Talking About...Interpol 2002-2007

Yes! EP.11 has arrived!

We're talking all things Interpol, the band, not the bureau!

Cinematic, bold, expansive and moody, their sound was one of the most recognisable to come out of the New York scene of the 00s.

We're taking a look at their work of the noughties from Turn On The Bright Lights to Our Love To Admire. We look at their formation, struggles to get a record deal, and what they mean to us as a band that shaped our lives.

But that's not all, there's plenty of non Interpol chat along the way and of course there's another epic battle in the AI V Artist lyric game!

We've also got our awesome 15 track playlist of our favourite tracks from their 3 albums of the 00s!

Recorded January 2026.

#podcast #music #interpol #indie #postpunkrevival #00s #nostalgia #memories

Contact: kissthekerb@gmail.com

Instagram

Youtube

Facebook

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Philip. Hello. Hello. How are you? Yeah. Good. Yeah? Good good. Looking forward to this one. Are you? This is your one, right? Oh yeah, I suppose so. You chose these. I did. And why did you choose these?

SPEAKER_00 0:14

I don't know really. It's put on the spot, wouldn't I? Choose one.

SPEAKER_03 0:34

One thing always stuck in my head that you were the bigger Interpol fan out of all of us.

SPEAKER_00 0:40

Well, I don't know why, because I think it was you who got me into them.

SPEAKER_03 0:43

Was I?

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Yeah. I remember us playing Paul at the Castle pub. Bloody Nora. Yeah. And I don't know why I remember this, and I remember you just saying, Oh, have you heard of Interpol? Blah blah blah. Must have been obviously like Turn on the Bright Lights came out. And I was like, no, I don't think so. And then I went and listened to them and I liked them, yeah. So I think it was down to you that I got into them, really.

SPEAKER_03 1:05

Oh wow. I don't know whether to say you're welcome or sorry. No, they stand the test of time, don't they? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. 2000s, we're back in New York. Yeah. New York. Well, what about you? When when are you are you a fan of Interpol? Uh yeah, yeah, I liked the first album.

SPEAKER_02 1:22

I remember hearing that one when it came out.

SPEAKER_03 1:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:26

I don't really listen to them much now, but yeah, I did uh enjoy the first album and obviously they're all part of the same scene, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:33

They're all part of you know this New York scene which brought in a ton of new bands and new sounds-ish in a way. Yeah. Um, and I'm guessing a bit like the TV on the radio, probably would the second wave again? Or are they sort of more in the first wave of the uh yeah?

SPEAKER_00 1:51

I mean, there's not much difference, is there like time-wise, but yeah, I suppose I I would say they're there was a more popular than TV on the radio. I think more people would have heard of Interpol than TV on the radio. I think all right. In terms of timing, it's around the same time, wouldn't it? But yeah, I just I think if you were saying popularity, I think if you were to ask anyone on the street, I think they'd probably know Interpol more than TV on the radio.

SPEAKER_03 2:14

I think also, would you say I'm gonna this might sound a bit weird. Would you say the Interpol R to the New York scene what Shed Seven was to the Brit Pop scene?

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Not the front runners, never yeah, never quite hit the not the bride, always the bridesman, never the bride.

SPEAKER_03 2:30

Yeah, that's sort of uh all of that.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

I think they're the kind of the thinking man's band of that rather than strokes. Yeah. I would say people maybe go for interpolers a bit more of a deeper, more moody, definitely more moody. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, obviously, like they influence like the editors big time. The editors just sound like they are British version. But who came out first? Editors or I know, Interpol, way before editors about 2007, 2006. Oh, right.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

Do you find that that's sort of like I I like some I just don't timing, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

That time I do. 90s I can always figure out where I was, and but 2000s were just a blur for me.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

I don't I can't I don't really remember when editors started, and you know.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

Yeah, no, I uh yeah, I do know what I were after because I I remember quite liking the editors first out. I just remember thinking this these are just bloody Interpol. Like even the voice, everything is just it's very unique, isn't it? Yeah, very sort of organized sound. And I always find, especially listening to them again, tell them what you think, but I find Interpol, I don't know, music very cinematic. It's something I could always imagine in a big film or it's got a lot of atmosphere to it.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

Yeah, like big sounds, big a lot of space. For some reason, I get sort of Twin Peaks music vibes. Feels quite dreamscapy, their stuff, especially the first album.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

I guess it's the way they produce the album, isn't it? Because it's not anything more than guitar and bass and drums with some singing. It's not it's not like you know, there's lots of instrumentation in there, is there?

SPEAKER_00 4:04

No, I mean yeah, it's more basic than TV on the radio, for example.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Joy Division, though, right? Joy Division, I guess so. Yeah, that first album, I get a lot of Joy Division vibes. Yeah. Rhythmic, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 4:15

It's yeah, very fast paced, sort of slightly off.

SPEAKER_02 4:18

That whole kind of atmospheric kind of sound as well. I get that from Joy Division as well when I listen to them.

SPEAKER_03 4:24

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

They obviously drew quite an influence, I think, from them.

SPEAKER_03 4:27

No, it must have done.

SPEAKER_02 4:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:28

I was looking at something that AI had generated the other day from just stills from a Joy Division concert. They've managed to make this full-on colour.

SPEAKER_02 4:38

Yes, I've seen these. Have you seen that? And they they pan around the black and white and they colourise it.

