For a while now, I have been trying to figure out The Suburbs by the Arcade Fire (ever since it came out, really). I was going to my aunt's house Friday for dinner while listening to this album, and it hit me. This album is made for driving (and not just because it has a car in the album art). It's really hard to explain what makes an album good driving music, but The Suburbs has become one of my favorite albums to listen to as I make across town excursions. The fairly crowded highway gives you a sense of entrapment, but also of freedom when you weave in and out of cars as you go slightly faster than everyone else. Who doesn't want to push the gas pedal down a little bit further as the piano intro of "We Used to Wait" plays through the car stereo? Also, it's nearly impossible to not immediately sing along embarrassingly but with a smile on your face to "The Suburbs," "Modern Man," and "Suburban War" as soon as they start playing. Most of the album is filled with songs like those three--loud, fast songs that will get you to push your car as it takes curves too fast for comfort. There are some slower songs like "Half Light 1" and "Sprawl 1" that remind us that we can take things slow as well if that's how we want to do things. Overall, the slightly raw guitar on the album, notably, "Month of May,"gives the impression of the raw power and freedom that is also obtained through the power of a car and freedom of a license. This album is meant for driving from the town to suburbs or vice versa. I'm not sure how it would fare on road trips, but for commuting or a more fitting drive would be from Dallas to Fort Worth, it's perfect. You need to have those other cars there to remind you of the big city life and also the speed that comes on highways that aren't congested with rush hour traffic. So next time you make that 20 or 30 minute drive into or out of the city, put on this album and just drive.
-sidenotes- The first album I loved as a "driving album" was You Could Have It So Much Better With Franz Ferdinand by Franz Ferdinand. It makes for quite the driving experience. Check it out....WTF! When looking up the iTunes album for The Suburbs, I realized I have a different version of The Suburbs. I don't know how or why... I just know that "Modern Man" and "Sprawl II" are different, maybe others too. I like the non-iTunes versions better.
exquisite video showing a performance
I love this post so much! I too agree that driving with this song is perfect. On a cerebral level, the whole concept of the Suburbs in this album works with the congestion of traffic. But when you break free of that it's like you just made your own escape from the Sprawl and the malls and such. I listened to this album on a road trip from Billings, MT to Seattle WA, and it was incredible to include it in the playlist.
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