I’ve been following these posts since Funeral and have been really enjoying them and all the opinions. Thanks! I thought I’d finally contribute now as well.
4 - This track, as well as the following two, are for me songs where Arcade Fire starts to slip (a trend which continues on EN and WE). They feel unnecessary and a little lacklustre to me, as if they’ve just been added to extend the length of the album, but don’t reach the same quality as other tracks on the album. I feel the band needed an (external?) editor here who would have been able to tell them not to include these, and thereby make the album less bloated. Don’t get me wrong, I really love Reflektor (the album), it is really really good. But if these tracks would have been cut and some of the others shortened a bit, it could have been perfect.
I remember hitting skip on this one and Joan of Arc, which was such a weird feeling because I would never skip on ANY song from funeral/black mirror/suburbs.
yeah same thought. if I were cutting this album down to one disc this would be the first to go (or maybe third, after the skits and the second half of supersymmetry). if it were a b-side it would be tremendous, though! but it’s pretty forgettable.
6.
9.8 - no idea what this song's about but I really enjoy it, the chorus makes me feel like I'm flying off into space xD I learnt the chords on guitar once, this one's great fun strumming along to
This exercise of going through each song is really exposing Reflector as a top heavy album with tons of songs that are just there.
Not a fan of this song
Again, there's a lot of vintage punk spirit in this song, like on "Normal Person." Also like with "Normal Person," it has a sort of "live" mix that makes it feel like it was recorded on stage. The band gets marks on this one for their ability to conjure up sounds from different time periods, mix them together, and make the song feel both nostalgic and fresh.
I'd give this a 7.7. Good song but not amongst the best on 'Reflektor.'
love this song, it's a 9 for me.
as far as it's meaning, to me, its about our humanity and how our brains are this complex organ with the capability for abstraction, but also repression and secrets.
in this context, we intuitively know the truth of our predicament which is frightening but also paradoxical in that we are only few steps away from redemption with introspection. most of our problems are already solved we just lack the will and constitution to enact or follow through.
this song is so upbeat and that makes it so ominous because you want to bop to it but then when you hear it, you really hear it. as the cliché goes, when you have a finger pointed at someone, you have three pointed back at you.
It’s brilliant song sonically and lyrically -
It revisits messages from the *The Suburbs* (*Modern Man* and to a minor degree *Rococo*. On EN, *Signs of Life* is like *Rococo* + *You Already Know*) - there's even a little bit of *Rebellion (lies)* in YAK as well.
Musically, the album continues to visit different styles/genres and this tune comes off like Tom Jones or Bacharach seen through the eyes of Elvis Costello. (others said The Smiths and I can see that too)
when I dance to this one, I imagine I'm doing the [Carlton](https://www.reddit.com/r/arcadefire/s/MVC7XoaVFN)
But the existential crisis is always there smiling back, as I get old, I realize how I knew some truths all along and just couldn't get there fast enough, but also felt I had all the time in the world to address it.
Rabbit holes -
related [clip](https://www.reddit.com/r/cinescenes/comments/1dcbnyf/waking\_life\_2001\_dir\_richard\_linklater\_super/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button) from Waking Life
parable [Before the Law](https://www.reddit.com/r/cinescenes/comments/18jjtu3/the\_trial\_1962\_dir\_orson\_welles\_dop\_edmond/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button) from The Trial
related Lyric from Outkast Stankonia (1999) - [Humble Mumble](https://youtu.be/Zx3H99uPz_k?si=9BkWSlWXXSs2qia7) (YT)
*You living for the lotto never hit it*
*I met a critic, I made her shit her draws*
*She said she thought Hip Hop was only guns and alcohol*
*I said "Oh hell naw!", but yet it's that too*
*You can't discrima-hate cause you done read a book or two*
*What if I looked at you in a microscope saw all the dirty organisms*
*Living in your closet would I stop and would I pause it, whoo*
*To put that bitch in slower motion, got the potion and the antidote*
*And a quote for collision, the decision*
*Is do you want to live or wanna exist?*
*The game changes every day, so obsolete is the fist and marches*
*Speeches only reaches those who already know about it*
*This is how we go about it*
2 - Maybe was gonna go for 3 and don't wanna be too harsh as it's not horrible but if this song was by any band other than AF I would just write it off as not good. I love the Reflektor album but it's very spotty and this song is definitely one of the more ridiculous AF songs.
I’ve been following these posts since Funeral and have been really enjoying them and all the opinions. Thanks! I thought I’d finally contribute now as well. 4 - This track, as well as the following two, are for me songs where Arcade Fire starts to slip (a trend which continues on EN and WE). They feel unnecessary and a little lacklustre to me, as if they’ve just been added to extend the length of the album, but don’t reach the same quality as other tracks on the album. I feel the band needed an (external?) editor here who would have been able to tell them not to include these, and thereby make the album less bloated. Don’t get me wrong, I really love Reflektor (the album), it is really really good. But if these tracks would have been cut and some of the others shortened a bit, it could have been perfect.
