So Friday was a relatively big day in the music universe. The newest Arcade Fire track was brought into our lives. Zane Lowe premiered it on his radio show on the BBC. Shortly thereafter it was on the tips of tongues and in the ears of many. The song is called Intervention and is presumably the first single off their new album Neon Bible, which is slated for a March release. The song is a reworked version of a tune they played sparingly live during their Funeral days. The new song sounds much bigger, thanks in part to the haunting church organs which float throughout the track. Also, lyrically the song has changed extensively. While it contains various lines from the original, as well as the chorus, it has been fleshed out and obviously reworked a fair bit.

The earlier version I'm referring to is from a performance the Arcade Fire did for Nic Harcourt's excellent Morning Become Eclectic show on KCRW in Los Angeles back in January of 2005. I've meant to post about Morning Becomes Eclectic before but never got around to it. Nic's show runs daily during the week from 9-12 noon. Bands traveling through the LA area stop in and do an in-studio session for Nic. They play a few songs and chat with Nic; devoting the last 30-40 minutes of his show to them. Many a great artist, established and otherwise have played for Nic. If you go to the site I've hyperlinked above you can check out all of the artists that have been by. Get into the archives and waste away your day. Audio and video for 95% of the shows. You can check out the whole Arcade Fire session referred to here. Intervention comes in around the 25 minute mark. A couple of our favourite sessions: The White Stripes circa Get Behind Me Satan, Beck during the Guero era, and Leslie Feist playing some songs off of Let It Die.

Arcade Fire - Intervention (from Morning Becomes Eclectic) Mp3

Arcade Fire - Intervention (off Neon Bible, radio rip good quality) Mp3

What are your thoughts. Does it live up to the hype? Do you even care? Disappointed, excited, wetting your pants? What other 2007 releases have been marked on your calendar. Here at Country Pinball we're pretty predictable: Modest Mouse with Johnny Marr no less, The Shins (whether or not it changes our life), new LCD Soundsystem... 'cause we're losing our edge and all that.