"Rebellion (Lies)" is a song by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire. It was the fourth single released from the band's debut album, Funeral. The single was released in both CD and DVD formats with the song "Brazil" as the B-side. The single peaked at number 19 on the UK singles chart, the band's best performance on this chart to date.[3] On the album Funeral, "Rebellion (Lies)" immediately follows the song "Haiti", the ending of which has the same bass beat and leads right into the beginning of "Rebellion (Lies)". The song has enduringly been the band's closing song at appearances at music festivals and at the end of most of their shows. In October 2011, British pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor released a cover in support of Songs to Save a Life, a benefit project in aid of Samaritans.
| "Rebellion (Lies)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cover of the CD single | ||||
| Single by Arcade Fire | ||||
| from the album Funeral | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | 2005 | |||
| Recorded | August 2003 – early 2004 | |||
| Studio | Hotel2Tango (Montreal, Quebec) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:05 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Arcade Fire | |||
| Arcade Fire singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Cover of the DVD single | ||||
Accolades
editThe song was one of three tracks mentioned in the band's nomination — and win — of the 2006 Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year.[4] The song was also nominated for Best Independent Video at the 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards.[5]
In May 2007, NME magazine named the song as #29 in its list of the "50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever".[6] In April 2009, the song was featured in Blender magazine's "500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born" as #380.[7] In August 2009, the song was ranked #69 in Pitchfork Media's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s.[8] In 2009, NME ranked the song as the 9th best of the 2000s and in October 2011 they named it as 2nd in their list of the 150 greatest songs from the past 15 years.[9]
Appearances
editThe song was featured on a season 5 episode of the television series Six Feet Under.[10]
This song was originally intended to be used during the closing scene of the pilot for the television series The Black Donnellys, but the band refused to grant the rights for its use.[citation needed] Snow Patrol's "Open Your Eyes" was used instead.
In 2006, the song was featured in a commercial promoting Bono's Product Red campaign.
Since 2008, the song has been used as opening theme for the Italian talkshow "Otto e mezzo" on La7 network.
In 2011, filmmaker Matthew Wisniewski set his footage of the Wisconsin Uprising to the song.
Track listing
edit- "Rebellion (Lies)" – 5:05
- "Brazil" – 3:54
Personnel
edit- Win Butler - vocals, Jaguar electric guitar
- Régine Chassagne - piano, backing vocals
- Richard Reed Parry - Rickenbacker electric guitar, backing vocals, engineer, recording
- Tim Kingsbury - bass, backing vocals
- Howard Bilerman - drums, engineer, recording
- Will Butler - percussion, backing vocals
Additional musicians
- Sarah Neufeld – violin, string arrangements
- Owen Pallett – violin, string arrangements
- Michael Olsen – cello
- Pietro Amato – horn
- Anita Fust – harp
Charts
edit| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Hot AC Top 30 (Radio & Records)[11] | 19 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[12] | 19 |
| UK Indie (OCC)[13] | 1 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[14] | Platinum | 80,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ Rolling Stone Staff (June 17, 2011). "100 Best Songs of the 2000s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
This Montreal troupe proved they had the scope and passion for an all-out arena-rock anthem...
- ^ a b Horton, Matthew (2015). "Arcade Fire - "Rebellion (Lies)". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 840.
- ^ The Official Charts Company. "[1]." The Official UK Charts Company Archived 2010-11-13 at the Wayback Machine. 2005-09-17.
- ^ "Arcade Fire". Juno Awards. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "MMVA 05". MuchMusic. Archived from the original on 15 January 2006.
- ^ NME, The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever
- ^ The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born
- ^ "Pitchfork: Staff Lists: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s: 100-51". pitchfork.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-22.
- ^ "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 6 October 2011.
- ^ "Six Feet Under". Archived from the original on 2007-06-01. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
- ^ "Radio & Records Magazine" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 26, 2005. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
- ^ "Canadian single certifications – Arcade Fire – Rebellion". Music Canada. Retrieved March 27, 2020.