Arcade Fire's Parodic Bible (Report‪)‬

[1] According to Kelton Cobb, the jeremiad is widely used as a narrative framework in popular culture. (1) It offers a variation on the lost paradise script that calls for a return to Edenic innocence. The jeremiad has a biblical origin, of course. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the prophets like Jeremiah warn the people of covenant violations and call them to repentance. (2) Cobb observes writers and artists in popular culture constantly returning to the flexible form of the jeremiad to express their conviction "that we have corrupted our obligations toward a providential order that surrounds us." There are numerous variations of this theme because artists differ in their views regarding "what it is that constitutes corruption, and what it is within us that persists in causing it." What these writers share in common is the use of paradise myths to explore "the shortcomings of human life" as they address the question "What went wrong?" (3) [2] In their 2006 album Neon Bible, Arcade Fire presents two kinds of religiosity in dialogue, one we might call a genuine, biblically informed spirituality, and the other an expression of religion tainted by commercialism and self-interest. The band assumes the role of prophet in the jeremiad tradition, calling the audience to be wary of the latter. Why do they do this? Because "a golden calf" still gives its light ("Neon Bible") and the "lions and the lambs ain't sleeping yet" ("The Well And The Lighthouse"). Cobb continues: