The One
Everyone’s got that song or album, ol’ reliable which you can return to any day of the week, or every day of the week, and it still feels as fresh as it did the first time you ever listened to it. For some people, it can even be a ritual to listen to it. Regardless of who you are, you’ve got that piece of music that just speaks to you on a level that may not speak to anyone else. Maybe you’ve even got a couple of them, a whole suite of music that you can spend your days with til you can’t hear anymore. For me, that album is, and always will be, The Strokes’ debut album Is This It. Since the day I first heard it, which must have been eight or so years ago at this point, it has stuck to me like nothing else ever has, or likely will.
It’s hard to explain why it speaks to me on such a level. From a technical aspect, there is nothing crazy going on through the album. No shredding guitar solos, pounding drum breaks that blast your brain into bits, or falsettos that could shatter your spectacles. What you will find in its place, however, is outstanding melody and catchiness, each song rooting deep into your brain til it's something that lives with you endlessly. The simple, repetitive drum line that opens the title track signifies something familiar, even if it’s brand new to you. It’s truly a magical feeling, for something to feel so fresh while seeming like something you have had in your life for as long as you can remember.
The singles on this album, enshrined forever in the minds of any former Rock Band players, feel timeless. The jangly guitar lines combined with the gruff, boozy vocals from Julian Casablancas hearken to late nights at a bar, full of bands formed on a whim just for the sake of having some fun and looking cool. Only, nobody has ever sounded or looked cooler than this band did.. The interlocking guitars that kick off hit single “Last Nite” set the tone for the track, before Julian Casablancas immerses you in that time, reminding me of memories I never even made in the first place. The ability to bring you to a specific time and place, and envelop you in the feelings of that setting without having been there in the first place, is a magical feeling and an ability that happens not often enough. Perhaps in time, more albums will be granted this power, but to me this album stands alone as the pinnacle of that.
So why do I love Is This It so much? Is it that false nostalgia, the beauty of being transported to a brand new world? Is it the juxtaposition of the vocals to the instrumental, the way that it can be so raw and pretty simultaneously? Or could it just be that this is the perfect pop album, 36 minutes of some of the catchiest, most simple yet undeniable tracks ever put onto tape? Whatever it is, I doubt I will ever find an album that can impact my life nearly as much as this one had the ability to, all those years ago.