11. The WalkmenLisbon
I think, in the last ten years, that they are the best rock band in the world. I don’t think there are many good ones. Most good music today is not trying to be rock. I think there’s lot more good pop music.
When I first heard them, I thought they were willfully meandering, and I thought that the single was too close to Bob Dylan in its delivery. But I’ve just grown to love them. I still think that they are willfully meandering sometimes, but I think the sound is electric. They are so sure about themselves and I love to see that in a band. They look like they really don’t care what anybody else thinks and they’re like: “Here we are, we are The Walkmen. We’d kind of like it if you like us, but if you don’t, we’re gonna do this anyway”.
If there were maybe one or two songs less I might like it better, but the strong songs on the record are so strong. The title song is great. It opens with ‘Juveniles’ which is a beautiful song. And again, it’s one of those songs that I sometimes think they write to annoy me on purpose, because that song is nearly perfect but not quite.
I sometimes don’t know if they’re lazy or if they’re just willfully perverse. If you like them they are gonna frustrate you every now and again, but you’re gonna love them because you know it’s their way or the highway.
They should let me produce them. I would love to work/play with them [laughs]. I think I’d need to open for them these days, and I think by now they probably know that I like them. They haven’t contacted me so they probably don’t want me to support them, but I’ve mentioned them in enough interviews where I’ve said they are the best rock band out there right now.
