It's common knowledge that Arcade Fire named the album on which this song appears Funeral because they had lost several close relations during the recording. But I think those losses sparked a more general contemplation of the contribution of the older generations and how they both affected and were affected by the passage of time in the twentieth century. The Arcade Fire often uses their music to make sociopolitical statements, and nowhere is this more evident than in the "Neighborhood" series, in which each song seems to reference a different time period in modern history.
In this light, "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is set in the North American economic boom of the '80s and '90s. Lots of people have noted that there was a blizzard in '98 that may have inspired this song, and it's an interesting coincidence that the end of the '90s was also the culmination of years of economic prosperity and the beginning of a downward turn in the stock market and, more broadly, in the fortunes of the Western world.
This downturn happened suddenly and was a surprise to the generation just coming of age, who awoke to adulthood to find that the steady current of prosperity that had been feeding their parents' lifestyles had been cut off, much like an unexpected power outage. Due to the depressing economic and political climates, many young people felt disillusioned, their aspirations blocked ("Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans").
The Golden Age at the end of the millennium was also a time during which the nuclear family came under intense scrutiny. "Latch-key kids" and "children of divorce" were said to be the fallout of families stressed by parents who worked too much and parented too little. The song refers to these kids who have been sacrificed on the economic altar as "swinging from the power lines" because "nobody's home, nobody minds." The parents are powerless, a cool, distant presence in the lives of their children as they come of age ("Ice has covered up my parents' hands").
In a more general sense, "Neighborhood #3" addresses the growing alienation in the increasingly wired, media-driven time period that saw the death of the extended family and the freezing out of neighborhood communities. As we've become more numb to the world around us ("the power's out in the heart of man"), it's become harder for us to derive any real contentment or satisfaction in our lives ("nobody's cold, nobody's warm"), and the song even mocks our desperate search for meaning in mainstays like Christian fundamentalism at the turn of the century. It DID seem that around every corner, someone had "found the light," either spiritually or technologically, but in the age of relativism, there was (and is) no truth to be found.
The end result, Arcade Fire laments, is that kids of the millennial generation have gotten the short end of the deal, cut adrift in the cold by a heartless society. The song ends with the poignant line, "Where did you go?", which could either be a deservedly accusatory question from these kids to the society that abandoned them or a haunting elegy for this "lost" young generation.
Please see my comments on the other "Neighborhood" songs for more details on how this song cycle makes a sociopolitical statement.
I will say, though, that I think that this neighborhood started well before late 90s.
I will say, though, that I think that this neighborhood started well before late 90s.
I was born in 1980, and this part really hits me:
Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans
Growing up in some strange storm
Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I was born in 1980, and this part really hits me:
Ice has covered up my parents' hands
Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans
Growing up in some strange storm
Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I think the parents with icy hands, no dreams, no plans, who grew up in a strange storm where no one was cold or warm are… the baby boomers who grew up during the Cold War.
I think the parents with icy hands, no dreams, no plans, who grew up in a strange storm where no one was cold or warm are… the baby boomers who grew up during the Cold War.
It's common knowledge that Arcade Fire named the album on which this song appears Funeral because they had lost several close relations during the recording. But I think those losses sparked a more general contemplation of the contribution of the older generations and how they both affected and were affected by the passage of time in the twentieth century. The Arcade Fire often uses their music to make sociopolitical statements, and nowhere is this more evident than in the "Neighborhood" series, in which each song seems to reference a different time period in modern history.
In this light, "Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)" is set in the North American economic boom of the '80s and '90s. Lots of people have noted that there was a blizzard in '98 that may have inspired this song, and it's an interesting coincidence that the end of the '90s was also the culmination of years of economic prosperity and the beginning of a downward turn in the stock market and, more broadly, in the fortunes of the Western world.
This downturn happened suddenly and was a surprise to the generation just coming of age, who awoke to adulthood to find that the steady current of prosperity that had been feeding their parents' lifestyles had been cut off, much like an unexpected power outage. Due to the depressing economic and political climates, many young people felt disillusioned, their aspirations blocked ("Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans").
The Golden Age at the end of the millennium was also a time during which the nuclear family came under intense scrutiny. "Latch-key kids" and "children of divorce" were said to be the fallout of families stressed by parents who worked too much and parented too little. The song refers to these kids who have been sacrificed on the economic altar as "swinging from the power lines" because "nobody's home, nobody minds." The parents are powerless, a cool, distant presence in the lives of their children as they come of age ("Ice has covered up my parents' hands").
In a more general sense, "Neighborhood #3" addresses the growing alienation in the increasingly wired, media-driven time period that saw the death of the extended family and the freezing out of neighborhood communities. As we've become more numb to the world around us ("the power's out in the heart of man"), it's become harder for us to derive any real contentment or satisfaction in our lives ("nobody's cold, nobody's warm"), and the song even mocks our desperate search for meaning in mainstays like Christian fundamentalism at the turn of the century. It DID seem that around every corner, someone had "found the light," either spiritually or technologically, but in the age of relativism, there was (and is) no truth to be found.
The end result, Arcade Fire laments, is that kids of the millennial generation have gotten the short end of the deal, cut adrift in the cold by a heartless society. The song ends with the poignant line, "Where did you go?", which could either be a deservedly accusatory question from these kids to the society that abandoned them or a haunting elegy for this "lost" young generation.
Please see my comments on the other "Neighborhood" songs for more details on how this song cycle makes a sociopolitical statement.
Excellent!
Excellent!
I will say, though, that I think that this neighborhood started well before late 90s.
I will say, though, that I think that this neighborhood started well before late 90s.
I was born in 1980, and this part really hits me: Ice has covered up my parents' hands Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans Growing up in some strange storm Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I was born in 1980, and this part really hits me: Ice has covered up my parents' hands Don't have any dreams, don't have any plans Growing up in some strange storm Nobody's cold, nobody's warm
I think the parents with icy hands, no dreams, no plans, who grew up in a strange storm where no one was cold or warm are… the baby boomers who grew up during the Cold War.
I think the parents with icy hands, no dreams, no plans, who grew up in a strange storm where no one was cold or warm are… the baby boomers who grew up during the Cold War.