SONGS IN MY "2007 HITS" IPOD PLAYLIST I


Interpol, "The Heinrich Maneuver"

I've passively listened to Our Love To Admire at least six times, and all I know about it is that I don't hate it. I dig generic new wave drone-strum as long as it's got kick, and complaining about the quality of their lyrical come-ons is a fool's game, so if these songs offend in new ways, they've eluded me so far. But aside from some pimply hootchie-koo and a hook or eight, the single is all that's stuck with me. It's generic Interpol, but that in itself is validation for everyone who argued these guys had a unique sound. Ian Curtis more sullen, Michael Stipe more ambiguous, Ian McCulloch more of a yodeller and Anthony Kiedis more of a minstrel. The drums slam hard and metronomic, the guitars reverb and rise, and Paul Banks' flat holler is right there with them, showing no doubt in lines like "you wear your shoes like a dove" and "I've got a plan with forward in my eyes!" None of his idols above would mutter "my...god..." right before the chorus either, that's ALL Paul. Their obvious and monomaniacal quest for poon may keep them from achieving a zeitgeist as grand as REM's, but the taxidermy pics in the album artwork could imply the band's getting into the environment - album no. 4 may still be their Life's Rich Pageant!