Neighborhood 3 (Power Out)

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"Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)"

Single by The Arcade Fire
from the album Funeral
Released	2005-05-23
Format	7″, CD
Recorded	August 2003 – early 2004 at the Hotel2Tango
Genre	Indie, Alternative
Length	5:12
Label	Rough Trade Records
Producer(s)	The Arcade Fire
Chart positions
#26 (UK Singles Chart)^[1]
The Arcade Fire singles chronology
“Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)” (2005)	“Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” (2005)	“Rebellion (Lies)” (2005)

The correct title of this article is Neighborhood #3 (Power Out). The substitution or omission of a # sign is because of technical restrictions.

This article is about the Arcade Fire single. For the technical term, see Power outage.

“Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” (or simply “Power Out”) is an alternative rock song by Canadian rock band The Arcade Fire. It was the third single released from the band’s debut album, Funeral.

The single was released on 2005-05-23 on the Rough Trade Records record label. The single peaked at #26 on the UK Singles Chart, and remained on the chart for two weeks.^[1] The Arcade Fire won the 2006 Juno Award for “Songwriter of the Year” for “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)”, along with two other tracks from Funeral, and the song’s music video was nominated “Video of the Year”.^[2]

1 Background
2 Video
3 Track listings
- 3.1 White 7″ (Grey Cover)
- 3.2 Black 7″ (Green Cover)
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Background

The song was written by singer Win Butler and his wife Régine Chassagne. The song’s lyrics take place in Montreal during the North American ice storm of 1998, which left the city in darkness for over a week.^[3] Chassagne was living in Montreal at the time, and her experience gave the two the initial inspiration to write the song.

The lyrics are mostly metaphorical and ambiguous, which has led to speculation as to what message they convey. The lyrics are dark (“Kids are dying out in the snow”) and have a theme of hopelessness (“Don’t have any dreams / Don’t have any plans”).^[4] Butler acknowledges that the two used the outage “as a basis to start from, to talk about other stuff,”^[5] and so there are many ideas addressed in the song.

Despite the pessimistic atmosphere, Butler has indicated that there are “two sides” to the lyrics, and it can be interpreted as “uplifting”^[6], noting the lyrics “There’s something wrong in the heart of man / Take it from your heart / Put it in your hand”^[4]. “If there’s something fucked up in your heart, you’re going to put it in your hand as a sword,” says Butler.^[6]

The lyrics also refer to Butler’s idea that it is impossible to completely hide one’s secrets. “A lot of people have [the idea] that there are aspects of your life that are hidden or secret … But I think that people are pretty much open book.” He adds that the song can be interpreted politically, as current political figures have been accused of acting with hidden motives.^[5].

[edit] Video

A 3D computer-animated music video was produced for “Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)” by Plates Animation, who also produced the animated video for The Shins’ “So Says I”.^[7] The video depicts several youths wearing hooded jackets cutting the power lines to a snowy 1920s steampunk city, while several old men chase them.^[8]

[edit] Track listings

[edit] White 7″ (Grey Cover)

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) [August Session]

[edit] Black 7″ (Green Cover)

Neighborhood #3 (Power Out) Live from the Great American Music Hall.
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) featuring Davide Byrne Live from Irving Plaza NYC