10 Intelligent Questions For Interpol

Ho ho ho.

Actually this stems from a conversation I had with a rather beleaguered colleague who has just started to work in the A&E department of a national newspaper. He wants to do a feature on Interpol and was testing the idea of a "New Retro New York" type angle on me.

The idea was *so* cliched and *so* overdone that I couldn't even muster the energy to tell him why. That said, it was also *so* insidious and *so* pervasive that I was really at a loss to suggest anything better.

Just trying to get a discussion started, that's all.

(1) How do you tolerate your bass player's tonsorial shenanigans without laughing out loud?

(2) Listen to Joy Division much?

Do you like punch and pie?

Do you like them separately or together?

What kind of punch do you like?

What kind of pie do you like?

Do you eat your pie with a fork?

Or do you eat your pie with a spork?

Do you like your punch in a glass?

Or do you prefer a cup?

Do you like your punch with ice?

Or do you like your ice all mashed up?

If so, do you like your ice in cubes?

I also forgot to mention Joy Division.

Do you think your singer sounds like the guy from the Tragically Hip?

Do you think your singer sounds like the guy from Bauhaus?

Do you think your singer sounds like the guy from Joy Division?

Do you think your singer sounds like the guy from Kitchens of Distinction?

How old is your singer and does he own a copy of The Idiot?

Do you think your slow songs sound at all like the Sound?

Do you think your fast songs sound at all like Josef K?

Do you think your medium-paced songs sound at all like the Chameleons?

Don't you realize that it's been done better before?

Whenever I hear your name, I think of the little screen that flashes before the beginning of every movie I watch at home that tells me not to copy it. I also think of a Monty Python sketch, which makes me think of this phrase: "Interpol the penguin." Does this bother you?

Even some of the best and most thoughtful pieces on this band so far (cough*cough) seem compelled to speak to the mists rather than to the music.

Lack of space didn't allow me to be more clear with the point I was attempting to make in my review. It basically said that one could possibly (and should) listen to the record without trying to find all the points of reference or similarities. You have a young guitar band working with traditional strong structures, therefore many parallels can be drawn (and, in this case, more than one particular band can be talked about). What modern guitar band reminds you of no one else?

Justify Your Existence?

If I'm not mistaken, Paul Morley would occasionally start out with a question like "Why do you bother?"

Actually, he might've only done this once.

And, quite possibly, he might not have been the first journalist to do something like this.

BUT I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT DOM'S QUESTION ISN'T VERY ORIGINAL TISK TISK!!!!

(Again, not to knock Dom at all. I'm making a somewhat subtle point.)

Does the Interpol press kit make you as tired and as bleary-eyed as it does me?

I assure you the use of that word made me so bleary-eyed that I stumbled into the wall the next time I got up.

I think they do a good job, but I can't for the life of me figure out where they would go next. Unfortunately they'd just say what everyone says to that question, which is "blah blah blah we just want to make good music blah blah blah if people like it that's a bonus blah blah blah we try not to overthink it blah blah blah."

I feel stupid asking this, but really, I've never encountered them before - S+D please!

I rather like their full-length Turn On The Bright Lights, out last month, but that's qualified by their utter lack of originality. "NYC" is a really good song, to these ears. Worth seeking out, probably.

re: Joy Div, as long as Interpol don't sound like Terris I really don't mind how unoriginal they are..;-)

i still love the record, but... interpol = new york city hipsters SHOCKAH

Admittedly I don't like it them but I don't think I've been that vocal.