Win Butler Weighs In On Barack, Hillary
As NME pointed out, over at Win's Neon Bible blog, under a post called "good god please don't buy it," the Arcade Fire front-runner gives his two or three cents about the current Democratic Primaries. To quote:
I am watching Hillary Clinton in her victory speech in New Hampshire ... they just threw a bunch of college kids behind her, and had her talk about student loans, and had her daughter come out for a long awkward hug ... does anyone actually buy it? Surely young people are too media savvy to be fooled by this kind of shit.Maybe. From there the Texas-born Canadian digs into the bigger questions. Can I get a witness?
[Photo from Arcade Fire @ Radio City Music Hall 5/9/07]
do we live in a democracy so we can just keep electing the same families?As far as that first question about electing the same families, that's sorta how we feel about year-end lists. But seriously (kinda), on top of getting closer and closer to an Arcade Fire/Conor "For Obama" Oberst fund raiser, we're not sure of the significance of these sorts of endorsements. Maybe he and Oberst (and Tweedy) should cover this.Barack is the first candidate in my lifetime to strip some of this bullshit away, and I just hope we don't blow this chance.
man if we miss this opportunity we don't deserve it...how bad does it have to get?
fuck!!!!!!!!!
Posted at 10:36 AM
Tags: Arcade Fire | Barack Obama | Hillary Clinton | Win Butler
Double-fuck and Arcade Fire.
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I know when I want an opinion about whom I should vote for President of the United States, I ask a Canadian. Thanks Arcade Fire for the over-wrought music and opinions!
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Obama yes! Clinton no! Arcade Fire yes! Connor Oberst, eh.
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RIGHT ON Proper Villain!!
The only thing worse then musicians weighing in on politics is FOREIGN musicians weighing in on AMERICAN polotics...
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Hey batten, Win is from Texas originally as noted above. Besides, I see no issue with him, or anyone for that matter, expressing opinions on this election. Thanks.
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Win Butler's Wikipedia...
Win Butler (born April 14, 1980) is the Texas-born lead vocalist and songwriter of the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire. His wife Régine Chassagne and his brother William Butler are both members of the band.[1][2]
Born Edwin Farnham Butler III and raised in The Woodlands, Texas, Butler is the grandson of jazz guitarist Alvino Rey, a pioneer band leader whose career spanned eight decades. His grandmother, Luise, was a member of the King Sisters, who starred in a weekly variety program on ABC called The King Family Show. His mother, Liza, plays harp and sings.
At the age of 15, Butler started attending the Phillips Exeter Academy preparatory school in New Hampshire. There he played varsity basketball and club softball, and performed with several student bands, including Willy Wanker and the Chocolate Factories. He also worked with the administration to establish "Winter Thaw," in which students got a long weekend's worth of rest in the middle of typically cold, grueling New England winters. Butler was popular; a special section was allotted to him in Exeter's yearbook, which he filled with a poem about Exeter and a photograph of him clasping the hand of Principal Tyler C. Tingley. After graduation he studied photography and creative writing at Sarah Lawrence College where he met teacher/author Eireann Corrigan with whom he formed a strong connection, but he left after a year.
Butler moved to Montreal in 2000 to attend McGill University, where he met his future wife, Régine Chassagne, whose family had relocated to Montreal after escaping the war in Haiti.
Butler participated in the 2005 UNICEF benefit project, "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?", along with his wife.
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Hey JM...didn't know he was from Texas (that info got cut off after the jump), but it's still annoying regardless. I don't care who you're voting for, especially if you don't live here...make records, be creative and stop voicing an opinion just because your "celebrity" gives you a bigger medium.
And you're welcome buddy.
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lolz
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@ batten and proper villain...
Yes, it's terrible for people from one country (ahem) to try to tell people in another country what they should be doing.
Almost as bad as invading them when they refuse to see things your way.
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just shut up batten. if you dont know all of the information then you can't make any kind of good opinion. all butler did was say how he felt in a blog. stereogum relayed that information. stereogum showed you how win butler feels. win butler did not email YOU and tell you how he felt. if you dont want to hear his opinion then why even comment on this post? and politics is spelled with an i.
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Clinton = D-
Obama = C-
Dennis Kucinich = B+
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Yeah, I'm with g and JM on this issue of "celebs" voicing their opinion. Batten, what do you do for a living? Is your work more honorable or does it magically impart more intelligence on you so that we should care about YOUR opinion (yes, you did, in two posts above, give us your opinion; or are you going to say that political opinions are somehow different from other kinds of opinions?)? What's a "celeb" to do when they have an opinion on something? Keep their mouth shut because at some point their celebrity crossed some tipping point and took away their right to think and opine? Who came up with this arbitrary and -- yes -- unAmerican idea? I don't care about Butler's politics or where he hangs his hat, but he has as much right as any American (or non-American) to say what he believes, especially since what this country does affects far beyond its immediate geographical borders. Isn't freedom (of speech, among others) for others what our poor soldiers are being told they're fighting (and dying) for?
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Well said crilo. And good point about decisions made in the US affecting others around the world. Very true indeed, and often with disastrous consequences.
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screw politics.
hooray rock and roll!
screw musicians who tell me what to think about politics.
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Well, now that Win Butler has spoken....
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Yeah annie onymous, political decisions aren't important. Lives are not at stake.
/sarcasm
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Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy fame is throwing an Obama party to raise funds: http://waitseriously.com/index.php?itemid=37#nucleus_cf
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I like turtles.
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Turtles rule.
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if win butler is so against electing the same families, why would he support obama? he's related to cheney.
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hipsters for obama, eh?
it's cute but it feels like peer pressure to me.
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Our generation is full of morons...like this douche from another boring indie-rock band.
Another gullible, uninformed musician attempting to make an intelligent comment on the state of affairs. Do some homework jackass. He is the same type of democrat as Hilary. Look at all the progressive ratings think tanks do of the two. They vote in tandem all the time. So how is there going to be actual change? He's a democrat. How stupid do you have to believe to realize after seeing 4 time Senator John Kerry endorse Obama that this guy probably isn't for real 'change'. Remember Clinton in '92, "I believe in a place called hope". It's called rhetoric.
So basically the same type of politician. Same old rhetoric. And no, I don't like Hilary either.
"It's hip to back Obama because he's for change!" Kids today suck.
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Lynne Cheney: VP, Obama are eighth cousins
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21340764/
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/2007/10/obama_bush_and_cheney_cousins/
yo kick it family style...
who runs america, BIG CORP runs this shit...
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Look who voted for the current war... and look who didn't
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=107&session=2&vote=00237
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Please shut up, Win. No one cares.
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I dislike Arcade Fire and Pete Wentz, but good for them for fighting the good fight. Let's just hope for a Obama/Kucinich ticket.
Anyone who disses Obama, Kucinich, Gravel, and Biden is automatically a Mike Huckabee fan.
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Mike Gravel is unstable. Crazy people make bad presidents.
As for Barack, he may not make any actual change, but he's the best hope we've got of the candidates that have any chance. We sure as hell know Hilary's not going to do anything, nor are the Republicans. The point Win's making is it would be nice to see someone different in the White House. Obama might be that person.
And personally, I have no qualms with famous people trying to spread a message. No one was up in arms when Win Butler told us to donate to Partners in Health to help sick people in Haiti. If you don't care what he thinks about politics, don't listen to him. Think for yourself. A difficult concept, I know.
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Oh please God, no. No more of Conor Orifice and his shit. Please don't let that little plagiarist get onstage with the talented members of the Arcade Fire. Watch out Win, he'll rip you off like he blatantly stole from Jeff Mangum...
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The difference between, say, an American sticking his nose into Canada's political business and a Canadian (even if born in Texas) sticking his nose into America's political business is this: Canadian politics doesn't really affect Americans. What happens in America, though, has a huge effect on Canadians (and on everyone else in the world), because the US is so damned powerful. So yeah: the rest of the world has a perfectly legitimate interest in expressing whom they hope gets elected in the US - because it makes a difference to them. Do I even need to say, "just ask an Iraqi"?
