Let Us Anticipate Interpol - El Pintor 9/9/2014

When? February 2014.

How? Can You Force Yourself To Like A Record Through Blunt-Force Repetition?

I did a project to see if I could make myself like an album I'd previously hated by listening to it 22 times in a week. I accidentally made myself completely obsessed with the band in the process.

WHY? Two words: Brandon Curtis. (I think my obsessed with Secret Machines and Los Bros Curtis is long documented on this board.) He made me go see them back in February and again over the summer and I was kinda like a cat watching them, like "hmmmmm" and when I told him "I don't want to see your new band any more, I'm starting to get kind of a crush here" he started deliberately feeding me all kinds of KesslerFacts to deliberately provoke and feed the crush. And now I'm obsessed with Interpol.

I'm trying to work out what it is that produces and drives obsessions like this, and I definitely think that, like, other people loathing them (and being hugely outspoken about it) really actually drives and reinforces that kind of "no one loves them like I love them!" sense of persecution that really feeds obsession. I'm finding it very curious as a phenomenon, even as I'm being tossed about on the horns of the obsession.

Y'know, when I accused them of "turning into Ride" I didn't think they'd go whole hog and use the cover for Nowhere as the backdrop of their current stage design:

http://38.media.tumblr.com/b421a323fdd1e5153848f3ee5855559c/tumblr_nc1b4mWdhZ1tfqokdo1_1280.jpg

Seriously, that's kinda shameless, guys.

New video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu1SEZNPcBk

(For Twice As Hard, which is weird, coz I thought they recently filmed a video for My Desire? Guess I was wrong about that.)

First the surfing, now the boxing? Hmmm. They do seem to presenting themselves in a certain way at the moment, and that way is coded particularly sporty and, well, jock, to use the American term. It's... well, it seems a deliberate counter-image to their previous image. But personally, I still find it, well, hmmmm. Wish Paul could keep his little hobbies out of the band, eh, but who am I to complain.

p.s. Number 7 on the album charts in the US. Apparently!

I think the first three songs on the new album are stupendous, but I haven't been able to get into the rest of the record. That's par for the course with everything after the debut: 3 or 4 songs I absolutely love, and then a bunch of filler I'll never again listen to. Not that I'm complaining: put 'em together, those 3 or 4 songs per record are worth it.

That's ridiculous because this specific album is so back-loaded. If it were up to me, I'd skip the singles and listen to the album from My Blue Supreme on out. (Heh, iTunes tells me that's exactly what I tend to do.)

But I do realise I may just be listening for a different band.

album gets more oceanic as it gets deeper.

speaking of there are a lot of ocean metaphors on this one? or maybe i'm just noticing

Yeah, there's a lot of sea, of ocean, of tide, the colour blue. It seems to be a recurrent theme. (I still wish The Depths wasn't left off the album, either.)

Finally bought it this morning at Target. $9.99, two bonus tracks ("Malfeasance" and a live version of "Slow Hands").

Annoyed about that bonus track not being available in the UK. I still haven't heard it. :-(

Surprised Boots (or whatever) didn't make the same deal Target did. Or do big grocery/drugstore chains in the UK not get deluxe versions of albums?

Boots don't sell albums! I suppose the bigger Sainsburys or whatever might sell the top 10 albums, but they certainly don't make a draw of it.

Ugh, Interpol are on One Week One Band this week, and even just the first fucking entry has reminded me of all the reasons that I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAATED them for so long.

http://oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/post/98130387039/an-introduction

Every. Single. Fucking. Cliche. just trotted blithely out. I don't hate the band any longer, but I really REALLY hate the way that people write about them. I mean, clearly I enjoy feeling conflicted, but seriously, just... argh.

Paul Banks on Comedy Bang! Bang! today

(the podcast)

Wow, what do I haaaaate more, Paul Banks or ~comedy~.

(There's a reason Kessler is my favourite; he goes on podcasts to talk about yummy vegetarian food for an hour.)

In other news, Kessler has just announced that he's done a solo album of Selected Ambient Works to be released under the name Big Noble next spring.

"It’s a good record to probably hear with headphones and walking around and letting the sounds of the city or nature or wherever you’re at kind of seep into the background."

Yes, I'm just waiting until he arranges for Robert Macfarlane or somebody to design some special nature walks to hike while listening to the album, to maximalise the "relevant to my interests" target-shaped appeal of this idea.

*wanders off muttering something about how he can stop trying to get me adore him now because it's already worked*

I recently found out that a friend's BFF once dated Sam Fogarino. I didn't pry for any juicy details.

please do though

Does anyone have a WSJ account? This is behind the paywall. :(

http://online.wsj.com/articles/interpols-dan-kessler-on-five-electrifying-albums-1412287964

Curious as to which his favourite PJ Harvey album is (I'm guessing the other 4 are all Fugazi records)

Daniel Kessler, 40, is the guitarist for American rock band Interpol. The group's latest album, "El Pintor" (Matador/Soft Limit), came out last month. He spoke with Marc Myers:

I sound American, but I didn't move there with my family until 1985, when I was 11. I was born in London and lived outside Paris from age 6 to 11.

