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.
This last song in the "Neighborhood" cycle apparently concludes when the album was released, in 2004 and addresses the frustration that many contemporary Westerners feel with the the unresponsiveness of governmental powers to the impending crises that threaten to destroy our world: "Well, I closed my eyes and nothing changed,/Just some water getting hotter in the flames." The singer recognizes that soon he, too, will become the "last generation," and the decision-making power will be in the hands of his descendants, the "unborn children" who cover his eyes. Nonetheless, he is still very much emotionally involved in the outcome of his generation's decisions for them ("my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids").
Perhaps the most overtly political song of the cycle, "Neighborhood #4" criticizes the contemporary rebirth of Christian fundamentalism and the warmongering of the U.S. government in lines like "the neighbors are starting up a fire,/Burning all the old folks, the witches, and the liars." It also touches on the environmental crisis ("You can't raise a baby on motor oil") and more directly alludes to the isolation that has continued to define the lives of the kids who came of age in "Neighborhood #3," during the birth of the Internet age. It's not romance that will fill this emptiness and it's not religion, it's the community and humanistic values that have been sacrificed for economic and political advancement: "But there's some spirit I used to know/That's been drowned out by the radio!"
Together, the four "Neighborhood" songs represent a cautionary retelling of the twentieth century and a bleak vision of the twenty-first.
Please see my comments on the other "Neighborhood" songs for more details on how this song cycle makes a sociopolitical statement.
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.
This last song in the "Neighborhood" cycle apparently concludes when the album was released, in 2004 and addresses the frustration that many contemporary Westerners feel with the the unresponsiveness of governmental powers to the impending crises that threaten to destroy our world: "Well, I closed my eyes and nothing changed,/Just some water getting hotter in the flames." The singer recognizes that soon he, too, will become the "last generation," and the decision-making power will be in the hands of his descendants, the "unborn children" who cover his eyes. Nonetheless, he is still very much emotionally involved in the outcome of his generation's decisions for them ("my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids").
Perhaps the most overtly political song of the cycle, "Neighborhood #4" criticizes the contemporary rebirth of Christian fundamentalism and the warmongering of the U.S. government in lines like "the neighbors are starting up a fire,/Burning all the old folks, the witches, and the liars." It also touches on the environmental crisis ("You can't raise a baby on motor oil") and more directly alludes to the isolation that has continued to define the lives of the kids who came of age in "Neighborhood #3," during the birth of the Internet age. It's not romance that will fill this emptiness and it's not religion, it's the community and humanistic values that have been sacrificed for economic and political advancement: "But there's some spirit I used to know/That's been drowned out by the radio!"
Together, the four "Neighborhood" songs represent a cautionary retelling of the twentieth century and a bleak vision of the twenty-first.
Please see my comments on the other "Neighborhood" songs for more details on how this song cycle makes a sociopolitical statement.
applause
applause
Excellent!
Excellent!