Is This It

The Strokes

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 9, 2001)
• Original Release Date: September 25, 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00005QIPH
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (878 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #181 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

With all the media hype that dogged the Strokes before the release of their debut album, it's rather apt that they chose the title Is This It. On the strength of just five songs released on two singles, the Strokes were being hailed as everything from the saviors of rock & roll to the Savior himself. Surely, few bands could live up to the impossibly high standards set for this young five-piece, but the band needn't have worried: Is This It is one of the most exciting and energetic debut albums to spring from New York's long-dormant club scene. In fact, the Strokes are a New York City band through and through; like the Velvet Underground, these are a bunch of uptown artsy types elegantly slumming downtown to the tried and tested themes of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. Their singer-songwriter, the fantastically named Julian Casablancas, delivers his lyrics with a weary nonchalance that belies his age on songs like the title track, "Soma," "Hard to Explain," and the altogether wonderful "Barely Legal." And the band recalls the likes of Television and the Stooges on "Last Nite" and "The Modern Age." Let's hope this sexy, stylish, and undeniably cool band is the future of rock & roll. --Robert Burrow

Product Description

No Description Available

Track: 10: Trying Your Luck,

Track: 11: Take It Or Leave It,

Track: 1: Is This It,

Track: 2: The Modern Age,

Track: 3: Soma,

Track: 4: Barely Legal,

Track: 5: Someday,

Track: 6: Alone Together,

Track: 7: Last Nite,

Track: 8: Hard To Explain,

Track: 9: New York City Cops
Media Type: CD
Artist: STROKES
Title: IS THIS IT
Street Release Date: 10/09/2001
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honestly, In My Top Five--Ever., June 12, 2005

By	Bernard Chapin "Ora Et Labora!" (CHICAGO! USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

What if I could offer you instant happiness? This happiness could be obtained without having to take any pills, invest large sums of money, vote Socialist in the next election or meet any new and interesting friends in the county lock-up. My guess is that most of you would be interested in my offer. Now, that you're interested, all you have to do is find your way to the nearest mall or dot com so you can obtain the 2001 release, "Is This It", by the band The Strokes. It is not merely a collection of tunes; it is an ecstatic dose of acoustic Wellbutrin.

I'm still trying to figure out what happened with this record even though I bought it over three years ago. One minute I was slogging along with my anti-pop culture friends and deriding this age of musical nihilism and the next I'm in my living room singing "He won't decide but he won't debate."

I purchased the CD after hearing the addictive radio single, "Last Night." I usually don't buy a lot of new releases, as I'm often severely disappointed. It is rare when I find the popular stuff worthwhile. Yet, the first time I heard the record I knew it was special before the sixth or seventh song even began to play. Their sound is effervescent and stimulates regardless of the volume at which they are heard. Many may dismiss their compositions as being merely "catchy" but I think this is incorrect. There is a quiet complexity to their sound and, as my friend Grange put it, "They're so smooth it's actually deceptive- because there's actually a whole lot going on."

I will acknowledge that their physical appearance is not confidence inspiring. They appear on television in ultra-trendy dress and their liner note photos make them look as if they each individually drank three barrels apiece from the fountain of youth. Yet inexperience and glamour do not contaminate the end product which vibrates from your speakers.

The truest proof I can offer of their excellence is that "Is This It" did not leave my CD player for three months time after purchase. I'd give it a quick play on a daily basis. Only now have I reached the point where the record infrequently breaks into the rotation but I still appreciate it whenever it does.

The Strokes have become my default option whenever the need to buy a gift arises. For my mother's birthday last year, I decided to amazon her the album (along with a bunch of other stuff). My mom loved it and when I visited for Christmas I found the record on her passenger seat, which suggested heavy use.

One of my friends was going through a nasty bout of melancholia so I decided to give it to him as a present. He reported to me that the vitality of the melodies actually made him feel better.

Is this a hybrid, commercially fabricated band? Who cares. They're great and that's all I care about. Sometimes a band of mercenaries can be melded into a unit and the end result is a Stanley Cup champion or a Super Bowl victory. Regardless of influence or history, The Strokes sound grand and that's enough for me. If you're in the need for cheap euphoria, get ready because this is it.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Is It, November 26, 2002

By	bdmusicfan (around) - See all my reviews

It's pretty sad that most of the people who give this album a bad review just make some weak comparison to VU or some other band and say that The Strokes are not original. I can only assume that these people have not heard either VU, The Strokes, or possibly either band, or are nu metal fans bitter at their ... genre's demise and have come here to bring down others.
I was somewhat skeptical about The Strokes at first, seeing them for the first time on MTV and then reading about their priviliged backgrounds. But then I pulled my head out of my ... and realized that it didn't matter how I heard of them or how rich their parents are, they make damn good music. Yes, some of it's poppy and catchy, but some of it is also raw, balls out rock and roll. Just listen to BARELY LEGAL and TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT a couple times. Keep an open mind and you'll find yourself liking them too.
I would say the most impressive aspect of this album, besides it being an incredibly fun listen, is how well crafted the songs are. They each play fairly simple parts, but they fit together in such a way and change often enough that it doesn't get old or stale. The simplicity of this album is, oddly enough, just amazing. (This coming from someone who is a big fan of Radiohead and At The Drive-In, which is saying a lot if you know anything about those bands)
I am one of those people who prides himself on keeping his ear to the ground in the music scene and hearing and knowing about the indie and lesser known bands (someone people might refer to as a "music snob") because I am not happy with most of the crap on MTV or the radio. However, I also realize that sometimes it is ok, and maybe even good, to listen to music just for the sake of pure mindless fun. Which one reason why I love The Strokes.

p.s. the material for The Strokes' second album is shaping up quite nicely (good luck making comparisons so VU now)

p.p.s. Interpol's debut album Turn On The Bright Lights is just damn good

36 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ignore the pretentious crap--this album rocks., November 21, 2001

By	"m0untaingirl" (Detroit) - See all my reviews

"Blah blah blah, I'm too indie for you, this album sucks, it's too hyped, it's been done, etc." Sound like anything you've read recently?

The funny thing about hype--I think--is that it works both ways. People complain that an album sucks because it's "too hyped", but, aren't they really just buying into the hype? I had never even heard of The Strokes until I downloaded some of their stuff off of epitonic.com. I was totally blown away. I am a die-hard fan of vintage rock and roll, and rarely listen to anything made past the 1980's, and I love this album. Yes, they have influences--every band does--but they have added something to the old "insert 1 part angst, two parts catchy guitar riffs, 1 part good hair" formula that people have been copying for years. One thing is apparent about this album that I value: The Strokes aren't trying to hard to be obscure and different--they're just playing good old rock and roll for music's sake, and what, may I ask, is wrong with that?

But, whatever, I'm not going to lend a hand to you clueless fools who choose to buy into the pretentious anti-hype. You can listen to the indie-posers and I will keep The Strokes all to myself. Thank you!