When a debut album redefines indie rock

[@DrMetPhD]

Homeboy just skips over Neon Bible in the intro haha

[@igggnaci0]

jajaja damn I tought that too, even tough they put the art cover with funeral

[@christianlesurfmusic]

Neon Bible was the drummer.

[@alexanderb3340]

I enjoyed it. Cheers haha

[@april3945]

why do it dirty like that?????

[@CirilZupan]

I saw that, but I still don't know why he skipped it o.o

[@zahrakh.d1400]

One of the best albums of 00s. Now it's time for a video about another masterpiece of 00s, Turn on the bright lights.

[@luke-228]

zahra khodabakhshi yes I want an Interpol video so bad

[@archimmes]

Am I the only one that finds ANTICS to be a much superior album? ... Aight, imma head out.

[@luke-228]

archimmes I think that sometimes I always end up coming back to totlbl

[@moonwhisperxiv]

Yesssss!

[@joaonevess01]

TOTBL is timeless !!! would love to see a video about it

[@spacialawareness]

one of the most consistent youtubers in terms of quality, incredible content man keep it up!

[@acc2876]

I love your pfp

[@spacialawareness]

blue amensiac and radiohead art in general is fantastic

[@rike94]

also known as "The Wikipedia Reader for Lazy People"

[@MadsimusExtremus]

@@rike94 I really disagree. Middle 8 continously seems to be the guy that kinda gets it. ....but not really. BUT the production quality and the occasional home runs is more than enough to make this one of the better music covering youtube channels..... sadly

[@pattykils]

I've been lucky enough to have seen Arcade Fire three times and "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" never fails to make me weep like a baby in front of thousands of strangers.

[@Ash-jq7qc]

Patrick Kilmartin it’s such a beautiful song

[@melk1393]

Me too

[@MinorCirrus]

I saw them headlining a festival near Paris. The rain was pouring down on us, so much so that the technical staff told them to stop playing about 20 minutes in, because there was too much of an electrical hazard for them. Regine told us how sorry they were for having to stop, they left the stage. But the audience didn't budge. We all started to sing the "Wake Up" chant, kept doing it for a quarter hour and they came back. Sung an acoustic version of "Wake Up", drenched with rain, then left for good. It was the most emotional moment I ever felt at a concert.

[@PEGGLORE]

They are playing near me in London in 2 months time. I only started hearing them a few weeks ago. Not heard very much at all. Just the 1st album really. They are very good. But £85 just seems like way too much money..

[@thom7433]

Man the first time I heard Tunnels I cried like a baby, it reminds me a lot to the progression in Five Years by David Bowie, it just has the same cathartic feeling. You may have another one as favorite but without a doubt Funeral is one of the best (if not the best) album of the 2000s

[@TheLais17]

Laika i don’t know if you know that they have a live recording of five years, singing with david bowie

[@thom7433]

@@TheLais17 WHATTTTTTT

[@revertix_ru]

@@thom7433 look for yt video david bowie and arcade fire - five years

[@thom7433]

@@revertix_ru Yeah I just watched it, it was awesome. Thanks!

[@TheLais17]

Laika your welcome!

[@LieLikesMusic]

THIS ALBUM IS SO GOOD! Thanks for creating this dude.

[@acc1541]

I love your channel!!

[@philippgra8191]

I am one of those guys whose favorite Arcade Fire record is Neon Bible. It is just so dark yet powerful.

[@acc2876]

I love your pfp!

[@juliantalkstravel]

Same here, such a great album.

[@kingofweedswood]

Agreed

[@matthewholloway81]

Philipp Gra yet you have the suburbs as your pfp? Come on man! 😅

[@acc2876]

@@matthewholloway81 the suburbs has a nice cover tbh

[@juanbautistafacio5204]

Tunnels💕 my anthem for ever

[@MsWillyWonka07]

same here

[@hinkhall5291]

_Funeral_ was probably one of the greatest debut albums I have ever heard of my life. It still blows me away. Musically speaking it is a masterpiece.

