Interpol "Obstacle 1"

My favorite song. That's right. My favorite song ever. I knew it was the moment I heard it. "Obstacle 1" by Interpol. The first time I heard it was in a skatevideo called "Yeah Right" by Girl skateboards during Brian Anderson's killer part. I'll never forget how catchy that opening riff was. That lone guitar strumming along until layer after layer of more guitar, drums, and bass comes in at the right time punctuating the layers perfectly. Just jamming along when Paul Banks almost whispers in, "I wish I could eat the salt all of your lost faded lips." 
The song is underscored, without a doubt, with a sorrow-filled reflection of how things were...and if they could be again. This woman who he adores and has had many incredible times with "can read". Well I would hope she can read, right? 

What she is reading is the feelings of the main character (maybe Paul or another man) and how this man feels for her. 

It's the tried and true tale of two friends. One happens be in love with the other; the other just enjoys being friends. From there we can understand how this all becomes so frustrating and confusing. Maybe some of us have been in that situation. I know I have. It's a heartbreaking and an isolated feeling. The feelings just aren't mutual. A friendship is ruined and a loving crush is shattered,"she puts the weight into my little heart".

For me personally, it was always the composition of the music. I will be the first to tell you that I, for some reason, don't pay too much to the lyrics. This has always been a flaw of mine. Not that I don't appreciate them; I've just always been more interested in the music...almost as if the lyrics/vocals were another instrument. And on my first listen I just couldn't help feel how baddass the arrangement and melody on this song was. It appears dismal and as much as I hate to say...depressing.

But after digging deeper and finally understanding the full context, it makes sense why the song is on the sad side. The cohesiveness of the lyrics and tones of the music make sense and feel right. 

Maybe I was in a similar stance when I heard the song. Or maybe I just thought the song sounded cool. Regardless, it's sill my favorite song ever. 

What's your favorite song?



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aesop Rock “None Shall Pass”

Image
My sisters and I drove together to our parents' house for Christmas this year. On our way back we reminisced about the drives to and from school when I had to drop them off when I started driving. They had to suffer through all of my weird music and mix CDs . As we talked more they recalled one song, however, that they always enjoyed and still remember to this day; "None Shall Pass" by Aesop Rock. Aesop Rock, or Ian Matthias Bavitz, is a hip-hop artist with lyrics and flow so intellectually on point, you can't help but feel intimidated at times.Aesop was even named the rapper with the highest vocabulary in all of hip-hop; the rapper with the most unique words out of all of his music. "None Shall Pass" has every indication of this too. The first verse, " Flash that butter gold, jittery zeitgeist "starts things off with no leniency. As much as I hate to say it...I honestly have no idea what this song is about. My only guess can be that of th...
Read more

Bored and Needing More

Hello there. I will do my best to make this brief. My name is Calvin Ramsey and I would like to share one song with you every day of the week. The songs are chosen at random and will range from all kinds of genres. I hope you enjoy
Read more

Benoit Pioulard “A Coin on the Tongue”

Image
I have always loved this song. The happy acoustic guitar and the ambient wind noises. The atmosphere of the song alone is almost just as good as the warm vocals and percussion. " Say hello to the end, and its big fucking, jack-o-lantern grin" I can't help but interpret this song as another avenue of dealing with life's shit. " Blackened nails and acumen,  Lacerated fists full of arrowheads,  Arid bones and hollow men,  Lie down on marrow beds" Putting forth the effort of staying alive and pursuing happiness all for the same inevitable end...death. Might as well enjoy it while we are here right?
Read more