What the Arcade Fire baby means for us all

Arcade Fire co-founders’ Win Butler and Régine Chassagne’s baby heralds the beginning of a new era for our province, Erik Leijon writes.


A baby will soon emerge from the woman on the left, photo via Flickr

This space was originally reserved for more outrage concerning last week’s nonsense regarding the OQLF going to fancy restaurants only to whine about the menus — and yeah, maybe we’ll pick up the conversation again, when baklava and tacos enter their crosshairs — but this past Saturday our bleak city was suddenly given a reason to hope again: a charmed baby shall soon be born, to rule us all and usher us into a new era of togetherness and prosperity.

And no, I’m not referring to Will and Kate in this instance (although I wish their baby nothing but the best), but Montreal’s true royal family, the Arcade Fire. The band hosted a fundraiser for Haiti on Saturday, and lo and behold, band co-founder Régine Chassagne was said to be sporting an undeniable baby bump. Win, you dawg.

With the OQLF rearing their ugly, balding heads once again (anyone remember coaster-gate from back in the day?), it’s been a rough week around here for believing in the good of humanity, so this incoming Butler baby comes as a potentially momentous, rallying occasion. The multi-ethnic, fluently bilingual, musically inclined offspring with mad b-ball skillz might very well be the perfect future leader of our province, one who although born into indie rock royalty will be brought up with a strong sense of charity and community.

Blue Ivy Butler (reckon that won’t be the name) has a golden opportunity here to use his or her fame in a way no other famous Montreal child ever has. The kid won’t be born along old anglo-franco lines, but in the larger cosmopolitan grey area our politicians always seem to ignore. So don’t shirk your responsibilities, wee Butler. Embrace your role as protector of all us sinners. ■

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