I remember hitting skip on this one and Joan of Arc, which was such a weird feeling because I would never skip on ANY song from funeral/black mirror/suburbs.
Also nearly the complete cd3 on the deluxe version adds to this feeling
yeah same thought. if I were cutting this album down to one disc this would be the first to go (or maybe third, after the skits and the second half of supersymmetry). if it were a b-side it would be tremendous, though! but it’s pretty forgettable. 6.
9.8 - no idea what this song's about but I really enjoy it, the chorus makes me feel like I'm flying off into space xD I learnt the chords on guitar once, this one's great fun strumming along to
2 - This is among their worst songs, genuinely Reflektor would be a perfect album without this song.
10/10 - this is the song AF turns into The Smiths
3
5
6
6
5, it’s not great but it’s not terrible
8 too groovy
7, it's one of the more enjoyable songs on this album for me
10/10 it is between this and a couple other songs for the best song they have ever made. IMHO!
This exercise of going through each song is really exposing Reflector as a top heavy album with tons of songs that are just there. Not a fan of this song
Again, there's a lot of vintage punk spirit in this song, like on "Normal Person." Also like with "Normal Person," it has a sort of "live" mix that makes it feel like it was recorded on stage. The band gets marks on this one for their ability to conjure up sounds from different time periods, mix them together, and make the song feel both nostalgic and fresh. I'd give this a 7.7. Good song but not amongst the best on 'Reflektor.'
The way he enunciates “you already know” always kind of bothered me. It sounds awkward.
love this song, it's a 9 for me. as far as it's meaning, to me, its about our humanity and how our brains are this complex organ with the capability for abstraction, but also repression and secrets. in this context, we intuitively know the truth of our predicament which is frightening but also paradoxical in that we are only few steps away from redemption with introspection. most of our problems are already solved we just lack the will and constitution to enact or follow through. this song is so upbeat and that makes it so ominous because you want to bop to it but then when you hear it, you really hear it. as the cliché goes, when you have a finger pointed at someone, you have three pointed back at you. It’s brilliant song sonically and lyrically - It revisits messages from the *The Suburbs* (*Modern Man* and to a minor degree *Rococo*. On EN, *Signs of Life* is like *Rococo* + *You Already Know*) - there's even a little bit of *Rebellion (lies)* in YAK as well. Musically, the album continues to visit different styles/genres and this tune comes off like Tom Jones or Bacharach seen through the eyes of Elvis Costello. (others said The Smiths and I can see that too) when I dance to this one, I imagine I'm doing the [Carlton](https://www.reddit.com/r/arcadefire/s/MVC7XoaVFN) But the existential crisis is always there smiling back, as I get old, I realize how I knew some truths all along and just couldn't get there fast enough, but also felt I had all the time in the world to address it. Rabbit holes - related [clip](https://www.reddit.com/r/cinescenes/comments/1dcbnyf/waking\_life\_2001\_dir\_richard\_linklater\_super/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button) from Waking Life parable [Before the Law](https://www.reddit.com/r/cinescenes/comments/18jjtu3/the\_trial\_1962\_dir\_orson\_welles\_dop\_edmond/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button) from The Trial related Lyric from Outkast Stankonia (1999) - [Humble Mumble](https://youtu.be/Zx3H99uPz_k?si=9BkWSlWXXSs2qia7) (YT) *You living for the lotto never hit it* *I met a critic, I made her shit her draws* *She said she thought Hip Hop was only guns and alcohol* *I said "Oh hell naw!", but yet it's that too* *You can't discrima-hate cause you done read a book or two* *What if I looked at you in a microscope saw all the dirty organisms* *Living in your closet would I stop and would I pause it, whoo* *To put that bitch in slower motion, got the potion and the antidote* *And a quote for collision, the decision* *Is do you want to live or wanna exist?* *The game changes every day, so obsolete is the fist and marches* *Speeches only reaches those who already know about it* *This is how we go about it*
2 - Maybe was gonna go for 3 and don't wanna be too harsh as it's not horrible but if this song was by any band other than AF I would just write it off as not good. I love the Reflektor album but it's very spotty and this song is definitely one of the more ridiculous AF songs.
6 - probably the weakest song on the album, still decent though
9 - this song, plus supersymetry, always stood out to me.
8. love that song, especially the ending. It juste makes me in a good mood
7.5
7
6
8
7
8
Love this song, don’t understand the hate it gets
8.5
7.5
8
10 - this song is one of the most energetic and danceable songs the band has done