Funeral.

Today's music is Funeral, by The Arcade Fire. I chose this because I went to the bar last night to work on my statement of philosophy for TKD testing, and the bartender played this album in its entirety. This really drew me in, as I am more of an album person than a single song person. Part of this is that I like to hear the complete work of the artist/group, and often enjoy the transitions between songs on albums such as Funeral; part of this is that when I am in the mood for something, I just want lots of it.

Funeral is the first full-length album produced by The Arcade Fire, and was it ever an indie-rock heavyweight. It makes fair use of piano and strings, though the guitar is probably the most prominent instrument. It's mostly moving, with a couple ballad-ish songs, and has been described as being "emotional without being emo" (sorry Jeph Jaques) for good reason. The more I think about this album, the more appropriate "Funeral" seems for a title. It has great songs, really swelling and uplifting at times, but it really takes something away from me to listen to this album. I didn't know anything about it when I bought it, really, just that one of my better music sources strongly recommended it, and I found it for $7 at Best Buy. To say the least, it really knocked me on my ass.

This music might be too cloying and emotional for some, but I really think it works. There are songs that I like better than others on the album, but even the weak links are strong works. Good lyrics, good drive, a great album altogether. (The CD even comes with a small funeral program, which is a nice touch.) This CD is not one I listen to often, but I am fond of it; rather, I listen to it sparsely so that the effect it has will not be dimished by time and repetition. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" is a marvelous song.

I was pleased to find that the recent Arcade Fire release, Neon Bible, was a fine album in its own right (maybe a stronger complete work than Funeral) as well. But that's discussion for another day.

In other news, I figured out what I am going to write about for TKD testing. I never really had doubts that I would find an idea, but I feel better having one. If you'd like to proofread my paper, I would welcome some criticism before I send it out to everyone.