Ten years ago I was in second grade and living in my little suburban town in New Jersey.Just a kid doing kid stuff. I don’t remember much from that age, but what I can remember about 2001 is that year’s obsession for my older siblings — something I didn’t understand at all.
I remember their fervent passion for The Strokes. When the group’s debut album, Is This It dropped, it was love at first earful for my brother and sister. The imminent shift in the garage rock scene became apparent one day when I was at my best friend’s house. My sister came to pick me up wearing her brand new Converse. I shook my head in disappointment, knowing that she was just trying to imitate the look of her new favorite band.
To my surprise, tight jeans, shaggy hair, leather jackets, and worn out Converse would become more and more common in the months to come. And the personas that came with the clothes were even more prevalent. Now, you can’t go anywhere without seeing The Strokes’ long lost little siblings.
The Strokes defined New York City in the early 2000s. Attraction to dirty men increased greatly, and the greasier the hair, the better. The styles in fashion, culture, and of course, music today all owe a huge thank you to those five boarding school boys.
In honor of the tenth anniversary of Is This It, Stereogum compiled an album entitled “Stroked: A Tribute to Is This It,” which includes some of the blog’s favorite bands, each coveringa song from the album. Many of the bands featured, including The Morning Benders, Real Estate, and Peter Bjorn and John all claim The Strokes as an influence.
Regardless of where The Strokes are now (no longer friends) and what direction their music is going (down), we will always have Is This It, a near-perfect album that defined music at its time.
Photo Source: mrmatt from flickr.com
Clara Hung