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Arcade Fire — Black Mirror
Album: Neon Bible
Avg rating:
6.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 313









Released: 2007
Length: 4:05
Plays (last 30 days): 0
I walked down to the ocean after waking from a nightmare
No moon, no pale reflection, black mirror, black mirror
Shot by a security camera, you can't watch your own image
And also look yourself in the eye, black mirror, black mirror, black mirror
I know a time is coming, all words will lose their meaning
Please show me something that isn't mine

But mine is the only kind that I relate to
Le miroir casse, the mirror casts mon reflet partout
Black mirror, black mirror, black mirror

The black mirror knows no reflection, it knows not pride or vanity
It cares not about your dreams, it cares not for your pyramid schemes
Their names are never spoken
The curse is never broken, the curse is never broken

Un, deux, trois, dis miroir noir, black mirror
Un, deux, trois, dis miroir noir, black mirror
Black mirror, black mirror

Their names are never spoken, the curse is never broken
Their names are never spoken, the curse is never broken

Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me where them bombs will fall
Mirror, mirror on the wall, show me where them bombs will fall

Black mirror, black mirror, black mirror, black mirror
Black mirror, black mirror, black mirror
Comments (59)add comment

I just got tickets to their concert yesterday! I am so excited; I've wanted to see them for years.
And the opening act is Spoon!!! What a treat.



Arcade Fire 2 by ~ChristoffLaMaison
Love it.Love it.Love it.

Sings like Garrison Keillor...{#Yawn}
 rtrudeau wrote:




THE HORROR!
 
I'm pretty sure Edvard Munch would have loved this song {#Cool}


This is a very good CD,  I got this from my wife when it was released and did not like it at all. I play it a lot at home now, it's one of those CD's that grows on you, like a lot of people have said here already. The song "Intervention" that's on this CD is FANTASTIC.


Weenish
Arcade Fire is growing on me.  {#Wave}
 ninjacatpuppet wrote:
Arcade Fire is definitely one of those bands that grow on you. I remember when I first heard their previous CD, I thought it was awful and through it into one of the dark corners of my CD folder.

Later—on a whim—I decided to give it another listen. I don't know what it was, but I absolutely loved it. It's now one of my favorite albums ever, and Arcade Fire is one of my most cherished bands.

So, the moral of the story is, don't just dismiss them right out because it doesn't catch your ear the first few times you hear them. This is definitely the case with new CD. I really didn't like it very much at first (especially when compared to their previous album), but now I listen to it at least once or twice a week.
 

I agree with this assessment.  I too wrote them off at first, only to see them on SNL when they played Intervention and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.  My only complaint is that in their studio recordings, the balance between the dry lead vocal signal and the processed (echoed/reverbed) is tilted way too much toward the processed - it makes the lead vocals sound too smeared and distant, with the effect of obscuring and thus lessening the impact of the lyrics in the process.  IMO they would benefit from bringing in a second set of ears (i.e. a sympathetic producer) to their mixing sessions.

Arcade Fire = Talking Heads + ELO
They performed this on Austin City Limits and it was just brilliant ... listening to the studio version now is lackluster compared to that.  I liked them much more after seeing them live.  The energy level was amazing.
How did this make it to the playlist??
 Kittee wrote:

It does. Its playing havoc on my ears and headphones.  Gotta mute this I'm afraid.

 

Too many notes.   It hurts.{#Hand}
 Kittee wrote:

It does. Its playing havoc on my ears and headphones.  Gotta mute this I'm afraid.

 
Afraid to say we had to mute this song also, almost shut WinAmp off it was so bad.

Dunno where I've been. This is the first time I've heard this and I rather like it.
 Kittee wrote:

It does. Its playing havoc on my ears and headphones.  Gotta mute this I'm afraid.

 

Exactly. This sounds like the inside of my head feels right now. And that's not a good thing.
 DrLex wrote:
Sounds verry 'muddy', as if it was recorded in the room next to the one where they're actually playing.
 
It does. Its playing havoc on my ears and headphones.  Gotta mute this I'm afraid.

