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Please, help @tommyboy1995 in this huge Interpol project!

hi, read about you Interpol project. Love the idea. How’s it going? :)

It's going great, thank you! You might've seen my post about the process so far. I'm starting by gathering the list of concerts and TV appearances they've made, dating them, and putting them as well as their locations on a spreadsheet. I've made it through 2005, as well as 1998-2000, and am currently working on 2004 :) I'll be extending my search past concerts soon enough, to interviews, articles, and blogposts. Everything in time, though, as I don't want to overwhelm myself.

Your blog will likely be a valuable resource to me, so thank you! If anyone reading this wants to send me clips from/links to magazines or any other forms of Interpol history, please do!

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I Touch A Red Button Man is the animation Interpol received from David Lynch for the song ’Lights’ in 2011. It was part of their visuals at their Coachella performance on that year.

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Paul Banks, Interpol and David Lynch

"I think stylistically, I've always felt like the style of David Lynch's movies are more like my writing."

- Paul Banks

My thoughts on the quote: This is an interesting quote from the Songwriters on Process interview. One might wonder, though, what Paul Banks means by it. David Lynch's style is often described as being weird, disturbing and surreal. His films are non-linear, and display a strong character of neo-noirish psychological thriller. Interpol's songs are like short films, which do not have image but rely only on text and sound. Yet, stylistically with their music Interpol digs deep into that same ethos as Lynch does with his films. There are differences, of course, most importantly Lynch has a strong comic vibe in his work. He is often so surreal that it is funny. Although you might respond with a laugh when you hear Paul Banks sing something like: "We should dance like two fucking twins", which he does in Mammoth, but these cases are very rare. Paul Banks and Interpol are not comical at all, but rather they are very serious. This link with David Lynch is not the only one. Interpol has another connection with the world of Cinema: Daniel Kessler has said that French New Wave films are fuel for his mornings and writing the guitar parts for Interpol.

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Obstacle 2 – A look at the formal & phonetic structure of the lyrics Part I

A look at the formal and phonetic structure of Paul Banks' lyrics in Interpol song Obstacle 2 reveals that Banks uses many systematic, although not particularly consistent, ways, which are similar in lyric poetry and rapping, to enhance the memorability of lyrics and to make them more cohesive.

Banks' poetic lyrics are often in the form of confessional, not always conscious, stream of thought, and they express a constant urge towards the Other involved in the personal relationship. He deals with angst, love, sex and fear, even vulnerability, but mostly it is set in this monology of thought, which is revelatory about a relationship between two people. Banks uses everyday contemporary urban American English and is often playful with how he uses the language. I think that the way he uses metre and rhyme schemes do not only make the lyrics memorable and cohesive, but these techniques connect the text to the music, to the melody and rhythm as well as being expressive of the atmosphere of the song and the text itself

  Obstacle 2 is from Interpol's first album called Turn on the Bright Lights released in 2001. The lyrics from the first verse of the song read:

  I'm gonna pull you in close

gonna wrap you up tight

gonna play with the braids

that you came here with tonight

I'm gonna hold your face

and toast the snow that fell

because friends don't waste

wine when there's words to sell

  –       First verse from Obstacle 2, Lyrics by Paul Banks

  Now we can look more closely what are the formal qualities of this text. The lines are cut differently than they are printed in the Japan album insert. I took the liberty because Banks has himself said that he works from the music and then it is only natural to cut the lines according to the vocal melody. This actually reveals much better how the text works formally as well as phonetically. Every other line has at its ending either a consonance/assonance or a strict rhyme. Strict rhyme has the most powerful effect phonetically and here it strongly binds every other line together. We can call these lines with strict rhyme 'A'. Lets look it by deleting every other line which do not have strict rhyme at the end, the underlining marks the strict rhyme:

             gonna wrap you up tight  =phonetic representation [a I t] 

that you came here with tonight  = [a I t] 

and toast the snow that fell  = phonetic representation [e l]

wine when there's words to sell  = [e l]

  The rhyming also puts weight on these specific words. The consonance appears in the first line and then on the third line. Consonance, which can be called 'C' in this case, is a way of sound patterning where the end of the word, called coda, is repeated in the parallel word's coda:

  I'm gonna pull you in close  = phonetic repr. [s], the 'e' being silent

gonna play with the braids  =  [s]

