Friday, 12 Jan 2007
There’s obviously been a lot of discussion and a few leaked tracks leading up to what will most likely be one of the biggest releases of the year, Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible.
[Side note: this album's name is way to close to Neon Ballroom from one-time teenage Australian sensations, Silverchair. I have, in fact, typed Neon Ballroom twice now, once in drafting this post and once earlier in an e-mail. It's confusing alright!]
Since this is their sophomore record I’m expecting a lot of people will love the album, but will still undoubtedly add to their praise that it is, and in fact never could be, as good as Funeral. I guess a few months (or weeks if you’re waiting for it to hit the internet) will tell once the album hits stores on March 6th.
Leading up to the album, and to reminisce on some past excitement I wanted to offer a gathering post of a number of different youtube videos of The Arcade Fire. Hopefully, you’ll find something you hadn’t seen before, or that you saw so many times that seeing it once more certainly won’t kill you.
Side Note/Main Question/Reason For Post: The MoB staff has been debating all morning about how sophomore albums always fail to meet expectations when up against an debut album like Funeral. Our conversation, and what I’d like comments on would be what second albums surpased, or at least equaled a good/great debut? So far we’ve come up with Radiohead’s The Bends and Morphine’s Cure For Pain.
What are you guys best/favorite sophomore efforts?
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Rebellion (Lies)
YouTube: Arcade Fire on Conan O’Brien
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) on Jools Holland
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Laika
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Wake Up
YouTube: Arcade Fire perform “Dancing In The Dark” and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Rebellion @ Coachella
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Wake Up (French TV)
YouTube: Arcade Fire & David Bowie – Wake Up (Fashion Rocks)
YouTube: Arcade Fire & David Bowie – Five Years (Fashion Rocks)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Intervention (KCRW)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – My Heart Is An Apple (live)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Busking in NYC – Boys Don’t Cry (The Cure)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – No Cars Go (live)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Vampire/Forrest Fire (KCRW)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – In The Backseat (KCRW)
YouTube: Arcade Fire – Intervention (KCRW)
Buy: Insound
Fan Site/Message Board: ArcadeFire.net
MP3: Arcade Fire – Black Mirror
Website: Offical Neon Bible Website
Dial: 1-888-NEON-BIBLE
January 13th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Some of you mentioned that the comments are not working correctly, I’m hoping the problem has been corrected.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Awesome post.
Solid or better sophomore efforts? Agreed on Radiohead and Morphine. But I think there’s lots.
Paul’s Boutique destroys License to Ill.
New Porno’s Electric Version
Alice in Chains’ Dirt
Foo Fighters’ Colour and the Shape
Ben Folds Five Whatever and Ever Amen
Death Cab’s We Have the Facts
Led Zeppelin II
Jane’s Addiction Nothing’s Shocking
Nirvana’s Nevermind or In Utero (if you’re thinking about meeting or exceeding mainstream or large audience expectations)
Hold Steady’s Separation Sunday is interesting. It’s better than Almost Killed Me and, I think, better than Boys and Girls.
That’s just a quick scroll through the top half of my library. I wouldn’t have thought that there would be so many obvious choices.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:38 am
Thanks for getting the ball rolling Trevor. The Nevermind vs. In Utero is a good example here. Initially, I never thought In Utero could hold a candle to Nevermind. Time (and frequency of listening) has changed that point of view I think.
January 13th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
pavement: slanted and enchanted vs crooked rain
belle and sebastian: tigermilk vs sinister
i agree w\ the nirvana one too
January 13th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
But is Nevermind the actual sophomore album? It blows away Bleach. Can a band have two sophomore albums? Is Green Day’s Insomniac actually a sophomore record, or do we mean “follow-up to really successful LP” when we say sophomore? Dookie was, what, their third record?
Word on Crooked Rain being better than Slanted.
January 13th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Agree with Jason, Slanted and Enchanted is amazing but Crooked Rain is even better. Other ones I can think of-
Oh, Inverted World topped by Chutes too Narrow
Bright Eyes- If you count Letting off the Happiness as a debut, Fevers and Mirrors is a massive second album
Feel Good Lost is just smashed by You Forgot it in People (I guess that depends how you regard BSS’s debut)
A Rush of Blood to the Head following Parachutes (I know Coldplay aren’t cool anymore, but you have to admit their second one was pretty huge)
Blueberry Boat- Gallowsbird’s Bark was a stunning debut but BB is a near masterpiece
Antics better then Turn on the Bright Lights?, i think so, it certainly wasn’t a letdown
Ys- Milk Eyed Mender- pretty obvious i think
Closer following Unknown Pleasures
Modest Mouse- Long Drive (great record)- Lonesome Crowded West (classic)
Doolittle is a pretty nice follow up to Surfer Rosa- i count Come on Pilgrim as an EP
Murmur-Reckoning, Reckoning is my fav REM album
anyway there some of the ones I thought of
January 13th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Wayne-
Good call on A Rush of Blood To The Head, Blueberry Boat, and Reckoning (also my favorite REM record).
Trevor-
You know I completely forgot about Bleach…interesting to bring up (thanks). Nevermind definitely destroys Bleach.
January 13th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
I guess there would be quite a few other artists whose second album is better then the first, but if your first record is Funeral, that is almost impossible to follow. i would say CYHSY, Bloc Party and Wolf Parade made huge splashes with their debut so it will be interesting to see their sophomore efforts this year. I think a band finds it easier to build a career if their first record is a bit of a sleeper and they can slowly gain an audience with out living up to the hype. I think My Morning Jacket perhaps fit this bill, their records have got better and better. In my opinion The Strokes have gone in the opposite direction.
January 14th, 2007 at 12:57 am
agreed with coldplay
black crowes, southern harmony and musical companion
January 14th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
the cure’s 3 imaginary boys vs. faith
January 14th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
the cure’s 3 imaginary boys vs. faith and obviously neutral milk hotels two albums.
January 14th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Nine Inch Nails (assuming we don’t count the broken EP)
Weezer
Burning Airlines (though I know nobody agrees with me on this one)
Poe
Smashing Pumpkins, perhaps — I’m not a big Siamese Dream fan, but I can’t stand Gish
January 15th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Wilco-Being There
I love A.M., and it is the only WILCO album with that real roots rock/Stones influenced sound, but Being There is an ambitious double album, which gets better and better with age.
January 16th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
*cough* A Northern Soul *cough*
January 16th, 2007 at 5:41 pm
Great topic.
In the 90′s and even up until the last few years, bands would release 2-3 albums before they hit it big. Labels gave most bands time (and albums) to develop.
Now with the internet, lacking record sales, quick changes in popular styles of music, and people’s short attention spans, most bands either make it or break it on their debut. And if they make it past step one, making an even better sophomore record is a total crap shoot.
Here are a 5 more recent sophomore releases that I think surpassed the debuts…
Brand New – Deja Entendu
The Faint – Wet From Birth
The Shins – Wincing the Night Away
TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mountain
Gogol Bordello – Gypsy Punks Underdog World Strike
January 17th, 2007 at 12:21 am
good call on TV on the Radio, but Wincing the Night Way is the third album by The Shins
January 17th, 2007 at 9:32 am
How about Wilco’s ‘Being There’?
January 18th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Seventeen Seconds is the Cure’s sophmore album, not Faith–and it rocks 3 Imaginary Boys’ socks off.