Flashbulb Eyes

This meditation on the dangers of a high public profile features Calypso-type Ska guitar, Dubby downbeats and steel drums. It was penned during a trip that Arcade Fire took to Jamaica with producer Markus Dravs where the band wrote and recorded in an abandoned castle, named Trident. Win Butler recalled to Rolling Stone: "The castle was built in 1979, or something, by this eccentric Jamaican dude who just wanted to hang out with royalty. And it kind of worked. After about five years he couldn't afford to pay the bill, so it had been sitting empty for many years. I met a dude who was planning on turning it into a hotel, so we just rented it off him for cheap and there was nothing in there. We brought in some beds and a piano and some gear."

This song has been widely interpreted as a Rock Star complaining about being photographed. "I don't feel bad if Régine and I are in a restaurant and someone asks for a photo and I say 'no,'" Win Butler told Mojo magazine. "I don't feel a celebrity responsibility to not be a human. I talk to them: 'Nice to meet you.'. Sometimes I come across as a little intense to people, and it's just trying to preserve a genuine relationship, for myself."