  Lastly we have the case 'B', which is on the last words of the lines five and seven, called assonance, which involves only the middle of the word, called nucleus. Assonance has actually stronger impact than consonance, but weaker than strict rhyme:

  I'm gonna hold your face  = phonetic repr. [e I]

because friends don't waste  = [e I]

  Now we can find the rhyme scheme Banks has used in this verse of the song, employing different types of rhyme. The scheme is 'CACABABA':

  C  I'm gonna pull you in close

A  gonna wrap you up tight

C  gonna play with the braids

A  that you came here with tonight

B  I'm gonna hold your face

A  and toast the snow that fell

B  because friends don't waste

A  wine when there's words to sell

  Although this is not a traditional rhyme scheme it is very architectural in a way, very strict. There is certain commanding pathos to it. It is merciless in its urge which the rhyming expresses. This mercilessness becomes even more apparent when the metre is taken into account. Metre creates the rhythm of the stanza. This systematic rhyme scheme does not certainly mean that Banks used it consciously. People who are gifted with words, especially writers and poets, do not have to work methodically, because intuition and creativeness is enough, and even rhyme schemes and metre can appear in a creatively produced text almost without any conscious effort. This does not mean that it is easy, or that anyone can do it. You have to be completely accustomed with the world of words and language in order to be successful.

  Part two about syllabic structure and vocal delivery in these lyrics to follow shortly.

Analysis by:

Interpol Documents ©️

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If something can make u smile, it’s Paul, smiling

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hello! 👋🏻

LOL, what’s he doing?

[x]

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My name is Paul Banks and I sing and play guitar and play bass and I run and I jump and I make lattes

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I’ve begun a pretty massive archive project centered around Interpol :) I’m really happy, this is going to help me date photos much easier, and provide more accurate info! Right now I’m going through all their 2005 concerts, and matching dates and locations to footage. Tomorrow I’ll be starting on 2004! I’ll make my timeline public eventually, so others can make use of it. :)

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We can still have Interpol, but we will never ever have this again :(

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shoutout to those three followers who like and reblog literally everything you post

I love you my hardy and hearty little ‘pol buddies

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Sideways Festival, Helsinki, Finland 9 June 2023

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It’s Interpol live time in Finland! Aaaaaaaa

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El Guapo...

Are you obsessed with Paul Banks/Julian Plenti/Interpol?

Find out now!!

