One of the most bizarre rock feuds in recent times has ended, with Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne apologising to Arcade Fire.
Two of North America’s most acclaimed groups, The Flaming Lips and Arcade Fire share a love of the grandiose. Both are stunning live acts, and a joint tour some time ago is widely hailed as being a masterclass in how to blow minds and melt ears.
However it seems that Wayne Coyne was less than happy with the tour. In an interview with Rolling Stone the singer claimed that Arcade Fire are “pricks, so fuck ’em.” The lengthy rant saw Coyne lay into the group, who he claimed behaved badly on the tour.
Arcade Fire were obviously shocked. Responding with a level headed statement frontman Win Butler claimed that the two groups barely crossed paths on the tour due to scheduling difficulties. However he did say “I hope I was less of a ‘prick’ than telling Rolling Stone that a bunch of people I don’t know at all are really assholes.”
The argument between two undeniable heavyweights of modern rock music caught the public’s imagination, pitting two hugely popular acts against one another. Plus Coyne’s rant was really funny.
Sadly it seems to be all over. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly Wayne Coyne claimed he wished the incident “never happened”.
“I didn’t necessarily mean it about the people in the Arcade Fire. I meant it about the guys that were running their stages at a couple of festivals. I wish whatever had been said wouldn’t have been taken as such a defiant statement from the Flaming Lips, because it wasn’t…I really feel bad about it. I like enough of their music. The idea that I’m somehow against them…I’m not!”
However in his original rant against Arcade Fire the singer claimed that “whenever I’ve been around them, I’ve found that they not only treated their crew like shit, they treated the audience like shit.”
Arcade Fire have yet to respond to the new statement, so we presume the row is over. Which is a shame, as in some ways…