[@markmumm5029]

Everything Now: I'm divisive!! Reflektor: James Murphy molded my sound!! The Suburbs: I beat Eminem, Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga's album!! *Neon Bible gets suckerpunched* Arcade Fire released Funeral, the definitive indie rock album...

[@inthevault9603]

Mark Mumm Neon Bible is the best album they’ve ever made. What the hell is wrong with this guy? Has he never listened to it?

[@dalekprime31]

@@inthevault9603 might just be the rule of threes being more pleasing for timing, tho neon bible is fantastic

[@weekapaugphil]

Neon Bible: I continued the success of the band and provided an album for the indie kids. Middle 8: DON'T CARE....FUNERAL IS ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS OF THE 2000'S!

[@sambt123]

@@inthevault9603 everything now and funeral are the two best albums arcade fire has made, but all of their albums are amazing

[@justnoahherehello]

@@inthevault9603 Neon Bible is their worst in my opinion. I personally just find it so bland, it seems so...dysfunctional and I don't like the flow. I'm very happy for those that love it and think it's AF's best tho!

[@Bandstand]

Oh wow. Thank you so much for this. The months after this album released are so so so nostalgic for me

[@saturatedneowax]

my man

[@justmebeingbored1794]

I love how nice you music/art video essayists are to each other

[@atotallyrandomperson3889]

I see you everywhere now

[@philippgra8191]

One of my favorite albums

[@samjosh9246]

Can you do one on The Antlers "hospice"? I know it would be right up your alley.

[@rred8674]

Yes yes yes

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

Or the Microphones/Mount Eerie

[@elgatonegro1703]

It’s pretty simple- out walking one day, he stumbled across the Tree Of Unbearable Human Sadness, took a leaf, and called it Hospice

[@acc1541]

Are you guys from Radiohead. amino?

[@spamsingles5948]

Yes!

[@Koshirozation]

15 years of a masterpiece!!

[@JoseCarlosL]

Man, i see you everywhere

[@tylerp3327]

20 years now

[@manuelgasse]

Tunnels is one my fav song ever. Makes me shiver.

[@christianlesurfmusic]

Love this album to bits!! Thank you for this video! And please, soon, make a video on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea!

[@ryanmoran011]

“Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)” was my alarm song for years - and I STILL never got sick of it. That’s powerful

[@MaJuV]

That moment in the intro where you had nothing to say about Neon bible and just fast-forwarded to Suburbs... Sad... :-( It remains one of my favorites of the band, but I'm so often in the minority on that.

[@mariozehren4666]

You're not alone. In my opinion Neon Bible is their very best album. An absolute masterpiece, but often underrated ... I was a bit sad too when he skipped it after Suburbs at the beginning.

[@Katieufo13]

I really love love neon bible, it’s my favorite album I even have the neon bible tattooed on me. It made me sad too when he skipped over it, that album helped me so much in my life and is a masterpiece

[@inthevault9603]

MaJuV What do you mean fast forward to Funeral? It came before Neon Bible.

[@MaJuV]

@@inthevault9603 Woops, typo. I meant Suburbs.

[@JD45OIP]

Love receiving a notification that a new Middle 8 video has dropped, and to see one of my top 5 albums of all time in there...! My top requests for videos: Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun Sufjan Stevens - Illinois Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Amy Winehouse - Frank The xx - xx

[@gravymakes]

This video is incredible. I’d love to see you do one on Car Seat Headrest

[@barneyhoworth7383]

Wow - This video is so well-crafted, edited and made. Just makes me appreciate the album more. To think you went the whole way withouth even mentioning Rebellion (Lies) and Laika as well, just so good.

[@juanbautistafacio5204]

2 days for funeral 15 years💕 Its my favorite band and when I listen this album i started a long way

[@Happyradio1234]

my favorite AF album with maybe “laika” being my favorite song

[@CultureDTCTV]

The descending bass riff on Power Out is when I knew this album is a masterpiece

[@samuelalexandre9934]

I remember the first time I heard Rebellion was at a random night cruising through MTV, I was 8-9 years old and still to this day everytime they I listen to it I remind myself of those old simpler times.

[@morgansmith2519]

Please keep doing your thing. You've really got something special here and your content is some of the best I've ever watched on KZbin! Thankyou for your hard work dude and I look forward to more to come.

[@jamesturner2914]

My football team (plays in the English premier League)- walks out to wake up, gets everyone going and is really special to me. We know "it's time" when the crunchy guitar blasts on the PA.

[@inaworldfulloftrashbagsbet2023]

Hi, can you do a video about Bjork? I only dove in her most obscure parts of her discography a few weeks ago and I just can't get over how much she somehow not only reinvented herself since the Sugarcubes and Debut era, but she reshaped the whole pop landscape by with her instantly recognizable crackly voice, her eclectic and meticulous music productions and her offputting visuals which somehow ended up being commercially successful in an era where big female voices and drum n guitar riffs were mostly prominent , she pushed the Trip Hop and Art pop and electronic music as a whole so far in the music industry with Post and Homogenic (and maybe Vespertine) Thank you for your content.👍

[@Sam-uj1ri]

Yes

[@QuadiePoo]

One of the best albums ever made

[@101gabed]

Your editing blows my mind

[@ian_does_things6586]

I was just listening to this album on my drive to school. It’s one of the best I’ve every listen to.

[@ian_does_things6586]

P.S. I actually enjoyed Everything Now, but probably as it is what introduced me to Arcade Fire.

[@danielortega2441]

This album has changed my life Now I found some new insight to you

[@lenjonxiii]

Incredible video and your best yet. I'd been hoping you would do a video on Arcade Fire and this album specifically and it was more than worth waiting for. The exploration of instrumental and lyrical composition was deeply fascinating.

[@troxlotl]

Another amazing Middle 8 video, keep up the great work dude, I love what you’re doing!

[@smokyblue17]

Awesome video. You should do something about Neutral Milk Hotel.

[@Seeathecat]

This is one of my favourite albums of all time, its part of my childhood and ill never let it go.

[@UncleAnaesthesia]

Climax and resolution... like experiencing a deep grief. The news of someone passing away and then slowly coming to terms with it.

[@ChristianUrea]

This was the video that pushed me to listen to the album, and I absolutely fucking loved it. I’m rarely blown away by an album, but this hit me like a category 5 hurricane

[@50ShadesOfEndo]

One of the best albums ever

[@MinorCirrus]

Arcade Fire definitely knew how to put the "fun" in "funeral", haha. Wonderful record, by far my favourite by them. "I've been learning- HAAAAAAAAAAAA" What a bloody release that moment is.

[@BenBelanger4]

Gotta go for suburbs for favourite AF album

[@yakinjaleta7076]

I love how creative you get with how you present your sponsors. It doesn’t even feel like an ad. Great videos and props on keeping it interesting, even the ad.

[@AlexGomez1226]

This album is tied to many memories and emotions of my life at various stages. I can't imagine my world without this album.

[@bmidtschalint3904]

This is unreal. 2019 May I found the band Arcade Fire, start nonstop listening to Suburbs 2019 September bored of listening to Suburbs, randomly click on Funeral on Spoifiy and since then it's my new favourite. And now Oktober 1. I found your videoessay on them. Life is weird...

[@JC-rs3nh]

Please aim to listen to all of their discography and don’t “randomly” click an album because you got bored of one of them. They’re much too good for that

[@pudchaa]

Wow I haven’t listened to Funeral in years. And lol though I doubt most of my peers cared or even read it, that was the album I chose to review for my highschool newspaper back in ‘04 or ‘05, not long after it came out... The indie music scene was just starting to truly kick off and early arcade fire helped shape the sonic palate I was just beginning to develop. Thank you for reminding me why I chose it, and why others should choose it too ❤️

[@emeraldkenny9347]

I wish there was more video essays on Arcade Fire - thanks for this!

