Maddie and Gracie love Interpol

Music
Written By Maddie Duda and Gracie Kansier

I love Interpol. So does Gracie. This is something that has already made itself clear on this blog, as I wrote pretty heavily about my introduction to them here, but I felt it would be unfair to myself not to write a post entirely dedicated to them. Since I have spoken about them already though, I wanted to collaborate with Gracie on this so you have more than one opinion to read. Gracie is the only person I’ve met who loves Interpol as much as I do. 

A couple weeks ago I had a dream that I was backstage at an Interpol concert and got to watch them go up onstage from the wings of some sort of outdoor venue or festival stage. It was also modern day accurate, because Carlos (the band’s original bassist who left the band in 2010) was not present. I think it is quite amusing that in my dream of being backstage with Interpol, I still had to maintain some sense of realism: no Carlos. 

I think I first heard Interpol in 2023 or so, and all the stuff I knew was from the first two albums. I distinctly remember listening to “Evil” once while driving home from class. I can’t act like I know EVERYTHING about this band. I still haven’t watched very many interviews to get to know the band members well, though I did watch this podcast with Paul Banks a few months ago. And I watched their MTV interview and documentary from the Turn On The Bright Lights era to prepare myself better to write this blogpost. And here is what I learned:

  1. The drummer is quiet, until he makes a really amazing mic drop point. All of them seem kinda sassy and like I would be a bit scared to talk to them, but also that once I got to know them they’d be incredibly nice. 

  2. They were extremely fashionable (this I already knew but it’s a main takeaway I feel I should mention). 

  3. They had a very small practice space and were still working day jobs in the service industry after their first album came out. 

  4. Carlos became the bassist of Interpol a bit randomly - he was a guitarist and became bassist because Daniel had an extra bass, and they needed a bassist. Now I know these instruments are fundamentally the same, but knowing that Carlos didn’t already have some deep passion for bass playing and has become so iconic as a bassist is really impressive to me. 

Interpol is one of the major players in the “post-punk NYC rock revival cool bands with good style” scene, but by how they spoke/speak about this time it doesn’t seem like they 100% identified with other bands from this era. This I think makes sense, because they were so much moodier and Joy Division-y than bands like The Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I think this is why I like them so much. I think that they were pretty vocal about being inspired by new wave bands like The Cure and Joy Division but according to some stuff I’ve heard in interviews or read, it became a bit hard for them when they were trying to establish themselves, as it put them in a box or tried to overshadow their creativity. 

I was really really into The Strokes in high school, and I still do love them and always will, because who doesn’t? Drums please, Fab? But they don’t have quite the same ability to fully pull me in the way Interpol does. This could be that they’re just more upbeat and fast-paced, and I tend to gravitate towards moodier rock anyway, but I also think Interpol just has something special. Maybe it’s because I’m also a fan of new wave. 

I was joking with Sophie recently about how people seem to either love Interpol or think they’re completely overrated, just like The Strokes. When you say you love The Strokes it’s like, “ughhh.. The Strokes”. And I say this with immense love for them. I mean, my favorite Strokes album is Comedown Machine. Basically nobody likes Comedown Machine. At least that I’ve met. But Interpol seems to get the same reaction online. It’s like rock music fans think you’re not niche enough, and like they think you think you’re trying so hard to like something unique, but it’s not unique enough to them. Did that make sense? Basically every rock music fan on the internet has such a holier than thou mentality which makes them insufferable. In the 2002 documentary, Daniel (guitarist) says their NYC crowds are usually too “hipster” to enjoy them. I think this is essentially the point I’m trying to make. Nowadays, none of their fans want to talk about ANYTHING past Turn On The Bright Lights, because that is their best work and nothing they did after that will ever top it (that was my sarcastic tone). But I disagree. 

Yes, TOTBL is fantastic and moody and immersive and definitely a classic to understanding this era in music. If you like The Strokes at all, then you definitely also have to listen to TOTBL. However, I think Antics is my favorite Interpol album, which is a fact according to my Spotify wrapped this year. Interpol was my top artist, Antics was my top album, and “Take You On a Cruise” was my top song. But I’ll get into that in a moment. 

