Arcade Fire "The Suburbs" [2010]

And here I thought it would require attending church to have this many people bore the shit out of me so profoundly. A seemingly endless assemblage of instruments routinely drive obtusely simplistic notions and even more-simplistic progressions deep deep deep underground (and I mean DEEP), and the whole belabored effort comes off like Echo & the Bunnymen on barbiturates (even more barbiturates than normal, that is). How Arcade Fire's crowd manages to not fall asleep on the dance floor displays their commitment to this band, the musical equivalent of a soggy loaf of white bread. Arcade Fire apparently never heard a riff they weren't willing to repeat until it loses all joy and meaning. Too bad Andy Warhol isn't around; only someone that simplistically commercial and washed-out could appreciate the mind-numbing repetition that is the Arcade Fire brand. Maybe someone should light a real fire under their ass some day… then again, I'm sure they'd find a way to make that sound boring, too.