If I would have had any INKLING that indie band Arcade Fire was going to win "Album Of The Year" at the Grammies, I definitely would have watched that silly show. It would have been worth sitting through the many mainstream pop acts just to feel that moment when maybe, just maybe, there was hope that a changing of the guard was not only possible, but imminent. Congratulations to Arcade Fire, manager Scott Rodgers, and most definitely congratulations to Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance who founded indie label Merge Records in 1989 with a dream that bands could sell records, find an audience and enjoy artistic freedom instead of sacrificing their soul to a major label record contract. You did it.
Arcade Fire "The Suburbs": Amazon :: iTunes
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small: Powell's Books
Merge Records: website