| Arcade Fire – Supersymmetry Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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A song about religion in a Postmodern day and age and perhaps Win Butler's own view on religion (he did have a Mormon background, actually). The first verse seems to be about Butler envisioning God in his mind. "I know you're living in my mind/but it's not the same as being alive" seems to indicate that, regardless of whether or not God is actually there, he feels that merely having to maintain a relationship with a being in his mind just isn't the same as having a physical, tangible relationship with someone. The next verse seems to be about his view on "tolerance" of religion and belief in modern-day society ("If telling the truth is not polite/then I guess we'll have to fight"). Let's face it: we Americans (and virtually all Western civilization now) have come to view tolerance as the only virtue there is anymore. And this is the inherent problem with this mindset that Butler recognizes: if tolerance is the only virtue, then we haven't quelled any fighting, since now all we fight about is what's tolerant and intolerant and what obscure minority is getting beat up now. He can't stand "tolerance" because all it does is cause MORE fighting, not less. The third verse could take on more than a few meanings, but perhaps the most accurate one is that it's about a family member or friend of his living on their faith ("You've lived for a year in a bed by the window/ reading books, better than memories"). "Reading books" could indicate reading the Bible, and how people of faith care more about prophecies and the world to come than the here and now ("better than memories"). All in all, it seems like a very distant idea to him, living on faith. The last verse is the real killer here, though. "It's been a while since I've been to see you/ don't know where, but you're not with me/ I heard a voice like an echo, but it came from me" seems to be talking about how Butler's relationship with God has faded, and that every time he wants to envision that there is a God, he is just imagining things. That is why he describes God's voice like it is just an "echo" of his own. The repetition of "supersymmetry" throughout the song emphasizes how Butler longs for some kind of "togetherness" with this world so broken over religion and tolerance, and, possibly, some kind of re-connection with God. He wants to find some kind of "supersymmetry" with religion and spirituality, but is frustrated by all the added complications people throw. |
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| Arcade Fire – Here Comes the Night Time Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| On the surface, I think it looks merely like a slam on doomsday-preaching religious zealots, but it's deeper than just religion. The line "The missionaries tell us we will be left behind" seems to be talking about the general alarmist-type fears people have every time the future looks bleak. "Been left behind a thousand times, a thousand times" seems to show that this fear is pointless, since, looking back on all the horrors humanity has gone through, somehow or other we will always come out alive. | |
| Arcade Fire – Afterlife Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Very postmodern. Seems to be about the negative connotations associated with spiritual things in general nowadays ("Afterlife, oh my God, what an awful word"), and all the different religion's constant bickering over who goes where and what draws the line, etc. The speaker seems very doubtful of whether or not there is actually an afterlife ("Afterlife, I think I saw what happens next/ it was just a glimpse of you, like looking through a window"), feeling that his imagination may be merely playing tricks on him. The line "When love is gone/ where does it go?," however, indicates that he is still conflicted inside because he finds it illogical for there to be nothing but this physical life. Love must go somewhere, even when the body decomposes. That is the basic problem with every debate on the afterlife: to some people it seems whimsical to assume there's an actual place we go when we die, but it seems illogical to assume there is nothing beyond this physical universe when we humans have such an innate desire to search for meaning and such a craving to know what's out there. Why are we designed this way? The argument circulates back to where it started. |
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| Arcade Fire – Normal Person Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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A song about the way people perceive normalcy, that can be interpreted on a personal scale and on a sociological scale. The opening verse seems to be about a child who is unsure of whether he is normal or not based on the standards of his peers ("Waiting after school, you want to know if you're a normal person too/ well, are you?"), and in this case, the normalcy seems to be bullying, or simply a power struggle ("Is anyone as cruel as a normal person?"). I take it that the main message of the song is how this cruelty or power-struggle is now perceived as normal in modern-day society. Let's face it: here in America, we live in an individualistic society. We aren't condemned for hording wealth, taking short cuts to get to the top, or only looking out for ourselves. We are subtly encouraged to do these very things. What is the main message behind all TV commercials? "It's all about you." All about the individual. Therefore, no one perceives it as weird when people exercise their power on each other or act cruel. It's just a means for the individual to get what they want. |
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| Arcade Fire – We Exist Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Seems to be about the cold and far-off way critics and music fans in general treat bands, especially in a digital age where it's so easy to judge things far away from you (perhaps Arcade Fire are talking autobiographically here). "Walking around head full of sound" seems to be about a listener absolutely consumed by the music, critiquing every bit of it, judging the band solely on the music and not on who they are or anything about them. The result is very cold and inhuman, almost as if the musicians have been reduced to mere fantasy. People talk about them as if they weren't human at all ("talking like we don't exist"), and in the end Arcade fire feel like they're just a fantasy to their fans, something that people worship but something they'll never get to know personally ("Maybe it's true/ they're staring at you/when you walk in the room"). | |
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