19. "Is This It?"- The Strokes

For as long as the other albums on this list have been in my life, this one has only recently entered it. The Strokes were always a band “just outside my radar.” In other words, I listened to and greatly enjoyed bands and artists that sounded like them but I never made the jump to listen to them myself, always knowing that I would most likely highly enjoy them. Over the years, I had heard “Reptilla.” In fact I first came across it at a party in 8^th grade. I wasn’t ready.

In my study of music, I had gathered a sense of the Strokes and the space they occupy as a band. Very similar to The White Stripes, they were heralded as pioneers ahead of their time sonically by borrowing from sounds of the past. Both bands standing out from the rest of the musical landscape of the time and both primarily enjoyed by critics and college students.

This past winter, being slightly past the age of a college student and fancying myself a music critic, I decided it was time to give this highly praised debut a try. I was impressed from the start. I love the gumption to begin an album and a career with the phrase “Is this it?” Instead of an all out showcase of skill and talent that is loud and attention grabbing, Julian and crew are subdued and almost passive. If you as a listener chose to enter in, that’s your call and they will carry on either way. As the last track declares “Take It or Leave It” Needless to say, I walked right in.

I found a collection of songs that are essentially reflections and brief stories from a time in life that I could at last relate to: early adulthood. I know that I would not have been able to relate the songs when I was in high school or even early on in college. Now, on the cusp of 24, I had my share of “Last Night”s so to speak. I also feel like I probably would have looked for more musically from the band when I was younger. The deliberate choice to do less would have been lost on me. I would not have been able to appreciate the tradition that the band enters into with this album.

In so many ways, “Someday” and “Last Night” are instant classics. Both quick and equipped with a catchy chorus fun to both sing and shout, they have infiltrated pop culture and do serve as landmarks to the large album overall. It is hard not to tap along to them with your feet.

Having gotten into this album almost fifteen years after its release, I able to enjoy it in context of the bigger picture. Like I wrote, I can see them standing on the shoulders of the Ramones. I can also hear bands like Rooney and The Bravery taking notes and preparing for their careers to start. It does not have to be this collection of songs serving as contrast to its contemporaries. It just has to sound good.