SPEAKER_03 4:42

And it's and it's um, you know, they're going into a nightclub where Joy Division is playing, and they're all sort of separate stills, and then manage to make a whole two-minute little film from AI just from these six photos at different places in the venue. And you walk in and you see, you know, um Morrissey from the Smiths, then it carries on going in, you see Ian Curtis from Joy Division, then it goes to all the other members, then it turns out.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

So we're going through the ages of the A's kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 5:10

No, no, no, it's it's all in that one night, and they've they've managed to create it all live, and then when you turn when then the camera turns around and it's got um the manager Tony Oh Tony Wilson. Tony Wilson. Then it goes out and it sees somebody else, and it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 5:31

And then you know, like Joey and Ramone.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

Really?

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Yeah, Debbie Harry.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

Scary, but also quite enjoyable. When did they form? They formed 97. So it'd been around for quite a while before the first album came out, which is 2002.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Was it 2007? So five years.

SPEAKER_03 5:51

Yeah. What the hell were they doing? Well, it's interesting. There's uh it seems it this it took quite a while to get going, I think, from what I understand. Like Paul Banks, the lead singer, I think he kind of he joined, or he wasn't interested to begin with.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:10

And then eventually he joined after hearing PDA as a sort of rough demo.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Eventually, Paul Banks was just playing guitar and he felt like he wasn't being offered anything. Or he wasn't giving anything to a band, so he went, fuck it, I'm leaving. And then Kessler said, Uh, why don't you come back and then you can sing? And Paul Banks then went, Yeah, all right then. And then came back, and then that's where it kind of started from there.

SPEAKER_00 6:35

You wanted uh he wanted the girls, didn't he?

SPEAKER_03 6:38

Yeah, yeah, definitely. Bastard. Hey, come on, he's young again. He's young. You know. Um, and apparently when they first started playing shows, they didn't even have a name. And I'm gonna go I know I've done this before, but they had a couple of stinkers. Go on. What names? Yeah. The first one being the French letters, uh, and Las Armas.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Yeah, that's crap on it.

SPEAKER_03 7:01

It is crap. Before setting on Interpol. And apparently the idea behind Interpol was it was less about the individual and more about the uh collective. It's not a bad name, Interpol. Yeah, I quite like it.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Yeah, I quite like it.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

It always reminds me of like 70s spy films. Yeah, like French Police. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Yeah, you always heard Interpol, Interpol. Interpol. Is that hello hello? Yeah, I said I said that would be my last bit of acting.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Uh Interpol. Interpol. Interpol.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

Yeah, just strike you know, uh those those sort of old Cold War dramas with Harry what's his name? Michael Kane played him. Ipcrest files. Yeah, that sort of thing, yeah. And I guess in some ways the music is a bit spyy. Spy. Not spidey, it's it's it's not pop, is it? It's not rock, it's no, it's it getting called Joy Division.

SPEAKER_00 7:56

It's it's it's hard to put in a box, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 7:59

It is, yeah. They are they do stand out. Made them 2000.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

There was yeah, there were loads of bands like that after this, weren't there? Especially British. You had like um I always think like Franz Ferdinand and things like that, trying with trying to be like the guitar sounds, especially. Do you think Franz Ferdinand? Oh yeah, especially like that whatever that big song was. That's so Interpoly the guitar sound. Yeah, they were much cleaner though than Interpol, weren't they? They were much of a traditional like Yeah, I'm not saying they they were nowhere near as good, but you could tell they were like influenced. I think 2000. I think uh I think quite a few bands were I don't know. I know I would I wouldn't say Interpol were the leaders on it, but very guitar-led.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

Yeah. I did notice as well that um they've released PDA uh about 17 times. Oh really? Have they? Yeah, but like on all their early EPs, PDA, PDA, PDA. Yeah, yeah. So so you got into you so you got them in into them through through you? Turn turn yeah, but from the first album.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, after it came out.

SPEAKER_03 9:08

Yeah, and you got you listened to the first album and liked it.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Yeah. But then you kind of look went off them? No, no, I I liked the one after that. I didn't go off them, I like Antics. Yeah. I mean I I liked them, but not as much as I liked other bands at the time.

SPEAKER_03 9:23

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:25

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I felt like with them, because I like Droid Division, I kind of heard it a bit before. Like that kind of style. Whereas some of the other bands I hadn't. They were like like TV on the radio, and yeah, yeah, it's all felt a bit a bit new, newer to me. Yes. But no, yeah, I like the sound and I like the look. The whole kind of you know, sharp suits and leather jackets and stuff. It was it was a good look. Coordinated, wasn't it? And yeah, it kind of set him out a bit more as well with that.

SPEAKER_03 9:57

And then the hives came along and ruined it.

unknown 10:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:01

Well the hives were around the same time, weren't they? Similar time, yeah. Similar time. With the uh with the suits, hives were all suited and booted, weren't they? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yeah, they they they they rocked a look. They had very they were very uh purposeful in how they presented themselves, weren't they?

SPEAKER_02 10:17

Yeah, and it was all like you know, black and red, wasn't it? Was their kind of theme Yeah, which is good. I think it's no. I like it when a a band has a something like that. Yeah. Yeah. Like the white stripes. You know, kind of thing, didn't they?

SPEAKER_03 10:29

We don't speak about the white white stripes were all in that were in that time, weren't they?

