"PIONEER TO THE FALLS" INTERPOL (2007)

For the month of November, I’ll be selecting songs in conjunction with the music Twitter challenge: #WelcomeToTheOccupation.

Following up with a noteworthy album after Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics seemed like an impossible task. As a hardcore Interpol fan at that stage, I was prepared to be let down by my own impossible expectations. Our Love To Admire just didn’t have the same grit and edge. And that’s true, it’s just a different album. Several years later, I’ve come to embrace its uniqueness and like it just as much as the first two heralded albums. “Pioneer To The Falls” is a perfect opener to a different exploration of sound for the band.

When I think of the band’s more haunting tracks, “Pioneer To The Falls” is up there with the best of them. Daniel’s guitar starts out slow, languid and hypnotic, cleverly leading us into Paul’s opening verse. But then the guitar returns before launching into the second verse with that familiar soaring and grating motif that Daniel is known for. But the element that delivers the most haunting effect is the keyboard line from Carlos D. It crawls under your skin and stays there – and a reminder of how exceptionally talented he was as a musician and composer, not just a bassist. The song is nothing without that riff.

“You vanish with no guile and I will not pay, but the soul can wait.”

"IS THIS IT" THE STROKES (2001)

A great title track is par for the course when it comes to great albums. If the title track doesn’t cut it, what does that say about the album itself? This month, the Mental Jukebox will be playing some of my favorite title tracks – inspired by @NicolaB_73’s music Twitter challenge, #TopTitleTracks.

The first time I heard the debut album from The Strokes, I was riding up from S.F. to Lake Tahoe with an old high school buddy. We had nonstop tracks blasting in the car and fresh tracks waiting for us on the mountain. The music was cranked up to the point where you almost felt a little nauseous. And this was the album I’ll always associate with that trip. I’ve heard The Strokes described as the band that saved rock & roll. I don’t think it’s too much of an exaggeration either. When I heard that album, I had a feeling inside that all was good with rock music. That there was direction, an identity. And, of course, it all started with the title track.

“Is This It” is the thesis statement to the whole masterpiece that is one of the strongest debut albums of the decade. It wasn’t the biggest hit by any stretch. But it was the introduction to the raw, minimally produced garage sound that is The Strokes. This sound helped steer the New York concert scene in the early 2000s, and now there’s even a movie about it that documents the era when The Strokes, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and others took command of the music scene. “Is This It” sounded vaguely familiar and entirely fresh at the same time.

“Oh dear, can't you see? It's them it's not me. We're not enemies. We just disagree.”

"LEIF ERICKSON" INTERPOL (2002)

The moment a song is born, the world is different. It’s now a part of our lives. We sing it in the shower. We dance to it at our wedding. We get pumped with it. We break up to it. We memorize it. We try to forget it. We rediscover it. This month, I’m joining Arron Wright’s Twitter music challenge: ##Popiversary2. Because why the hell not. Songs deserve their own anniversaries, too.

Year: 2002

Turn On The Bright Lights, in retrospect, seems to garner even more accolades for its contributions to the post-punk revival movement than when it was first released. It was such an important album coming off the heels of 9/11. To this day, it’s viewed by many to be the best Interpol record from beginning to end. (Not for me though, that would be Antics). TOTBL is full of grating, rhythmic bangers that cut to the bone. They are anthems of early 2000s indie rock. And the track that I turn back to over and over again is one of the lesser celebrated ones: the closer “Leif Erickson”.

Images of navigating murky waters in the bedroom at the dead of night are conjured up every time I hear it. Kessler’s and Banks’ guitars weave in and out like they’re making love to each other. Meanwhile, Carlos D (God, I miss this guy) and Fogarino lay down a rhythmic bed that ships you off to sea in your pajamas and all. As a closing track, it leaves a certain taste in your mouth and a sense of anticipation of what’s to come next for this very important band.

“SHE SAYS IT HELPS WITH THE LIGHTS OUT. HER RABID GLOW IS LIKE BRAILLE TO THE NIGHT.”

"NYC" INTERPOL (2002)

For the next 30 days, I’ll be taking the #AprilAcrossAmerica challenge, picking one song a day as I make my way across the country and across genres at the same time.

Day 1: New York, NY

The first two albums from Interpol comprise one of the greatest two-year stretches in modern music history. That’s not an exaggeration. Turn On The Bright Lights is universally viewed as one of the finest albums of the 21st century. And many Interpol fans would argue that Antics is even better. More cohesive. More confident. Antics is a sign of a band firing on all cylinders. Musically, “NYC” is not my favorite Interpol song. However, it’s the one track that I’ve felt most attached to. NYC, after all, has been my home for the past 25 years. And it’s where the band met and first made a name for themselves by playing at small venues in the Lower Eastside. This is a song about my city that I truly get and can relate to.