[@analogboard]

I think you should do a video about Daniel Johnston, what with his recent passing and all. He’s very talented and interesting.

[@crosemerie4055]

Wow, every video on this channel is amazing. Thank you so much for making this video, it made my day!

[@muhamarfirmansyah3199]

I still remembered how i got blown away when i heard this album for the first time. not Arcade Fire best album but the most meaningful one at least for me.

[@aidabaida6076]

The lyrics on this ablum are phenomenal.

[@dalekprime31]

Around the 15th anniversary I started getting lots of adverts for funeral on Instagram. The aesthetic seemed just perfect for me, it really captured that autumnal feeling. However I didn't go and listen to the album. This was the video which convinced me and I am so glad I did

[@Bruhsbouldering]

Funeral is definitely my favorite album. I’ve always been a huge fan of arcade fire in general; it just seems like they stray further and further away from their initial album with every release

[@TheDjcorey19]

Thank you. Always loved this album. Now I know why

[@jondorsey2043]

One of the best 21st century bands, period.

[@dummyhard603]

Funeral is always gonna be in my top 3 albums ever and the suburbs following close behind. I think the suburbs is more cinematic and professional, but the raw emotion of funeral and the more varied dynamics gives it a slight leg up for me

[@davidscrumbly6258]

wow, my favorite youtuber makes a video about my favorite band! what a good day.

[@gardenboydon]

I love that i could spend an evening watching incredible music documentaries like this one. Drinking a couple of beers. Awesome video

[@Polfor]

My parents have always listened to this album, and while I'm more keen on reflektor and everything now, this album always made me feel like I'm in an old attic with old furniture, the smell of wood and spiderwebs... Every now and then I have a feeling that I need to listen to this album, it feels like a pause through time, whereas the suburbs feels like a driving force.

[@LiquidDIO]

Funeral really was a masterpiece, but one I don't visit often, thanks to memories attached to it. Tunnels and Power Out are still my favorites.

[@itspronouncedj-na6202]

For years this album has been my favorite! I love every song on the album and personally crown of love is my favorite but no one can deny that wake up is the best song on the album

[@1uparcade33]

Great video! It would be super cool if you did something on Death Cab for Cutie or The Postal Service, idk if you like them but I feel like discussing their albums Transatlanticism or Give Up would be super interesting

[@augusthalter4679]

Ben Gibbard time!

[@FetishonyoutubeURL]

Their first album was really something special, when i first heard wake up and rebellion(lies), their music was different, their music is like something u hear in a parade, there is also one band similar to arcade fire, but u guys probably wouldn’t know who they are.

[@brendan5947]

just discovered your channel...never binge watched so many videos so fast, its fantastic keep up the good work!

[@josiahclagett1105]

This has always been my number one fav album. Favorite -- because of how long I've treasured it. Neighborhood 1 has always been the song that has been able to transcend any frontal lobe logic and pierce my heart. I have never been able to explain why, it's just what I want to listen to after any major life event, breakup, foreign coast, commemorative toast, etc. I can't logically explain my love for this album. It exists in the spiritual realm. They tapped into my soul in an unfathomable way.

[@veagano]

I have this album cover tattooed on my left arm. Thank you so much for this video.

[@jaramoneja]

shit, THE SUBURBS is even more emotional. It's like a nostalgia/regret waterfall...such a human and beautiful fucking record.

[@Awesomebaconman123]

WOO ONE IF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS

[@Thunderous117]

I love arcade fire so freaking much their music just always has such soul and beauty and each album feels unique and wonderful in its own right, I listen to Tunnels and Sprawl II almost everyday for the past year and I'm not tired of it yet

[@abigailwilliams1446]

This is literally my favorite youtube channel

[@inaworldfulloftrashbagsbet2023]

I know that it would too much to ask, but can you do a video about Bjork? I only dove in her most obscure parts of her discography a few weeks ago and I just can't get over how much she somehow not only reinvented herself since the Sugarcubes and Debut era, but she reshaped the whole pop landscape by with her instantly recognizable crackly voice, her eclectic and meticulous music productions and her offputting visuals which somehow ended up being commercially successful in an era where big female voices and drum n guitar riffs were mostly prominent , she pushed the Trip Hop and Art pop and electronic music so far in the music industry with Post and Homogenic (and maybe Vespertine) Thank you for your content.👍

[@Arrwmkr]

You're a legend in my book Middle 8, love how you analyse and describe these albums, so good. Doesn't hurt that I love this album too.

