Stumbling upon the Neon Bible at an Arcade Fire

Stumbling upon the Neon Bible at an Arcade Fire

In my journey as a music connoisseur it never ceases to amaze me how I have been introduced to new music. I have a pretty open ear for new music (or at least new to me if it’s something older). My family, friends, and coworkers are always glad to send something new my way, even if it’s something I clearly won’t be into. Word of mouth is still how I discover a lot of new music and since the advent of youtube.com, surfing around for new music has never been better. However, there have been a few rare instances when for reasons that I cannot exactly pin point, I will buy some new music on a total whim knowing next to nothing about the band or their music. For the most part the result has been “what was I thinking?” However, once in a great while I will discover something completely amazing, as was the case when I bought ‘Neon Bible’ by Arcade Fire.

Back in 2007 I had some time to burn and I ended up at Best Buy thumbing through the CD’s and I saw about 20 copies of ‘Neon Bible’ in Arcade Fire’s section. I thought to myself “Arcade Fire? That’s an interesting name”, but I did not know anything about them and I just kept thumbing through the CD’s. For whatever reason I just could not get Arcade Fire out of my mind, I couldn’t find any other CD’s that looked appealing, and after a very intense “should I or shouldn’t I buy it” war inside my head that went on for at least a half hour, I bought ‘Neon Bible’ because I thought Arcade Fire was a unique band name, the cover art looked cool, and I just could not suppress the urge to buy it.

I started to drive around Salt Lake City with ‘Neon Bible’ playing on my car stereo and ‘Black Mirror’ came on. Initially, I did not really know what to make of what was coming over my stereo; it has strings, a deep drum beat, and piano going on. The album had my attention. ‘Keep the Car Running’ was really catchy and folky and the music was starting to grow on me. ‘Neon Bible’ just kept getting better and better and I was completely blown away by the time the CD got to ‘No Cars Go’. I had never heard anything like this in my life. It was very unique. I started the CD over, gave it another listen, and kept driving around Salt Lake County. The second time through I felt like I was listening to a masterpiece. I was completely floored by the discovery of Arcade Fire.

I immediately started introducing Arcade Fire to my network of music freaks. The first question is always what do they sound like? For the first time in my life I was at a complete loss for words. There was no way I could describe this band in a way that would make sense to others.  Arcade Fire just have to be experienced. I was fully expecting my friends to be completely blown away by Arcade Fire. To my surprise the general reaction was either A) “I ain’t feeling it”, B) “I don’t know what to make of these guys”, or C) “This music is kind of out there”. I was a little disappointed that no one was catching the vision.

As time went by, some of friends discovered Arcade Fire. For my older brother ‘Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)’ is what got his attention, for another good friend ‘Wake Up’ blew him away and as Arcade Fire was slowly generating more buzz, more of friends slowly but surely had the experience I had with Arcade Fire. It just took a little them a little longer.

The song that has captured me the most on ‘Neon Bible’ is ‘No Cars Go’. To me, this song describes a place where I can totally be at peace, regardless of what is happening around me. Back in 2010 due to some personality conflicts and political issues I was having serious problems at work. It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to just drag myself out of bed to go to my job. For the most part I am a very upbeat and positive person, but I was so down that even the people I was working with were starting to worry about me and they were trying really hard to help me cheer up, but I was really low. One day everything just came to a head. Things were so awful this particular day that during my break I went to my car, locked the door, and yelled for 15 minutes just so I could get it together for the rest of the day. To add insult to injury I had left my car lights on and my battery was totally dead. All of my coworkers have already left so there was no one nearby to give my car a jump. I was so upset that I just couldn’t bring myself to call anyone for help, so I decided to walk from home to the Avenues from Rose Park, which ended up taking me close to three hours. When I was about half way home and walking through downtown Salt Lake City ‘No Cars Go’ started to play on my iPod and I sang with it with all of my heart and as loud as I could. I’m sure there were people that thought “there’s another crazy person roaming downtown”, but I didn’t care. ‘No Cars Go’ was able to comfort me when nothing else could. I ended up listening to it another 6 or 7 times as I continued to walk back to my apartment. It was exactly what I needed and since then ‘No Cars Go’ has become one of my “cheer up and hold your head high” songs for when I am having a rough time.