The song begins like an ending. It doesn’t depict the city’s bright lights. If anything, it shines a bright light on the dark underbelly of the city. The opening line is one of Paul Banks’ finest: “I had seven faces. Thought I knew which one to wear.” Anyone who’s lived in the city for a few years can understand this honest sentiment. Daniel Kessler’s grating guitar riff is an outpouring of emotion. And on the original recording, Carlos D and Fogarino man a rhythm section that reminds me of walking city streets where, with great effort, we manage to put one foot ahead of the other. My love-hate relationship with this city, expressed beautifully and hauntingly in one of Interpol’s signature tracks.

“I HAD SEVEN FACES. THOUGHT I KNEW WHICH ONE TO WEAR.”

"TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT" THE STROKES (2001)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

I’ve written before about my initial discovery of Is This It, The Stroke’s tour de force of a debut album. It was inside a friend’s car on a ride up to Lake Tahoe from S.F. It was the best album we heard on the way to our ski trip. The album was loaded with assurance that rock music was thriving. The unique way in which The Strokes took old school elements of garage rock and combined them with a post-punk outlook was brilliant. It was derivative, yet fresh, powering all the way through to the closer, “Take It Or Leave It”.

It’s one last track to kick you in the ass and onto the floor. Written almost like a finale on a concert set list, the song just flat out rocks. The guitars are manic and relentless – and Casablancas sings and screams in repetition like he’s drilling into our heads that we’re not paying attention. Look, no one ever said the lyrics were brilliant. But the juvenile approach captures the emotions just right. And that’s the genius of the album and what makes The Strokes, The Strokes. Sometimes it’s just exactly what you need.

“Leave me alone. I'm in control. I'm in control. And girls lie too much. And boys act too tough. Enough is enough.”

"LEIF ERICKSON" INTERPOL (2002)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

Turn On The Bright Lights, in retrospect, seems to garner even more accolades for its contributions to the post-punk revival movement than when it was first released. It was such an important album coming off the heels of 9/11. To this day, it’s viewed by many to be the best Interpol record from beginning to end. (Not for me though, that would be Antics). TOTBL is full of grating, rhythmic bangers that cut to the bone. They are anthems of early 2000s indie rock. And the track that I turn back to over and over again is one of the lesser celebrated ones: the closer “Leif Erickson”.

Images of navigating murky waters in the bedroom at the dead of night are conjured up every time I hear it. Kessler’s and Banks’ guitars weave in and out like they’re making love to each other. Meanwhile, Carlos D (God, I miss this guy) and Fogarino lay down a rhythmic bed that ships you off to sea in your pajamas and all. As a closing track, it leaves a certain taste in your mouth and a sense of anticipation of what’s to come next for this very important band.

“She says it helps with the lights out. Her rabid glow is like braille to the night.”

"NEXT EXIT" INTERPOL (2004)

Great album openers get the listeners to keep on listening. They can do this in any number of ways. Some openers set the tone by easing us in. Others jump right in and blow our minds from the very beginning. A great album opener isn’t an easy thing to create. More than a great song, it’s all about the sequence. Track 1 has to be the perfect starter. This month, I’m highlighting my favorites. #AlbumOpeningSongs

Interpol’s debut album Turn On the Bright Lights is hailed as one of the greatest albums of the 2000s. It’s an album that encapsulated the times. It is a masterpiece. But I think Antics is better. It was a different type of statement for the band. It was less of a sign of the times, and more a sign of a band completely in the zone. This was Interpol playing with an incredible level of confidence. The album flows so naturally and almost effortlessly. More cohesive than even Turn On The Bright Lights, Antics is the Interpol album I still turn to again and again. And it all starts with the prelude, “Next Exit”.

“Next Exit” is a teaser. It’s a track that eggs you on, and hints at something extraordinary to follow. The song is drawn out like it’s played in slo-mo. Kessler’s signature guitar riff soars while Fogarino’s drum part descends. Carlos D.’s bass line lurks with subtlety, saving its glory for the killer opening riff on “Evil”. And Paul Banks’ haunting baritone feels a bit like Ian Curtis reincarnated. “Next Exit” doesn’t contain the bravado of songs like “Slow Hands”, “C’mere”, “Narc” and “Not Even Jail”, but it’s the track that sets up all of these great songs so marvelously.

“We ain't goin' to the town. We're goin' to the city.”

