Category Archives: Rock

Innervisions and Urban Decline in 1970s NYC

May 20, 2016 Gabriella Walrath Leave a comment

The above pictures are concept pictures I made if the song Too High became a full-fledged TV Show, complete with a title pictures, and a theme song (“Too High”).

(Only a few days after this album was released, Wonder got in a nearly fatal car-crash. Most fans associate this album with that event, and see it as his visions of renewed purpose with the idea of “life is short, do something right”

Simply put, NYC in the 1970s was in absolute chaos. The economy was out of control, leading to an increase in poverty and AIDS because of lack of funding for public, social, and medical services. People desperately turned to drug use, as seen with the rise in heroin. With this, crackdowns and arrests on drugs skyrocketed, mainly in poor African American and Hispanic neighborhoods. This ultimate domino effect of racism with poverty, drug use, and crime drove NYC to a brink where even news outlets today are still calling it the biggest economic crises NYC’s ever experienced.

So how is Stevie Wonder’s 1973 album Innervisions relevant to this situation? It’s simple. Though not written about any city in particular, Innervisions describes life in NYC in the 70s and covers all of the issues previously described. From tracks like “Too High” about drug use to “Living in the City” about racism and poverty in cities, Stevie Wonder captures the issues surrounding NYC. In his first track on Innervisions “Too High”, he talks about how the main character, a woman, “Is living a superficial paradise. She had a chance to make it big once or twice. She wasn’t very nice.”

His anti-drug stance relates to NYC’s drug crisis with heroin, as the city was trying to figure out how to curb it, and whether or not to punish drug addicts. Looking back in time about fifty years ago, NYC wasn’t jailing as many people as it does today, especially not for drugs, with fewer people going to jail and those going receiving lighter sentences. The jump in difference in NYC can be attributed to the Rockefeller drug laws, named after the New York governor who championed them, Governor Rockefeller. Although there was criticism of these rules at first, mainly from drug treatment experts, politicians, and many New York District Attorneys, the rules were quickly adopted by each state.

Racism at this time also had a key connection to these drug busts. The majority of people being put in jail over drug use under the Rockefeller Laws were almost all entirely from African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, when actually many white people were using a lot of drugs and committing crimes. This motif can be seen in Innervision’s track titled “Living in the City” where the main character gets off the bus in New York City after travelling from the south, and is arrested for a drug bust simply because he is African American.

At the time of Innervsions’ release, music in the west differed from years later as it had spawned a rise in a number of different musical genres, such as the increasingly popular disco and funk. Other generations evolved to have a 70s flavor, such as soul, jazz funk, and Motown. Rock also remained very popular throughout the decade, spanning different subgenres like progressive rock, glam rock, art rock and many others. The decade was noted for its contribution to electronic music, with many artists incorporating synthesizers and harmonizers into their music. The genres that Innervisions really draw from are Motown, soul, funk, and jazz. As the 70s evolved from the 60s, Stevie’s career at this point had also grown, as he was no longer the “Little Stevie Wonder,” and released his 16th studio album that showed his ability to question the world around him with realistic passion in each track.

Stevie Wonder’s album Innervisions is a wonderfully fused blend of soul and funk that initially begins with despair but ends with hope. It is a simple human album that says that evil is present but can be changed. Ultimately, this album gives a deeper understanding to NYC and fuses its context with its music in a wonderful blend. This album is a piece of history, representing the musical and societal expression in 1970s NYC. This connection to the past, coupled with its humanistic, empathetic, empowering and story-telling appeal, raises Innervsisions’ quality to bring out the awareness in people and the ability to shows them for what they are, damage to positive life in the city.

Album Essays, Long Island, Rock

A Walk Through 52nd Street

May 18, 2016 Raquel Calero Leave a comment

Music, like literature, is an art that connects people across the world and can also function as a time machine, providing insights into the worlds of all kinds of people throughout history. It can be analyzed from different perspectives and dissected into its respective cultural, historical and musical contexts as well as the personal experiences of the artist that influenced and shaped a specific album or genre. In order to obtain a better understanding of what the artists intended to convey through their carefully crafted lyrics or meticulous instrumentation, it is important to take into account the time, place and circumstances under which the album’s creation took place. With only nine tracks, all about different themes ranging from love songs to inspiring tunes, 52^nd Street by Billy Joel seems to be one of the most famous and recognized albums and according to Village Voice, it represents the City of New York remarkably. Billy Joel might be widely known as a musical legend of the 70s and 80s, but there is always a different side to an artist than what is portrayed through their music.