I want to go album by album to discuss my favorite tracks. However, this will only go up to El Pintor, as that is as far as I know of their discography. I’ve tried a few songs from their latest two albums and truly wasn’t sucked in, so those will have to wait until I feel motivated. For now I just have obsessions with their first 5 albums, and that’s been enough for me so far. 


Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)
The first song I knew from their debut was “Obstacle 1” because it is on Guitar Hero World Tour. In terms of rock and rock-adjacent genres, if I didn’t grow up listening to it, I probably found it because of Guitar Hero. Not always, but often. I found it around three and a half years ago, and still love it because who doesn’t. I have a newfound love for the music video as well. I think after this song, the next one I knew well was “PDA”. This is probably top three Interpol songs for me, because it is so good from the get go that I feel like dancing. This is just one of those songs where you have such a physical reaction. Another great music video here too. It makes me feel like I am in a dark room all by myself, with maybe a single spotlight. And I’m dancing. I do recall that Gracie said she cried when she heard this song live. First, I am very jealous that she has seen them live, and second, I would also cry. 

“Untitled” is the opener for the album. When I read Meet Me In The Bathroom by Lizzy Goodman (which I talk more about in my “I think my heart yearns to be a rock star” blogpost), someone remarked at what a confident opening track that was for a band’s debut… to open up with an untitled song. Interpol has stated that this song was made so they had an opener for live shows to set the tone for their sets, which I would imagine was very effective. I wonder if they opened with this in my dream of them. It didn’t get that far. 

Other tracks I love from this album: “Say Hello to the Angels”, “Obstacle 2”, and  “Stella was a diver and she was always down”. AND, “Specialist”, which is not officially on the album. I’m not sure why, because this is one of my favorite Interpol songs (and a fan favorite as well). They performed it live back in the day but didn’t put it on the album. It is only available on streaming on the original Interpol EP, and as a B-side on the TOTBL 10th anniversary edition. 


Antics (2004)

As I mentioned before, this was my top album this year on Spotify. The stretch from “Evil” to “Not Even Jail” is not only the best stretch of Interpol tracks back to back, but probably my favorite in any album I’ve ever listened to in my life. Dramatic, I know. First of all, the video for “Evil” has a whole fanbase of its own, which you already know if you’re an Interpol fan. It features an animatronic/marionette puppet combo, which after the making of the video went missing and was purchased online by a fan. It’s a whole thing. I wrote about him a bit in this post. Or Google it. Anyway, “Evil” is great, and it is their top song right now on Spotify, so other people definitely agree. “Narc” is great too, especially the opening guitar that continues throughout the song. It just sticks in your head. But “Take You on a Cruise”... I don’t know exactly why this song is so addictive to me, but I do remember distinctly reading the Genius lyrics for it and learning it’s about a man trying to get a cocktail waitress to cheat with him. So that’s pretty memorable I guess. The “I am a scavenger between the sheets of union” line makes sense once you know the lore of the song, and is also one of those things that just really sticks with you. “Slow Hands” is another hit. I think this was the single they released ahead of this album. Here’s me dancing to it. I also love “Not Even Jail” and the way the drums carry it the whole time. And since this band apparently had a trend going of excluding one of their greatest songs from the original version of the album, “Song Seven” is nowhere to be found on the original Antics, and is one of my favorite songs from them entirely. 

Paul Banks has said in interviews that he believes that since they made their first two albums relatively close together, and with the sheer amount of effort put into Antics, they prevented themselves from having a “sophomore slump”. Their second album was just as massive of a success as their first. 


Our Love to Admire (2007)

This album rocks. I love the more western-y sound. I don’t know if that’s the right descriptor. But a lot of songs have guitar that’s really wwoooooowwww woooooowww sounding. Hopefully you understand. According to Wikipedia, this was their only album to be released on a major label, and according to Paul Banks, was a horrible experience to make due to pressures from the label. That always happens. They were able to experiment with a wider range of instruments because of it being a major label-made album though, so it is a lot more lush sounding and unique than the previous two. Some critics were satisfied with this sound at the time, and others thought they were abandoning their sound that made TOTBL so distinctive. 

