A00-09 28. The Strokes - Is This It

The Strokes are on this list because the NME told me to. It is actually quite easy to be cynical about The Strokes because of all the hype about them at the start of the decade. It is not their fault if somebody influential in the British music media industry liked them or decided that they could use them to sell a lot of magazines. It is not their fault that they were offered an hour and a half headline slot at the Reading Festival despite only having one album's worth of material, a year after having to be promoted to the main stage because of their burgeoning popularity. It is not their fault that the gave rise to myriad 'The' bands. It is not their fault that there was so much analysis about them, right down to the missing question mark in their debut album's title. All of this would not have happened if they had not been a good band, just not as good as they were made out to be.

So to the actual music. It is melodic garage rock, the singer Julian Casablancas sounds like his voice has been processed in some way when he sings. The band are two guitarists and a bass player on most songs the guitar parts are pretty distinct. They are a pretty influential band being a major part of the garage rock revival at the start of last decade. I think this also paved the way for the post-punk revival later in the decade.

I also like their follow-up album Room On Fire. I don't think there is much to choose between them. Is This It gets on this chart for the impact it had at the time

Recommended Track: Hard To Explain