It seems Arcade Fire was thinking in terms of sides when they sequenced The Suburbs.
Recall that the opening (and title) track kicks off with the lines “In the suburbs I, I learned to drive, and you told me we’d never survive. Grab your mother’s keys we’re leavin’.”
Now midway through this song, titled ‘Suburban War,’ we have “In the suburbs I, I learned to drive, and you told me we would never survive. So grab your mother’s keys we leave tonight.” We’ve looped back around to the starting point.
That opening track also called ahead to this one, with the line “you always seemed so sure that one day we’d be fighting in a suburban war, your part of town against mine.” Well, today’s track was written after that war took place.
Again we have references to the changing face of the suburbs and the whole idea that you can never really go back home. That point is driven home in the powerful climax, when Butler cries “all my old friends, they don’t know me now.”
This is my favorite song on the album so far. And I really like the references to music taste (and haircuts) splitting these kids into tribes. Isn’t that always the case in adolescence?
There’s nothing to do but I don’t mind when I’m with you
This town’s so strange, they built it to change
And while we sleep we know the streets get rearranged
With my old friends it was so different then
Before your war against the suburbs began
Before it began
Now the music divides us into tribes
You grew your hair so I grew mine
You said the past won’t rest
Until we jump the fence and leave it behind
With my old friends I can remember when
You cut your hair, I never saw you again
Now the cities we live in could be distant stars
And I search for you in every passing car
The night’s so long
Yeah the night’s so long
I’ve been living in the shadows of your song
Been living in the shadows of your song
In the suburbs I, I learned to drive
And you told me we would never survive,
So grab your mother’s keys we leave tonight
But you started a war that we can’t win
They keep erasing all the streets we grew up in
Now the music divides us into tribes
You choose your side, I’ll choose my side
All my old friends they don’t know me now
All my old friends are staring through me now
All my old friends they don’t know me now
All my old friends they don’t know me now
They don’t know me now
All my old friends, wait…
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, this song benefits from leaning more heavily on the Springsteen influence, though I still find the production cluttered, particularly by the end.
meh