Retro Review: “Funeral” by Arcade Fire

This Canadian sextet flew under the radar until 2004, when they exploded onto the scene with their debut LP, Funeral. From the moment I first listened to these guys, I realized this was something special. A few openers for U2, an endorsement from Chris Martin as “the greatest band in the history of music”, a TIME magazine cover story, and a debut at #2 on Billboard’s sales chart launched them into the spotlight and brought us last year’s Album of the Year, Neon Bible.

But without Funeral, there would be no Neon Bible. I can’t think of any other debut album that blew me away this much, at least not off the top of my head. It received rave reviews from tons of media outlets, including a 9.7 from the notoriously elitist and harsh Pitchfork media. So what makes this album so great? It’s the layers. All of the band’s. talent, creativity, anger, mournfulness, sorrow, pain, and frustration is interwoven into the music. Every riff, every syllable, every bass line, every drum beat can be broken down and analyzed time after time, giving the album unlimited replay-ability.

 

Sucks to have these parents.

No internet except on Fridays and Saturdays? Wow. How 1990’s of them.

flickr | digg story

Top 40 Radiohead Songs

This has been sitting around on my desktop for weeks, figured I might as well post it.

1. Karma Police
2. Paranoid Android
3. Creep
4. 2+2=5 (The Lukewarm)
5. 15 Step
6. Lucky
7. Everything In Its Right Place
8. All I Need
9. Idioteque
10. Videotape
11. Morning Bell
12. Fake Plastic Trees
13. Exit Music (For A Film)
14. Go to Sleep.
15. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
16. High and Dry
17. Airbag
18. Pyramid Song
19. The National Anthem
20. Motion Picture Soundtrack
21. Subterranean Homesick Alien
22. Bodysnatchers
23. A Wolf at the Door
24. Bullet Proof…I Wish I Was
25. Myxomatosis
26. How to Disappear Completely
27. Nude
28. Morning Bell/Amnesiac
29. Reckoner
30. Like Spinning Plates
31. There There.
32. Sit Down. Stand up.
33. No Surprises
34. Knives Out
35. Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors
36. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
37. Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box
38. Black Star
39. You and Whose Army?
40. In Limbo

Best to Worst: Radiohead Albums

BEST TO WORST: RADIOHEAD ALBUMS (Statistical Breakdown)

1. OK Computer

Best Song : Karma Police
Worst Song : Electioneering
Total Songs : 12
Total Stars : 51
Average Song Rating : 4.3

2. In Rainbows

Best Song : 15 Step
Worst Song: Faust Arp
Total Songs : 10
Total Stars : 41
***Average Song Rating : 4.1***

3. Kid A

Best Song : Everything In Its Right Place
Worst Song: Kid A
Total Songs : 10
Total Stars : 39
***Average Song Rating : 3.9***

4. Amnesiac

Best Song : Pyramid Song
Worst Song : Hunting Bears
Total Songs : 11
Total Stars : 41
***Average Song Rating : 3.7***

5. Hail to the Thief

Best Song : 2+2=5
Worst Song : The Gloaming
Total Songs : 14
Total Stars : 52
***Average Song Rating : 3.7***

6. The Bends

Best Song : Fake Plastic Trees
Worst Song : Bones
Total Songs : 12
Total Stars : 42
***Average Song Rating : 3.5***

7. Pablo Honey

Best Song : Creep
Worst Song : Prove Yourself
Total Songs : 12
Total Stars : 35
***Average Song Rating : 2.9***

Xbox Live Rips Me Off for 1240 Gamer Points

Just a quick word of warning to everyone out there:

If you, like me, do not have Xbox Live access but still want to download content for games, you’re out of luck. I recently went to my friend’s dorm since he has internet access to download two Rock Band packs, the Grateful Dead pack for 800 points and the Nine Inch Nails pack for 440 points.

Apparently, even though I used my harddrive to download the songs, I cannot use the songs on my console unless I am connected to Xbox Live. This makes things hard for me, seeing as how I do not have Xbox Live connection.

I talked to a “customer support agent”, who simply told me that 1) The songs are registered to my friend’s console, 2) I cannot redownload the packs on my console, and 3) They cannot refund me any money or gamer points. I even asked to be refunded 1000 Gamerpoints via gift card, not even the full 1240 they owe me, and I was told no. So I got connected to a supervisor, and she just told me the same thing.

So now I’m screwed until my lease is up and I can find an apartment with an actual connection to the network. Just a warning to anyone who is in a similar situation to me – don’t get criminally robbed by Microsoft and their shady TOS.