I think the appeal of the Arcade Fire can be entirely summed up in the 
first 45 seconds of "Power Out (Neighborhood #3)," which is probably 
the most exciting intro of any radio hit that I've heard in the last 
five years or so.  Every time I hear it on the radio (it still gets 
regular play on both The Verge, XM's indie Can-Con channel, and WFNX), 
I pretty much have to stop whatever I'm doing for the next five 
minutes, because it's one of those songs that demands attention both 
in its groove -- the Talking Heads comparison is quite correct -- and 
in the depth of its arrangement.  Among other virtues, this song has 
the single most rocking glockenspiel part in the history of popular 
music.

While "Power Out" is the purest expression of all that is good about 
the Arcade Fire, its virtues are on display through the rest of their 
catalogue as well.  The level of seemingly unfeigned sincerity and 
occasional tendency towards bombast links them to early U2 as well as 
the previously mentioned Springsteen comparison, while the overall 
sound of their records (that unusual instrumentation and highly 
detailed arrangements) ties them to another of my current favorite 
Canadian bands, Broken Social Scene: if the folks in BSS had any 
interest in writing songs with conventional hooks and verse-chorus 
structures, they would likely sound very much like the Arcade Fire.

So that's the appeal.

Modest Mouse: apparently, college kids still like weed.

S