The Strokes - Is This It

Is This It? Probably not, but it's a valid question. Let's travel back to that strange old year of 2001 and talk about The Strokes. They didn't disappear or burn out, they still exist, you just don't care. It's not your fault, really. It's theirs. Not because they did anything wrong, but because they succeeded in changing the entire rock landscape with their debut album.

Their demo stirred up an actual bidding war, and when the dust finally settled they knew exactly what they wanted their debut album to sound like. They wanted to sound like a garage band from the 60s/70s who travelled in time to make an album in a NYC basement in 2001 that sounded like it was made in the 60s/70s. They wanted to sound like they were playing these songs live, but also sound like it was made with drum machines and generally cheap equipment. They wanted it to sound the exact opposite of what everyone else was doing.

What they did was write catchy, peppy songs from the perspective of kids who don't have a future, or a way to profit from their talents. They don't even get to keep their original cover art, 'cause female butts are too provocative.

The one nice aspect about the archaically complex and expensive technology used to carve grooves in a plastic disc is that the song "New York City Cops" is still on it. Their label removed that song from the CD because of 9/11. I hate censorship, and if you can't handle a story about his girlfriend that includes the phrase "new york city cops, they ain't too smart" because of a tragic event that has nothing to do with a song from before it happened then you're taking the universe a little bit too personally in my opinion.

Is This It? I don't know, but it sure feels like it sometimes.

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