In print | Published October 2, 2008

Earlier this year, New Jersey indie-rockers Titus Andronicus were bestowed with Pitchfork Media’s coveted title of “Best New Music.” Especially lauded for their raucous live shows, the acrimonious Glen Rock quintet fully lived up to its reputation at Olde Club last Friday. Though their set was relatively short it accelerated like a shot of adrenaline propelled by racing guitar and frontman Patrick Stickles’ impassioned screams. Moshing and crowd-surfing prevailed throughout the show, reaching a peak when at one point Stickles himself leaned off the stage into the arms of the crowd, all the while screeching into his microphone. The best part about Titus Andronicus is that their extreme energy doesn’t detract from the intellectualism of their music; their lyrics are full to the brim with literary references—songs like “Albert Camus” and “Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ” are prime examples. Right down to the name Titus Andronicus, which the band shares with the not-so-obscure Shakespeare play, they have perfected the strange yet powerful combination of punk-rock and academia that makes them ideal for college listeners. I was able to sit down with band members Patrick Stickles, Ian Graetzer, Eric Harm, Andrew Cedermark, and Ian Patrick O’neill before the show last Friday to discuss everything from New Jersey to existentialism; here’s what they had to say.

Emily Crawford: So, what do you think of Swarthmore so far?
Patrick Stickles: Yeah, it’s pretty rad here.
Eric Harm: Lots of cool buildings.
PS: Yeah, it’s got a touch of “old world charm.”
EC: There are a lot of literary references in your work. Are you especially inspired by literature? Did anything particularly provoke this focus?_
PS: Yeah, I mean, it was the thing to do. College, you know how it is, you have a lot of reading to do—It’s all you do. And then you write about it.
Ian Graetzer: It would probably be good to mention that you wrote all the songs in college…
PS: Yeah, that’s right, I did write almost all the songs while we were in college. There are a few high school ones in there too.
EC: So did you guys first start playing music together in college?
PS: Yeah, but we went to different colleges. Some are college friends. That’s definitely when we got our start, at least and when I wrote the songs.
EC: There are particularly a lot of Albert Camus references in your lyrics and obviously the song called “Albert Camus.” Are any of you big fans of his? Was he a particular influence in college while you were writing the songs?
PS: Yeah, I love him. I read him more in high school, and was more into him then, but I still think he’s amazing—and handsome too. People don’t realize that he was like, this incredibly attractive movie star. Not that he was like, actually in movies, but he could have been, he was so good looking. I’ve read “The Fall,” “The Stranger”, “The Plague” … “The Fall” was not very good, but I love “The Plague.”
Ian Patrick O’neill: I haven’t really read him; I’ve only read Le… L’Étranger.
Band: (in ridiculous accents) L’Étranger!
Andrew Cedermark: We should probably let her ask another question…
EC: So, you’re famous for being an especially good and rowdy live act. Do you like playing live shows better than recording?
PS: (laughs) If you think we’re rowdy tonight, that’s nothing, you should see us play in New Jersey. That’s how we do it up there. In Jersey, we like to get down and dirty.
IG: Annihilation time, all the time.
EC: So I take it that being from New Jersey means a lot to you?
PS: Yeah, definitely. We love our Jersey, we love our Jersey forbears, like Bruce and The Misfits.
EC: So, are you excited for the show?
PS: Yeah, it should be good. It’s our last show before we go back up to Jersey.
EC: Are you happy to be going back home?
Band: No!
IPO: Yeah!
PS: That’s because you’re the only one not from Jersey.

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