Coyne back-pedals on ArcadeFire

Mon 4th May, 2009 in International News

When The Flaming Lips band leader Wayne Coyne got stuck into Arcade Fire last month, his criticisms spread far and wide. Now it seems the Splendour headliner-to-be wishes to retract his harsh words (here’s a reminder: “They have good tunes, but they’re pricks, so fuck – œem”). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Coyne back-tracks in a not altogether convincing way.

“I didn’t necessarily mean it about the people in the Arcade Fire,” he explains. “I meant it about the guys that were running their stages at a couple of festivals. I wish whatever had been said wouldn’t have been taken as such a defiant statement from the Flaming Lips.”

The interviewer then asks if Coyne would like to apologise. “I would. I really feel bad about it. I like enough of their music. The idea that I’m somehow against them…I’m not!”

The Flaming Lips have been in the news quite a bit recently, with a triumphant headline performance at Earth Day in Washington and victory in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Roll on July.