Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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44 of 50 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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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
not gods,not morons..., June 19, 2002
What made me want to write a review was only partially the record. It's better than average but quite a ways away from great.It's a "simple" record and all things considered-a modest yet notable achievement. Those expecting the return of christ (or some such revalation)should beware. A number of the songs betray their influences to the point that they are wearing them as a glove and not just simply on their sleeves. That said, there is some good music on the album. The simple,hypnotic bass line in "Is this it" is more interesting(maybe only to) that it ought to be. For some reason I still think that "Last nite" is just a pretty good song. Shoot me. There are many other interesting (if somewhat unoriginal) moments scattered about but this brings me to those who love to trash the Strokes . At some point it became fashionable to hate this band.It's possible that envy because this band and not somebody else's personal favorite was shined on by the gods. If so, get over it. Long ago I stopped taking it so hard when lesser lights(on a major label none the less) outshone my obscure heroes. That's life. The obvious influence of others in the Strokes music maybe a larger factor. One of my main sticking points with this album is the copping of influences but one of the reasons I wrote this is because I saw a listmania thing where somebody was ranting about how derivative this band is but completly failed to mention the most obvious two influences: Television and Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Hate this band if you will but do it in an informed way. (As for those metioning Television, I hope I'm not insulting anybody here but considering the relative obscurity of the band, it's hard not to think that at least a few reviewers just dropped the name to second the complaints of others. I hope not...) I also hope that the people who are all over the Strokes for their musical thievery are all over the swell of "new metal" bands that are stealing (just as brazenly) from Nirvana,Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains.It also seems that some who trashed the band for having an "uninspired" singer and for being unaccomplished musicians are fans of the Sex Pistols-who embody both of those critisisms. Petty complaints about having the right look or attitude are boring. Most rock music, and almost all punk, is built around attitude(once again the Sex Pistols-98% attitude). I'm not being shallow, only realistic. Plus, I hate to break it to you but even the coolest of underground acts work on how they present themselves. If your main complaint here is about their hair and attitude you most likely didn't even bother to pay attention to the music. Sorry if I got off on a rant but I couldn't help myself. The Strokes have the disinterested, impossibly jaded thing down. Now they need to polish the music.It will be interesting to hear how they try to get out from under the twin terrors of being labeled a "ripoff" and the next big thing. Like most critical darlings and overhyped mortals, they are doomed (for now anyway) to be better than those who hate them say they are and not as great as their biggest fans want you to believe. Don't beilieve the hype-from either extreme. The truth lies in the middle. It's just a decent album. As some say, the band can come off seeming uninspired but certainly no more so than the numerous reviewers who said the Strokes should be called the Jokes. You guys should polish that up too.
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