Neighborhood 1 (Tunnels)

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. Critics described the song as "a sumptuously theatrical opener" with strings, an organ and a piano. 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. ==Critical reception==

{{Listen In August 2009, the song was named #10 on Pitchfork's "Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s". 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. 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 • "Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)" - 4:48 • "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 ==References==