Since Goldenvoice announced the 2011 Coachella lineup, I’ve revisited numerous albums by some of my favorite artists on the bill. For Interpol, I skipped back to their 2002 debut Turn On The Bright Lights, and it’s been on the turntable and on blast in the car ever since. Each of the album’s tracks are beautifully inspiring, but above all, “NYC” stands out the most. The song is drearily lonely, possibly the lowest point on Turn On The Bright Lights as a whole.
Both fans and critics instantly attached endless Joy Division comparisons to Interpol, and for the most part, such a notion is completely fair. But while Ian Curtis relentlessly sung you to tears until you sank to the ground, singer Paul Banks wants to move you. In “NYC,” he is alone, tired, and almost completely hopeless. Thankfully, he knows he needs to change, and the only person there to help him is himself. When you’re by yourself in a city as big as New York, you have to take your life into your own hands because sometimes, nobody has the time to care.
“It’s up to me now / Turn on the bright lights.”
