Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Honestly, In My Top Five--Ever., June 12, 2005
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.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This Is It, November 26, 2002
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
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Was this.... it?, February 12, 2005
Media hype follows the Strokes like a hungry dog. But with its classic-inspired uptown-grit rock, it's undeniable that while they aren't exactly the saviors of modern rock'n'roll, they are a solid and enjoyable chunk of it. "Is This It" offers the answer to its own drawled question -- this is it, and it is worth checking out.
A pounding rhythm and several variations of the question "Is this it?" kick off the title track, a swaying rock melody. Following it are a catchy, gritty collection of lo-fi rockers. The uniquely-named Julian Casablancas drones in a delicious monotone through the fast-moving "Barely Legal," the uneasy "Leave Me Alone," the deceptively simple-sounding "Last Night," and the skipping percussion of "Hard to Explain."
Expect to hear echoes of legendary bands like the Velvet Underground, the Stooges and Television. However, the Strokes give this retro sound a twenty-first century twist of New Yorker ennui and art-rock underpinnings. And a lot of attitude. A lot of good rock is half swagger, and the Strokes have their sneery swagger down to a minor art form.
Due to the lavish praise heaped on the Strokes, they've become a love-'em-or-hate-'em phenomena. But just ignoring the hype and listening to the music works best -- it shows off their energetic style in full. Okay, they are not groundbreakers -- but at least they scuff the ground that has already been trodden.
Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond's complex guitar riffs are the gems of this album -- they drone, they skip, they reverberate, and they sear. Nikolai Fraiture's bass is a good dark edge, and Fabrizo Moretti's drumming sounds like little strikes of lighting -- fast, sharp and completely out of the blue.
Julian Casablancas has now become the reference point for male singers who sing in a bored monotone, as if too jaded to show emotion in a song. The only time he breaks out of it is in "Barely Legal," where he almost sounds excited at times. "I wanna steal your innocence/To me my life it don't make sense," he says, and sounds like he means it.
The Strokes are far from being the saviors of rock'n'roll. But their punk-tinged New Yawker rock is still some pretty good music, and "Is This It" remains a likable if spotty debut.
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