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.”