Arcade Fire wins Grammy for album of the year

By Steven Hyden | February 14, 2011 | 4:51am

Aux Features Newswire

Who cares about the Grammys? It’s probably the least respected of all the major entertainment awards—which means it’s in the running for least respected institution anywhere—and yet a lot of people are going to be attaching a lot of significance to Arcade Fire winning album of the year honors for The Suburbs Sunday night. You read that right: Arcade Fire prevailed over the likes of Eminem (who took home two awards, including best rap album, out of 10 nominations) and country group Lady Antebellum (winners for song and record of the year for “Need You Now”) for the most prestigious Grammy of them all.

Does this signify the full-scale “arrival” of indie rock at the center of mainstream music? Has Arcade Fire officially taken over the mantle as this generation’s defining rock band? Does this mean that “we” won? Be prepared to read all kinds of ruminations on these questions and many more in the days ahead. In the meantime, you can check out the full list of Grammy winners as well as our in-depth TV Club report.