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Yes, yeah, they were starting to get bigger around that time, I suppose. But that would have been their second, third album, wouldn't it, for the White Stripes? Yeah, so White Stripes were late 90s. Yeah. I think the first one was, yeah. That was that was more around this time. But yeah, they're good in the park, though, you know. I think they struggled to get a record deal more than some of the other bands out of that scene. Did they? And they ended up getting signed to Matador, didn't they?

SPEAKER_03 11:00

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

I think everyone's quite surprised how well the first album did. I think it shifted quite a lot of units, didn't it? I think even the record label was quite surprised by that. Not in a bad way, but yeah, it really like apparently just above expected. Above expectation label, yeah, and to like shift a load of units, it's pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 11:17

I guess when you've got so many bands in a scene, you do have to sort of start separating yourself out, and you do have to have whether it's a gimmick or a whatever, they had to stand out, didn't they? And I guess that's what they did. But musically, I think they stand out as well. I don't think there are any other bands at that time doing what they were doing.

SPEAKER_02 11:37

No, no, I think that's a good thing about that scene. Yeah, all the bands that kind of came through and you know became more well known, they're all completely different. And considering they all kind of you know came from that pool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

You know, you wouldn't listen to if you was not to know and go, oh, they've this these sound like from the New York scene, you would you would probably say they're all from different you wouldn't say it was a scene as such, no, no, because there was no particular sound to it, it would just happen to all be from the same area, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Which I think is great because I th I I think the trouble is after that, after this scene and after that second wave, you then start getting into the indie landfill territory, right?

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Where everyone wanted a band that sounded like somebody else, and so everyone at the end all just sounded, you know, the the kooks were uh in inseparable from the holloways, and the holloways were inseparable from who else was around I don't know if it was just because I just like got married and had kids and that, but I do just remember to mid to late 2000s, just kind of getting really bored of music, whether it was because of that. I think it especially British bands, I just found them really just jumping on a bandwagon and copying. Just really kind of bored me.

SPEAKER_03 12:52

Was it K Nash who did a a thing on Indie Landfill on the BBC Radio? And a lot of the bands were saying, Well, look, there were just record companies out there who just wanted a band like that. So it wasn't necessarily the bands looking for it, looking for it. It was the record label they were in demand, right? Where's the next thing? Where's where's the what's you know, someone signed with Sony?

SPEAKER_00 13:16

It's no different like to Hollywood now, isn't it? They're just making remakes. Yeah, yeah. There's no there's nothing new coming out of it, it's just because that's they know that's where the cash is. Let's make a remake, yeah, it'll make 300 mil, doesn't matter if it's good or not, it's gonna make money. That's probably the same of then. It's like let's just do that band, it they could be good, they could get two, three albums out of them. Fuck them off.

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Yeah, a bit like throwing enough out there, you're gonna make some money.

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Yeah, it's a bit like I don't know if you've been watching the BBC, the the boy bands forever and girls. That's been brilliant. It's similar to that. They're just there for a couple of albums, yeah, burn them out, yeah, sell millions, and then fuck them all. There's no they don't care about these people. No, there's a really good documentary because like it's brilliant.

SPEAKER_03 14:01

I did love the boy band one, yeah. I haven't seen the girl.

SPEAKER_00 14:04

You just think of one and you listen to these people, they are just no life at all. They are literally 24-7 working, flying all over the world, bam, bam, and they are just knackered and just yeah, they're just they're just getting absolutely done over by the record companies, aren't they? And then they just split up and then they go and find another new banger, right? They're there, bye bye. Yeah, and it's probably the same kind of thing there.

SPEAKER_03 14:28

Yeah, you know, you were talking about how they struggled to get a record deal with Matador. Wasn't it because they toured over here that they did really well yeah?

SPEAKER_02 14:38

I think they they funded themselves, didn't they, to come over here and do a tour. I think one of the gigs they ended up playing at some um like heavy metal festival or something. They booked into I think I was watching that documentary. Crucifest it was called and then they were saying this is all in that meeting in the bathroom documentary. They went up to it's Manchester and had a gig, I think it was at Manchester Uni in the middle of the Easter holidays. Of course, there's no students around, so they ended up playing to like five people, they said, or something. I know.

SPEAKER_03 15:09

But but I mean it must have paid. I think it did pay off that English talk. I think on the back of off the back of that. Yeah. Yeah. It was probably John Pill doing something somewhere. Yeah, it's John Pill, isn't it? Dodgy John Pill. Dodgy, did you say dodgy? What does he know? What do you know?

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Spreading rumours. Serve that serves some eerie music.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

Leave a piano alone. So yeah, so we got we got it eventually Turn on the Bright Lights, which was released in 2002, as we've sort of said. Um quite a long-ish album, almost 50 minutes. Um produced by Gareth Jones, who was uh English. He'd worked with Depeche Mode and Erasure, one of my favourite Guilty Pleasures Erasure, uh and also Pete Katis, American dude, uh who'd worked with the National Tokyo Police Club, another favourite of mine. Um and the Get Up Kids. Get Up Kids. Yeah, I like Get Up Kids. Yeah, and I think they had some issues. They they did the demo sessions with Gareth Jones, and I don't think they quite liked his sound.

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Oh okay.

SPEAKER_03 16:20

And I think they kept some of his work on a couple of the songs, but then they re-record not re-recorded, but re-mixed it with P Cass. Oh, okay. And I think Gareth Jones was out for men on and P. Cassis carried on doing most of the albums after that. Okay. So yeah. Peaked at 101 on the UK charts. Oh really? That halfway would have done better than that. No, it didn't do very well at all, I don't think. No, it's not bad though for a debut.

