Watch Arcade Fire Perform “Cunts Are Still Running The World” With Jarvis Cocker
Arcade Fire just kicked off the European leg of their Everything Now tour, and they’ve been using the opportunity to have a little fun — playing around with their setlist, covering interesting songs, and bringing surprise guests out. In Dublin last week, they paid tribute to the late Dolores O’Riordan by covering the Cranberries’ “Linger.” In Manchester, they played their early deep cut “Vampire/Forest Fire” for the first time in seven years. And just yesterday, in London, they covered the Pretenders’ “Don’t Get Me Wrong” with none other than Chrissie Hynde herself.
Arcade Fire performed a second show in London tonight, and they brought a second surprise guest out to the stage: For the encore, Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker came out to assist the band in a performance of his 2006 solo song “Cunts Are Still Running the World.” Before launching into the performance, Cocker addressed the audience. “This is a song that I was very kindly invited to sing,” he said. “It was written about 12 years ago. And you’d hope that it would be very irrelevant now, but unfortunately in the world outside this room, that’s not the case. And if you find it within yourselves, sing along with the chorus.”
At the end of the song, Arcade Fire frontman Win Butler added his own two cents: “He speaks the truth, unfortunately.” Watch fan-shot footage of their surprise onstage collaboration below.