Untitled - Interpol (2002) | 1001 Songs Challenge #922

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

Interpol – Untitled (2002)

Turn On the Bright Lights – Wikipedia

Turn On the Bright Lights is the debut studio album by American rock band Interpol, released on August 20, 2002. The album was recorded in November 2001 at Tarquin Studios in Connecticut, and was co- produced, mixed and engineered by Peter Katis and Gareth Jones.

We’re leaving Russia today, dear reader, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and heading to the US and to Manhattan in New York. Interpol were formed in 1997 and focused on indie rock and post-punk as their genres of choice. We join them in 2002 with the release of their debut album, Turn On the Bright Lights, and 1001 Songs have declined to concentrate on any singles and instead focused on the opening track, Untitled.

Untitled became a signature piece of music that Interpol worked on in live sets and was considered the apt introduction to them as a band and to their live shows. Lyrically, the song is very limited but does make reference to surprising someone, to coming over to their home to spring said surprise, especially when they are feeling down. What this surprise is or may be is never disclosed in the song so we as listeners are left to speculate. The track is more about the music than the words sung.

I was not familiar with Interpol the band but am familiar with the other Interpol, of course. Untitled has a delightful guitar riff and pleasant vocal, brief as it may be. The ambiguity to the track only adds to its intrigue rather than hinders it. The group’s debut album was critically acclaimed and they have since amassed an impressive body of work, continuing to delight both critics and fans alike.

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (1994)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)