its a metaphor for life. They are all institutionalized as they grow older. Blonde Kid is literally institutionalized in the army or what not and the Brow hair kid who got beat up was figuratively instituionalized, by being or being forced to work at a fast food place, a dingy job.
This video haunts me, but makes me so happy. It tickles my stomach, but in a way it frightens me. But it's nothing less than beauty. I really want to see the film :)
What? Why? How? I saw this at Hurricane 2011, but I didn't catch the military scenes, at the festival it was simply nostalgic beauty. All this drama confuses me now. What exactly is that short film and how does it play into the song?
@kevinsmellls holy shit thats exactly what ive always thought, this song reminds me so much of 1979. Arcade Fire and the Pumpkins are my favorite bands
I think the song and video perfectly captures the loss of childhood to adultship. Here are 5 best friends living in the burbs just being kids while overlooking the fence is the world of adulthood. The troops recruit the two boys to become adults and start work. One ends up mopping floors, and the other with the girlfriend resents him for it. At the end he beats the shit out of him because he knows them going off to work and becoming adults is the end of their childhood and their friendship.
Isn't this just about the fact that people are protected by armies abroad. To prevent 'terrorists' to be a threath to their liberty. But when this protection is right here next to you instead in a far away country, this is what you get. All the rest is just play.
In other words. You can support to fight a war in a far away country, because it won't really bother you. If it is fought in your neighbourhood: you'll think again.
I think the song and the short film don't match exactly- more an 'inspired by' so there is no way to match every lyric! but i had the overwhelming feeling that it was really about stolen youth in the video. Maybe the military/anger/ jobs are adulthood as it encroaches in on the sweetness of youth. More than a hair cut as previous posts assert I thought the kids looked older. You can hide from age but it gets you and beats the shit out of you every time.
@MrGuarf i got it, i downloaded with realplayer and converted 4 my ipod by it, try it, but i got another converter in case realplayer don´t, ( mine is free version ). it´s flv.com flv converter, in case ad me and i´ll send u
song and video seems to be telling the same story. but they are not ! Editor did fit words of the lyrics with frames, therefore some people think this is a great video. some get confused by lack of details in the video. IMO "meanings" of the video deffer greatly from the meaning of the lyrics. "eatsoap" interpreted a part of the video well.
@stapelchipsable My theory: The blond haired kid and the girl are a couple, obviously. But he got drafted into the military, or went through some other type of institutionalization, hence the hair cut. (The military usually requires soldiers to cut their hair.) The darker haired kid got beaten up because he either:
A) snitched on the blond haired kid,
B) didn't get drafted, so the blond kid resents him for that, or
@Loner4Life I think you're right on theory A, I've already seen someone suggest that on Vimeo and I can understand it from when the two are waiting in their homes to see if they get raided.
Close to theory #2, I think both were drafted(3:44 both taken away by the military) and the redhead got out of service b/c family obligations(3:08 caring for his little brother/sister, also only one with a job)
.
The blond tells himself that the redhead is a coward for not serving and became angry.
In the end the blond comes to term with the fact that he is just scared and angry at the system and not his friend.
@Loner4Life They are playing in the ruins of the suburbs in the vacant houses etc. I think that the kid that got beaten up did snitch in some kind of deal to get immunity for something like that as it seems to be the plan of the military and government to turn us against one another to divide and conquer.
@bushgg12 Well a few months after I wrote that comment, I eventually saw the full length film. It's about half an hour long. Really interesting. I won't spoil it for you, but most of my theories were wrong.
This music video is confusing but we all like it cause what is happening. Marshall law where the government send army to portal us not police men anymore is gonna happen one of these days wether u believe it or not
The best song of 2011 so far!! What a line.....I want a daughter while I'm still young, I wanna hold her hand, show her some beauty before this damage is done! Very powerful lyrics.
I don't really understand it, but I think the fight at the end is a fake fight. The video features play fights earlier on. The guy is still conscious and only suffers a bruise and a cut. Then the guy destroys some property. Maybe he did it to get out of military service?