Newspaper advertisement for the album from the year it was released (1978).

By the time the album 52^nd Street came out, Joel had already built a name for himself with his 1977 success of an album The Stranger including the Grammy Award winning track “Just the Way You Are.” This not only set the bar higher for his next production, but it also gave Joel a growing and expecting audience that he felt the need to impress with his latest creation. With this in mind, Joel set out to write the songs in 52^nd Street, consciously implementing certain techniques (such as juxtaposing lively rock and roll tracks with jazzy and ballad tunes to “keep himself interested”) and with the main goal of creating something “different.” This goal then led to the jazz-like theme that Joel attempted to adopt in several tracks of the album, he wanted to create a “mix of jazz with his own personal style.” The album itself was named after the place in New York City where the greatest jazz legends were formed, where all the jazz clubs were located, and conveniently also where A&R Studios (the recording studio where the album was produced) was located. Fifty-second street was what gave the album as a whole the impression of being a “tribute to jazz” and as band member Richie Cannata states, “It was typical New York, where you had to walk through all of the garbage and the rats to get there, and go upstairs.”

A&R Recording Studios as seen through Google Earth 2012.

(Here is a Google Earth Map of how the building looks now.)

Album cover overlayed over the spot where the picture was taken (The Equitable Building) on 52nd St, approximately 35 years after.

In order to better comprehend the album as a whole it is helpful to look at the entire portrait of the musical, social and cultural aspects of both New York City and Long Island (where Joel grew up and currently lives) at the time of the album’s release.

During the 1970s, Long Island was facing one of its biggest urbanization and economic development waves, which is said to have started a chain reaction for many cities all over the United States. As seen in some stock footage from the 1970s, a reporter describes the situation as follows: “Long Island is coping with all of the problems which other suburban communities are just beginning to face up to now, because we had 20 years with it. Problems with planning, zoning, transportation, urban sprawl, schools and governmental overlapping.” The reporter also mentions how Long Island was terribly “decentralized” and proceeds to compare this lack of a main city to other places across the country, such as Los Angeles. This economic development and Long Island’s overall growth is said to have been sudden, “like an explosion” and might have been a result of factors such as nature, politics and the end of World War II.

New York City on the other hand, was facing an era of urban decay and was experiencing an economic collapse. The streets of Manhattan were known for the large population of pimps and prostitutes that frequented them, and a crime-filled subway system. The city was on the verge of bankruptcy and many people were unemployed, a consequence of the “white flight” that highly influenced the city’s tax base and economy. The severity of the situation can be portrayed by the pamphlet that was released in the mid 70’s by the Council for Public Safety, titled “Welcome to Fear City: A Survival Guide for Visitors to the City of New York,” with the purpose of warning tourists to stay away. Millions of copies of this exaggerated depiction of the city’s fiscal crisis were distributed to tourists as they arrived, by none other than members of New York’s police forces. The pamphlet was created and distributed as a result of the discharge of a substantial number of public safety personnel, whom infuriated sought some kind of retaliation. The guide provided nine specific steps or tips for tourists in order to “help them enjoy their visit to the City of New York in comfort and safety.” Some of the guidelines were written as advice “Be aware of fire hazards…” while others sounded more like orders that if not followed could lead to terrible consequences. “Do not walk, remain in Manhattan, avoid public transportation…”

However, even under these circumstances, the city still held an appeal that attracted foreigners from other places such as Long Island. New York City did not start its period of gentrification until early 1990s, but even though Times Square was nowhere near the attraction it is today, the city still held this sense of excitement that called to some. Glenn Kenny, writer for The Guardian, describes New York City during the 1970’s as a scary but exhilarating place to be in. “The place these books conjure is both very scary, and very exhilarating. Not a place where some kind of arty misfit or wannabe arty necessarily wanted to live, but rather a place where one such creature could live. And hence, a place where one such young creature had to live. Speaking strictly for myself, born in 1959, I got there a little late to the party. As someone who was watching from across the river in dreaded exile of New Jersey, I get the appeal of their somewhat misty-eyed memories.”

This appeal Glenn Kenny speaks about, might have also applied to Joel and it is possible that this is the reason behind 52^nd Street’s romantic representation of New York City. The rock & roll and jazz-like tunes in the album previously described, effectively communicate the feeling of exhilaration and allure that many young artists, including Joel, probably experienced at the time.