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@2fs - damn straight.
I'd say what happens in US politics affects the rest of the world so much they should get a fucking vote.
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"I dont want to live in America no more!" - Win Butler, Windowsills (Neon Bible)
Need I say more? If you dont want to live here then you dont get to chime in on who should/should not be President. Being a "foreigner" has its drawbacks, no?
"we" dont blow this chance - who is we? Canadians?
Dont get me wrong, Win. I dig your music, but not your political views - unless you move back to the Woodlands. :)
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"I don't care who you're voting for, especially if you don't live here...make records, be creative and stop voicing an opinion just because your "celebrity" gives you a bigger medium."
I wouldn't say it's that much bigger of a medium. It's about the same as the medium you just used-a post on the internet.
I always find it funny when people say things like, "make records/be creative and stop voicing your opinion." As if those things are mutually exclusive. It's sort of a package deal. If you're making music, you are voicing an opinion. These artists would be stating their opinions even if no one knew who they were, so why should they stop just because they are semi-famous?
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@John
1. Nothing about Arcade Fire is boring.
2. "He is the same type of Dem as Hillary"
I don't see how he is the same type of Dem as Hillary if he voted against the authorization of war for Bush. Hillary probably didn't believe in the war but was too scared of looking weak, whereas Obama was willing to throw away his political career.
"How is there going to be real change?"
It seems to me that Obama's ideas on foreign policy are very different from everyone else's. He said he would immediately sit down and talk with Iran/Syria, etc., he wouldn't nuke al Qaeda. You generally don't defy conventional wisdom if you are pandering.
I don't think Clinton would have invaded Iraq, but I guess that is merely a war.
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OH MY GOD YOU GUYS SHUT UP.
I'm sorry, but the level of self-importance and pompousness in here isn't ANY where near where it should be - a musician just used his blog to share his opinion! Do you hear me? Maybe it's just me, but I feel like your comments could collectively be WAY more dismissive and pretentious than they are right now.
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We truly are the worst generation.
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Wait! Everyone! I received an e-mail yesterday saying Obama is an undercover Al Qaeda operative! BE CAREFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Agree 100%. Obama is our one chance to chip away at all the bullshit going on in Washington. How the fuck after 8 years of Bush could anybody not see the value in a candidate who offers a realistic chance at change.
I understand that 8 years under Bush makes us all pretty pessimistic toward our government, but unless you want more of the same we need a leader who refuses to adhere to the standards set by our current leadership.
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No he's not. This was my point. Everyone is drinking the kool-aid saying this guy is CHANGE. How is getting endorsed from a 4 term establishment senator change? He's not! It's called party politics. He's trying to knock off the queen. He is a democrat. He votes in tandem with Hilary all the time. His progressive rating is generally a percentage higher.
He didn't vote for the war because HE COULDN'T have. He came into the senate in 2004. Even more so, I would wager he would have voted for the war if he was in the Senate, because when you're in the Senate, you vote often based on party and not what you believe for political capital. Plus who spends two years in the senate and then runs for President? A politician riding high on media and youth hoopla bullshit, that's who.
We already talk to Iran/Syria. Nor is anything going to change with regards to our stance on those two countries. He's not going to negotiate with a theocracy who despises America. Stop being so naive.
If Hilary wins, she will do all the same things as him. And though I don't like her because she is a robot, I would wager she will probably get more done than him because the Clinton's run the party.
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Anyone skeptical about Obama, I ask you to do one thing. Ask an older European or Latin American how they felt about JFK. Ask them about Bobby Kennedy. More often than not, they will gush to you about how there just aren't leaders like that anymore--in the US or their own country. They will speak about America as an ideal, not as an imperialist bully. This is not because the Kennedys pursued some vastly different policies than other American leaders. It had to do with their tone and they way they made people feel. That was tangible worldwide.