SPEAKER_00 16:46

American band, I suppose. 101. Yeah, about I think you're lucky to bate the top 200, are you things like that, don't I?

SPEAKER_03 16:52

I don't know. I mean, all all the uh all their peers at the time were, you know, top tens, weren't they? Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, maps and all of that sort of stuff. No, fever to tell, sorry. But it did make number ten on an enemy top album list of year.

SPEAKER_02 17:07

There you go.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

That's all it counts, isn't it?

SPEAKER_02 17:10

As long as you get on the enemy, get front cover.

SPEAKER_03 17:13

Uh and apparently the album Turn on the Bright Lights is a lyric in the song NYC.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Yes, it is, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 17:21

Um and that's what it was named after. It's good.

SPEAKER_02 17:23

That's what I've got. It's a good title for an album.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

It is, and I really like the front cover.

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:28

I think it says a lot about what you're about to listen to as well. That's sort of maybe that's where I get Betwin Peaks from.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yes, last finals. Yeah, the final one, yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. But also to be an unknown band, I suppose, and start with a song called Untitled, which is primarily two minutes of instrumental as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's quite brave. Yeah. And I like that song.

SPEAKER_03 17:55

That was written as so they could open their shows.

SPEAKER_00 17:58

Is that what it was written for that? Yeah, just for a show.

SPEAKER_03 18:01

Written in part as an opener for live shows.

SPEAKER_00 18:03

So did it has anyone seen Black Rabbit on Netflix recently? It was that last year. No, yeah, Jason Bateman, Jude Law. I watched the first one I watched the first episode. It was quite good. Anyway, that song disappears in my one or later, and it was really well done. And that's I mean, very cinematic. And it yeah, it was brilliantly used. Yeah. It really lasts like when it came on, I was like, Oh, I know this song, you know, you just think, oh, it's and then moment, oh yeah, it's in the pole. And it was really well done. Yeah, yeah. Really atmospheric, isn't it? Yeah, so I mean their songs, some of them can be, and I think there's a pattern actually. Uh which I noticed on these three albums we've done, the first song and all their albums, I think are very similar. Slow burning, setting the tone of the album. Yes. None of them are heavy, they're all slow, kind of build, they build. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This one, and then you've got I can't remember what the next exit is it, I think. Next. Or is that in the third one? I think.

SPEAKER_03 19:02

No, next exit on on Antics. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Is it? And then uh Pioneer to the Falls is the third one, I think. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:09

I do like it. I think it's a great opener.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Yeah, I like it. Yeah, it's very good. I think the first four or five songs are brilliant, actually.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

Yeah, and I think this is with this album, this is what struck me was it felt like the first half was an album of singles. Yeah, and then afterwards it just begins to sort of fill back to that.

SPEAKER_00 19:29

I think it was very top heavy. Yeah. Yeah. Towards the end, I was losing a bit of I was getting a bit bored. Leaf Erickson kind of last track got a bit bad. That's all right, but yeah. I think it'd have been better if they would have put some fillers in between, like I don't know, padded out. Done one, two, a filler, yeah, a good song, a couple of fillers, a good song, couple of filler, good song. Might I don't know, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

Oh, the the new was good. I did quite like the new.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Yeah, Stella was a diver and she always down. It's really weird because it you always think it's a live track because it is you literally start up and goes Stella was a diver and sing down, and you just think, Is this live?

SPEAKER_03 20:07

Yeah, yeah. I think their the promise of their songs on this album, I mean, the later, it's you've listened to the first five, right? And they're like you said, top heavy, they're blistering, great tracks. And then the next ones they promise so much, but actually they don't quite deliver as well as it's I don't know if you find this, but sometimes you listen to a song, you think, oh, this is this is gonna be good. Yeah, you know, it's not good at all.

SPEAKER_02 20:32

Yeah, you think it's built with it. You know, it's not as good as I thought it was gonna be. I built it up too much in my head.

SPEAKER_03 20:37

Yeah, it starts off really well, you think, oh, what's gonna happen? And then nothing happens, and you're like, oh.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

No, I I have I think I have a problem with top heavy albums. Yeah, I don't like it when they just put everything at the front. I have it with hot the killer's hot fuss, I think the first four songs are like these are brilliant, and then after that, it's absolutely toilet. Like it's really bad, it's like day and night. Yeah, yeah, yeah. This isn't as bad as that. I'm just saying by a real like, yeah, I just think spread it out a bit.

SPEAKER_03 21:07

Yeah, it is I mean, but who I mean ultimately the band will decide what order the tracks go in, right? Yeah, so they must have thought, let's top load it, suck people. No, no, no, no, no perfect songs on it and great songs.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

It's not a an album in the world that has that, but what the other bands do cleverly is they sequence it in a way where it just blends in and you go, Oh, that's an album filler, but yeah, it's followed by a fucking that brilliant.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

It's a narrative. I always feel like an album an uh an album should be a narrative of Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:37

And it may be it maybe this was the best sequencing, who knows? But it just doesn't maybe they tried all the other ones and it just didn't work as well.

SPEAKER_03 21:46

I think also if you have a song called Obstacle One, then have a song called Obstacle Two, you you can't put you gotta put those in a certain order, right?

SPEAKER_02 21:53

Yeah, you can't have two four one.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Yeah. I don't know for when two become one. But you said on the last episode. They've named the first song second song. So if we'd have done we might be getting a sort of thing, yeah, but they didn't have they've named obstacle two before they've named obstacle one. Yeah. We might have said that.