During an interview Joel stated that, “Long Islanders have a little bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to New York City. We’re like the country bumpkins, the cousins from out of state. . . I used to go to the city and feel like a dumb tourist: ‘Look at all the tall buildings! Look at all the people squashed together!’ New York is really an impressive city. I’ve been all over the world. I’ve played all these cities, but New York is Gotham. It’s gargantuan. I think Long Island people feel the same when they go to the city. . . But we have things that are our own.” In this statement Joel expresses the feeling of wonder that can also be heard in the artist’s 1978 album, with songs like “My Life” and “Big Shot” referencing key places in the city that he frequented but also reflecting the freedom and independence New Yorkers are known for.

Double Fantasy

May 18, 2016 Rina Suzuki Leave a comment

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Double Fantasy (1980) is one of the famous and unforgettable albums that evoke New York City. The album is supposed to be a special album in celebration of Lennon’s return to the music industry after spending the prior five years raising his son, Sean Lennon. However, it became his posthumous work and his last album, after he was murdered in front of his apartment on December 8, 1980. It happened just after the album was released. It became famous worldwide, in part because of the tragedy, and the album was chosen as the 1981 Album of the Year at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards.

The album is written by both John Lennon and Yoko Ono. Each songs by John and Yoko are composed alternately and it is like a conversation between a man and a woman. In this album, songs written by John sound gentle and sweet, and the more powerful and energetic songs were written by Yoko.

My favorite song from this album is “Woman,” written by John. Generally, it is understood as a romantic song for Yoko. There are also some alternate interpretations of it. For instance, John said that he had written this song to show his respect to Yoko, as he knew how tough and hard it is to raise a child after the five years caring for his son. Also John had written the song an apology to Yoko for the “Lost Weekend”. John and Yoko had lived separately for a while and he had lived in Los Angeles with May Pang from October 1973 to January 1975. John and Yoko were calling about this period of time as “Lost Weekend” although it is not literally a weekend (Allan Kozinmarch, 2008). These two are really famous interpretation of this song and they are all about John and Yoko. Moreover, this song has deeper meaning for women in this world. There is this lyric, “It’s for your mother, or your sister, anyone of the female race”, which shows us his feminist statement. He also says, “For the other half of the sky,” at the beginning of this song, which refers to women. His thought about women had been changed by Yoko very much and I will explain how Yoko affected John’s thoughts in the next part.

After Yoko married John in 1969, they started having relationships with avant-garde artists, antiwar movement people and feminists. Her thought was “love and peace”, and also she was a women’s liberationist. She is making many arts related to her thoughts. “Cut peace” is one of her famous and most distinctive art works. This art first staged on July 20, 1964 at Yamaichi Concert Hall, Kyoto. Audiences come on a stage and cut clothes, which Yoko Ono is wearing. Yoko explained it as a pain in her heart. It also showed us how women are passive and discriminated by men. We can understand women’s discrimination was bad at that time through this art. Her book of poem called “grapefruit” is about world peace. She is asking as to “imagine” in this book. As you can assume, this book affects John Lennon very much. This book inspired a song “Imagine” released by John Lennon. When John Lennon recorded this song, he credited only himself, but later he disclosed that the song “Imagine” was inspired by Yoko Ono and written with her . “Woman” on Double Fantasy reveals that Yoko affected John’s thought and changed it very much.

Many immigrants came to New York City to find a new life. However, New York City at the time John and Yoko lived there, in late 1970s to the early 1980s, wasn’t a really an easy place to live in. It was a dirty, bad conditioned and busy city. It’s ironic that these man and woman, who were hoping and working on the world to be peace and full of love, actually lived in New York City where one of the most dangerous place and the worst place to raise children. According to The New York Times, the number of drug abuse by New York’s school children rose very high in the late 1970s to the early 1980s. In 1977, “ A congressional committee on drug abuse found a “very substantial increase” in narcotics use among New York City school children in the last year year and a half “from the seventh grade on up.”” It also says that “the city’s overall narcotics problem had reached a “crisis situation” and the city’s criminal justice system “is in almost total collapse.””