‘Neon Bible’ in my opinion is one of the best albums to come out in the last ten years and now with Arcade Fire’s Grammy for Album of the Year for ‘The Suburbs’, the rest of the world is now starting to discover Arcade Fire. I am glad that Arcade Fire is not afraid to create music that is just so different from anything that is currently out there. Arcade Fire one of the best accidental musical discoveries I have ever made.

Breakfast in America: The album that started it all

Breakfast in America: The album that started it all

“When I was young it seemed that life was so wonderful, a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical”, the iconic words that spoke so strongly to me as a two year old boy who could scarcely understand their meaning.  I grew up in a home with lots of music, but ‘The Logical Song’ captured my heart and imagination in a way that no other song had up to that point of my life. 

When my father purchased an 8-track cassette of ‘Breakfast in America’ by Supertramp in 1979, my world musically speaking was about to change after my very first listen.  From ‘Gone Hollywood’ to ‘Child of Vision’ the whole album entered my mind and heart with the fury of a runaway train.  I still remember going through my Dad’s 8-track tapes looking for ‘Breakfast in America’ and playing it over and over again.  By the time I was four years old one day I was holding the 8-track of ‘Breakfast in America’ and I accidentally dropped it on the kitchen floor.  The tape broke and the film went all over the floor.  I cried like I had been hit by a car.  I was totally and completely devastated and my mother had to spend a lot of time comforting me and helping me cope with my loss.  For the next little while I just had to be happy with hearing ‘The Logical Song’, ‘Goodbye Stranger’, ‘Breakfast in America’, and ‘Take the Long Way Home’ on the radio.  I think my father needed a break from Supertramp and he did not immediately replace ‘Breakfast in America’ in his music collection.

 A few years later when I was seven years old a big box from Columbia House arrived at the house.  Whenever my Dad got new records it was just like Christmas and I got really excited to see what he had ordered.  Lo and behold, a brand new LP of ‘Breakfast in America’.  I was so excited to see it again and my Dad immediately put the album on the record player.  It was like a joyous reunion with a long lost and cherished friend as I listened to it.  The album still sounded as amazing as it did the first time I ever listened to it.  However, because at the age of seven years old I did not have enough practice on how to properly take care of records before and after playing them, my Dad forbade me from playing any of his records without his supervision.  But the temptation of being able to listen to ‘Breakfast in America’ whenever I wanted could not be repressed.  I played that record at any given opportunity and being chewed out by my Dad, fairly often, for getting my dirty fingerprints all over the vinyl and the record jacket and for playing the record without his supervision did not stop me.  I was once again completely hooked.

Then for my eighth birthday, by parents gave me a cassette of ‘Breakfast in America’ by Supertramp (as well as ‘Paradise Theater’ and ‘The Grand Illusion’ by Styx, two other albums of my Dad’s I couldn’t leave alone).  I played this tape all the time and by 2006, prior to the purchase of my first iPod, it was getting to a point where I could almost see light through the actual tape.  Even today in 2012, this album sounds just as great to me as it did when I was a two year old boy.

In February 2011 my father and I traveled from Salt Lake City to Temecula, California, to see Roger Hodgson of Supertramp in concert and we were on row 3!  Roger opened his show with ‘Take the Long Way Home’ and it about drove me to tears.  I sang along with every single song.  Besides Roger’s amazing musical talent, he has such a kind and warm stage presence to him.  It was such a treat to hear him sing all of the Supertramp songs that I love so much.  When he sang ‘The Logical Song’ the crowd sang along with every word.  After ‘The Logical Song’ ended Roger started to perform ‘Only Because Of You’ and the gentleman in the chair next to me, who had traveled from Seattle to see the concert whispered “I still feel like we should be hearing ‘Goodbye Stranger’ right now”.  Although Roger did not perform any of the songs his former partner Rick Davies wrote and sang for Supertramp, it was one of the most amazing shows I have ever been to and very much a dream come true.