My favorite tracks from this album are “No I In Threesome”, “The Heinrich Maneuver” (also a great music video), “Mammoth”, “All Fired Up”, and “Rest My Chemistry”. The transition from “The Heinrich Maneuver” to “Mammoth” is SO satisfying to me; it’s not even really a transition, I think it’s just that “Mammoth” starts so abruptly that it sounds cool. I also love the upright bass situation in “All Fired Up”. And “Rest My Chemistry” is another fan favorite and currently sits as their #4 song on Spotify. According to Wikipedia this is the band’s highest charting album. 


Interpol (2010)

Their fourth album is their self titled, which is also, from what I can tell, their most hated album. It is very experimental, more so than Our Love to Admire, so I think this was too much for the diehard TOTBL fans who don’t realize there is more out there than that album. The bass stands out to me a lot more on this album. The songs are generally a bit slower paced, or just less upbeat, aside from “Success”, which is probably my favorite from this album, and “Barricade”. “Try It On” is another favorite for me from this album. It is very unique for them and has a lot of interesting layering with vocals. I also love how this song builds up; it is very lush sounding by the end. Call me a fake fan, but as I was scrolling Spotify to write about this album, I’ve learned there was a bonus track for this album called “Crimewaves” which I have never listened to. Overall though, this album is a great listen. I don’t think I’d recommend it as a first listen of the band, though. 

El Pintor (2014)

Some people consider this a part two of a self-titled Interpol album, since its title is an anagram of Interpol. It also means “the painter” in Spanish, which I love that they were able to do. Someday I want them to make an album called “Interpolations” where they interpolate other songs for every track. When I first listened to this album through, I was obsessed with it. I knew it was less talked about than their previous albums, so I felt kind of alone in trying to find information about it. I believe after listening to this album was when I asked for the Meet Me In the Bathroom book for my birthday. This was the first album the band did without Carlos, their bassist. Anyways, “All The Rage Back Home” is a really powerful intro. Not my favorite song on the album, but still good. I like the outro, how he sings an entire octave lower than he has been throughout the earlier parts of the song. The first song I knew from this album was “My Desire”, which I think probably caught my attention both from the guitar intro and the bass. Listening to it now I get flashbacks to summer when I would drive home from work with my windows rolled down and my AC blasting, because my AC only really works when I’m driving over 30 mph, and waiting for it to kick on with my windows rolled up feels like it is going to kill me. Then at some point after that I discovered “My Blue Supreme”, which quickly became a new favorite for me at the time (I think I burned myself out a little bit on this one). I love the vocals on it because they show off his range and I think they stand out compared to a lot of other Interpol songs. I also love “Tidal Wave” and “Twice as Hard”. Both have a really great build up where the endings just feel so epic. Overall, I’ve returned to this album less lately; I think I went so hard with it over the summer that now I heavily associate it with then, so by the time next summer rolls around I’ll be ready to return to it. 

If anyone cared about my opinions on all of this to still be reading, here is the long awaited outro to what I have to say before I hand it over to Gracie. I will add that two of the songs I do happen to like from Marauder are “If You Really Love Nothing” and “The Rover”, but even still they don't have the same kick that I love from so many of their other songs. So I just haven’t had the desire to explore this newer stuff yet. I hope nobody is mad at me. With all of this said, I think Interpol still remains a pretty underrated band. Sure, people know “Evil” and “Obstacle 1”, but they haven’t stayed quite as relevant as The Strokes did; not to compare the two, but I think The Stokes had such a major comeback after so many poorly rated albums (not saying this is my opinion, but the general public’s) that now they’re back in the conversation. And Julian had some cool solo stuff going and collaborated with Daft Punk, and did stuff for The Voidz. Perhaps Interpol did it right so many times in a row that it would be difficult now to still be as relevant with newer releases. But it’s okay that they’re not everyone’s favorite. Maybe at that point they wouldn’t have the same excitement to the people that really love them. 

