Indie Rock Cafe - Alternative and indie rock pop music blog

When members of the alternative country rock band Uncle Tupelo decided to call it quits and pursue individual musical careers, fans were devastated.

In retrospect, the split doesn't seem so bad. Two great bands rose from the ashes - Jeff Tweedy ' s Wilco and Jay Farrar of Son Volt, and they each are happy working on their own vision of what is the music they want to make.

For example, Farrar tunes his guitar much differently than most musicians (sort of a Hendrix type of approach), which he says is to blend with his unique voice and songwriting.

This is nothing new with talented musicians and songwriters - the need to branch off at some point and take control of their work. It's a common evolution for successful artists, and thank goodness.

Son Volt's new CD release The Search carves new paths in the musical maturity of Farrar and the rest of the band.

Watch a New York Times interview Jay Farrar of Son Volt

Labels: Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco

Rumors have been swirling on the Internet that someone had set up a directory containing the MP3 files for Arcade Fire's new CD, Neon Bible, which is not officially available in the U.S. until Tuesday, March 6.

There have been no messages on the band's MySpace page or official website about the leak, but plenty of chatter in chat rooms, instant messaging, boards, websites and social networking sites like MySpace.

An anonymous reader contacted me and told me the album was available in a number of locations by setting up a specific search function in Google. See more here.

Labels: Arcade Fire Music, Best of Indie Music Series, MP3s, Neon Bible, The Arcade Fire

On Tuesday, Arcade Fire will release their anticipated second full-length album, Neon Bible, on CD and LP.
Check the links below to order and listen to an advance track from the new album

The album's release follows a year of astonishing success for an indie rock band that was little known just a couple of years ago. But after release of their debut album Funeral in 2005, the band quickly amassed a huge fan base and rocketed to heights many bands never come close to after playing for decades.

You can get a sense of a rock group's success from many different angles.

But when a group sells out nearly a dozen shows just minutes after the concert tickets go on sale, you can bet something bigger is happening.

During the past two years, Arcade Fire have sprung to rock stardom, making them one of the hottest and most popular rock groups on the planet.

Tell that to the band members. Until recently, the band members claim they were largely unaware of the full magnitude and reach of their success. On the Internet alone, there are hundreds of fan sites, articles, tabs, chords, lyrics, reviews, biographies, interviews and more.

By now, they can't help but to know they are world famous, even being featured on Time magazine, usually a cover that is reserved for world figures and cultural icons.

The buzz from critics and fans about just how fantastic their music is seems to not affect the guys and gals of Arcade Fire - they appear to be keeping it real - living the "indie rock" lifestyle, and at least suggesting they are not about to embrace the trappings of stardom. It's a refreshing sign at a time when so many bands that started indie have gone big-time and have never looked back.

Members of Arcade Fire are not the kind of band that will brag about selling out an entire concert tour in just minutes. In fact, band members don't care about the high-flying, money-spending lifestyle of rock stars.

They are just as happy playing for 50 people as they are for 5,000. Band members still drive old cars and wear second-hand clothes and they seem genuinely astonished that their debut album so quickly became of the most popular albums of the past year.

The question is: How long can they keep it "real"?

Hard-core indie fans (which are very difficult to define) have watched bands like The Starting Line, Fallout Boy, Bloc Party and The Killers go "Hollywood" by signing on with one of the five dominant record conglomerates (Sony, EMI, Capitol, Universal, Warner Brothers), taking the money and running with it.

The cross-over from a small label to one of the Big Five seems to be what many indie rock fans, writers and critics is what really sets an authentic indie group apart from the rest who claim to be indie/alternative.

The question is: Can a group go Big Five and remain true to the indie and alternative rock fan base, culture and to themselves or do they buckle to managers and record executives, compromising not just their soul, but their music and integrity for fame and money?

That's part of what attracts many fans to Arcade Fire. They are original and make damn good music. They buck the industry trends whenever possible and lash out at any attempt to take creative control of their work.

* Exclusive advanced release MP3 from Neon Bible, "Black Mirror"

Get more stories on Arcade Fire and subscribe to the IRC feed to stay updated on AF and many other great indie and alternative bands.

Check out the band's profile on Merge Records - The deluxe CD version includes a paperboard clamshell box containing a 32-page flip book designed by Tracy Maurice and the Long Play (LP) version is minted for double 180-gram audiophile quality, featuring three sides of music plus an etching on the fourth side.

As an extra bonus, the LP also includes a coupon code for a free MP3 download of the entire album.

Labels: Alternative Rock, Best Alternative Bands, Canadian Indie Bands, The Arcade Fire, Time Magazine Cover