The Strokes’ Is This It? | Our Top 20 NYC Albums

The Strokes have been greatly credited for helping with the revival of rock n’ roll. They were able to break through mainstream music and bring back what people had lost in the 90s. The rise in technology overshadowed the creativity and effort
that went into making underground music, which is what made rock n’ rll so special and unique. With people no
longer buying music and piracy increasing, rock n’ roll inevitably died off and was only resurrected when the Strokes made their official debut in 2001. However, the Strokes were able to surpass this rise in technology and create analbum that defined modern-day rock n’ roll, even in th 1361182016_is_this_it e wake of the September 11 attacks. The Strokes was able to bring this back with their garage-sound and deep connection with a specific group of young people, especially in New York City.

Is This It? was the Strokes’ debut album and was released in the United States on October 9, 2001. The band, created in NYC in 1998 and consisting of Julian Casablancas, Albert Hammond Jr., Nick Valensi, Fabrizio Moretti, and Nikolai Fraiture, created an album that quickly spread across the country, especially with the youth. This album is composed of 9 relatively short songs that talk about their lives in New York City. They frequently mention drugs, sex, violence, and even make fun of NYC cops in one of their songs. However, even though the album did not reach the success that the band had hoped for, it touched the younger population that did listen to their music, especially those who were part of a certain
upper middle class that had the money to do all of these things and not have any responsibility. This album left a deep impression on these privileged teens , and was credited for reviving rock n’ roll (Garrett). The youth was going through a time of not wanting to conform to society and instead relied on their friends, drugs, and a carefree lifestyle. Is This It? perfectly captured what the youth was feeling. Even though the title of the album is very vague, the Strokes described it as being “deep without being prete tstk ntious” (genius.com). The youth didn’t know what was in their future, they didn’t know what was going to happen to them, and they didn’t know what they wanted to do with their lives. However, once they did wind up doing something, the outcomes usually had them wondering, is this it? Is this all that they got for their efforts? Was life just about doing drugs and hanging out with friends? These feelings are superbly expressed in this album. However, this album really resonated with this specific group of young adults. Most kids who did not have money had to work and didn’t have time to live a carefree life and spend money carelessly on drugs and alcohol. However, this album did indeed changed rock n’ roll and brought back what had been lost in the music industry, especially with the rise in hip hop, which overshadowed rock n’ roll.

The reason I chose this album is quite simple: I had never heard any of the albums on the list and a classmate recommended the Strokes, so I chose them. And after completing this assignment, I can gladly say that I am ridiculously happy with my choice. I thought that I would hate this album because the only music I listen to is Korean pop music. I have slowly become more and more detached from American music and culture that I found it very hard to feel in any way excited about this assignment. But what do you know? I ended up downloading this entire album and listening to it over 10 times in one day. The Strokes have a very interesting and catchy sound. Their music sounds like that of a wannabe rock n’ roll band composed of teenagers playing in a tiny garage, except the difference between them and The Strokes is that the latter actually became stars. Their sound is like that of the overdone 2000s movie where a group of high school kids got together after school to go play some tunes, and their lyrics were written about their everyday experiences, complaints and rebellion against society. They turned this garage sound into modern rock n’ roll that encompassed the lives of teenagers and young adults growing up in a world where they were void of responsibilities and filled with the pleasures of drugs and recklessness. “They brought with them a certain post-millennial ennui, a quintessentially New York sense of detachment, an impression that they were way too cool to care about anything very much” (Hawking). The Strokes’ producer, Gordon Raphael even said “I recorded Is This It? with one microphone for the voice and one for the snare drum: everything minimal. It wasn’t sonically perfect, but it had some magic and emotion that was missing in the big studio stuff other bands were doing.” This particular sound, as if Casablancas was sing large ing into a muffled mic and the instruments, or lack thereof, is what gives the Strokes their uniqueness. This minimalist and effortless sound is was resonated so much with the youth and why the Strokes and this album is considered an essential part of New York City and truly demonstrates what living in the city is about.

