28
The Strokes - The Modern Age
Is This It
2001
Of course, rock revivalism is an exciting thing in the right hands. Before the Strokes came along it seemed like Britain’s rock landscape was populated by screaming nu-metal babies and post Oasis/Radiohead dadrock buttock leechers. The snappy guitars, ennui, sex and decay, Motown riffs, and snappier trousers of New Yorks Strokes was like a short sharp shock; like a post card from a time that felt rock and roll (the roll being crucial) could change the world. It all kinda seemed like it was cynically concocted in the studio by Julian Casablancas and producer Gordon Raphael using an abacus, cello tape and stray bits of Marquee Moon, but it didn’t matter, cos when Julian nonchalantly drooled “In the sun sun having fun it’s in my blood, I just can’t help it. DON'T WANT YOU HERE RIGHT NOW LET ME GO. WOOOH! Go Go Go Go Go Go “ with sexual relish, he showed up all the rap rockers and pub plodders as the spoilt whingebags that they are. I can say with confidence that this is the most important track on this humble list and throughout most of the last decade it was hard to find an indie band that didn’t cop the Strokes hooks and looks.
So why ‘The Modern Age’ and not ‘Last Nite’ or ‘New York City Cops’? Well confession time; I played Is This It the other day and I’m at pains to say that it hasn’t aged very well. Maybe it’s something to do with the ubiquity of the sound and style. Maybe it was always a bubbly turd puddle all along. Regardless, ‘The Modern Age’ still thrills me with its ska guitar scratching and buck toothed caveman snare thumping in the verses and the garage guitar solo and the bit where the singing bloke goes “I took to many varieties”. For me the Strokes weren’t it, as they felt too cool and detached too actually love and relate to – and it would come the following summer – but 2001 was a musical climate that had time for heroes, even false ones.
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