Hi! It’s Gracie. Maddie is also the only person I have ever met that also loves Interpol as much as I do. Anything that you probably really needed to know, Maddie definitely covered here, so I wanted to share my own personal opinions on my favorite albums and tracks. Similarly, I mostly listen only up to El Pintor, but I will share a few tracks I liked off of their newer albums in one section too. 

To start out, I was first introduced to Interpol my sophomore year of high school, when I was about fifteen or so. However, I mostly stuck to the same handful of songs before I started really getting into them by late 2022. Once I finally took time to sit and listen to more of their albums, I quickly fell more in love with their music.

Back in 2023, my friend, who was also my roommate at the time, had sent me a screenshot of a concert she was attending. I thought it was super cool and was super excited for her because it was a ticket to The Smashing Pumpkins (spoiler alert… I didn't look close enough at the screenshot) and the next time we were together, we were driving back to school and she mentioned Interpol being the opener. So yes I lost my mind because I had no idea. While she was laughing at me!!! she mentioned how she thought I would have been more excited when she originally sent me the ticket because of Interpol, but I didn’t even see them in the photo. Ok but also in my defense their name was in small print. Anyways, I was in tears over it so of course I bought a ticket for myself literally right there. 

They were the openers, so naturally most people were there to see The Smashing Pumpkins and don’t get me wrong, I love them too, but I won’t lie and say they were the reason I was there!!!! Either way, I was so excited and couldn’t wait to hear all of my favorite songs. I’m wearing the Interpol tour shirt I got this day right now actually hiii. The song I was probably most excited to see that day was “PDA” from Turn On The Bright Lights, which I will go more in depth on as I share my favorite tracks from each album.


Turn On The Bright Lights (2002)

Of course, the first song I want to talk about off of their debut album is “PDA”. This is one of my favorite songs ever, and yes it is fully because of the last two minutes of the song. The vibe completely shifts from the beginning, which is one of my favorite things ever in a song. The rumors are true… when I got to see it live, I cried! Wasn’t sobbing or anything, and I kept my cool of course, but I was so overwhelmed just because of how much I love it. I love the layering of each guitar, and how it builds slowly, adding each one by one. I really wish I could play the whole thing on my own guitar, but I couldn’t play it all at once because of how many different parts overlap. I definitely recommend listening to it with headphones on and closing your eyes to pretend you’re there. If you’re into that of course... 

Another favorite of mine off of this album is “Obstacle 1”. I loved this song when I first heard it, and I sat down to learn every single word immediately. Valid reaction who agrees! I think a big thing for me when it comes to Interpol is the instrumentals, and like “PDA” this one has super cool layering with the guitar parts. Similarly, “Roland” has a really cool instrumental, and there is also overlap with the vocal parts which is always so fun to listen to.

Finally, “Say Hello to the Angels”. I think this song is so fun. It’s so upbeat and feels like one of those songs you don't really dance to but you just kind of jump around because that's all you can do if you know what I’m saying..


Antics (2004)

My favorite album was, and still is Antics. This is actually one of my favorite albums of all time just in general, and I could genuinely talk about each and every track on this album, but instead I’ll sit here for a long time and struggle to pick out my most favorites. 

I want to start out with the song that got me into Interpol in the first place, which is “C’mere”. This song has remained in my top 5 songs of all time for years, and she stays on her throne at number two. It’s one of my favorite songs ever, clearly, and I never skip it. I like to perform this one when I'm by myself and trust I have a routine down. This is another one that I was super annoying about when I saw it live. Secondly, everyone's favorite, “Evil”. This song is so good, and the music video is even more interesting. This is a song I use when introducing Interpol to someone new, because I think it’s a classic and an easy way to get into them. I got my brothers to like this song which was fun for me. 