SPEAKER_03 22:08

No, I know, but they what they didn't have was they didn't have the set they didn't have uh song called First Song and put that third.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yeah, yeah. I'd wonder if they'd had obstacle two and obstacle three and obstacle one.

SPEAKER_03 22:19

That would have been fine. Because then that would have created a narrative going, what happened to Obstacle One? Camden Crows. In my case, it would be a couple of years. Candy Crows wrote it and did it for them.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:29

Now it's interesting you brought out the killers because the killers are massive Interpol fans. I don't know if you know this. Are they? No, I didn't know massive. I know they're big Oasis fans, but I didn't they um and there is uh I think I think he I don't know how often he does it, but um they do sing Obstacle One live. The killers do. The killers do, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:50

No, I didn't know that.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

I might have to say that again. Did you get it wrong? No, I didn't get it wrong. I got it right. Yeah, so apparently, like he it I've watched some YouTube stuff where um Brandon Flowers, Brandon Flowers, he stops the crowd and just says, you know, we're gonna do a song now. This is about you know a spy band who we all have loved for years and years and years. They uh influenced us, and then he goes in and does obstacle number one.

SPEAKER_00 23:16

Yeah, didn't learn it. Yeah, but now you do. Now I do. That's why I love coming to these nights. But yeah, a solid album, solid debut album. Yeah, it's a good debut.

SPEAKER_03 23:27

Um PDA is very joy division, isn't it? I think that's the most joy division track on there for me.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

The NYC, very good. I do like that. Very moody.

SPEAKER_03 23:36

Do you think there's a little bit of television in um in this album as well, like in Obstacle One, like a bit of interplay with the guitars?

SPEAKER_02 23:45

Yeah, I guess so, a bit. I mean, they there's quite a bit of that on the album, isn't there? Because they have two guitarists, they work quite well to go. Yeah, maybe. I can imagine they were probably I mean, they're quite an influence for a lot of people, aren't they? Television, I think, especially in New York. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

Yeah, I like this album. It uh it again it reminds me of a time.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yeah, I don't think it's their best, but I think it's a good solid and it sets the tone of where they're gonna go, I think. Yeah, yeah. What you expect in the yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

And actually, I think uh like going back to the album deal, Matador signed them off of hearing them do the pill session, they did some pill sessions. Oh, really? And um uh Matador heard uh obstacle two and that's what forced them. Well not forced them, but thought, yeah, let's have these boys.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

And did they say have you got an obstacle one? No, we can write one.

SPEAKER_03 24:34

We can write one. What do can I want to get the salmon done with now? What do we think of his voice?

SPEAKER_00 24:46

I think it works psp in certain ways. But yeah, there's some I don't know, I think there's only limit I think there's limitations to it. I don't think there's much you can do with it. There's not much range to it, isn't it? No.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

No, and I and I think that's maybe what I've I mean, don't get me wrong, I do like the band, but when I've got a bit bored with them, I think it's because of his voice that sort of maybe it's I don't know, but maybe it's them maybe it's them as well. Maybe it's all a bit samey at times.

SPEAKER_02 25:14

Yes, that's it. They're very good. They're good or they do, but it's it's very samey.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:21

But could you argue that TV on the radio is samey? Oh or are or am I confusing same with uh type of sound? Does that make sense? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

I think the difference of TV on the radio is they can mix it up, they'll they'll have like back-in vocals, yeah. There's more instrumentation going on. There is, I don't think there's hardly any back-in vocals with Interpol. There probably is the odd thing now and again, but very minimal. It's literally him voice and guitar and drums. Yeah, I think you're right. I think you could have a brilliant greatest hits of Interpol.

SPEAKER_03 25:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

But then that would be very same-y.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so I listen to the first three albums, it's like I like them, but there's not much there's you know, it's very, very samey, and once you're about an album and a half, and you think I might as well just listen to this again.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

But then I do like I said earlier, there's a lot of space as well. So they there are bits where they that it's just music music going, and I I quite like a lot of that. I think they do that very well. So I think I find it very like atmospheric, cinematic.

SPEAKER_03 26:28

I'm not sort of suggesting that it his voice has ruined it. I I think uh musically, I don't think they progressed too much either, do they? I think the third album they felt different. They found a sound and yeah, they milked it, not milked it for so that's wrong. They found a sound and they wrote they rolled with it.

SPEAKER_02 26:47

They do it very well. Which is yeah, there's nothing wrong with that. No, and absolutely, but um it's it's harder when you do something like this and you say, right, we're gonna do these three albums, I'm gonna listen to them in a row.

SPEAKER_03 26:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 26:58

Whereas like when they came out, it's like oh, we'll wait two years and it's different, isn't it? It's like, oh there's a new album, absolutely go back to them and yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 27:07

But the but the albums are different though as well, I find.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Yeah. Yeah. I think the third one is probably the the it's this I don't know what the sound seems much cleaner, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 27:20

Well, bigger label, weren't it, at that point?

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Yeah. But I think and I think I think they said turn on the bright turn on the bright lights, that's good. We've done well with that. Let's amplify that with antics. I think they took the best bits of that and just went, right, let's make that again with this, but better. I think that's what they do with antics. So again, two years. So these guys have you know followed the TV on the radio playbook and released an album in two years. Must have been a New York thing. Yeah. Strict guidelines guidelines. Again, this this was produced by Peter Cass, and this did much better in the charts, didn't it? I think. 15 in America and 21 in the UK. So it leaked again, wasn't it? No one that was leaked. Was it? Yeah. Fucking Bowie.

