Wake Up! Today Is The Greatest Day Of Your Indie-Rock Existence!

A note to our readers joining us so early in the morning: Good morning! And also: Just what the hell do you think you’re doing?

Don’t you know what day it is? No? Well, then, put down your Klonopin Karrier™ and roll over your desktop calendar, as today is March 6th–a date that should be emblazoned on your brain and tattooed on your inner thigh. For not only is it the joint birthday of both Tom Arnold and Shaquille O’Neal (you can send one card, they don’t mind sharing), but it’s also the release date of the Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible, which is only the most important record of the year coming out this month.

That’s right. After months of playing coy with all of those leaks and streams and SendSpace files, you will now be faced with a mass-distributed, legally obtainable copy of Neon Bible. Which can only mean one thing: You will have to form your own opinion about it. Will you go the non-questioning devotee route, testifying to the album’s greatness, all the while secretly wishing the band had maybe cut down on the Springsteen shtick just a little? Or will you be a naysaying contrarian, dismissing the album and its fans, even as you listen to the newly recorded version of “No Cars Go” at the gym?

Or will you do something crazy, like giving the album a few listens before rendering an instant verdict, and maybe judging it on its own merits? (Have fun with that, killjoy.)

So enjoy your day of Canadian multi-instrumentalistsness. We’ll provide periodic updates and news flashes throughout the morning and afternoon, helping you celebrate what is looking to be, all hyperbole aside, the most wondrous day of your entire life. That is, until the new Wilco record comes out.

[Photo: New York Times]