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The “arrogant” 2013 album Noel Gallagher called the most pretentious he ever heard
Noel Gallagher once branded Arcade Fire's 2013 double album Reflektor "arrogant" and "pretentious" without having listened to it, telling Rolling Stone that anyone releasing a double album needs to "pry themselves out of their own asshole." The remark fits a pattern of blunt musical put-downs from the former Oasis frontman, who has also mocked Radiohead, Jack White and Mark Ronson, but it drew scrutiny for its inconsistency given his admiration for The Beatles' own double LP.
Gallagher argued that in 2013 nobody had time to sit through 45 minutes of music, though critics note Oasis' own (What's the Story) Morning Glory? runs slightly longer than that, and several acclaimed double albums, from Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness to releases by Prince, Nine Inch Nails and Outkast, have proved the format can work. He also seemed irritated by Arcade Fire's request for fans to wear formal or fancy dress to their Reflektor Tour shows, mocking the idea in a mock exchange about attending a gig dressed as a "flying saucer".
In short
- Noel Gallagher called Arcade Fire's Reflektor pretentious without hearing it
- He dismissed double albums as arrogant, citing lack of listening time
- He also mocked the Reflektor Tour's formal/fancy dress requirement
Explained simply
Arcade Fire are a Canadian rock band, and Reflektor was their fourth album, released in 2013 as a double album: a release spread across two records or discs. Noel Gallagher is a British musician best known as Oasis’s guitarist and songwriter, and for speaking bluntly about other artists’ music.
Double albums give artists more room for songs, but listeners and critics often debate whether that space is well used. Gallagher’s comments also drew attention because he had not heard Reflektor when he criticised it, and because he had praised The Beatles’ double album The White Album.
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