Hard To Explain: In defense of The Strokes
Back in 2003, The Strokes’ lead singer Julian Casablancas blithely mumbled, “I wanna be forgotten and I don’t want to be reminded,” on the song “What Ever Happened?” The provocation, vaguely hostile and ambivalent, was one of many tossed-off lines that spoke to the New York band’s apathetic and seductive charms, cementing it as one of rock’s next big things. Yet, after a series of diminishing returns—including 2006’s universally ignored First Impressions Of Earth—Casablancas’ self-defeating wish came to pass and The Strokes retreated from the spotlight, each member keeping busy with new projects and celebrity girlfriends. Casablancas has since moved out to L.A., releasing his first solo album, Phrazes For The Young, a pleasant collection of synth-heavy pop reflecting the unlimited sunlight and positive vibes of his new home. Prior to Casablancas’ Ogden Theatre show tonight, and with The Strokes scheduled to hit the festival circuit later this year, The A.V. Club re-evaluates the merits of the long-dormant band.
God save the British press
The press latched onto The Strokes with an exaggerated fervor unflattering to adult professionals. One NME writer categorized Is This It as an “indispensable invention” that forces you to “wonder how you got by without it.” The band’s handsome faces were subsequently plastered on the cover of every magazine in print, each eager to reaffirm that the familiar guitar-based, album-oriented-rock paradigm still had life after years of rap-rock. A casual observer might have believed The Strokes were the most popular band in the world; yet, the amount of press the band garnered was strikingly disproportionate to the amount of records it sold. Is it any wonder then that The Strokes elicited so many detractors when their champions sang their praises at such an obnoxious volume?
The Strokes have held up far better than their contemporaries
The “return to rock” crowd of the early ’00s—including The Hives, The Vines, and Interpol—was an admittedly dismal bunch whose output quickly spoiled with age, whereas The Strokes’ work has shown remarkable durability with time. Is This It is largely considered to be one of the decade’s best, years removed from its initial hyperbolic reception. The band’s only real competition among its peers, The White Stripes—another band whose economy belies its considerable talents—have enjoyed more consistent success both commercially and critically. But comparing the two reflects how arbitrary the era's categorization of the “The” bands was.
Room On Fire is severely underrated
With Is This It, The Strokes were in the position of having to convince a circumspect public they were as good as advertised. By the time Room On Fire arrived in 2003, the howl had considerably subsided, leaving The Strokes as the most popular band nobody liked. However, Room On Fire was perhaps the band’s most impressive trick, a sophomore album that retained the strengths and distinguishable sound of its debut (“Reptilia,” “The Way It Is”) while proving its success was not a fluke. The album’s first single, the buoyant “12:51,” took Casablancas’ laconic drone to its next logical conclusion, now buried beneath a futuristic mechanical sheen. Another successful deviation from type was “Under Control,” a woozy ballad best suited for a slow dance in a high-school gymnasium. First Impressions Of Earth will never be considered a lost classic, but Room On Fire deserves better.
Rumors of the band’s musical misappropriations have been widely exaggerated
You’d be hard pressed to read anything about The Strokes without it mentioning The Velvet Underground shortly thereafter. (Did you think this article would be the exception?) Along with Television, the band is an invariable touchstone used to conceptualize The Strokes’ sound and musical lineage—and no one could justifiably argue it is an entirely unwarranted comparison. Yet, unlike other bands plagued by obvious reference points (Oasis for example), could anyone legitimately confuse the melodies from Is This It for something on Loaded or Marquee Moon? The band’s influences are certainly distinctive, but it stops short of outright mimicry.
The band has been judged more on its appearance than its music
If 2008’s musical bête noire Vampire Weekend has taught us anything, it’s that a powerful sense of cognitive dissonance arises when those from privileged backgrounds start successful rock bands. Just as the fervor surrounding Vampire Weekend focuses more on its love of loafers than the merits of its singles, The Strokes’ were routinely dismissed because of their prep school affiliations and wealthy families, frequently disparaged as a “four car” garage band. Interestingly, the aspects of the band that its most rabid fans (i.e. the British) latched onto—it’s hyper-stylized image and New York-centric ennui—were looked upon negatively in the States, alienating the broad modern rock audience while seen as inauthentic by more discerning tastemakers. In either case, The Strokes’ music took a backseat to the noise and politics of its persona.