SPEAKER_02 28:10

They're leaking everyone's albums.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

I think Paul Banks has referred to this, uh he's he suggests that this is his favourite album.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

I mean this is the yeah, this is the album they were they were wanting to make, but you know, they kind of were striving for. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

This one's more yeah, it's more padded out, I think.

SPEAKER_03 28:30

Yeah. There's songs all over the place. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:34

Good songs all over the place.

SPEAKER_00 28:36

I love, I mean, Next Dexit, I love that song.

SPEAKER_03 28:38

I think that's brilliant, yeah. Slow hands.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Slow hands.

SPEAKER_03 28:43

Which one?

SPEAKER_00 28:44

Mark. And evil, obviously a uh Rosemary and Fred West as well, in it.

SPEAKER_03 28:49

Uh but I don't think that's confirmed, is it? I thought well I think that's a room I think that's a rumour which they've they've um they've denied. Oh really?

SPEAKER_02 28:58

I don't have denied. From what I've done. Who started this rumour? Is it Bowie again?

SPEAKER_03 29:02

Yeah, it's Fred West. Howard Shipman.

SPEAKER_00 29:07

I've read a few things that it is I don't know how true it is, but I've read quite a lot of things about it being about Rosemary and Fred West or something like that, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Uh see, I've actually written and I must have looked this up, but my writing on Evil says not about the Wests.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

John West.

SPEAKER_03 29:25

Yeah John West Vituna. The tuna guy. But again, this is there's a bit of TV, uh television on um not TV on the radio, but television, right? Sound on Evil. Yeah. But a bit more mysterious. Good bass line, start with, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Good catchy bass.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Yeah. As opposed to Yeah, I quite like Take You on a Cruise as well. Take you on a cruise. Yeah, I quite like that.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

Yeah, slower. This isn't yeah, I but again they've they've released Slow Hands, Evil, and Narc are the singles, right? Evil, Narc are in the first two uh first three tracks, Slow Hands Fifth, I think Come here, which was a single, that's a bit lazy. So yeah, maybe they just released more singles. Yeah, maybe. Maybe just spread them over the album.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

The next one's ten singles.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Yeah, but it is a bit it I do think this is a better album. Have you seen the video?

SPEAKER_00 30:28

Crash test dummy kind of thing. Yeah, that's good. I quite like that one.

SPEAKER_03 30:32

Apparently, that was lost for years. Oh yeah. Uh what the video? No, the the dummy. Right, oh okay. Um, and someone picked him up, and there's a YouTube video of the guy restoring him back to working order. And his name uh the animatronic name is uh Norman. Norman. Yeah. Your surname. Oh my sir name. Is he you? Because he had we he had the he had the bug eyes, didn't he? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Massive teeth and yeah stuff like that, yeah, it's quite clever. Yeah, fully restored. And it's on a guy called John Colbeck. Uh it's on his YouTube channel, he's the one who restored it.

SPEAKER_02 31:14

Shout out to John Colbeck. And facts.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

Facts.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

Facts of the show. I like that. I like the title of the song Public Pervert as well.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

That was uh that was about George Michael.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

But no, yeah, uh I think a much more polished, mature album, this one, isn't it? I think I think it's a band growing in confidence. I think you could see that definitely.

SPEAKER_03 31:38

It's a great album, actually. What what did you think of it?

SPEAKER_02 31:42

Yeah, no, it's it's it's it's my favourite.

SPEAKER_03 31:44

Is it?

SPEAKER_02 31:45

Yeah. Spoiler. Um yeah, it's great. It's it's definitely a a more polished, yeah, complete album, I think, than Turn on the Bright Lights.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

And I think we forgot to mention that actually we're only doing the albums that were featured in the noughties. Yeah, first three albums. So just for anyone who thinks we're gonna mention the other three. We're not get over it. Yeah, we might do it later. We won't. We Garret won't. Yeah, it's good. I like it. It's it's cleaner, it's there's a bit more fun in it, I think, than the first album. Fun. As much as Interpol can be fun, because they're not that I don't like them, but they're they're not the the cheeriest of no, but I think yeah, I think that's just everything about it.

SPEAKER_00 32:37

I think the voice I don't think you can be without voice, anyway, can you? And the music is just naturally dark. That it all fits well together.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

Yeah, that's what I was gonna say. Like that's the thing, his voice is so connected with those songs you can't imagine it being sung any other way.

SPEAKER_02 32:51

No.

SPEAKER_03 32:53

So I don't think he's got a bad voice, I think it works very well. Yeah. I mean, he's no adell. But you know, I uh yeah, I think it wor I think the unit, I think it's like what they wanted to set out. Like, you know, the unit creates the sound, it's not the individual parts that make it special.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

It's a steady progress, good debut album, yeah, slightly better second album. Let's leave it there, lads. Oh well, can we can we go for spoiler? Because I'm gonna say this next one is my favourite album, I think. Yeah. I really like I love to write. No, it's good. I think it's I think this is uh I don't know. I think there's much better sequencing, better songs on it. Yeah, yeah. And I think this is the more fun album. Do you? Yeah, I think this is them having to just laying their hair down a bit and just Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_03 33:45

I and it I think it's as what you said, it's the first and only album Capital on a major label, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

But again, starts off with a slow little burner, Pioneer to the Falls, but I think it's a good again, slow builder burn up. I love No Iron Freesome, it's much cleaner as well. Yeah, the highman manoeuvres I think is a good old rock uh good little pop song to mock out to. I like all fired up, rest my chemistry, yeah, and I really like Wrecking Ball as well. Wrecking Ball that was a lovely Cyrus, yeah, a great video.

