The Strokes - Classic or Duds?

"12:51" is my favorite Strokes song, no question.

12:51 is just as catchy as anything off the debut.

I do agree that ROF is pretty close to the debut in terms of quality : "12:51" and "the end has no end" are great.
FIOE was awful to my hears (except "only live once").

^ agree, never gave FIOE much chance tho

true. me neither. but it sounded like such an awful mess (and that video where they went all hard rock. don't remember the title of the track).

"juicebox" - that was it. not very good at all.

no no, not "juicebox". one of the singles they released later. black/white. classic rock postures. horrible.

heart in cage when they were as big as buildings!
i like all the metal-y guitar leads, though.

oh yeah sorry, i was posting to myself re: first single "abomination"

FIOE needed to be like 3-5 songs shorter, with the chaff saved for julian's eventual solo album or something.

yeah, "heart in cage" !
I think it was the point when I realized they had jumped a whole heard of sharks...
(and I don't remember the song at all)

couldn't stand to listen to anything by them after juicebox

I liked the first two records though

Julian usually provides great quotes.

It's been more than three years since First Impressions of Earth, and what's helping the process is good vibes and honesty. "It feels like we're new," says Casablancas. "We didn't used to be honest -- there would always be minifeuds over stupid shit. Now, if Nick and Fab or anyone are saying they like it fast or slow, we'll talk about it, as opposed to saying, 'Well, I never liked you sister.'"

first two records and the first track on the third are A+, and the rest of the third album is like B-.

first two records and the first track on the third are A+, and the rest of the third album is like B-.

― 69, Thursday, April 2, 2009 11:58 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark

wow, this is so otm

never heard the 3rd but yeah the first 2 are awesome - dont really get how anyone can like the 1st and not the 2nd? 12:51 is a summer jam for all time

We could go and get 40s
Fuck goin' to that party
Oh really, your folks are away now?
Alright, let's go, you convinced me.

i was definitely on some 2>1 shit for a while after the initial thrill of overplaying IS THIS IT wore off, but im coming back around. title track, modern age, someday, LAST NITE, nyc cops -- these songs are just so so so good. the only thing i dont get is why british people love HARD TO EXPLAIN so much. definitely one of the two or three worst songs on the rec...

like every brit review of (and ilx post about) hard to explain spent so much time praising the ROBOTIC DRUMS OF FAB MORETTI, which i think just sound super-awkward and choppy

i stan for this band so hard and i'd like to say 69 otm

high-five dogg

ya like Interpol they're first album is better

Leif.

I don't see how anyone familiar with Jonathan Fire*Eater could canonize Is This It?. It's a decent record, but it's neither life-affirming nor great.

I'm starting to think we're being linked to by a Jonathan Fire*Eater album, containing all three people who are familiar with them in 2009.

The Strokes themselves have admitted their massive debt to JF*E.

I think the initial UK gaga explosion was from people who never heard JF*E, and even if it is misguided, the gaga train can't be block on its trip across the Atlantic ocean since it is powered by that grossly invincible NME fuel. That's how we ended up where we are unfortunately.

I like JFE but their kinda slow-ass compared to the Strokes

they're, rather.

and that doesn't mean better-worse per se, but it's not like the Strokes were a photocopy

They were called Jonathan Fire*Eater, they got what they deserved

Also I never heard a fun JFE song, were there any?

these little monkeys and when prince was a kid probably the funnest jfe songs.

new member!
http://www.brooklynvegan.com/img/music/strokes/tommyhilfiger/16.jpg

I don't get why peeps upthread are comparing them to Jonathan Fire*Eater (they likely doomed their whole career with the band name alone) but while we're at it I'll give my 5 cents and say the 'tremble under boom lights' ep is the only thing even worth listening by those guys.

But then, 'Is this it' is the only album even worth listening by the Strokes. I like to pretend that 'Little Joy' solo project was their following album before they disbanded. Hope they prove me wrong next time.

Some of you must spend 98% of your day walking around in an uncontrollable rage and I feel very sorry for you.

Whoa, really wrong thread.

uncontrollable rage can cause strokes

Why are there other bands called the Strokes or JF*E that I'm not aware of?

Because I think they're fine but you definitely wont see me throwing my panties their way.

I just heard New York City Cops for the first time in a while, with it's lol metarock intro. God I hate this fucking band.

fun to listen to "Is This It" and pretend it was a really "experimental" Matthew Sweet album.

new song is kinda puzzling, possibly in a good way

reminds me of The Chipmunks doing A-Ha
http://pitchfork.com/news/49301-listen-the-strokes-new-song-one-way-trigger/

possibly in a good way

If by good you mean "it doesn't compel me to end my own life" then, yeah.

Dreadful

good to hear the strokes still suck. gives life a satisfying sense of order.

what's incredible is that these guys are still young enough to be the same age as most 2013 buzzband groups

That first album still stands up.

That was really, really, really terrible, redeemed only by the hilarious comments on the Soundcloud. I don't begrudge stylistic changes by bands I like, but for god's sake that was like MGMT for deaf people.

reminds me of that 'diff'rent strokes' britisher covers thing a while ago

back when mash-ups were a thing this would have spawned an "take on me" hybrid within 6 hours

This is growing on me