The video is about Class Warfare, it uses the Suburban myth or fear, to make its point. They live in a gated community, surrounded by walls. They are trying to keep people from coming in (Poor People), but when walls and a neighborhood watch don't work, a fascist-militarized order is needed to hunt down and root out all dissenters. I think that's what happened, the guy with the crew cut is the girls boyfriend, he had his hair zipped and ready for military service, his brother rated him out.
very moving. I think that it kinda shows how sheltered and innocent you are from violence when living in the suburbs. Violence is fun (toy guns), but that all changes when you see the true terror of violence (militairy)...i think the hypotheses about the girl cheating on the drafted kid are true.
you're not supposed to take it so literally... stop trying to analyze the crap out of something that isn't meant to be thought about so hard. if anything, its just meant to show how different and molevolent the real world is from the innocent and isolated suburbs many of us grew up in.
they do not show what happens in between the two boys being friends and then enemies because they want to show how convertible the situation is to all friendships - SOMETHING happens, and it tears people apart
This is a shot in the dark and maybe a little crazy, but I think this is set in a fictional setting where there is a domestic war. and eventually the military comes for the kids and drafts them into fighting. And this where my imagination starts to run.... I think that the boy working didn't get drafted for some reason and ended up being with the other kid's girl while he was away fighting.
@stormtroopavk81 T emilitary is recruiting, the one boy is too young. While the other is away at war, the girl and the boy who was not recruited have a 'thing." The other boy gets mad and beats him up. Its shot out of sequence so its hard to understand.
So later they see police in their house(It wasnt the same day they are wearing different clothes when its dark out)So they go home watching it all. They had found drugs in their house and made those 2 guys at 3:32 come outside to check if they were doing drugs.When they found out the guy with the longer hair did the guy with the longer hair looked mad at the other guy.The guy with the longer hair was sent to the navy and mad at the other guy for getting him caught So later he beats him up
Ok so this is what I think the video means. They were once all friends as shown in the beginning. Weren't doing anything bad. Instead watching other things happen around them standing on the opposite side like it says in the lyrics (They were watching The black smoke) Then slowly they started doing worse things (Shooting ppl with BB guns) But they are still all friends. They arent doing REALLY bad things yet because they were smiling at the police and the police were smiling at them.
Had the greatest time of my life; trying new drugs, partying, girls, vandalizing, fights.
Too bad my friends became hooked into crank. Last I heard of them was that one died overdosing, the other in a lab fire, some in prison, and some already having kids.
This video reminds me of when I was six, I would hang out with the kids who were 16-19 who would do shit exactly like those kids an I would hide all their drugs on me cuz no one suspects a little girl lol. It was a really fun time until the two guys got sent to prison and the last guys (17 yr. Old) started to like me a little too much.... And then the two who were in prison beat the shit outa the boy who like me too much (if uu kno what I mean) for doing that to me and we were all never the sam
Boy A is worried about Boy B ratting him out for Boy B's own sake (3:34). Boy B probably rats him out anyways, and Boy A probably spends longer in prison than Boy B. When Boy A gets out of prison, he realizes Boy A has been porking his girl. Boy A confronts Girl A, and she admits her affair (4:06). Girl A feels guilty for giving up Boy B (4:40). Boy A beats the shit out of Boy B.
Arcade Fires albums are great. This might be my favorite song off the album too. Amazing feel, when it gets into the hook. Wow.
Check out “Shy,” the new song from my sister Lisa Tucker (American Idol Top 10 Finalist, BET’s The Game, Nickelodeons Zoey 101) through Lisa’sLullaby channel! Be the first to hear it!
Ok so I am loving this song my new fav song I am just wondering if anyone knows what the music video is about I kind of have a feeling on whats it about but I am not sure
I think this video is about a group of friends who grew up together. I think there being effected by the war and the guy with the girlfriend is forced to join. Maybe he thinks his friend was having an affair with his girlfriend and thats why he beat the shit outta him. Idk this is just a guess-probably wrong but I enjoyed the vid
@Trolloololol I like this the best out of everyone elses because it's simply closest to what i think it's about..I want to belive it's the war and it's armageddon
Its a Cain and Abel story. The Smaller boy, the not blonde one did something unforgivable to the Blonde one, probably sold him out as the one who was shooting at the other side of the fence and starting the war. Blondie got recruited and forced to join the millitary (hence the millitaryesque haircut) while the not blonde one got with the Blonde's girlfriend and lived a relatively peaceful life. Then the Blonde gets out, tries to kill him, but can't because of the friendship, and somehow forgives
in interviews i read that they (Butlers) grew up near Houston and the whole album is referencing to this issue... whatever, i think it's universal, in some part.
I've been watching this video for days now, and it blows me away every single time. I guess the purpose of the short film is to show some of suburb life and the sensations of growing up and everything that we lose. And here is my guess: both guys were arrested and, somehow, it was cafeteria's boy fault, the blond one (the guy with the girl) lost precious time with people he loves, and got mad with his friend. They were not friends anymore. The suburbs still the same.