Music hit me early. My two older brothers were constantly listening to something interesting and covered their walls with magazine cutouts of rockers.

I started playing guitar when I was 14 but didn't start on the piano until I was an adult. I've always loved music on the edge.

The Clash, "Sandinista!" (1980) // The band's follow-up to "London Calling" remains a fascinating listen, mostly because it marries punk with dance beats, '60s soul, reggae, electronic, rockabilly and other forms that were all crashing together then. Each track is completely different from the last.

Tappa Zukie, "In Dub" (1977) // Tappa Zukie is a Jamaican reggae DJ and producer. I discovered this album in a reggae record store in New York's East Village. Dub is reggae with high levels of production, and liberties are taken to bend the music, like elongating the snare drum or bass.

Aphex Twin, " Richard D. James Album" (1996) // Aphex Twin is an alias for Richard D. James, an English electronic musician and a melodic genius. The music here has aged well. When released, the album created an entirely new genre and had an everlasting influence on me.

Fugazi, "In on the Kill Taker" (1993) // I love Fugazi's energy. On this album, you can hear the progress of punk from hard core to a more innovative interpretation. The band's two guitarists-- Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto--play these tremolo-picked riffs that are really interesting.

PJ Harvey, "To Bring You My Love" (1995) // This album is incredible from start to finish. The production is terrific, especially on "Working for the Man." It's kind of loose and relaxedin the best of ways, with these little moments and big surprises. I was obsessed with it.

Thank you so much! You've made my day!

#RelevantToMyInterests

http://www.factmag.com/2014/10/23/interpol-my-desire-factory-floor-remix/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FactMagazineMusicAndArt+%28FACT+magazine%3A+music+and+art%29

(Maybe I should have put this on the Factory Floor thread instead because it sounds like FF are hitting their Technique phase rn)

OK, I fully understand that the interface between "Interpol fans" and "people who are interested in weird little wibbly SAW type noodlings" is precisely ONE, but we have a release date for Big Noble*?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWEwGG2SVNE

*Kessler's ambient side-project with Joseph Fraioli, which is basically big reverb-laden shoegaze guitars over the top of ambient electronic textures because: because he is trying to kill me, that's why.

Release date of February 3rd. I'm kind of excited. Because of all the boys I adore, the one I thought least likely to ever come out with an album of SAWs, Kessler was probably the least likely.

i would much rather read PB's poetry, i don't mean that sarcastically, i would buy like 3 copies of his poetry book if he wrote one to give to friends

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/interpol-interview-theres-something-about-new-york-its-still-pure

Fogarino: God, oh, yeah. Carlos had his pants pinned with the seams together. It all looked good in the photographs, but when you got up close to it, it just, like, whew. Everybody thought, Oh, they’re in their Prada suits. No, it’s just this vintage-store stuff, pieced together—J.C. Penney jacket, Sears pants. It was all crap.

<3 so much <3

(They still looked 10x better in shitty JC Penny suits than most dudes will ever look in Prada. Sigh.)

http://38.media.tumblr.com/010e19e8dc8e90fc6f237c961e0c0902/tumblr_nez7zsaw411qllbb8o1_1280.jpg

I recognise at this point that absolutely no one cares about this but me, but... two pieces of news in the past few weeks.

1) Kessler finally released his long-threatened Shoegaze / Selected-Ambient-Works project, Big Noble.

http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/big-noble-first-light

It is possibly the most Branwell-friendly collection of music ever made, so much so that I'm slightly suspicious and feel like I'm being pandered to. Of course I love it. How could I not? I'm still not recovered from him eating ice cream and helping old ladies across the street.

2) Carlos D is writing a book. Sorry, 'writing' is far too pedestrian a term for what Carlos is doing. Carlos 'has begun drafting a book of autobiographical essays'. It will be the most annoying book ever written. I will no doubt read it eight times. Oh, and he's written and has been performing a one-man-show performance art / talk at the audience about himself monologue called Boy, Interrupted.

https://40.media.tumblr.com/c1a3c1f0810a76f87a5274ccebdf738f/tumblr_njewx0GV6A1qgze9ho6_1280.png

Promo photos like this make me suspicious that Mr D might be getting into ~evolutionary psychology~ and I know that he is on a 15-year quest to become the most ANNOYING human being in the history of annoyingness, but I really will beat him about the head with Mary Midgley books if that's the course he's chosen to go down.

http://40.media.tumblr.com/574dc62e816235d8b495bf977c06cc27/tumblr_njb342bfsB1rjw8sqo1_400.jpg

(Yeah yeah, I know, there is a dedicated ILX Carlos D thread I should be putting this on, but it's full of herpes and Jon Williams and I'm not sure which is a greater impediment.)

damn I think this might be my fave Interpol record now, flab-free and rich with detail. also a surprisingly good summer album. probably all the surfing mentions help.

"my desire" isn't terrible but boy do i miss carlos