SPEAKER_02 34:19

Um it's good.

SPEAKER_00 34:22

I like Who Do You Think drums on that are amazing. Yeah, I I I I think this is my favourite album of theirs, actually. This one. I I I liked this one. Yeah, interesting. Bit of a rise moody.

SPEAKER_03 34:36

Yeah, definitely not what's moody.

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Yeah, so I mean it's a bit more just uh you could actually have a little dance to this one, I think.

SPEAKER_03 34:43

A few tracks. But not be glum while dancing, not like yeah, you could actually smile. So I don't know what that was. Yeah, but uh I think it was the lighthouse I've written that there was it's sort of it's sort of fifties um beach sounds, like a bit garage sound, yeah, which I thought was you know off the books for them. Yeah, it's quite it's it's it's good. And it was produced by them actually. Oh really? And a guy called Rich Cosley who who worked with Muse and Foo Fires and Block Party and Deftones and Carly Ray Jepsen.

SPEAKER_00 35:26

So at this point at this point in time So what's this? What was the album?

SPEAKER_03 35:30

This was uh 2007.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

So at this point in time, in my personal opinion, I know you're all different, yeah. Every album's got better, so I'm thinking better. I think in the second way better, yeah, yeah. I don't know, it didn't happen that way. I think they kind of went down after Matador, didn't they? Yeah, they didn't know. I don't know if it's had to do with the guy leaving, maybe it was a bigger, but it kind of coincided with him leaving. I think it don't know, it just wasn't as good after that, I don't feel it. It was the bass player, wasn't it? Carlos who left. Yeah, then they took over, didn't they?

SPEAKER_02 36:00

I said, I think the studio, the other two, uh the two main guys would do bass duties or something. The bass had quite a lot, didn't it? The sound of it and his style of playing.

SPEAKER_03 36:10

So yeah, I th I think that's it though, isn't it? They're their style all their styles of play sort of like a jigsaw, it actually did all I know it seems a bit like a cliche, but it did all seem to fit together quite well. Do we know the reason he quit? Was there a falling out or something? I don't know actually. I just I no.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

I can't tell I I didn't listen to the albums, to be fair.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

But they've I mean it's not like they stopped, is it? I mean, I know we're not covering those out the albums today, but yeah, they did another four. Oh really? Yeah, so he did um Interpol in 2010, El Pintor in 2014, uh Marauder in 2018, and the other side of Make Believe in 2022. Oh, quite recent.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

So yeah, they've not stopped, so they're still you know going strong. They're doing the big uh gigs in the summer, aren't they? Oh they're in block parsy double headliners.

SPEAKER_03 37:04

Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. I do like block parsing.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Do you want to know what the in that the internet says about Carlos Dengler leaving Interpol due to a combination of things? Oh, right. I'll give you a big kiss if you can tell me one of them. Drugs, no, uh artistic differences, mmm, doesn't you maybe wanting to pursue acting, feeling creatively stifled, so possible, disliking playing bass and dealing with personal struggles, including addiction. So, yeah, maybe he was right with drugs. Yeah, who knows? He doesn't say drugs, but weird reasons. Why do you want to leave? I want to act, don't want to play bass no more, and I'm fucked up on this shit. How's his acting? How does acting career go? Yeah, I don't have never heard of him, Carl Stengler in that new summer blockbuster.

SPEAKER_03 38:02

Paul Banks said he actually hated working on um this album. Well, I'd love to admire. Yeah. He said it he said it was one of the worst experiences the band had ever had. Yeah. I think it's due to the label. Oh, okay. And that's why they went back to Mastador afterwards because they just said it was so horrible.

SPEAKER_00 38:20

Not too much interference in that probably.

SPEAKER_03 38:22

Yeah. And charted well, two in the UK, four on the billboard. Do you get the number two in the UK? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it it cleared well, recorded in Manhattan.

SPEAKER_02 38:32

It's the first one they recorded in New York. Apparently. Was it? Yeah, I think the first two weren't recorded in New York.

SPEAKER_03 38:39

Right, okay.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

I read somewhere. Somewhere on the internet, it must be right.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

Yeah. Anyway, so we're gonna stop there, are we? Is there is it does anybody else want do you guys have anything else to say about these?

SPEAKER_00 38:52

No, I think I think they're three really good albums. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What we talk about after that. Um, don't know. It's in my opinion, they do kind of go downhill, but still a good band. I still like them. I did like buying these albums and listening to them at the time. Yeah. So that uh that'll always be there.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Yeah, they again it's it's memories, isn't it? It's it's of uh of a time. And can I say apparently Paul Banks is a massive hip-hop fan.

SPEAKER_02 39:18

He made an album with Rizza, didn't he? Yeah. Blades and Steel. Blades and Steel, which I had no idea. Banks and Steel, sorry. Banks and Steel? Uh Banks and Steel, yeah. Anything but words. Yeah, I've not listened to it.

