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Arcade Fire: 'People have lost the ability to even know what a joke is. It’s very Orwellian'

The indie rockers rolled out their last record, Everything Now, with a satirical ad campaign. The result? Mass confusion and bad reviews. As they hit UK arenas, frontman Win Butler is defiant: ‘Let’s see if we can break through the noise’

In a corner booth, Win Butler sits beaming in a broad-brimmed black hat, at his elbow a large martini glass garnished with three fat green olives. It is Thursday evening in Manhattan’s theatre district and Butler has chosen a steakhouse once recommended to him by his late grandfather, the guitarist and swing bandleader Alvino Rey. When he began travelling the world as a teenager, Butler says, Rey would furnish him with tips. “The first time I went to London he sent me to this place that had been around for 100 years, to have the lamb chops.”

Tonight, Butler is fresh from a rehearsal for his band Arcade Fire’s appearance on Saturday Night Live. The day has seen several run-throughs of their single Put Your Money on Me, as well as a skit that references the band’s Canadian roots (though Butler and his brother Will, are from Texas). It will be their fifth performance on the show, including the time they performed as Mick Jagger’s backing band, and Butler describes the series’ appeal. “Monty Python and SNL were punk bands,” he says, his voice quick and high and giddy. “They were part of that movement, but they just got on TV.”

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2IgYwf8
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