The Strokes are back! back!! back!!!

*and maybe in the next copy of da capo!

I'd pay just about any price.

oooh yeah, that one was great !
I'd definitely want to hear that album. i don't think their fanbase would understand tho'...
that'd be their special album for ILM.

Only if by "stepping" you mean the dance routines practiced by African-American frat members. How crazy (and potentially great) would that be?

i have to disagree with both statements !

The left hand side of this spot-the-difference game is one of the greatest pictures of all time, but the right ---!

I prefer the latter.

The only issue I'd take with that is that the Killers wholly and completely suck.

For sure. And the Killers most likely do suck. I only know the singles, like I say. BUT...in their hackery, especially on "Somebody Told Me" which I think is a fine piece of top 40 goo, they at least got the idea to put a little groove in it. Dissing the Strokes is tedious and beside the point at this point because who cares, but all I'm saying is that the major obstacle for me with them has always been their reluctance or inability to, like, move a little. A good rhythm section could have made them a good band.

ive said it around here before - i think the strokes are conservative in the best way possible. for my money, theyve made two of the best, most replayable albums of the past 10-20 years, with almost no filler. i just cant forsee not loving the next thing they do.

This is the sort of statement that begs for a very long list of better, more replayable albums released since 1985. Unfortunately, I can't post that list, since I am currently too busy rolling on the floor laughing my ass off, wetting my pants and scaring the neighbors.

They like Crazy Town, though. That's like -10000 points.

Well, we can all agree on that.

but in the instantly accessible/downloadable world that has become ours, january 06 means "most people you know will have it on their ipods by august 05" so this is in fact a perfect time to get curious/excited over this. if, that is, you are the type who gets curious/excited over a new strokes album.

-- Ned Raggett (ne...), June 2nd, 2005.

they've been wandering around naked eating grasshoppers.

I’d agree that the first record had that SOMETHING. I found myself liking it despite my best efforts to resist; whereas the second one I had to WORK to like it.

true, august 05 seems a lot more excitable. so i'm willing to get excited if someone's got it within 2 months !

The Strokes have finished recording their third album, which they are mixing with studio whiz Andy Wallace. The album is due out in January.

"I don't wanna go overboard," says singer Julian Casablancas, sitting on a stoop on Fourteenth Street in Manhattan, "but I'm pretty excited. It's like a seedless watermelon -- I like it."

With no deadlines hanging over them in the studio, the Strokes had plenty of time to perfect the tunes, which feature Casablancas' voice front and center for the first time. