The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Era (OUT NOW!)

[areyoureadytojump]

Billboard.biz:

Arcade Fire's last full-length album, "Funeral," topped out at No. 131 on The Billboard 200 in early 2005. Now, its second album, "Neon Bible," blasts onto the big chart at No. 2, easily marking its best sales week ever (92,000 units). A full 30% of the album's first week was made up of sales through digital retailers ... The seven-member group played "Saturday Night Live" on Feb. 24 and begins a U.S. tour on April 26 in San Diego.

[galvanize]

#1 IN CANADA, baby! 30,000 copies... that's like selling 300,000 copies in America! And to think the #1 album here only sold 99K. :o

Arcade Fire burns up charts

By JOHN WILLIAMS
Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz





Arcade Fire hits No. 1.

Montreal's Arcade Fire made a red hot debut on the Canadian album charts this week.

The band's eagerly awaited second release, "Neon Bible," came in at No. 1 with sales of 30,000, according to figures compiled Nielsen SoundScan.

"Neon Bible" just fell short of being the biggest debut of '07, which was set by Norah Jones's "Not Too Late" last month (36,000).

Arcade Fire made waves south of the border as well, hitting No. 2 in the U.S. with 92,000 copies sold.

Back here, Arcade Fire's release overshadowed a nice debut from Burlington, Ont.'s Finger Eleven, whose album "Them Vs. You Vs. Me" premiered at No. 2 with over 15,000 in sales.

The Canadian one-two punch forced Norah Jones's "Not Too Late" (7,000) from No. 1 to No. 3, and Mika's "Life in Cartoon Motion" from No. 2 to No. 4.


Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" was locked in at No. 5 for a third straight week, Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" was held in check at No. 6, and Akon's "Konvicted" rose two positions to No. 7.

Nelly Furtado's "Loose" remained at No. 8, Zachary Richard's "Lumiere dans le noir" sank six notches to No. 9, and Jann Arden's "Uncover Me" held on at No. 10.

In the U.S., the late Notorious B.I.G.'s "Greatest Hits" (99,000) hit No. 1, followed by Daughtry's self-titled effort in third, Akon's "Konvicted"in fourth, and Gary Allen's "Greatest Hits" in fifth.

[oscillations.]

FIRE!!!!
;)

[joker]

Montreal-based rock troupe Arcade Fire scores its best charting and sales week ever with the No. 2 bow of sophomore Merge set "Neon Bible." Moving 92,000, the set trumps the No. 131 peak of the seven-piece's debut, "Funeral."

Sucks that they fell only 7k short of the top spot, but that's still a great number for them. Also, congrats on hitting #1 in Canada.

[oscillations.]

#1 Album in North America...probably Top 3 worldwide

[galvanize]

#2 in Portugal too.

[joker]

The A.V. Club interviews Win Butler

[AutomaticBR]

how much their first album sold in the US?

[busyboy]

^^^ 297k scans as of october of last year, if I remember correctly. The EP sold 56k as of this week.

[jaxxalude]

Arcade Fire: The Great Rock Hope. Or the world's greatest band. Or so says noted poptimist (and one of the best music writers in the biz right now) Jody Rosen at Slate.

And they indeed enter directly to #2 here in Portugal. And, just like in the US, it's a GH comp that gets in the Cannucks' way. Don't ask me for the numbers, though, I don't have them. But they're not very high. Albums are literally at an all-time low here!

[busyboy]

"Neon Bible" is #2 on the European chart, right between Nelly Furtado and Norah Jones. This is definitely a smash.

[oscillations.]

I found MTV's coverage of the Top 2 albums this week to be grossly biased in Biggie's favor.
It was basically a gloat.
Motherfuckers.

[oscillations.]

#3 Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
City Slang / Sonovox / Merge - 242.000

Fucking Incredible - #3 ALBUM IN THE WORLD!
242k sold!

[oscillations.]

I just want to say that it is rewarding to see this thread achieve a length of 5 pages. A year ago, it would be lucky to have a topic at all.
I'm glad to see the forum evolving, just as the musical climate of the charts is.

[busyboy]

busyboy said:

^^^ 297k scans as of october of last year, if I remember correctly. The EP sold 56k as of this week.

UPDATE! "Funeral" has sold 327k in the US.

www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003559926

[reception]

'Neon Bible' proves Arcade Fire still hot

By Eric R. Danton
Hartford (Conn.) Courant

Arcade Fire's first album, 2004's "Funeral," was a triumphant elegy, as the Montreal collective paid tribute to a roster of friends and relatives who had died while the record took shape.

Death figures prominently in the band's follow-up, but "Neon Bible" (on Merge) is no celebration. It's a dark album, full of fear and lined with wounded innocence like so much tattered fabric. It's also a theatrical record, stacked with majestic musical passages and lyrics brimming with the portentous sincerity of a high school drama club staging its own passion play.

Drama is a core component of Arcade Fire. The musicians dress like turn-of-the-century vaudevillians, done up in woolen finery - vests and suspenders and Victorian dresses, with music to match. Their songs employ hurdy-gurdy, pipe organ and a Hungarian orchestra, and they recorded most of "Neon Bible" in a century-old church an hour outside Montreal that they converted into a studio.

This passion play, however, is a chronicle of decay. Frontman Win Butler sings with firm resolve that communicates disillusion and, somehow, surprise at the hypocrisy he sees around him: a cozy relationship between religion and consumerism, the exploitation of fear for political means and the washed-out morality of waging war with no foreseeable end.

"Working for the church while your life falls apart," he laments on "Intervention." "Singin' hallelujah with the fear in your heart."

You can almost envision the accompanying stage directions: a darkened stage. Butler enters from right; a lone spotlight follows as he walks deliberately to center, faces audience and unburdens heart.

The album resembles a piece of musical theater in more than tone. It's the structure, too, as scene-setting songs build to sweeping showstoppers. The opening number, "Black Mirror," establishes a mood of unease, pulsing with faint fanfare from piano and horns and subtle counterpoint from woodwinds. Butler describes a black mirror that casts no reflection but sees all and "cares not for your dreams," while singer and keyboardist Regine Chassagne (his wife) sings a contrasting melody behind him.

The songs grow in intensity through "Intervention," which erupts from a baroque organ fugue and expands to include the usual rock-band elements, strings and a choir chiming in on backing vocals. The cycle repeats with "Black Wave/Bad Vibrations" and builds again through "Windowsill," which starts with a gloomy, repeating two-note guitar figure and swells as drums, then piano, strings and horns pick up the tune and propel it forward over Butler's ever-louder voice.

These 11 songs comprise an ambitious song cycle, and the songwriting on "Neon Bible" is stronger and more focused than it was on "Funeral." It's perhaps a sign of the times that Arcade Fire's earnest bearing occasionally feels quaint - this is an age of cavalier self-absorption, after all, when superstardom could be just a reality-TV audition away.

Then again, it's reassuring to think there's a musical movement afoot that rejects the reigning cynicism and presses on in search of the slightest sliver of authentic emotion. For all its fear and existential anguish, "Neon Bible" holds out hope that such a thing exists somewhere.

Singin' hallelujah, indeed.

[areyoureadytojump]

Down 16 places to #18 on the Billboard 200.

[galvanize]

Slips 1-2 in Canada selling 10K. Total: 40K.

Neil Young debuts at No. 1

By JOHN WILLIAMS
Senior Editor, JAM! Showbiz





Canadians still love Neil Young. (AP file photo)

Canadian legend Neil Young blasted to the top of the Canadian album charts this week.

His CD/DVD "Live at Massey Hall 1971" hit No. 1 on sales of just under 11,000 copies, according to data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan Canada.

Young narrowly beat out Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible," which slipped to No. 2 with sales of 10,000 -- a dip of 65 per cent from their No. 1 debut last week.

Young's "Live at Massey Hall 1971" hit the top 10 south of the border as well, checking in at No. 6 with 57,000 copies sold.

Back here, Finger Eleven's "Them Vs. You Vs. Me" and Norah Jones's "Not Too Late" both dropped a spot to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.

Akon's "Konvicted" moved up another two positions to No. 5, Nelly Furtado's "Loose" occupied the No. 6 slot, and Mika's "Life in Cartoon Motion" fell three notches to No. 7.


Justin Timberlake's "FutureSex/LoveSounds" sank from No. 5 to No. 8, Daughtry's self-titled debut climbed from No. 12 to No. 9, and Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" held on at No. 10.

The other notable debut this week was Holly Cole's "Holly Cole," which came in at No. 14, her best ever chart placement.

In the U.S., Musiq Soulchild's "Luvanmusiq" captured No. 1, followed by Lloyd's "Street Love" in second, Rich Boy's self-titled debut in third, Daughtry in fourth, Akon's "Konvicted"in fifth.

[busyboy]

03/31/2007: ARCADE FIRE NEON BIBLE 36769 128923.

Quite a drop, I hope they can sell the 400k shipment out within the next year or so...

[joker]

Yeah, that's something like -60%.. not great, but still pretty normal as first-to-second week drops go.

[busyboy]

Arcade Fire Cancel Rest of Euro Tour

Win Butler is "sicker than a brick"

The Arcade Fire pour every ounce of their hearts and souls into their live performances, but doing so comes with a price. Screaming and yelling and banging on instruments night after night for months on end is pretty physically grueling, and eventually, it's going to catch up to you (bodies being cages that keep you from dancing with the one you love and all).

Alas, yesterday (Saturday, March 24) in Oslo, Norway, Win Butler finally succumbed to the illness that has been dogging him for months, and the Arcade Fire decided to cancel the rest of their European tour. In an entry titled "heavy heart" posted in his diary on the band's website, Butler explains that he "ha been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go." (Read the full text of the diary post below)

Win's brother and bandmate Will Butler also weighed in on the situation in his web diary, saying "Win is sicker than a brick", and listing a "specific regret" for each city the band will be missing on the rest of the canceled tour, from Oslo to Lille, France. He also gives opening act Electrelane their own apology.

Hopefully, Win will be nice and healthy in time for the North American leg of the tour, which is set to kick off April 26.

Get well soon!

Win Butler's post:

"heavy heart"

Hello Friends,

I am backstage at the venue in Oslo and I just had to make the very sad decision to cancel the rest of the European tour. I have been suffering from a sinus and bronchial infection for the last 3 months, and last night in Stockholm I finally pushed my voice and body farther than they are able to go. Last night I kept yelling at the monitor guy because I didn't recognize the sound that was coming out of the monitor as my own voice, and it took me until the second song to realize that the sound was coming from me. Today I can barely speak, or make any sound, so finishing the shows is no longer possible.

I have had several doctors advise me to cancel shows weeks ago, and I have been trying to push through, but for my own health and safety I need to have sinus surgery so I can get better and start the recovery process. We are all very sad, because we were very much looking forward to playing these shows, and we could not imagine canceling a show unless it was physically impossible to do. We apologize to the fans that have been waiting to see us, and we promise to try and come back as soon as it is humanly possible...

We would like to thank everyone who has been coming to the shows, and the outpouring of love and support for our music that we have felt. Wish me luck with the doctors,

And see you soon

luv,
Win

www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/41918-arcade-fire-cancel-rest-of-euro-tour

[roentgenizdat]

SNL re-run on Saturday.

[joker]

Arcade Fire Announce New Single
Earth's tectonic plates dance a jig

While Win "sicker than a brick" Butler rests up and the band laments those recently cancelled European tour dates, Arcade Fire have a consolation prize for American Neon Bible-thumpers.

On May 5, Merge Records will release the first U.S. single off the Arcade Fire's epic sophomore LP. "Keep the Car Running" comes backed with "Broken Wind"-- which is not to be confused, of course, with 2005 seven-inch cut "Cold Wind"-- and arrives with typically lavish packaging on 7" vinyl.

UPDATE: THE SONG IS CALLED "BROKEN WINDOW", NOT "BROKEN WIND". MERGE SENT OUT THE WRONG TRACK NAME. WE WEREN'T MAKING A GRADE SCHOOL JOKE, WE SWEAR!

Tour dates are also listed within the above link.

[oscillations.]

Aw, Win. I hope you feel better. :'(

[busyboy]

Week #3: ARCADE FIRE NEON BIBLE 26001 154924

[roentgenizdat]

04/07: 18 24 ARCADE FIRE NEON BIBLE 26,001 -29 36,769 154,924


200th post!

[oscillations.]

congrats!

ON SNL AGAIN THIS WEEKEND - week 5's #s should show a welcome boost.

[busyboy]

04/14/2007 (week 4)

ARCADE FIRE NEON BIBLE 17,682 172,606

[oscillations.]

It will increase a bit next week due to the SNL repeat. I guess I held this utopian vision of NB selling enough every week to stay in the Top 20 forever, but those are just my fantasies getting the best of my rational side. Ideally, though, this SHOULD be able to hit Gold.

If Modest Mouse, Shins, and the Fire fail to deliver on their commercial promises, I'm going to enter the summer season with a bleak, defeatist view of the future of crossover indie success.
I believe Lily & Amy will continue to impress, though.

[busyboy]

"Keep The Car Running" debuts at #36 on the Modern Rock chart. 1,331 millions in audience.