The principal writers in Arcade Fire actually grew up in Houston, Texas, and a good part of the "The Suburbs" is modeled on a fairly nice (but isolated and image-conscious) suburb called The Woodlands. I'm not a big fan of their sound, but it's nice to see a fairly serious work of art recognized over this year's pop junk.

We live in the belt that's outside the city core but inside the newest planned suburbs. I find the sense of community to be pretty good, so the "American Beauty" type attacks on suburban American culture ring a little hollow to me.