The title track “Is This It?” shows the feeling of the youth at the time. This song is very vague and gives off a carefree vibe that characterized life in the city. The constant repetition of “is this it?” demonstrates what was mentioned before: this feeling of being lost in the world and not being satisfied with the results of one’s efforts. Life was full of happiness and recklessness which can be seen in the second song of the album, “The Modern Age.” The pre-chorus of this song says “Oh in the sun shine having fun, it’s in my blood / I just can’t help it.” I feel as though this is something very typical for teenagers and young adults. They just want to have fun and live their lives without having to care about anything. The guitar riff makes me want to jam out to the song whenever I listen to it, and even though I am still young, it makes me feel younger somehow and more carefree than I usually am.

“New York City Cops” is also worth mentioning. This song was originally a B side track for “Hard to Explain.” However, it was replaced by “When It Started” for the American release because of the one line that said “New York City cops/ But they ain’t too smart.” The album was supposed to be released on September 25, 2001, but was delayed because of the 9/11 attacks, and this line was changed in order to pay respects to those who lost their lives that day. “New York City Cops” is a really fun song that talks about constantly being on the run from cops and trying to hide drugs. And the one line that was scrapped, “New York City cops/ But they ain’t too smart,” showed how these privileged kids felt about the authority; the cops were easy to fool and easy to run away from.

“Hard to Explain” was the Strokes’ first song ever released and is one of the best songs, if not the best, on the album. The chorus could not resonate more with the youth at the time:

I missed the last bus

I’ll take the next train

I’ll try, but you see

It’s hard to explain

I say the right thing

But act the wrong way

And they are too old.

The chorus shows how the youth was feeling at the time. They try to do the right thing, or they try to do what old people want, but sometimes, or most of the time, things don’t go their way. It’s hard to explain the complexity and laziness of the generation. It’s not that they purposely mess up what they are told to do or what they are supposed to do, but they simply forgot what they were told, or were watching TV, or just missed the last bus.

Even though I have only mentioned the most notable songs on the album, the entire album is perfection, in my opinion. An album reviewer, Splawski, perfectly described this album when he said, “Everything sounds concise, relentlessly conscientious of itself. Such a level of perfection, where everything just falls into place, is quite rare to find in the music world, and even more rare to repeat, as the current state of this band repeatedly reminds us.” This rareness is what makes the Strokes and Is This It? such a unique experience when you first listen to it, and it creates a lasting impression even after hearing it on multiple occasions.

Even though they did not experience the success that they had with their first album, their sound still impacts music today. It is such a strange sound that it is very hard to describe. Their musi the_strokes_2 c isn’t just indie or just rock, it’s a mix of both that had never been seen. Their producer Raphael, put this feeling into words when he said “Julian had so many ideas – and a freakishly controlled concept of rhythm and timing. Even when he’d drunk 13 beers and was asleep on the couch, one eye would open and he’d go: ‘The hi-hat’s not right.’ He was a master of the cryptic instruction. He’d say: ‘This song, can you loosen its tie a little?’ He wanted his voice to sound ‘like your favourite blue jeans – not totally destroyed, but worn-in, comfortable’.” This bizarre way of writing lyrics and creating music is evident in all of the songs in the album. Many of the lines are very vague yet specific at the same time. It’s as if one can understand what Casablancas was singing about, yet at the same time was confused, which is why this album is so unique and really captures New York City. This is also why even though they were a one album wonder, they still greatly influence the face of rock n’ roll even in the present, and will continue to do so.

There is a love for the wildness and grandness of New York City, but there is also a hatred for the hecticness and craziness that is a result of living in an area where cultures and civilizations are constantly clashing and where it’s hard to find an identity and a place. Even though technology had risen beyond anyone’s control, the Strokes were somehow able to make it through all of these obstacles and reconnect people with what was lost. They brought back the underground vibe and garage-sound that allowed people to connect with them like they had with the small bands of the 70s and 80s that truly encompassed rock n’ roll. All of these things are poetically, mysteriously, and effortlessly encapsulated in the Strokes’ Is This It? Which is why it’s the most New York album that could possibly exist.

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