BKardon wrote:
A couple members grew up in Texas.
THE HORROR!
ThePoose wrote:
Unlike Of Montreal, the members of Arcade Fire really are of Montreal, my hometown, and they are Canada's greatest rock group--at the moment. Richard Reed went to high school in my adopted hometown: Ottawa, Canada's capital.
Uh...they all live there now, but some of the band is not Canadian. A couple members grew up in Texas.
This is a snowball that gets smaller as it rolls down hill. I wonder if they can say "we did that just for us" rather than "well there's one for the nifty fifty?"
I'm just not on-board with this band. I know everyone under the sun thinks they are the second coming, but they are SO derivitave and generally noisy that I don't like them. And I notice they get played A LOT.
As noted in many Arcade Fire song comments, they take some acquiring, taste-wise. Once duly digested, the band's creative excellence is a pure musical feast. I suggest going to Rhapsody or Music Match and simply loading those servers' top picks, which offer a super cross-section of AF listening.
Like nails on a chalkboard
From towering ambition, mere tedium prevails.
Mugro wrote:
This sounds a little like Echo & the Bunnymen...
good ears......echo II
Mugro wrote:
This sounds a little like Echo & the Bunnymen...
That's funny. Actually sounds like Echo & the Bunnymen spending the weekend with Electric Light Orchestra, smoking a lot of pot and coming up with a distorted, mismanaged album. Guess you tell I'm not impressed with this second effort by Arcade Fire, eh? The first album was way, WAY better. IMHO of course.
Unlike Of Montreal, the members of Arcade Fire really are of Montreal, my hometown, and they are Canada's greatest rock group--at the moment. Richard Reed went to high school in my adopted hometown: Ottawa, Canada's capital.
Sounds verry 'muddy', as if it was recorded in the room next to the one where they're actually playing.
Got the first album & I love Wim Butlers voice BUT this was a bit under-whelming!
Mugro wrote:
This sounds a little like Echo & the Bunnymen...
My thoughts exactly. 8 just the same.
Darkmatter wrote:
You and me both. But then again, the first album is a pretty darn hard act to follow up upon.
yeah, another RP listener quoted Tom Petty on another page--basically, he said you have a lot of time to make a first record, like 20 years, but you have about 2 to make the next one. Once you've arrived on the scene and signed to a major label, you're expected to shoot out albums like PEZ. Sucks for artist and their reputation, sucks for fans, great for record companies.
Silly-assed lyrics. Music reminds me of a morose Moody Blues.
god-awful
queenjill wrote:
Unfortunately, I'm not thinkin' that this album is going to completely blow me away like "Funeral" did.
You and me both. But then again, the first album is a pretty darn hard act to follow up upon.
Arcade Fire is definitely one of those bands that grow on you. I remember when I first heard their previous CD, I thought it was awful and through it into one of the dark corners of my CD folder. Later--on a whim--I decided to give it another listen. I don't know what it was, but I absolutely loved it. It's now one of my favorite albums ever, and Arcade Fire is one of my most cherished bands. So, the moral of the story is, don't just dismiss them right out because it doesn't catch your ear the first few times you hear them. This is definitely the case with new CD. I really didn't like it very much at first (especially when compared to their previous album), but now I listen to it at least once or twice a week.
Unfortunately, I'm not thinkin' that this album is going to completely blow me away like "Funeral" did.
I'm not usually a fan of Arcade Fire, but I find this to be an improvement.
AF is going to be on SNL Saturday.
ChicoCyclist wrote:
I think we've heard too much Arcade Fire lately.
Oh, Goody! I'm not the only one with that perception. AF is fine, really - but with a music library like RP's, why not give them a bit more space?
I really, really like this song. I'm quite stoked for the album.
I think we've heard too much Arcade Fire lately.
renlat wrote:
It don't say much; One, two, three, say black mirror
or possibly "one, two, three, from the black mirror" ?
calray wrote:
anyone know what the french lyrics are?
It don't say much; One, two, three, say black mirror
Noisy to me... 3
This sounds a little like Echo & the Bunnymen...
... still growing ...
it's growing on me...
Yeah. A couple decades too late, and several shades too pale an imitation. revsully wrote:
A little David Bowie-ish.
Disjointed? Confused? I can't quite pick the right word, but this song is all over the friggin place without much coherence. Me no likey. :insertmenolikeysmileyface:
I'm crackers about cheese! window wrote:
Cheese and crackers! New music from Arcade Fire!!!
ok so far a little Echo and Bunny with hint of Bowie,with a splash of The Cure...its like mixing a drink!
My original take on this new song was "not as good". But it is definitely growing on me...only on the 2nd listen...on the 3rd...and ...
revsully wrote:
A little David Bowie-ish.
That's what I was going to say, that piano/keyboard is Suffragette City for sure... 2/8/07--I'll be darn, does he spontaneously start speaking French mid-song? Online lyrics say yes: "Un, deux, trois, du miroir noir Black Mirror" Its just counting, but as usual, it sounds sexier and more complex in French.
Cheese and crackers! New music from Arcade Fire!!!
What is this song about? Anyone know?
Methinks a bit Echo-and-the-Bunnymen-ish. I'll provisionally give it a for now.
A little David Bowie-ish.
hmmmmmmmmmm