Darcy was my writing professor while working on this profile for the New York Times Magazine. He would come into class, looking exhausted, fresh from a flight from Canada. “I’m writing about this band…there’s seven of them…they’re recording in a church…”
Me: OMG are you writing about Arcade Fire?
Darcy: Um, yes?
Me: They are, like, the best band ever!
Darcy: [Silent, tired stare of confusion]
I was applying to a class taught by Darcy Frey when I first read this profile. Recently, in a different writing class, I said that I find band profiles to be consistently disappointing. This may be one of the few exceptions.
I also, somewhat recently, said that I found Neon Bible, whose recording this profile describes, to be disappointing. “It’s totally the hipster thing to hate on Neon Bible,” was the immediate response. I guess it’s now the totally hipster thing to hate on Arcade Fire, period. (Haters gonna hate.)
(Source: The New York Times)