I think this video is taking place in a slightly altered Anytown,USA.Where suburban neighborhoods have become warring city states.I think thats why the kids all have toy guns emulating the soldiers they have grown up with.In the final sequence I think the slightly taller,stronger boy gets picked to join the local military force and this will take him away from all he loves.Being they were caught at the same time he blames his friend and decides to kill him.Thankfully he does not.
Yes I agree, the video is highlighting the socio-structuralism in post-modern day society. A concept explored by French writer Roland Barthes in the 50's-60's. How the bourgeoisie made toys to prepare society as a whole, for roles within its structure, boys with toy guns to emulate soldiers, and toy ovens to teach women how to conform to the role of housewife.
the whole video deals with the fact that your child- and youthhood are limited.
soon you will be grown up, getting a job & wife, forgetting about the soft happiness of the time you were young or wishing you could get back to the time. the soldiers pulling away the kids (who are nearly at the end of the childhood) are a sight for the socity telling "stop being a kid, now you have to be a man".
the assbeating in the burger shop are the two different persons of the boy now/future
A complete rejection of suburbia, it tries to be visionary in its foretelling of a war looming; the end product of class warfare -- actual war itself. Almost as if the singer himself grew up in that suburban world, and rejected conformity as a whole. Listening to the lyrics, I thought of a similar statement; the movie American Beauty.
I read somehwere that sometimes movies don't make practical sense, but they make emotional sense. Even if everyone can't agree what the video means, I think everybody can react to the video emotionally in the same sort of way.
Well this started off very pleasant, became surprisingly ominous and escalated into fortuitous violence... so not that surprising coming from the guy who adapted Where the Wild Things Are.
this video is effective because it plays into the fears of every liberal who ever sat at a computer at some point in the past 10 years and read about all these horrible things that the fascist bush administration would supposedly lead to... only nothing ever happened and life goes on as it did before.. and will continue to.
@jdsowa at some point you should actually move away from your computer screen. your trying to turn it into a liberal vs conservative thing. look up the "left right paradigm". what bush did was pass legislation such as the patriot act. it is a ground work to take our freedoms. he also passed a law that says any president in the state of national emergency may declare martial law. it would be military vs the people and they are the ones with the fucking big guns.
@osirisdelvalle I feel the same i think its cause that part of our life is past the careless free feeling and now we see the world for what bullshit it has really become :/
uma só palavra OTIMOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOOOO
juhbunitah 1 month ago
i found a fuck up 4:27 they run across the grass then the folowing scene their on the pavement but i want to watch this movie whenit isone
TheCOMANDOCOOP 1 month ago
I miss the suburbs of OH....
Thelegoterrapin 4 months ago
Is this a real movie, or just a music video???
Assansine 4 months ago
is this a movie??
GoAwaaY 5 months ago
such a great fuckin band.
maxwell153 6 months ago
Cool vid, pretty intense.
Kaimetsu14 6 months ago
its a metaphor for life. They are all institutionalized as they grow older. Blonde Kid is literally institutionalized in the army or what not and the Brow hair kid who got beat up was figuratively instituionalized, by being or being forced to work at a fast food place, a dingy job.
wilsonmendel 6 months ago
This video haunts me, but makes me so happy. It tickles my stomach, but in a way it frightens me. But it's nothing less than beauty. I really want to see the film :)
lisagarbutt 6 months ago
THIS MADE NO SENCE !!! CAN SOMEONE EXPLANE THIS TO ME ?!
ashleygyrl12 6 months ago
amazing song, amazing video, just amazing. unbelievable.
berdisthewerd 6 months ago
This shit couldn't sound better...
corbettclub1 7 months ago
Oh ffs! Direct another feature film already Spike Jonze!
rarsem 7 months ago
@punksbeathippies i legitimently listened to it like once a day lol
antianime77 7 months ago
This Is Reallyy Sad For Some Reason):
84kewlgurl 7 months ago 2
What? Why? How? I saw this at Hurricane 2011, but I didn't catch the military scenes, at the festival it was simply nostalgic beauty. All this drama confuses me now. What exactly is that short film and how does it play into the song?
Kaffeebohnson 8 months ago
I think what Smashing Pumpkin's 1979 was to kids during the 90s,
this video is going to be for kids during the 2000s.
kevinsmellls 9 months ago 6
@kevinsmellls holy shit thats exactly what ive always thought, this song reminds me so much of 1979. Arcade Fire and the Pumpkins are my favorite bands
borderlander800 8 months ago
Mr Spike Jonze trying to make up for missed chance to direct Smashing Pumpkins 1979 video!!
dracomessup 9 months ago
@dracomessup weird I just went over here from that video to say something along the same lines.
kevinsmellls 9 months ago
looks like martial law to me.
warriorofsteel01 9 months ago
This might be my favorite thing Spike Jonze has done so far.
