AIDS relief through a dollar taken from every purchase at select clothing retailers.]
What about what Neon Bible says about religion?
WIN BUTLER: There's definitely an aspect of religion always combining with culture and becoming a third thing. Where it gets weird is when people mistake the culture for religion, and vice versa: these deeply held beliefs that are partially cultural artifacts, the idea that every line in the Bible is supposed to apply to some real thing in your life. There's a lot to chew on in the Bible, and to think of it as one coherent whole that's telling you one specific thing, like it's some kind of manual on how to live-I don't see how you can read that and get that out of it. There is some advice in there, but it's way more varied than that. "
They were probably talking about the album as a whole, but the comments fit for this particular song. It's about the ways that culture and religion are mixed up.
From an interview (stereowarning.com/2007/03/arcade_fire_interview_on_neon_bible.html):
"Where did the title Neon Bible come from? Was it at all related to the John Kennedy Toole novel? WIN BUTLER: It's a physical thing you see from time to time, a neon sign on a church. I thought of the name a while ago, and then read the book and thought, "Oh, too bad I can't use that." But as the record went on, I knew it was the title of the record. I'd thought of it as an idea, and then I read his other book, Confederacy of Dunces, and then heard reference to this book. It was more inspiring to me that a 16-year old wrote a book that isn't the best book in the world but deals with some interesting themes. The idea of a 16-year old writing a novel-instead of watching TV and doing whatever 16-year olds do-is pretty inspiring. RICHARD REED PARRY: It's also about blind consumerism. Not in a direct way, but I feel like that's there: humans living in the world as consumers, as participants, how people choose to be in the world and react to the world and treat the world. JEREMY GARA: That ties into the Red Campaign as well, if you want to take it further. That's the only thing we've said yes to all year. It's the only thing that admits to the blatant consumerism of North America. So let's tap into that for good, or at least try, instead of pretending that's not the way responsible people are. [Arcade Fire licensed the song "Rebellion (Lies)" to the Red Campaign during Christmas 2006, which raised funds for African AIDS relief through a dollar taken from every purchase at select clothing retailers.]
What about what Neon Bible says about religion? WIN BUTLER: There's definitely an aspect of religion always combining with culture and becoming a third thing. Where it gets weird is when people mistake the culture for religion, and vice versa: these deeply held beliefs that are partially cultural artifacts, the idea that every line in the Bible is supposed to apply to some real thing in your life. There's a lot to chew on in the Bible, and to think of it as one coherent whole that's telling you one specific thing, like it's some kind of manual on how to live-I don't see how you can read that and get that out of it. There is some advice in there, but it's way more varied than that. "
They were probably talking about the album as a whole, but the comments fit for this particular song. It's about the ways that culture and religion are mixed up.