The Wilderness Downtown

I'm sure a lot of traditional/classical English scholars scoff at the idea of English combining with New Media. But in this world today it's inevitable for everything in our daily lives to be affected by some form of new media. So why not embrace it in such a way that adds some meaning to it? One of my favorite bands - Arcade Fire - created a really cool interactive video/website for "We Used To Wait" off their latest album. It creates a real feeling of nostalgia and you can actually write a letter (to your old self), or make a drawing..

Here is their blurb:

"The Wilderness Downtown is an experimental interactive film using Google Chrome created by Chris Milk in collaboration with Arcade Fire and Google. It was built using HTML5, Google Maps, an integrated drawing tool and it uses multiple browser windows as the user moves around the screen."

Best to watch using Google Chrome browser. The link below is to my husbands and my address in LA. (you can actually see our old black VW jetta sitting in front of our apt!)
...Or you can just go to the site and plug in your own address.

The Wilderness Downtown

Some of the lyrics:

I used to write

I used to write letters

I used to sign my name

I used to sleep at night

Before the flashing lights settled deep in my brain

But by the time we met

The times had already changed

So I never wrote a letter

I never took my true heart

I never wrote it down

So when the lights cut out

I was left standing in the wilderness downtown

Now our lives are changing fast

Hope that something pure can last



It seems strange

How we used to wait for letters to arrive

But what's stranger still

Is how something so small can keep you alive

We used to wait

We used to waste hours just walking around

We used to wait

All those wasted lives in the wilderness downtown