Next, I wanted to talk about “Narc”. This is another one I would pick as my favorite if I had to. I struggle picking favorites from this album. I listened to this song on repeat for a long time, so I have to mention her. Another one that I wanted to make sure to talk about was “Not Even Jail”. I LOVE this song. I think it might be possible that if I wasn't so obsessed with “C’mere” this would be my top Antics song, which is so hard for me to say because I love them all so much but I think it’s true! 

“Take You on a Cruise”. Soooo good. This one was probably one of my favorite ones that I got to hear them perform, and after seeing it live I loved it so much more. I think it's such an interesting song and it makes me feel cool. So.

Another song I love (sorry, I know I said I would try to not name every single song but I can’t even help it, can you blame a girl seriously.) is “Slow Hands.” I am looking at my own listening stats, and it's in my top 5 listened to Antics songs. I love her. Okay sorry I just want to shout out “Public Pervert” really bad. This is another one that I highly recommend listening to. 


Our Love To Admire (2007)

This album is super interesting, and definitely has a different sound. Like Maddie was saying before, this album was their only one created under a major label, and there are some people who liked the unique sound, others wishing it had the same charm as their previous sound. Personally, I love it! I love everything!

The first song on the album is one of my favorites, “Pioneer To The Falls”. It’s probably up there in my most listened to tracks off of this album, and I really love the instrumental to this song. Similarly, “Rest My Chemistry”. This has another really cool instrumental. When I first heard this song, I was convinced I knew it from somewhere or it sounded familiar, and I think it's because it reminds me of “Where Is My Mind?” by the Pixies. Anyone else? Lmk

I think that my favorite song off of this album is “No I In Threesome”. This song kind of sat up there with some of the “slower” songs off of Antics for me and I think that's why it is a favorite of mine. It is probably one of my favorite Interpol songs in general, and if you also like this song, I really like this performance, and recommend watching it if you haven't seen it already!! 

Finally, the last song I really wanted to highlight off of this album is “Pioneer To The Falls”. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but another great instrumental. I can’t help that that's a big reason Interpol is one of my favorite bands guys please. This song makes me feel so mysterious with that piano… got me acting like I’m in an Evanescence music video. Also I love “The Heinrich Maneuver".

Interpol (2010)

The first song I listened to off of this album was “Lights” and it is probably still one of my favorites. I like how it takes a while to finally pick up, and of course when it finally does it has such a cool sound. I also really enjoy “Barricade”. This song feels more experimental, and I think it has a really unique sound throughout the whole song.

This album is probably lower down in my rankings. I can pick out songs that I love off of this album, but it isn’t my personal favorite, and I know that this is a common consensus for many Interpol fans! 


El Pintor (2014)

So good hello. This album holds some of my most favorite Interpol songs so she is special to me. The first song I want to talk about is tied in first place with another, “All the Rage Back Home”. This is another favorite Interpol song of mine, and I don’t know that I have ever skipped it when it comes on. I love it so much, and I love the “softer” vocals throughout this song. The song that it’s tied to for number one is “My Desire”. I have cried over this song before because I love it so much. Idk either. The song is a bit quieter, and similarly to “All the Rage Back Home”, it feels more soft vocally.

Another song I love off of this album is “My Blue Supreme”. I think this one has a really cool sound, and makes me feel like seaweed? Like swaying seaweed. You know. 

Okay, finally a couple songs I wanted to mention from their newer albums are “The Rover” and “Toni”. I don't know enough about both of these albums separately to speak about them as much, but I do know that these two songs I do really enjoy. I saw both of these live in 2023, which might be part of it. If you prefer their more upbeat songs, I definitely recommend listening to “The Rover” off of Marauder, and if you prefer a slower song you may like “Toni” which is off of The Other Side Of Make-Believe. 


I feel like Interpol is one of those bands where if you like them, you really like them, and so I hope that if you came into this blind, you found something you liked between both Maddie’s and my suggestions. You should also let us know if that’s the case. Anyways, if you made it this far thank you for listening to me ramble about my favorite Interpol songs!


Here is a playlist of our combined Interpol recommendations for beginners.

Maddie Duda and Gracie Kansier
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