Stokes Review

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obiwankobe
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Stokes Review

Post by obiwankobe »

The Strokes
First Impressions of Earth
[RCA; 2006]
Rating: 5.9





When Is This It landed in 2001, prognosticators claimed the Strokes would break big, reassert New York's post-punk primacy, and save rock and roll. One out of three ain't bad. Though early references were made to canonical art-rock legends such as Television and the Velvet Underground-- bands that achieved more popularity after disbanding than at their creative peaks-- the Strokes were superstars by comparison: Their debut sold more than 2 million copies worldwide; the Velvets wouldn't crack Billboard's top 100 albums chart until the release of 1985's posthumous VU. But that's where the glory fades: The Strokes simply ascended to mainstream acceptance, leaving a potential underdog rock legacy in the dust, and accruing a truckload of backlash in the process. So one can hardly blame them for cutting their losses and going for broke on their boorishly titled third album, First Impressions of Earth.

Here, the Strokes simultaneously settle into diminished expectations (delaying an album until just after Christmas = not screening a movie for film critics) and wildly ratchet up their sound, trying new things, getting weirder, but remaining true to the core of their sound. Though always inhumanly taut, the band has grown even tighter, and now plays with a precision that, while coldly machinelike at times, is impressive more often than not. On songs like "Juicebox" and the standout "Electricityscape", drummer Fab Moretti and bassist Nicolai Fraiture form a no-nonsense rhythm section that keeps these songs as concise and focused as possible. Albert Hammond and Nic Valensi, meanwhile, build a complex weapons system out of just two guitars, interlocking like Thundercats and launching short singsongy riffs that add tension and spark, particularly on tracks like "Heart in a Cage" and "Razorblade".

But if the group has grown deadlier and more dynamic in their five years together, singer Julian Casablancas still struggles as a lyricist. Perhaps dogged by persistent assertions that he has nothing to say, he finally cracks here, asserting that no one does. "Seven billion people got nothing to say," he moans on album closer "Red Light", "Are you coming on to me?" And leading up to that summary statement is an insistent defensiveness that curdles otherwise decent songs into tedious self-consciousness. On "Ask Me Anything", he admits, "I've got nothing to say", and tempers his cynicism with nonsense as proof: "Don't be a coconut/ God is trying to talk to you."

Of course, no one ever listened to the Strokes for deep insight into the human condition. They benefitted from being in the right place at the right time, coming into their own while the dominant trends of the late 90s were fizzling out. Just like many of the flannel-clad Seattle-ites of that decade (and, arguably, the spandex-sporting hair-metal bands of the 80s), the Strokes encapsulated numerous trends at once, projecting more meaning through their style and sound-- that scruffy hair, weathered denim, slouchy throwback punk-- than through their songs. And regardless of message, Casablancas has proven himself a large and important part of that appeal, for both his physical presence and his vocals, which remain ragged and loose in opposition to the band's rock-solid dynamic. On First Impressions, however, he seems eager to break the mold, but unsure how: On "Vision of Division" and "The Ize of the World", he strains harder, screaming through gritted teeth; "Heart in a Cage" and "Fear of Sleep" find him leaning too heavily on repetition of phrases that quickly become grating; during the Pogues-like stomp "Evening Sun", he fakes a Shane MacGowan accent for the first few lines before dropping the schtick altogether; and on "Ask Me Anything" and "On the Other Side", he makes this album the Strokes' loungiest to date.

A handful of these modifications are welcome as a change of pace, and at times make First Impressions sound prickly and confident. When the band is on, the songs attain the force and fury of previous outings. Unfortunately, the album is also clogged with a number of tracks that are as sloppy as titles like "The Ize of the World" and "Vision of Division" suggest. But the band's failures do, if nothing else, possess a certain schadenfreude, allowing a fascinating glimpse at a band futilely grasping in all directions for something new and meaningful, only to fumble with a half-fragment of unformed idea between its desperate fingers.
-tom

~"Let there be no conflict in America, if you bother me, I whup yo' ass."~Charles Barkley
assholitis
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Post by assholitis »

Whoa, thanks for reminding me. I had no idea the album was coming out this soon, I found out last night. Then I forgot today was Tuesday, so...ya know.
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biLzamo
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The Strokes

Post by biLzamo »

i liked it personally. at first i thought the "ive got nothing to say" song was a little repeatative, it is, but it conveys the message of the song, and it breaks normal musical conventions, which is good. and the other lines of the song are very poingnant "ive got nothing to give, got no reason to live" and then shows that he does in fact have something to say but he's just shy.

i also like "on the otherside", just because it's so depressing.

hmm need to get the names of the other songs i like. the first one on the album especially.
"The power of the force has stopped you, you hosers."

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Post by gidgetgoestohell »

assholitis wrote:Whoa, thanks for reminding me. I had no idea the album was coming out this soon, I found out last night. Then I forgot today was Tuesday, so...ya know.

Kev...you need your Tuesday Binkoboloba.....
Gidge

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Re: The Strokes

Post by *Annie* »

biLzamo wrote:i liked it personally. at first i thought the "ive got nothing to say" song was a little repeatative, it is, but it conveys the message of the song, and it breaks normal musical conventions, which is good. and the other lines of the song are very poingnant "ive got nothing to give, got no reason to live" and then shows that he does in fact have something to say but he's just shy.

i also like "on the otherside", just because it's so depressing.

hmm need to get the names of the other songs i like. the first one on the album especially.
I think the first song is You Only Live Once? "Some people think they're always right, others are quiet and uptight. Others they seem so very nice nice nice nice nice....oh oh! Inside they might feel sad and wrong"
I looooove the entire album! Yeah, I've Got Nothing to Say is VERY inconventional.... and is that like a pipe organ????
I still say Razorblade and Ize of the World could be some of the BEST Strokes songs ever. How Long Must I Wait is one of those songs that gets better and better the more you hear it.
"Bitches, don't you know I'm being sarcastic?!"
-Julian Casablancas
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biLzamo
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Post by biLzamo »

but it doesnt compare to the Franz Ferdinand album i just got today. i think it's "You Could Have it So Much Better".
"The power of the force has stopped you, you hosers."

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*Annie*
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Post by *Annie* »

I loooove that album, but you're right it doesn't compare... NOTHING COMPARES TO THE STROKES! :o
"Bitches, don't you know I'm being sarcastic?!"
-Julian Casablancas
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Post by Gooch »

Are you going to Coachella to see them?
~Gooch

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*Annie*
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Post by *Annie* »

I'm going to Coachella... but are they really playing?
"Bitches, don't you know I'm being sarcastic?!"
-Julian Casablancas
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DIsPervertNurse
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Post by DIsPervertNurse »

I do believe that they are going to be on the Saturday Night Live tomorrow!!!!!
And if you've never seen it with your own eyes, it just don't make sense!- Josie
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biLzamo
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Post by biLzamo »

wouldnt it be cool if they played at the same place together
"The power of the force has stopped you, you hosers."

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Post by *Annie* »

They were great on SNL..... Julian looked and behaved VERY different. It was a veeeerry funny episode... for a change.
"Bitches, don't you know I'm being sarcastic?!"
-Julian Casablancas
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