[@nedbig9612]

I want to listen while thinking, and your video helps me alot

[@ThatOneGuy7550]

One of my favorite bands! Always with consistent, incredible content, dude!

[@GuiMees]

Your videos always made my day! Superb work 👏👏👏

[@gonzoblue1206]

Love seeing a new video from you

[@shirlyburns542]

I really like and appreciate all their music

[@EliOceans]

A straight masterpiece, like all their albums. My favorite is undoubtably The Suburbs but it's by such a close margin in front of Funeral and Neon Bible, and even the EP! Best band of all time imo, changed my life.

[@GrandAce]

This video is very pleasing to watch, absolutely well done

[@jasoncromwell4206]

I think it's time to revisit this album in the Age of COVID.

[@TonkyTube]

One of the very few « 10/10 absolutely flawless from A to Z » albums I know

[@guitarmaniac004]

I'm not as crazy about arcade fires sound as much as others. But this album will pull at my heart strings every time I throw it on.

[@MsWillyWonka07]

Amazing video. It's great to see that Tunnels is the favorite song of many people as well.

[@BloggerMusicMan]

Funeral is by far my favourite Arcade Fire album. The best of The Suburbs matches it, but Funeral is ten magnificent, gorgeously constructed songs, whereas The Suburbs I think has five songs that match it and the rest which vary from ok to good.

[@maartendj2724]

My favorite AF album swings between Neon Bible and The Suburbs

[@Hero_Of_Old]

Same!

[@bruhtholemew]

Power Out was the first song I ever heard of these guys. Needless to say I own all their albums now. Even Demo 2001.

[@ephemeralesoteric]

Definitely up there with Kid A, In Rainbows, and Illinois as one of the greatest albums of the 00s. Despite following up with several albums that deservingly made best-of-year lists (most notably The Suburbs), they never managed to top this masterpiece.

[@TomorrowByStorm]

It's a banger every time round here.

[@Antrikkos576]

I have listened to their first 4 albums and I love them all, but if I had to choose one it would definitely be The Suburbs. I still haven't listened to Everything Now

[@freddiechambers7820]

What an album, oh my word :O

[@ryanwillis2513]

Finally does an Arcade Fire video. Take your time.

[@TheGreatIRSH]

Deserves more subscribers

[@lexablack1997]

I need an hour of this

[@lrl5829]

I don't know who I'd be today if it wasn't for Arcade Fire's first three records but namely this one. Thanks for taking an in depth look into their out of the gate masterpiece. I can't say that they've been my favourite band as of late but Funeral will always be my all time favourite album. 5. Everything Now 4. Reflektor 3. Neon Bible 2. The Suburbs 1. Funeral

[@mrlongjohn2167]

Rebellion lies is a great song for this video

[@pdzombie1906]

I always knew there was something deep in there...

[@theamazingsolt]

I really like everything now but I have to go back and give each one a full listen to picks true fav

[@ianai26]

This is beautful, thank you!

[@horrorshowbass]

Please do one on the suburbs

[@LavenderRex7705]

Skipped over neon bible. Damn you!!!

[@CameronMcKee]

Fantastic video once again. I admittedly never got into AF until they won a grammy. The Suburbs intro gets me every time and sucks me in for thefull album, beautifully crafted. I couldn't get into Reflektor but Everything Now was another great album in my opinion. Creature Comfort should have become the song of a generation, it was so perfectly written. I've never heard this album Funeral but I need to now that you've explained it so wonderfully, thanks or another recommendation