Arcade Fire debuted new song 'Generation A' during U.S. election night
CBC Music | Posted: November 4, 2020 2:06 PM | Last Updated: November 4, 2020
The band performed its first new song since 2017 on Stephen Colbert's Democracy's Last Stand special
"This is Generation A, and we're not gonna wait!"
A young kid screamed into his mic as Arcade Fire kicked off its brand new song, "Generation A," during Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020: Democracy's Last Stand special on Nov. 3, while poll numbers streamed in during the U.S. election.
Band members Win Butler, Régine Chassagne, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, William Butler and Jeremy Gara all performed from a studio together, with everyone but lead singer Win wearing a mask or neck gaiter. It's the first new music the band has released since its 2017 album, Everything Now (aside from a "Baby Mine" cover for the Dumbo soundtrack in 2019).
"Inspired by the current climate of the country, with a hopeful message to the youths," as Colbert said in his own intro, "Generation A" is a powerful song aimed at the generation that will inherit what is currently being sowed:
They say wait until you're ready.
Wait until your number's called.
They say wait, all we need is love.
But California's burning,
New Orleans is waiting for the flood.
Wait until your number's called.
They say wait, all we need is love.
But California's burning,
New Orleans is waiting for the flood.
The chorus — "I can't wait/ I can't wait/ too little, too late" — is a cathartic listen this morning, when most of the world is literally waiting for the election results to come through.
The band also made an election-day playlist, if you're looking for more music for your day: