Bear with us: Grammy-winning outfit Arcade Fire is led by very tall person Win Butler, raised a conservative Mormon in a family that famously included 1920s to 1950s bandleader Alvino Rey.

Alvino Rey is Win Butler's grandfather. Rey is also known as the “father of the pedal steel guitar,” having pioneered the use of the now-famous country music instrument (which would make Win Butler “the nephew of the pedal steel guitar,” right?).

Alvino Rey is also known in selected circles (Boing Boing dug up a version of this clip a couple of years ago but the link is broken) as the man responsible for “Stringy,” a truly terrifying anthropomorphic guitar puppet that “sang” in electronic tones with his band.

Who knew Arcade Fire's earnest PC hymns spawned from such a bizarre musical background. Hey Win, any chance of getting Stringy to duet with Regine?

Watch and shudder:

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