DasPadre 9 months ago
I think the song and video perfectly captures the loss of childhood to adultship. Here are 5 best friends living in the burbs just being kids while overlooking the fence is the world of adulthood. The troops recruit the two boys to become adults and start work. One ends up mopping floors, and the other with the girlfriend resents him for it. At the end he beats the shit out of him because he knows them going off to work and becoming adults is the end of their childhood and their friendship.
TheEcat777 9 months ago 8
Neil Young? Depeche Mode? I awoke this morning with this playing on TV and my first thought was Neil Young.....any one else ?
PinkPudding1 9 months ago
Isn't this just about the fact that people are protected by armies abroad. To prevent 'terrorists' to be a threath to their liberty. But when this protection is right here next to you instead in a far away country, this is what you get. All the rest is just play.
circubic 10 months ago
In other words. You can support to fight a war in a far away country, because it won't really bother you. If it is fought in your neighbourhood: you'll think again.
circubic 10 months ago
I think the song and the short film don't match exactly- more an 'inspired by' so there is no way to match every lyric! but i had the overwhelming feeling that it was really about stolen youth in the video. Maybe the military/anger/ jobs are adulthood as it encroaches in on the sweetness of youth. More than a hair cut as previous posts assert I thought the kids looked older. You can hide from age but it gets you and beats the shit out of you every time.
wintersquest 10 months ago
I think the facial expression of the long haired guy on 3:34 tells a lot, but I don't know what!
Nikko0o0o 10 months ago
disappointing
mikedaviesjr 10 months ago
I'm a little sad that this video won't play on Youtube for my iPod. : (
MrGuarf 10 months ago
@MrGuarf i got it, i downloaded with realplayer and converted 4 my ipod by it, try it, but i got another converter in case realplayer don´t, ( mine is free version ). it´s flv.com flv converter, in case ad me and i´ll send u
carla8erthal 10 months ago
wht was that green stuff 1:27
puggy3242 10 months ago
@puggy3242 they are ammo for the airsoft guns they shoot they guy with. All they are are small plastic spheres
Robkopfan 10 months ago
this video makes me cry........... can i have a hug anybody? :(
puggy3242 10 months ago
i love this video so much :3 arcade fire is truly amazing :D
0xXAryaXx0 11 months ago
A great band!! THE VIDEO OF THE 2010!
arcadeinfire 11 months ago
what's the reason the short haired one hits the other at the end of the video?
EDIT: sorry, didn't read the other comments ;)
lakai229 11 months ago
what's the reason the short haired one hits the other at the end of the video?
lakai229 11 months ago
this is actually one of the most beautiful things ive ever seen
tandango1 11 months ago
Is the Boy at 4:08 someone of the teenagers? Had he cut his hair?
TLisaKW 11 months ago
this is soo awesome
giraffelovas 11 months ago
Can somebody tell me where i can see the full video ?!?!
marius24891 11 months ago
The video is fine until it gets violent - with no meaning or apparent explanation. Pity.
Dadabaableable 11 months ago
@Dadabaableable fuckin fool....cant you tell what happened, between him and his friend and that chick.
DepKing7327 11 months ago
19 people did not grow up in the burbs.
Brainfukkk 11 months ago
when will we be able to see the whole short film?
loserbiotch2 1 year ago 26
@loserbiotch2 I think around December 20th
Mattinglyrednecks 10 months ago
@loserbiotch2 Aug 2nd
MbossySabre 9 months ago
@loserbiotch2 Aug 2nd see imdb.com/title/tt1823744/news
MbossySabre 9 months ago
@loserbiotch2 it's out now, just google it!! the trailer's on arcade fire's site
swimagrl 6 months ago
@loserbiotch2 just watched it. it was great. it shouldve been a full one
DoctorHafflyfe 2 months ago
song and video seems to be telling the same story. but they are not ! Editor did fit words of the lyrics with frames, therefore some people think this is a great video. some get confused by lack of details in the video. IMO "meanings" of the video deffer greatly from the meaning of the lyrics. "eatsoap" interpreted a part of the video well.
dracomessup 1 year ago
Win as the tall (and male) Policeman?
