Obstacle 1

"Obstacle 1"
Single by Interpol
from the album Turn On the Bright Lights
Released	November 11, 2002 September 15, 2003 (Reissue)
Format	CD, 7", DVD
Recorded	Tarquin Studios, 2002
Genre	Post-punk revival
Length	3:36 (radio edit) 4:11 (album version)
Label	Matador Records
Writer(s)	Interpol
Producer(s)	Peter Katis, Gareth Jones
Interpol singles chronology
"Interpol EP" (2002) "Obstacle 1" (2002) "Say Hello to the Angels"/"NYC" (2003)
Interpol singles chronology "Say Hello to the Angels"/"NYC" (2003) "Obstacle 1" (reissue) (2003) "Slow Hands" (2004)

"Obstacle 1" is a song by Interpol, from their first album Turn On the Bright Lights. The song was released as a single on November 11, 2002, then remixed by producer Arthur Baker and reissued as a single on September 15, 2003. The music video for "Obstacle 1" was directed by Floria Sigismondi. A WKQX Radio interview with the band states that they wrote the song after watching a news report about a model's recent death.

"Obstacle 1" is featured as a playable track on Guitar Hero World Tour. Singer Charlotte Martin has a rendition of "Obstacle 1" on her album, Reproductions.

Track listing

2002 single

CD (OLE570-2):

1. "Obstacle 1" – 4:11
2. "PDA" (Live KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic Session) – 4:56
3. "Hands Away" (Live Peel Session) – 3:10

7" vinyl (OLE570-7):

1. "Obstacle 1" – 4:11
2. "Obstacle 2" (Live Peel Session) – 3:50

2003 single

Remix CD (OLE594-2):

1. "Obstacle 1" (Arthur Baker Remix Edit) – 4:17
2. "Obstacle 1" (Arthur Baker Remix Long Version) – 5:55
3. "Obstacle 1" (Radio Edit) – 3:36

7" vinyl (OLE594-7):

1. "Obstacle 1" (Arthur Baker Remix Edit) – 4:17
2. "Obstacle 1" (Live Black Session) – 4:18

DVD (OLE594-9):

1. "Obstacle 1" (video) – 3:47
2. "Specialist" (Live Black Session) (audio) – 6:34
3. "Leif Erikson" (Live Black Session) (audio) – 3:55

Music video

The promotional video for the song was directed by Floria Sigismondi.^[1] It shows several shots of the band playing in an aisle, there are many wires moving up and down. Then, a woman (Floria herself) appears dancing the song on another aisle. In a shot, a glass of water fall down and breaks, the water begins to move through the aisles and arrives to the aisle where the woman is dancing. The woman falls down and is electrocuted as a result of the electrical wires in the water.

References