Arcade Fire’s third album, The Suburbs, has debuted at #1 in both the US and UK. I think this means that “indie rock” is now officially mainstream, or something like that.

I’m actually not much of a fan of Arcade Fire. I find their approach to be a bit over-dramatic. They remind me of my least favorite aspects of U2 (without reminding me of any of the things I like about U2.)

But I’m not one of those who thinks that this kind of commercial success is a bad thing, that it means the band has “sold out.” I think it’s great when any sort of non manufactured pop does well commercially, regardless if it’s my favorite or not.

I think this is a decent time to make creative, interesting music (I can recognize music as being creative and interesting even if it’s “not my thing”) because the audience for it seems to be growing. How can that be a bad thing?