At the risk of sounding nitpicky, Kasparov actually won the match against Deep Blue in 1996 -- I believe the final score was 4-2 in Kasparov's favor; an upgraded Deep Blue won the rematch in 1997. However, the computer did beat Kasparov in the first round of the '96 match, and the fact that it beat a grandmaster at all may be enough for Arcade Fire's point.
I think the song is about how much the world has changed in just two decades, and how by accepting all the little changes we do, brought on by technology and social institutions, we're accepting a new way of life and that we can never go back. Arcade Fire lyrics often favor the natural over artificial ("I pray that I won't live to see the death of everything that's wild"), and portray characters trying to escape, but finding this impossible.
At the risk of enabling nitpicking, I actually came to this site because I thought the lyrics I found somewhere else were wrong. Since the first time I heard this song I heard "Kasparov beat Blue in 1996". Being an old fart, I remember the event. The song seemed especially poignant to me because that was that last time the human won, marking the end of an age. Nothing will ever be the same after Blue started winning.
At the risk of enabling nitpicking, I actually came to this site because I thought the lyrics I found somewhere else were wrong. Since the first time I heard this song I heard "Kasparov beat Blue in 1996". Being an old fart, I remember the event. The song seemed especially poignant to me because that was that last time the human won, marking the end of an age. Nothing will ever be the same after Blue started winning.
I don't think you're being nitpicky - in fact I think you've struck upon the genius of this song. Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in 1996 (3.5 - 2.5). Deep Blue won the rematch a year later. What Win Butler, et al, are lamenting is not the moment when the human lost. They are lamenting the moment when loss became inevitable. Not the defeat, but the promise of defeat. Brilliant.
I don't think you're being nitpicky - in fact I think you've struck upon the genius of this song. Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in 1996 (3.5 - 2.5). Deep Blue won the rematch a year later. What Win Butler, et al, are lamenting is not the moment when the human lost. They are lamenting the moment when loss became inevitable. Not the defeat, but the promise of defeat. Brilliant.
At the risk of sounding nitpicky, Kasparov actually won the match against Deep Blue in 1996 -- I believe the final score was 4-2 in Kasparov's favor; an upgraded Deep Blue won the rematch in 1997. However, the computer did beat Kasparov in the first round of the '96 match, and the fact that it beat a grandmaster at all may be enough for Arcade Fire's point.
I think the song is about how much the world has changed in just two decades, and how by accepting all the little changes we do, brought on by technology and social institutions, we're accepting a new way of life and that we can never go back. Arcade Fire lyrics often favor the natural over artificial ("I pray that I won't live to see the death of everything that's wild"), and portray characters trying to escape, but finding this impossible.
At the risk of enabling nitpicking, I actually came to this site because I thought the lyrics I found somewhere else were wrong. Since the first time I heard this song I heard "Kasparov beat Blue in 1996". Being an old fart, I remember the event. The song seemed especially poignant to me because that was that last time the human won, marking the end of an age. Nothing will ever be the same after Blue started winning.
At the risk of enabling nitpicking, I actually came to this site because I thought the lyrics I found somewhere else were wrong. Since the first time I heard this song I heard "Kasparov beat Blue in 1996". Being an old fart, I remember the event. The song seemed especially poignant to me because that was that last time the human won, marking the end of an age. Nothing will ever be the same after Blue started winning.
I don't think you're being nitpicky - in fact I think you've struck upon the genius of this song. Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in 1996 (3.5 - 2.5). Deep Blue won the rematch a year later. What Win Butler, et al, are lamenting is not the moment when the human lost. They are lamenting the moment when loss became inevitable. Not the defeat, but the promise of defeat. Brilliant.
I don't think you're being nitpicky - in fact I think you've struck upon the genius of this song. Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in 1996 (3.5 - 2.5). Deep Blue won the rematch a year later. What Win Butler, et al, are lamenting is not the moment when the human lost. They are lamenting the moment when loss became inevitable. Not the defeat, but the promise of defeat. Brilliant.