Despite the situation in New York City, John and Yoko decided to move to there and started to raise their son, Sean Lennon, which was challenging for them. This song “Starting Over” is expressing a feeling of getting tired of living in New York City and asking people to get out from this city. You can see it from the lyrics, “Why don’t we take off alone. Take a trip somewhere far, far away”. Also as the lyrics says “Every day we used to make it love. Why can’t we be making love nice and easy? It’s time to spread our wings and fly. Don’t let another day go by my love. It’ll be just like starting over. Starting over…”.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, New York City was one of the highest rate of drug use and crimes. Crimes in New York City related to John Lennon’s death too. He was murdered by his fan in front of his apartment and Yoko Ono was with him. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were living in an apartment, The Dakota, on 72nd St, which is one of the richest and safest place in New York City. Mark David Chapman was one of the most enthusiastic fan of John Lennon until he became a Christian. He actually had a list for murdering, which included some musicians, actors, actresses and politicians. However, he was particularly infatuated by John Lennon. Although, he didn’t have a particular person to kill at first, he decided to kill John because John seemed easier to kill for him. Also when he had heard that John said, “The Beatles are more popular than Jesus”, it triggered and he started preparing to murder John Lennon. This is a tragic irony that a musician who was singing for world peace was killed by his fan.

Suggested Reading

Allan Kozinmarch (2008), A fond look at Lennon’s ‘Lost Weekend, New York Times

Edward C. Burks (1977), House Panel Finds Big Rise in Drug Use by New York’s Schoolchildren, The New York Times

Toshinobu Fukuya (2009), Yoko Ono Lennon, pp 2,5,6

Toshi Ichiyanagi 一柳慧 (2015), Toshi Ichiyanagi

Album Essays, Artists, Disco, Manhattan, Pop, Rock

Parallel Lines and Blondie’s Capture of New York City

May 18, 2016 wangie wu Leave a comment

New York City was booming with different artistic flavors during the 1970’s. There was a lot of artistic expression in all parts of the city, from the Bronx all the way to Brooklyn. During the 1970’s, New York City was dirty, grimy and poverty stricken; crime and bankruptcy rattled the city and no place was safe. However, that never stopped the voice that people had, it wasn’t the glorified happy beat of disco; it was the harsh vocals and guitar riffs of punk rock. A lot of the bands never made it to the big times, but that did not discourage people from trying and one in particular, Blondie, made their hit album based on New York City. Blondie was a unique band that encapsulated the spirit of New York and brought something new to mainstream music.

Blondie was originally an underground band that was only known by a small group of punk lovers. They wished to make it to the big times and play for larger audiences, but their sound faced many challengers such as disco. After the release of their third album, Parallel Lines, they sprung into success and escaped from their little world. Their album was inspired by the New York spirit, scene and the neighborhoods surrounding them.

Originally starting out as a punk band, Blondie only performed in small clubs. The Cavern and CBGB’s were their spots and they shared these with the Ramones and other well known bands at the time. Interestingly, CBGB stood for Country Bluegrass and Blues. The owner, Hilly Kristal, took a bet and allowed a rock band called Television to perform in his club, but they weren’t just any rock band they were original. Their sound was like a riot, so much noise and harsh lyrics with off tune vocals. Kristal was skeptical at first, but soon enough, his club became the most famous rock club on the planet.

These rock bands were different from the mainstream disco scene. Disco had a repetitive beat and a usually happy kind of feel to it, in addition to, the singers were usually dressed well with eye popping colors. For rockers, it was the complete opposite. Rock bands had a hoodlum kind of feel to their clothing; a simple t-shirt, ripped jeans and short platinum blond hair. This difference allowed a small group of people to enjoy themselves with their unique taste of music. Punk and rock bands were usually raw in their lyrics and vocals, not everything needed to be crystal clear. Moreover, the instrumentals were usually had an aggressive edge to them. This type of scene is where Blondie’s career sprouted.

Although they were liked by their peers and fans, no one thought the band was going to make it make it big time. The clubs were usually filled with other bands and their significant others. The community was small and not very known. CBGB’s only got a little more flare in the mid 1970’s when Danny Fields wrote about the club for SoHo Weekly News. When Blondie performed more frequently, they were discovered by Chrysalis Records and what raised them to stardom was when they worked with producer Mike Chapman.

They were all true New Yorkers and captured the style and sound of their surroundings. For instance, Debbie Harry would like to walk down her block once in a while to absorb the character and spirit of her neighborhood. They appreciated the grime and grit of the place. A lot of vivid memories were made in this area and it is presented in their album. There were a lot of different artists that roamed the streets of New York from fashion designers to photographers to rising stars. They were all gathered in this crumbling neighborhood to try and make it to the big time. New York City was a rundown and poor area that many flooded into, which gave it it’s rich diversity. The different characters, styles, and attitude that made up New York City was embraced by the band and they incorporated it into their sound.