100.- Getting tattoos of dead hollywood starlets seems perfectly reasonable. 99.- You know exactly who Helena is. 98.- Actually, you’d like to know where she lives, pure curiosity. 97.- Taurus are impredictable, tempered and hot. 96.- If you see something related to Interpol or Julian Plenti you have to remind yourself that there is no more room in your room for it. 95.- Your favorite colors are… anything he is wearing, except pink. 94.- You know who is the youngest member of Interpol, even when he is acting all severe and rough. 93.- Someone says “My God” and you ask; “Fan of Julian Plenti as well?” 92.- You’ve considered buying fancy pants. 91.- $50usd is a very normal amount of money to give in exchange of an Interpol EP or a limited edition. 90.- You are friend of Plenti. 89.- Some, if not most, of your titles and nicknames on the internet are related to Julian Plenti, Interpol or Paul Banks. 88.- You do know who is the real happy feet. 87.- Skyscrapers have become far more interesting and profound. 86.- You love butterfly gifts. 85.- When you decide to paint your room there is only one track that could be up for the test; Not even Jail. 84.- El Chaparrito’s charm is undeniable. 83.- Tuxedos are sexy… even in penguins. 82.- You’ve seen the future… as his wife. And its damn pretty. 81.- You wish for that relationship to come to an end, and that the poor thing meets the right one; you. 80.- Everyday, at some point, you’re singing or humming Interpol or Julian Plenti. 79.- You’re linked to the innocence he had back in 2002. 78.- You want the evil puppet. 77.- Severed segments of las armas in french letters are cuddleworthy. 76.- You’ve tried to read Julian’s body language when he is with Helena, and sometimes it sucks. 75.- Tumblr can be compared to your personal folder of Paul Banks. 74.- You’d gladly explore his love’s endurance. 73.- You touch your thighs ‘cause he is the lonely one. 72.- When you don’t sleep for two days you feel like Paul’s inspiration. 71.- You don’t have posters of Interpol… You have a wall of Interpol. 70.- You know who Stella was. 69.- You’ve tried it with the lights out, and it does help. 68.- You miss Carlos, but he is an A-Hole. 67.- You want to sail with him to Norway. 66.- You’re tired of spending those lonely nights training yourself not to care. 65.- Braille is incredibly sexy now. 64.- When you work out, you think to yourself that, that last sweat was the right one. 63.- You know who’s is the only guitar that can sexily smoke. 62.- You can stare at his lazy eye for sweet eternity. 61.- You’ve realized what a romantic and sexy language spanish is. 60.- When you walk down the street you know there’s people watching. 59.- Your life can be defined and separated by; When TOTBL came out, when Antics came out, when OLTA came out, when Julian Plenti is skyscraper came out, when Interpol came out and ahm, yeah whatever before that. 58.- Death is justification for a decadent lifestyle. 57.- You should sleep with him even if love gets you down. 56.- You hated that hairstyle… but you’ve learned to love it somehow. 55.- You wear beanies even in summer. 54.- Paul was hipster before it was cool. 53.- Plaid shirts, glasses and stupid hats equals sexy. 52.- Everyone is broken-hearted except for the drastically unimaginative. 51.- You know where the party is. And want to be there. 50.- You’ve always liked him the best. 49.- Lauren Bacall is a great role model. 48.- Winning the title of Home Coming Queen is one hell of a memory. 47.- You didn’t need reference to his water references. 46.- You threw a pack of smokes on stage. 45.- With your phone number on it, just in case. 44.- You have a mental folder with Paul’s wardrobe, with a special place for shorts. 43.- Madrid doesn’t sound like parties and joy. 42.- It’s been years since you spent one entire day without listening to his songs. 41.- When you see those special videos, faces, pictures, you know that your pants have no chance survival… at all. 40.- You can live your whole life in a cave with Julian. Yesh you can. 39.- You have more pictures of Paul than you do of some members of your family. 38.- In fact, you’d rather be with Paul than with some members of your family. 37.- Your folders of music are; Interpol, Julian Plenti, Live Performances, Video Gallery, DJ Fancypants, and that special playlist. 36.- He should see what he’s done to your heart and soul. 35.- He should be in your life and space. 34.- You find sex references in every single song he’s written. 33.- How does Fred Astaire make money? 32.- You can play games for days with Julian, no questions asked. 31.- You know that Paul’s smile is the real reason of global warming. 30.- He makes you lose your buttons. 29.- You know that underwear can become a barricade. 28.- You wouldn’t mind if he commits acts of violence, physical or otherwise. 27.- You want him to be your private pervert. 26.- There IS love to be made. 25.- You’d like to be on the sporting news. 24.- You know that there could never be an I in threesome. 23.- Paul should know that is time he gives something new a try. 22.- Al puro perder el ganar no compara. 21.- When someone catches you on hiding something you say; “I was on my way to tell you…” 20.- You’ve tried to play dead to feel safe. 19.- When the NYPD became a verb and now you want him to Police you, even if he doesn’t keep it clean. 18.- You might be bold and strong but you’d always obey him. 17.- Now you try to get frustrated more often, to feel cute. 16.- You’ve had long, meaningful and sometimes silly imaginary conversations with him, not only once. 15.- Everyday your heart swings, and you want him to read your thoughts *smirk* 14.- 1… 2… 3… Yes. 13.- You know that he has his urge in the icebox. 12.- You’d show him more than just love and respect. 11.- When you see a bee or a snake you think of their homes. 10.- You know that the actual lenght of love is between 180cm and 185cm. 9.- You want to sleep in his bedroom, not because you had sex with him there, but because you want to disappear certain coats. 8.- You pronaunce *hoo-lee-anne* instead of Julian. 7.- You blush when someone says you’re young, sweet or easily surprised. 6.- He is in love with someone else, and it should be you. 5.- You would never, ever, take his hands away. 4.- You’ve felt jelous over the smoke in the games for days video, the model in the Julian Plenti photo shoot, Helena and some microphones as well. 3.- You would definately give him your best and stand by his side while he rests… because… of reasons. 2.- He is your king of hearts. And having a King of hearts card in your wallet now seems like a good idea. 1.- It’s been raining for two weeks, your boyfriend broke up with you, your dog died, your hair color is fading, you’re getting sick and still, his smile makes you smile.

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