“Ready to Start” :: Arcade Fire
from the album, The Suburbs (2010)

“If I was scared,
I would.
And if I was bored,
you know I would.
And if I was yours,
well, I’m not.“

About the Song:

“Ready to Start” is track two of Arcade Fire’s third studio album, The Suburbs. The album was released in August, of 2010. The album debuted at #1 on the Irish Albums Chart, the UK Albums Chart, the US Billboard 200 chart, and the Canadian Albums Chart.

The Suburbs won “Album of the Year” at the 2011 Grammy Awards, “Best International Album” at the 2011 BRIT Awards, “Album of the Year” at the 2011 Juno Awards, and the 2011 Polaris Music Prize for best Canadian album.

“Ready to Start” was released as a single on October 3, 2010. The band performed the song as their second performance at the 53rd Grammy Awards, immediately following The Suburbs winning “Album of the Year”.

The band also performed the song at the Brit Awards days after the Grammy Awards.

The song peaked at #67 on the UK Singles Chart, the band’s highest placement since “Keep the Car Running”. “Ready to Start” also peaked at #16 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, in the U.S., the band’s highest ever placement on that chart.

Additionally, the single peaked at #25 on the Billboard Rock Songs chart, and in the band’s native Canada it reached #49.

My Thoughts:

This song is chill-inducing to me. One of those songs that you turn up and let wash over you, emotions kicking in to overdrive, and sometimes it is my tears that accompany. There is a sense of revolt in the song, but there is also an undercurrent of insecurity, of loss, and of wanting more.

The dynamics of a break-up, of heartache, of losing someone are all present and accounted for. There is also that simmering strength that comes after a fall, if you allow it, if you grab a hard hold of it and survive.

“Ready to Start” (live) :: Arcade Fire