fredr123 1 year ago
@fredr123 the woman is regine <3
jennadesmond 11 months ago
they need to make this into a full movie so we can all understand it better
MrPublic7enemy 1 year ago
@MrPublic7enemy It is a movie. just not out yet.
princessyrandom1214 1 year ago
@MrPublic7enemy Well... not full movie but short film
princessyrandom1214 1 year ago
My favorite song right now but the video did get a bit confusing lol
FeliciaRobinson17 1 year ago
may somebody tell me, why the guy is beaten up in the end?
stapelchipsable 1 year ago
@stapelchipsable My theory: The blond haired kid and the girl are a couple, obviously. But he got drafted into the military, or went through some other type of institutionalization, hence the hair cut. (The military usually requires soldiers to cut their hair.) The darker haired kid got beaten up because he either:
A) snitched on the blond haired kid,
B) didn't get drafted, so the blond kid resents him for that, or
C) stole the blond kid's girl.
These are just my theories. They aren't fact.
Loner4Life 1 year ago 27
@Loner4Life I think you're right on theory A, I've already seen someone suggest that on Vimeo and I can understand it from when the two are waiting in their homes to see if they get raided.
lawrencejpritchard 11 months ago
@Loner4Life
Close to theory #2, I think both were drafted(3:44 both taken away by the military) and the redhead got out of service b/c family obligations(3:08 caring for his little brother/sister, also only one with a job)
.
The blond tells himself that the redhead is a coward for not serving and became angry.
In the end the blond comes to term with the fact that he is just scared and angry at the system and not his friend.
My 2 cents
md83gt 10 months ago
@Loner4Life
i think it was a b and c
aurabelleloveszelda 8 months ago
@Loner4Life They are playing in the ruins of the suburbs in the vacant houses etc. I think that the kid that got beaten up did snitch in some kind of deal to get immunity for something like that as it seems to be the plan of the military and government to turn us against one another to divide and conquer.
bushgg12 4 months ago
@bushgg12 Well a few months after I wrote that comment, I eventually saw the full length film. It's about half an hour long. Really interesting. I won't spoil it for you, but most of my theories were wrong.
Loner4Life 4 months ago 2
This video doesn't make any sense.
Apoc897 1 year ago
I hate this song for making me feel so nostalgic, but at the same time a enjoy the feeling it's hard to express....I guess.
sickbasterd123 1 year ago
@sickbasterd123 I think I know exactly how you feel
13Bee1 1 year ago
@sickbasterd123 melancholy?
roddymuyank 1 year ago
@roddymuyank yeah that's probably it.
sickbasterd123 1 year ago
I cant describe the feeling I get from the vid, and from just listening. its touching me deep :3
ThroughThisPortal 1 year ago
This music video is confusing but we all like it cause what is happening. Marshall law where the government send army to portal us not police men anymore is gonna happen one of these days wether u believe it or not
carlosrodriguezrodri 1 year ago
where can I find the short film this is from?????
TheTwilightTracker 1 year ago
@TheTwilightTracker it's not released yet
gogolplex74 1 year ago
just meet 'em on the premiere of the berlinale !!! great film by the way !!! is really beautifull !!
punkerjuliancito 1 year ago
i grew up in the city...we were never bored....
afterthefox 1 year ago
why does the dude go phsyco at the end?
ninjaxhayabusa 1 year ago
this is awesome. congrats on the grammy!
weezie1337 1 year ago
i dont understand this at all.....
efindrel 1 year ago
The beginning reminds me of me and my friends, only on skateboards.
parisscissorhands 1 year ago
@parisscissorhands yah me and my friends too, only those razor skooters.
davidonspecialk 1 year ago
berlinale 2011 hell yeah !!
punkerjuliancito 1 year ago
I love this....but I have no idea what it means:( looked at the lyrics and it made a bit more sense, but I'm not sure
SiverBS89 1 year ago
The best song of 2011 so far!! What a line.....I want a daughter while I'm still young, I wanna hold her hand, show her some beauty before this damage is done! Very powerful lyrics.
TheBollocks7 1 year ago 2
I don't really understand it, but I think the fight at the end is a fake fight. The video features play fights earlier on. The guy is still conscious and only suffers a bruise and a cut. Then the guy destroys some property. Maybe he did it to get out of military service?
bin80801 1 year ago
Amazing video, amazing band, over all just amazing. That's all I can say
MALOGO48 1 year ago
thumbs up if you're going to hyde park to see these guys :D
Morganer29 1 year ago
The video is about Class Warfare, it uses the Suburban myth or fear, to make its point. They live in a gated community, surrounded by walls. They are trying to keep people from coming in (Poor People), but when walls and a neighborhood watch don't work, a fascist-militarized order is needed to hunt down and root out all dissenters. I think that's what happened, the guy with the crew cut is the girls boyfriend, he had his hair zipped and ready for military service, his brother rated him out.