It is not a foregone conclusion that our president has to be hated by the whole world. And to give Hillary credit, I think she, like Bill, would be respected and definitely be seen as a welcome change to Bush. But every once in a while, a leader comes along who doesn't just generate respect; they inspire. Obama can be that that for us. He'd inspire not just indie rockers in far off lands like Montreal, but the poor Muslim kid in Pakistan who never considered what democracy and tolerance really meant. Obama--half-black, half-white, educated at an Islamic school in Indonesia--his ability to become president says something about America that no policy change ever could.
If you think that makes no difference--after a president so antagonistic that leaders around the world are afraid to even been seen with him for fear that their voters will turn on them--then just give up paying attention to politics, because you will always be too cynical.
Politics are always about the intangibles. Why do you think Republicans worship at the altar of Ronald Reagan? It was something about how he made people feel. It allowed him to convert Democrats and independents during a time when people felt bad about their country. Obama has that now.
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America is BOTH an ideal and an imperialist bully. (what do you think that queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach is?)
i don't feel inspired by obama--in fact, i sometimes find him condescending. frankly, if i want to feel inspired, i'll go for a night time drive or have a conversation with a 9 year old. or listen to a song. maybe on stereogum.
i'm not sure i need my president to "inspire" me. i think we're a little more sophisticated than that at this point. inspire me to do what? work? no, i have to do that anyway, and it's my own job to inspire myself to work. have hope? uh--no, again, that comes from myself and the people around me. have faith? well--faith in what? i'm not sure there is any politician alive that can singlehandedly restore a sense of decency and humanitarianism to the white house, so i'm not really looking for that from a presidential candidate either. inspire me to work together with people in my community to better our lot? again--i think that's going to come locally. so what exactly is it that obama is going to inspire in us that isn't already part of our daily struggle?
with all due respect, it's not the 60s, and the reverence with which leaders from the 60s are remembered by some no longer provides a rubric useful in assessing today's candidates. and to their credit, i don't think either obama or clinton are puffing themselves up with 60s-esque alignments.
i'm wary of the vague talk of "inspiration," and every four years there's a shitload of it. what exactly is it that a presidential candidate is supposed to "inspire" in us, and why is this so important? people get inspired every day by crazy little things. another eloquent american politician standing in front of an american flag talking about change doesn't strike me as particularly inspiring. charisma? give me chromeo. ah shit, they're canadian too...
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AN OPEN LETTER TO WIN BUTLER
G’DAAAAAY MATE! I know you’re down undah, getting set for another Big Day Out show? Playing more of that “Neon Bible” record, are you? No, I mean a great record, better in my book than “Funeral” and from the get go I was totally down with your dark musings on this country, on what it’s become, and on that creepy place where Bible thumpers wield undue power, some claiming they ‘talk to God’ and in some cases, men of the cloth even run for office. I’m with you on all that.
That deservedly acclaimed album earned you a pulpit as well and sure enough you climbed onto it to talk politics. Not just to endorse the man of the moment, not just to give a thumbs up to the smooth talking change-monger from Chicago, Barack Obama, a decision which you are more than entitled to make, though frankly I am mystified by similar endorsements from other artists I much admire Messrs Conor Oberst and Jeff Tweedy. Hop on the indie bandwagon, or you’re just not cool! But also, Win, you seem to deride those who might choose to vote otherwise. “Barack is the first candidate in my lifetime to strip some of this bullshit away”. (um, didn’t Bill Clinton strip any bullshit away for you Win – or exactly kind of bullshit are you talking about?)”
“I just hope we don’t blow this chance”, you continue, “if we miss this opportunity we don’t deserve it.” As though it’s so patently obvious that Obama is superior to Edwards, Clinton, Kucinich and others, that you can’t imagine anyone seeing it any other way. Oh and in referring to Clinton’s campaign event in New Hanpshire, you declare ‘Surely young people are too savvy to be fooled by this kind of shit.’ Got it Win - if they oppose Obama, they are being ‘fooled by this shit’. Yes sir, Win.