During the 1970’s, New York City was a dying society. The crime rate was escalating, people were scared and everything was cheap. Drugs were freely traded on the Lower East Side. For instance, heroin could be scored easily from dilapidated storefronts and apartment buildings. The mayor at the time, Abe Beame, tried to appeal to the government to bail the city out of its bankruptcy, but the President refused. President Ford allowed the market forces to have their way and the Daily News made a headline that read: Ford to City: Drop Dead. Many artists lived on the Lower East Side and Greenwich Village because the rent was cheap. Furthermore, this environment allowed people to be creative and touch their inner thoughts about the society. Because of the turmoil that was occurring in the city. Times Square was filled with crime and every corner made one feel unease. Dead bodies were not concealed but the city was filled with life. The area was full of menace and harsh reality and that scene was depicted in many different art forms.

Music was an outlet and the lyrics that were spoken was a poem that had true meaning and thought. They were both part of the underground scene because what the rest of the world was listening to was mostly disco. However, all the genres strived in different parts of New York City. Blondie was one the only bands that made it to stardom from the underground scene. They knew they made it because their original fans started to despise what they became.

When Mike Chapman produced their album, he saw great potential in the band because of all the talent that illuminated from them, especially Debbie. Debbie Harry was a strong woman that was not only beautiful but also had a punk attitude that inspired many others later on. Her voice was harsh and identifiable the moment one would hear it. She also had a certain way of singing. She wasn’t always in tune and she didn’t need to be, sometimes she would scream out her lyrics more, but that added to the emotion of her songs. Even though Chapman made it so that the album was a pop album, he incorporated a lot of different genres into this album and still held the spirit of New York City.

Debbie was never shy about her attitude and expressed it not only in her shows but also her music videos. She proved herself to not only be a bleached blonde girl that had good looks. She embraced and used her sexuality to her advantage w Blondie_-_Picture_This hich allowed the band to have its unique style. She designed her own outfits and embraced the simplicity of the punk rock scene. Her clothes were usually more toward a casual sexy. In addition, the lyrics were explicit and unforgiving just like New York. A good example would be Picture This when Debbie says “All I want is a room with view, oh-oh/ I will give you my finest hour/The one I spent watching you shower.” In addition to the lyrics, the different beats and sounds from their instruments really embrace the busy and frustrating nature of the city.

Debbie Harry was a unique person and her attitude was incorporated in her style. Her strong emotions were able to show through her music. For instance, her song One Way or Another was based off of one of her ex-boyfriend’s that would stalk her. Her live performances and strong vocals captured the audience. It’s strong messages and her presentation of the song shows them to be very New York. However, it wasn’t only because of her did the band make it to the big times, her guitarists and drummer also played parts into it. For instance, Gary Valentine also contributed to some of the songs on the album, he wrote them. Jimmy Destri made the base sound for their hit song One Way or Another. These people put their own lives into their music which was what it so original. They were songwriters and singers that poured their memories and experiences of the city into their music. This explains why their lyrics capture the audience.

With Debbie’s presentation and sometimes sing-song voice, it was baffling to hear such crude words at times. For instance, their disco song, Heart of Glass was just that. When you hear it, it has a happy and upbeat tone, but then as she sings in a sort of lullaby voice, and one may drown the real words that she says. “Once I had a love and it was a gas/ soon turned out I had a heart of glass… lost inside adorable illusion and I cannot hide/ I’m the one you’re using please don’t push me aside.” Her voice sugar coats the sadness and aggression that is presented in the lyrics.

Blondie as a band is New York in the 1970’s. They capture a lot of the sounds and spirit that was presented to them in the city at the time. Their unique styles and attitudes melded together to make their biggest album which captured a lot of what the city had to offer. This made them into a big success that is still being mention to this day.

Suggested Reading

Blondie’s New York and the Making of Parallel Lines. Dir. Alan Ravenscroft. Perf. Roberta Bayley, Andrew Bolton, Clem Burke. BBC Documentaries, n.d. Web.

Fletcher, Tony. All Hopped up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York, 1927-77. New York: W.W. Norton, 2009. Print.

Album Essays, Manhattan, Rock, The Big Apple

The Strokes’ Is This It?

May 18, 2016 Javiera Morales-Reyes Leave a comment

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.