Rollingstone.com eagerly reported yesterday that in a casual chat with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne, one of their reporters found himself witnessing some unexpected vitriol aimed at Arcade Fire frontman (and Amish fashion plate) Win Butler. Quoth Mr. Coyne: "We've played some shows with them and they really treat people like shit. Whenever I've been around them, I've found that they not only treated their crew like shit, they treated the audience like shit."
That's pretty hardcore, especially from a guy with a reputation for being incredibly nice. (That'd be Coyne.) Butler, being the overserious sort, responded on his band's own website rather than engage with Rolling Stone. (Click "Win's scrapbook.") Butler does make some good points, particularly that it's kind of a dick move to tell Rolling Stone that a bunch of people you've met once treat their fans like shit.
So I'm declaring this indie-rock slap fight a draw. Gentlemen, back to your contrived stage outfits!