TheDirteeSanchez 1 year ago
FEBRUARY 1, EVERYONE OFF YOUTUBE.
ilcs15f 1 year ago
Does anyone know the name of the actors? I feel like I've seen the lead actor before...
looneyngilo2 1 year ago
I would say this is undisputedly influenced by Korine's GUMMO - the first sequence anyhow.
futuresailorr 1 year ago
very moving. I think that it kinda shows how sheltered and innocent you are from violence when living in the suburbs. Violence is fun (toy guns), but that all changes when you see the true terror of violence (militairy)...i think the hypotheses about the girl cheating on the drafted kid are true.
happyjack585 1 year ago 2
hm i want to see this now!
ever since i first heard arcade fire i thought they were pretty good.. but not really the type of music im real real into.
literally after hearing this song once, i immediately became obsessed and bought the whole cd and it has been one of the best purchases i've ever made
this made it to #2 on my list of favorite songs. and i do not take that list lightly. gahhhhhhh love this. esp the bit about having a daughter.
sheplaysguitar2 1 year ago
i really wanna see the whole short film now...really really really good...
nickel924 1 year ago
wack
royalnash 1 year ago
short film said to be shown at berlin film fest.
sweet
JETTOtsuga14 1 year ago
POLICE STATE.
mikegeno 1 year ago
you're not supposed to take it so literally... stop trying to analyze the crap out of something that isn't meant to be thought about so hard. if anything, its just meant to show how different and molevolent the real world is from the innocent and isolated suburbs many of us grew up in.
mvan1225 1 year ago
they do not show what happens in between the two boys being friends and then enemies because they want to show how convertible the situation is to all friendships - SOMETHING happens, and it tears people apart
ChingstahJJ 1 year ago 2
This is a shot in the dark and maybe a little crazy, but I think this is set in a fictional setting where there is a domestic war. and eventually the military comes for the kids and drafts them into fighting. And this where my imagination starts to run.... I think that the boy working didn't get drafted for some reason and ended up being with the other kid's girl while he was away fighting.
stormtroopavk81 1 year ago
@stormtroopavk81 T emilitary is recruiting, the one boy is too young. While the other is away at war, the girl and the boy who was not recruited have a 'thing." The other boy gets mad and beats him up. Its shot out of sequence so its hard to understand.
emmamarietrussell 1 year ago
Comment removed
stormtroopavk81 1 year ago
So later they see police in their house(It wasnt the same day they are wearing different clothes when its dark out)So they go home watching it all. They had found drugs in their house and made those 2 guys at 3:32 come outside to check if they were doing drugs.When they found out the guy with the longer hair did the guy with the longer hair looked mad at the other guy.The guy with the longer hair was sent to the navy and mad at the other guy for getting him caught So later he beats him up
angrybeaversfan 1 year ago
Ok so this is what I think the video means. They were once all friends as shown in the beginning. Weren't doing anything bad. Instead watching other things happen around them standing on the opposite side like it says in the lyrics (They were watching The black smoke) Then slowly they started doing worse things (Shooting ppl with BB guns) But they are still all friends. They arent doing REALLY bad things yet because they were smiling at the police and the police were smiling at them.
angrybeaversfan 1 year ago
This affected me.
BRADLEY808 1 year ago
Reminds me when I was 14.
Had the greatest time of my life; trying new drugs, partying, girls, vandalizing, fights.
Too bad my friends became hooked into crank. Last I heard of them was that one died overdosing, the other in a lab fire, some in prison, and some already having kids.
ebolacream 1 year ago
I wanna see the movie!
SnapeLape 1 year ago
this is touching iin a way :)
Pwnafier 1 year ago
I dont understand the ending of the video ?