SPEAKER_03 39:30

Yeah. Uh I didn't know this, but Riza is a vegan. No, is it the Rizer? Uh and they both went on um my favourite TV programme. The one show. Not the one show, um Countdown. Hot Ones. Hot ones. Oh, the wings. Is that the hot wings? They both went in the hot ones together. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

I should find that.

SPEAKER_03 39:51

And uh I think Banks loves to um hip hop deeper.

SPEAKER_02 39:54

He likes a hip hop data.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Yeah. Which which is incomplete. He apparently likes surfing as well, sorry. But but fucking hell, he does everything, doesn't he? But it's in complete contrast to like the sound that he produces, right? This kind of moody, almost you know, city type sound, and he's like maybe he's come across some sharks in the when he uh born in Clacton.

SPEAKER_02 40:19

Well, Clackton on C. He's born over here in his dad. They moved, his dad worked for Autumn Motive Industry, and then they moved. I think they moved to the States, then they went to Spain, and then I think he lived in Mexico for a bit and then finally settled in New Jersey or something. Christ.

SPEAKER_03 40:37

Plenty ow.

SPEAKER_02 40:38

I think it was Clacton. I'm going to look it up.

SPEAKER_03 40:40

While you're looking up, shall we get ready for Ent Quiz?

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Yeah, Clackson C. Platty.

SPEAKER_04 40:58

Hmm.

unknown 40:59

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 41:00

I was gonna say, you ain't got an Essex accent at all.

SPEAKER_03 41:05

Alright. What have you got for us today, then, Philip?

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Usual, got a guess. Yeah, lyrics. Okay, so no fucking around today. Alright. Alright. Alright. I'm not having any fun. It's either in the pole or in the net. I don't care. In the pole in the net. That's all I want to know.

SPEAKER_03 41:27

Alright, in the pole or in the net. And we've got to shout them as well. Yeah, like that. Okay. Alright, Ray Winston.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

In the pole, in there. Alright. I'll do it. Okay, are we ready? First lyric. But you're so young, you're so young. You look in my eyes, you're so young, so sweet, so surprised.

SPEAKER_01 41:45

In the pole, isn't it? In the pole. Internet. It's in the pole. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 41:52

What song? Uh one of 'em. It's our first album.

SPEAKER_00 41:56

No. Rest by chemistry. Okay. Right, but next one. When she walks down the street, she knows there's people watching. The building fronts are just fronts to hide the people watching her always down.

SPEAKER_01 42:09

Inner pole.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Yeah, you slag. In a pole. Inner pole. Both right. What song? Uh Stellar as a diver. Yeah, you're right. I think that's right, because I've The Lion Always Down wasn't part of the lyric. That was the title of that song. Fuck, I'll give it no way. My boo-boo. Right. Next lyric. I keep running, but I don't know why. Caught in the orbit of a hollow sky.

SPEAKER_01 42:43

Inner pole, internet. Internet. Internet.

SPEAKER_00 42:49

Eckle can we keep up the Danny Dyer voices for my throat starting to hurt. Alright, next lyric. I'm here between the noise and the quiet of you. Short and sweet. Interpole, internet.

SPEAKER_01 43:02

Internet.

SPEAKER_00 43:03

Say it again. I'm here between the noise and the quiet of you. Inner pole. It's in the net. Oh, motherfucker. Tired. You taking the lead? Oh, is it tired? Tired. Last one then.

SPEAKER_04 43:15

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_00 43:17

And I I am waiting in the grey where the street lights bend and the colours fray. I I am silent in the hum of a city that forgets where it's from.

SPEAKER_01 43:28

In the net, in the pole. In the pole in the net. Whatever one. Inner pole, you slag. In a pole. It's in the net. Oh motherfucker.

unknown 43:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:38

You mug, you mug.

SPEAKER_01 43:42

Dig voice, tusky game of inner pole in the net. Thank you. Till next time.

SPEAKER_03 43:57

Let's wrap this up with a look at the three albums in critical order.

SPEAKER_02 44:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 44:03

Three to one.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

One to three. Three to one. Three to one.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

You first, please. Three to one. Uh turn on the bright lights at three. Antics at two. And I love to admire one.

SPEAKER_02 44:15

Gordon, Gareth. I love to admire a three. Turn on the bright lights at two and antics at one.

SPEAKER_03 44:22

I can't find the fucking page. We're all stuck in this voice for you. I love to admire at number three. Yeah. And then I've got bright lights at number two. And now I've got antics at number one. Snap. Uh top one track. Or you can do five. I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit. I don't give a shit.

SPEAKER_00 44:41

In no order. Yeah. I'm gonna go with uh high maneuver. I do like that. One percent left. I'm gonna go next exit evil NYC. That's it. I'll do four.

SPEAKER_02 45:01

I can't think of a fifth one. Uh PDA. Untitled. Next exit. Slow hands. Yeah, I'll go untitled for one.

SPEAKER_03 45:10

Yeah, I've got slow hands at number one. Yeah, that's that's my favourite. Right. Well, thank you very much. Thanks. That was very interesting. I enjoyed that. Yeah, it's alright. Um, and I hope everyone out there did as well. Let's hope so. If they listen to us. Someone is. Someone is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Um, all right, until the next one. I will see you later, you Muppets. Nigh us.

SPEAKER_01 45:39

Everything from Clacton.

SPEAKER_03 45:42

This has been uh Kiss the Curve production produced by Barry at Backwater Channel Studios, music by Ben Bailey. Talking about is presented by Gareth Norman, James Gentle, and Philip Reynolds.