(I love those lyrics too, btw. Rebellion may be my favorite song on the album, even more than the Neighborhood series)

I try to be as cognizant as possible when it comes to reality and perceptions of reality that we are force-fed every day by the media and our cultural institutions, and though i’m not a particularly bright guy, i do notice the thoughtlessness and utter contradiction rampant in our society.

Hyperbolic as it sounds, Funeral makes me attempt to think about life the way it really is. And while they (or i) might not be right in the resulting conclusions, at least my brain has been opened a bit more to the world around me. That’s what all literature and art do for me.

The lyrics of Rebellion just kill me:

“Sleeping is giving in
No matter what the time is
Sleeping is giving in
So lift those heavy eyelids

People say that you’ll die
Faster than without water
But we know it’s just a lie
Scare your son, scare your daughter

People say that your dreams
Are the only things that save you
Come on baby, in our dreams
We can live our misbehavior

Every time you close your eyes
Lies, lies!

People try and hide the night
Underneath the covers
People try and hide the light
Underneath the covers

Come on, hide your lovers
Underneath the covers
Come on, hide your lovers
Underneath the covers

Hiding from your brothers
Underneath the covers
Come on, hide your lovers
Underneath the covers

People say that you’ll die
Faster than without water
But we know it’s just a lie
Scare your son, scare your daughter

Scare your son, scare your daughter

Now here’s the sun, it’s alright! (Lies!)
Now here’s the moon, it’s alright! (Lies!)
Now here’s the sun, it’s alright! (Lies!)
Now here’s the moon, it’s alright (Lies!)

But every time you close your eyes (Lies!)”

As you grow up question the world. Question reality. Don’t sleep your way through life accepting the way things are or seem to be. Bigger things are possible. You know what, the Arcade Fire make me love Jesus more. eep! mmm…counter-culturalism.

Pantheon-wise, Funeral is one of my five favorite albums ever.

I agree with you on (at least the first 3 parts of) the “Neighborhood” series. Those songs are utterly fantastic. However, the rest of the album comes off as weak in light of those songs. I keep thinking that I’m going to listen to “Funeral” one day and it will all click, but it just hasn’t happened yet. I don’t even think it’s because of the hipster quality,.. I like plenty of music that happens to be trendy.

I appreciate your perspective on the album from the viewpoint of a father,.. that def. adds something for me. And I want to stress that I think “Funeral” is a very good album,.. but just not everything it has been hyped to be, at least to me.

But then I listen to the “Neighborhood” series (without the songs in between) and I come to this line in the middle of Neighborhood #4, which is an existential attempt at dealing with aging and the future which one will influence but not inhabit:
“My eyes are covered by the hands of my unborn kids/but my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids”
And for whatever its worth, this too-old-to-be-hipster says, “hell yeah.” That’s the bittersweet taste I always get in my mouth when I think about my children as adults and me as old and, eventually, dead. It rings more true than 99.9% of the music out there. And Neon Bible matches Funeral for that authentic angst when faced with the everyday injustices of trying to live. What a great band.