SkiX89 1 year ago
This video reminds me of when I was six, I would hang out with the kids who were 16-19 who would do shit exactly like those kids an I would hide all their drugs on me cuz no one suspects a little girl lol. It was a really fun time until the two guys got sent to prison and the last guys (17 yr. Old) started to like me a little too much.... And then the two who were in prison beat the shit outa the boy who like me too much (if uu kno what I mean) for doing that to me and we were all never the sam
schoolgirl117 1 year ago
eventhough I don't really grasp the concept of the music video, it makes me sad.
just in general.... I'm such a sucker for deep, emotional stuff -_-
iluvnj1996 1 year ago
this is a really cool video
Icestationzero 1 year ago
nice! great work spike.. ;)
if anyone is interested i have created my own tribute to the suburbs continued on my profile ;) ;) nudge nudge.. wink wink..
cheers!
spreddy2 1 year ago
0:00 to 5:47 was the best part
idonthaveanyname5 1 year ago
boyA is pretty cute ;)
swimagrl 1 year ago
Boy A is worried about Boy B ratting him out for Boy B's own sake (3:34). Boy B probably rats him out anyways, and Boy A probably spends longer in prison than Boy B. When Boy A gets out of prison, he realizes Boy A has been porking his girl. Boy A confronts Girl A, and she admits her affair (4:06). Girl A feels guilty for giving up Boy B (4:40). Boy A beats the shit out of Boy B.
goddolove 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Arcade Fires albums are great. This might be my favorite song off the album too. Amazing feel, when it gets into the hook. Wow.
Check out “Shy,” the new song from my sister Lisa Tucker (American Idol Top 10 Finalist, BET’s The Game, Nickelodeons Zoey 101) through Lisa’sLullaby channel! Be the first to hear it!
LisasLullaby 1 year ago
This kind of blow me away. You know like that feeling you get in your stomach?
Anyway, it says it's taken from a short film, where can I see that?
TheShgn 1 year ago
Ok so I am loving this song my new fav song I am just wondering if anyone knows what the music video is about I kind of have a feeling on whats it about but I am not sure
NeonShoes01 1 year ago
Win and Regine as cops at 2:36! fab!
floyded2 1 year ago
this video reminds me of the book fahrenheit 451
santinoakarush 1 year ago
Comment removed
andrea72193 1 year ago
Exellent song and an awesome video to go with it.
webleedaudioblood 1 year ago
i like the two love birds. But the blonde got vilolent at the end. ::P
GirlWiffGreenEyes 1 year ago
I think this video is about a group of friends who grew up together. I think there being effected by the war and the guy with the girlfriend is forced to join. Maybe he thinks his friend was having an affair with his girlfriend and thats why he beat the shit outta him. Idk this is just a guess-probably wrong but I enjoyed the vid
Trolloololol 1 year ago
@Trolloololol I like this the best out of everyone elses because it's simply closest to what i think it's about..I want to belive it's the war and it's armageddon
djshy20 1 year ago
Is there a film?
daveow29 1 year ago
2 hot guys r in this video!! Lol and I like this video
mileyseldemiidebby 1 year ago
Comment removed
kingj2038 1 year ago
@ 2:36 you see the band members as Policemen. Great band, great Spike! =D
Verardis 1 year ago 19
@Verardis I KNEW it was them!!!
Gaaragigi 1 year ago
@Verardis really nice touch that wasnt it?
nantes222 1 year ago
Comment removed
juvegirl 11 months ago
Check out the album The Suburbs. One of the best of the year!
drail67 1 year ago
where canmp you watch the short story?
zeroskater326 1 year ago
Shitt. I know one of those guys/actors :)
septembergreigh 1 year ago
how the fuck do the critics find kanye's album better than this album?
Shermanicus 1 year ago
Its a Cain and Abel story. The Smaller boy, the not blonde one did something unforgivable to the Blonde one, probably sold him out as the one who was shooting at the other side of the fence and starting the war. Blondie got recruited and forced to join the millitary (hence the millitaryesque haircut) while the not blonde one got with the Blonde's girlfriend and lived a relatively peaceful life. Then the Blonde gets out, tries to kill him, but can't because of the friendship, and somehow forgives
misawaclone9 1 year ago
I don't get this video but I like the song :)
hahwoah 1 year ago
well, it is a great metaphore of what life's like in the white american suburbs to me. genious!
ostarz1 1 year ago
@ostarz1 *Canadian suburbs...
zukuzukuzuna 1 year ago
@zukuzukuzuna
in interviews i read that they (Butlers) grew up near Houston and the whole album is referencing to this issue... whatever, i think it's universal, in some part.
ostarz1 1 year ago
I've been watching this video for days now, and it blows me away every single time. I guess the purpose of the short film is to show some of suburb life and the sensations of growing up and everything that we lose. And here is my guess: both guys were arrested and, somehow, it was cafeteria's boy fault, the blond one (the guy with the girl) lost precious time with people he loves, and got mad with his friend. They were not friends anymore. The suburbs still the same.