Well, Butler my dude (I can call you dude, right?) allow me to climb on to my bully pulpit (yes it a wee smaller than yours, but as we’re both Francophiles from well heeled suburban Houston, something of kindred spirits dontcha think?) So let me say tres fort in a language you and Regine love: Tais Toi! Ta gueule! And for our Anglophone friends, Shut up! Shut the f—k up!
I would never tell you not to express an opinion via missive from the Butler compound up in Montreal (What primary are voting in by the way? The Quebec primary? What’s that? Oh, you and the missus don’t vote in US elections up there? Hm.) Well I would never tell you not to speak out long and loud and continue to let social and political observations to infuse your magnificent records. I would however, tell you to respect other people’s rights to disagree with your choice of a candidate. Who exactly are you to suggest that people are being fooled by supporting Clinton? I’m no great Clinton fan, but Is it not possible you and your ilk are signing onto unvetted BarackOmania – onto the very cult of personality you lambaste on ‘Bible’?
And if you cannot endorse without insulting, do us all the favor of returning to your usual state – silencieux. Merci, copain. Et je vous souhaite une bonne tournee en Australie.
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why? obama and clinton are so similar, i don't understand why connor would support this? what about kucinich???? he's the only one up there that has a PLAN, a good plan. the only one who is thinking about our best interests, the only one WHO ISN'T AFRAID TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS. out of everyone, i thought connor oberst would see that. i've been a big bright eyes fan for years, and was hoping he would reach out for change... i'm disappointed. i don't even know what to think about your music now, are you just like everyone else? playing for the money? i thought you were pure. i would still like to see you come around... maybe research it a little more? please.
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I still hold that the preacher character in "There Will Be Blood" is a documentary about the early life and times of Win Butler.
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Everyone has a goddamn blog, and well, so does Win Butler, hardly. Why is his opinion such a big deal? It's not like Arcade Fire released a press statement saying "Vote For Obama" or something.
Win Butler has a right to state his opinion out of frustration on the internet just like everybody else here is doing right now. Get over it.
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obama no. clinton no. maccain? YES
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johnny greenwood: "I don't see how he is the same type of Dem as Hillary if he voted against the authorization of war for Bush. Hillary probably didn't believe in the war but was too scared of looking weak, whereas Obama was willing to throw away his political career."
For fuck's sake. This Obama circle jerk needs to stop now. Not only was he not in the Senate to vote against authorization of the Iraq war, but since claiming his Senate seat, he has voted to fund the war to the tune of $300 billion.
Luke: "It is not a foregone conclusion that our president has to be hated by the whole world. And to give Hillary credit, I think she, like Bill, would be respected and definitely be seen as a welcome change to Bush. But every once in a while, a leader comes along who doesn't just generate respect; they inspire. Obama can be that that for us. He'd inspire not just indie rockers in far off lands like Montreal, but the poor Muslim kid in Pakistan who never considered what democracy and tolerance really meant."
Yes, I'm soooo inspired by vapid crack-head panderers. I mean, Bush spearheading a trillion dollar war is one thing, but if we can get a black from Indonesia to do more of the same...wow, that's what I call winning hearts and minds.
some idiot: "obama no. clinton no. maccain? YES"
WTF?
Win, you need to shut the hell up about Obama, stop watching CSPAN, and write some more fucking good music.
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Mike Huckabee ftw!!!
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Yeah I'm so angry at them for forming opinions and then posting those opinions on their blog! No one else in the country does that!
And then Stereogum chose to report on the posting of those opinions! I mean, their opinions wouldn't even exist if Stereogum didn't report on them! So unfair.
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Arcade Fire has let me down.
Obama is horrible, just look at his views! Don't vote for the man because he speaks of this unknown "change" and is black....
No one good is really left in this boat- Ron Paul was my choice before, but now he's basically out...
who's the best? Ralph Nader, probably.
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What in the hell is a "Texas born Canadian"?!?! I'm pretty sure that if you're born in Texas, you're an American.
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