On a critical level ‘Breakfast in America’ is respected is one of the greatest rock albums of the 70’s, earned a Grammy nomination for album of the year in 1980, and is featured on a few “Greatest Albums of All Time” lists.  There has simply never been another album quite like it and many of its hit singles are still staples on classic rock radio today.  In my opinion Roger Hodgson’s guitar solo in ‘Goodbye Stranger’ is one of the best guitar solos in music history.  Although from a technical standpoint this guitar solo will never be viewed in the same light as Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)’, it’s the perfect way to complete ‘Goodbye Stranger’ and takes the song to a whole new level. 

Little did I know at age two that Supertramp’s ‘Breakfast in America’ would begin a very long and exciting musical journey.

About the Blogger

About the Blogger

Hello rock and roll fans, metal heads, music freaks, punks, grungers, and lovers of music from all genres.  My name is Brent, the Sandy City Rocker.  This is my first time writing a blog and I am very excited and a little intimidated at the same time.  This is the first time I have ever shared my feelings and experiences about music in such an open forum.  Whether you are a casual or obsessive music fan I hope you enjoy reading my stories and experiences with music. 

My love for music I was literally born with and I was blessed to be raised in a family that nurtured this.  I was born in Salt Lake City in 1977 to a Mormon family (aka The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a faith that I am active in), the middle child of three boys, and raised in Sandy, UT, a large suburb of Salt Lake City. My mother my entire life has played in various orchestras in Salt Lake County and while I was in her womb she was performing with the Murray Symphony and during the concert I was kicking against her cello.  Even at that stage of life I was starting to explore music.   My mother loves classical music, Broadway musicals, soft rock, mainstream rock, and Irish Folk music.  On the other end of the realm my father had a very massive music collection.  He loved the music of the British Invasion, especially The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Yardbirds, The Who, Herman’s Hermits, Donovan, and the Kinks.  On the American side of the 1960’s he loved The Byrds, The Doors, Love, and The Beach Boys.   By the late 60’s he’s into Jeff Beck, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Credence Clearwater Revival, and Led Zeppelin.  In the 70’s he into Johnny Winter, Grand Funk Railroad, Styx, Kansas, Journey, Montrose, Queen, Foreigner, Bad Company, Van Halen, Boston, Rush, and AC/DC, and by the 80’s he was into heavy metal.  But at the same time he has a soft spot for The Carpenters, Elton John, Billy Joel, and The Raspberries/Eric Carmen. 

My tastes in music have been very diverse since the very beginning of my life and thanks to my parents I had access to a massive music collection.  One of my earliest memories is by the time I was two years old I already knew how to operate my parents 8 track player, couldn’t even read, but I still remember thumbing through my parents 8-track cassettes and looking for the artwork of the 8-track I wanted to listen to and then cranking up the music.  By the time I was 11 years old my Dad started taking me to rock concerts.  At age 14 I learned how to play the bass guitar.  At age 21 I picked up my Dad’s Ibanez guitar and just started to mess around with it, I would end up teaching myself how to play guitar.  Whether it’s listening to or playing music, I just love everything about music.

On the non-musical side of my life, I graduated from Hillcrest High School in Midvale, UT in 1995, served as a Mormon Missionary in Western Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission) from 1996 to 1998, earned my Associate of Science in General Studies from LDS Business College in 2002 and earned my Bachelor of Science in Finance from Utah State University in 2005.  In my professional life I have been budget and grant manager since July 2005.  On the fun side I am an avid hiker, bicyclist, runner (primarily 5 and 10 K’s), and although I am not great at it, I enjoy skiing.  I am also a fan of Utah State University and Utah Jazz Basketball, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche Hockey, and Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies Baseball.

Now that you know a little bit about me, enjoy the blog!