"TRYING YOUR LUCK" THE STROKES (2001)

Each day in December, I’ll be reflecting back on a song from the 2000’s. The decade saw the return of post-punk and the popularization of folk music, all while some of music’s biggest acts gained their indie footing. Thankfully, it’s a period that I can look back at fondly without cringing. #31DaysOf2000sSongs

I discovered Is This It and the garage rock-drenched world of The Strokes on I-80 East, the freeway that connects S.F. to Lake Tahoe. I was in my high school buddy’s beat-up car with our ski gear on top and the tunes blasting from all sides of the rickety car. We talked about life, listened to old favorite bands of ours, and also relished some of favorite new ones, including The Strokes. Is This It was a tight, consistent album with many renowned post-punk revival anthems vying for our attention, including the title track, “Someday”, “Hard to Explain” and, of course, “Last Nite”. But one of the more underrated tracks on the album is the second to last song: “Trying Your Luck”.

I’ll take “Trying Your Luck” over any of the aforementioned classics any day. It was perfect mid-tempo malaise, perhaps the saddest, slowest song on the album. But it was genius in that The Strokes didn’t compromise their trademark sound in recording a song that some would say is extremely counterintuitive for the band. It still peaked and rocked. Casablancas’s distortion-soaked vocals go from somber to tortured as he launches headlong into the chorus, which is a perfect handoff for the song’s signature rhythm guitar riff and the iconic bass line. After all these years, “Trying Your Luck” is the one Is This It track that I look back at most fondly.

“I know this is surreal, but I'll try my luck with you. This life is on my side.”

"AN HONEST MISTAKE" THE BRAVERY (2005)

Each day in December, I’ll be reflecting back on a song from the 2000’s. The decade saw the return of post-punk and the popularization of folk music, all while some of music’s biggest acts gained their indie footing. Thankfully, it’s a period that I can look back at fondly without cringing. #31DaysOf2000sSongs

These guys were from my hometown. And they say this about New York City: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, Well, that certainly worked out for The Bravery. They started out as scrappy, hard-working musicians. Handing out CDs, playing in small clubs and plastering posters all over the Lower East Side. They eventually earned a residency at Arlene’s Grocery, produced an EP and opened for Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They hit their stride during what was probably the height of the post-punk revival scene in the city. Fortunately, global success didn’t take too long to find the band — and a big reason for that is “An Honest Mistake”.

It had elements of Interpol’s dark edges, The Killers’ new wave vengeance, and The Strokes’ garage rock sound. That opening synth hook is irresistible. It pulls you in, and before you can try to release yourself from it, another synth hook layers on top of it with this soaring motif. We’re now sandwiched by two slabs of reimagined 80’s synth pop. But the guitar solo at the 3:10 mark give the song some extra muscle just as the track is about to wrap up. It ensured “An Honest Mistake” was just as much a rock song as it is a dance song. However you want to categorize it, this wonderfully catchy song is one that I will forever associate with 2005.

“Don't look at me that way. It was an honest mistake.”

"C'MERE" INTERPOL (2004)

Each day in December, I’ll be reflecting back on a song from the 2000’s. The decade saw the return of post-punk and the popularization of folk music, all while some of music’s biggest acts gained their indie footing. Thankfully, it’s a period that I can look back at fondly without cringing. #31DaysOf2000sSongs

There aren’t many years that were as rich and prolific in terms of music recordings as 2004. That year, we saw key studio releases from Modest Mouse, TV on the Radio, Franz Ferdinand, Keane, Broken Social Scene, The Killers, Interpol, among others. Interpol’s Antics is my favorite album from that year. While the debut record Turn on the Bright Lights may have carried greater significance and helped establish the New York City post-punk revival scene, Antics has always been my go-to. It is Interpol absolutely and resolutely locked in from beginning to end. There’s a confidence in every note — and one of the tracks that led the charge was “C’Mere”.

“C’Mere” might be one of Daniel Kessler’s most versatile guitar showcases from the Interpol catalog. The hooks just keep coming, barely coming up for air as Kessler launches into one post-punk riff after another. Together, Carlos D and Fogarino formed one of the decade’s boldest and brashest rhythm sections. Beats that started, stopped and stuttered their way along, bar after bar. On “C’Mere” they seem to be surfing on a tidal wave. Meanwhile, Paul Banks gave this sinister vocal performance that more than made up for forgettable lyrics. The vocals truly captured the haunting aura of Antics, like a modern day Ian Curtis.

“It's way too late to be this locked inside ourselves. The trouble is that you're in love with someone else.”