Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)

The correct title of this article is Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels). The substitution of the # is due to technical restrictions.

"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" is a song by Canadian rock band Arcade Fire, and the first track on their debut album Funeral. It is the first of the four-part "Neighborhood" series found on Funeral. It was the band's first single, released several months before the album as a 7" vinyl record on June 20, 2004, to a pressing of 1500 copies. The B-side to the album is a recording of the song "My Buddy" by swing musician Alvino Rey. Rey is the maternal grandfather of Arcade Fire members Win and William Butler.^[2]

"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)"
Single by Arcade Fire
from the album Funeral
B-side	"My Buddy"
Released	June 20, 2004
Recorded	August 2003 – early 2004
Studio	Hotel2Tango (Montreal, Quebec)
Genre	Indie rock[1] alternative rock[1]
Length	4:48
Label	Merge
Songwriter(s)	Will Butler Win Butler Régine Chassagne Josh Deu Tim Kingsbury Richard Reed Parry
Producer(s)	Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire singles chronology
"Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" (2004) "Neighborhood #2 (Laïka)" (2005)

Arcade Fire re-issued the single on November 29, 2019 as part of Record Store Day's Black Friday event.^[3] The song was covered by the musician Ane Brun for her deluxe version of her album It All Starts With One in 2012.^[4]

Background and composition

According to Win Butler of the band, the guitar part was accidentally recorded with a microphone meant for vocals on the other side of the recording room instead of the intended guitar microphone. This take was kept on the final version.^[5] Critics described the song as "a sumptuously theatrical opener" with strings, an organ and a piano.^[6] The lyrics describe "grieving against a town buried in snow", with a young man who escapes his neighborhood to meet his girlfriend in the town square to plan their future as grown-ups.^[7][6]

Critical reception

In August 2009, the song was named #10 on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s".^[8] In a 2012 Beats Per Minute article on The Essential Arcade Fire, it was named the band's most essential track by writer Lucien Flores.^[9] Flores writes, "'Tunnels' has all the elements of a great Arcade Fire song: a head-bobbing rhythm section, lyrics that harken back to an imperfect past, a seamless blend of instruments, and a cathartic coda."

Track listing

7" single

1. "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" - 4:48
2. "My Buddy" (Alvino Rey Orchestra, live radio broadcast, 1940) - 2:32

Personnel

Arcade Fire

• Win Butler - vocals, electric guitar
• Regine Chassagne - backing vocals, drums
• Richard Reed Parry - piano, backing vocals, organ, engineer, recording
• Tim Kingsbury - bass, backing vocals
• Howard Bilerman - electric guitar, engineer, recording
• Will Butler - percussion, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Sarah Neufeld – violin, string arrangements
• Owen Pallett – violin, string arrangements
• Michael Olsen – cello
• Pietro Amato – horn
• Anita Fust – harp