marismusics 1 year ago
Wow. That was intensly brilliant although I don't understand. Could someone explain what they think?
simplymadish 1 year ago
I think this video is taking place in a slightly altered Anytown,USA.Where suburban neighborhoods have become warring city states.I think thats why the kids all have toy guns emulating the soldiers they have grown up with.In the final sequence I think the slightly taller,stronger boy gets picked to join the local military force and this will take him away from all he loves.Being they were caught at the same time he blames his friend and decides to kill him.Thankfully he does not.
panzercat1939 1 year ago
@panzercat1939
Yes I agree, the video is highlighting the socio-structuralism in post-modern day society. A concept explored by French writer Roland Barthes in the 50's-60's. How the bourgeoisie made toys to prepare society as a whole, for roles within its structure, boys with toy guns to emulate soldiers, and toy ovens to teach women how to conform to the role of housewife.
TheDirteeSanchez 1 year ago
@TheDirteeSanchez ROCOCO
goddolove 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
WhaleRider86:
the whole video deals with the fact that your child- and youthhood are limited.
soon you will be grown up, getting a job & wife, forgetting about the soft happiness of the time you were young or wishing you could get back to the time. the soldiers pulling away the kids (who are nearly at the end of the childhood) are a sight for the socity telling "stop being a kid, now you have to be a man".
the assbeating in the burger shop are the two different persons of the boy now/future
DingusSquatfordSr 1 year ago
A complete rejection of suburbia, it tries to be visionary in its foretelling of a war looming; the end product of class warfare -- actual war itself. Almost as if the singer himself grew up in that suburban world, and rejected conformity as a whole. Listening to the lyrics, I thought of a similar statement; the movie American Beauty.
TheDirteeSanchez 1 year ago
can't. stop. listening. to. this. song! <3
RocknMetalxx 1 year ago
Fantastic work - reminds me of the 2008 RNC!
HongPong 1 year ago
Also the coolest camera shot's the day/night transition at 2:46 I think.
kevinsmellls 1 year ago
I read somehwere that sometimes movies don't make practical sense, but they make emotional sense. Even if everyone can't agree what the video means, I think everybody can react to the video emotionally in the same sort of way.
kevinsmellls 1 year ago
Well this started off very pleasant, became surprisingly ominous and escalated into fortuitous violence... so not that surprising coming from the guy who adapted Where the Wild Things Are.
RaceYouAnyTime1 1 year ago
Can any one tell me y that kid punched that guy out in the store I have no clue
craciun75 1 year ago
Does anyone get the video.Im confused.
SexyRushie 1 year ago
this video is effective because it plays into the fears of every liberal who ever sat at a computer at some point in the past 10 years and read about all these horrible things that the fascist bush administration would supposedly lead to... only nothing ever happened and life goes on as it did before.. and will continue to.
jdsowa 1 year ago
@jdsowa at some point you should actually move away from your computer screen. your trying to turn it into a liberal vs conservative thing. look up the "left right paradigm". what bush did was pass legislation such as the patriot act. it is a ground work to take our freedoms. he also passed a law that says any president in the state of national emergency may declare martial law. it would be military vs the people and they are the ones with the fucking big guns.
jakej3tt123 1 year ago
Martial Law is not cool. =(....
newbutthunt 1 year ago
Wow, that was really intense. I almost cried.
Krabna311 1 year ago
Can someone please explain whats happening in the video? Thanks
Rupertoxic 1 year ago
What does this video mean? I have my own interpretations, but wonder what everyone else thinks.
SethHesio 1 year ago
And i'd really like to see the short film! PLEASE SOMEONE POST IT! :D
IRULZ12341 1 year ago
Can someone please explain this to me? I don't understand this video at all.
IRULZ12341 1 year ago
These are the worst friends I have ever seen. I hope those kids just rot. I would have beat that dude in the white shirt's ass.
Whackadoo1 1 year ago
Is a film? Or just a videoclip? For some reason I cry, I think is one of de best videos that I seen in my life :D
osirisdelvalle 1 year ago 2
@osirisdelvalle I feel the same i think its cause that part of our life is past the careless free feeling and now we see the world for what bullshit it has really become :/
BobyNowa 1 year ago
i wish the military had tazed all the kids
BlueZuluFoxtrot 1 year ago
And the guy beats up his friend because?...
CassettePlaya1 1 year ago
Win is a copper!
mrratigan 1 year ago 2
@mrratigan Regina too!
chimike19 1 year ago
whens the actual film coming out?
emjaye123 1 year ago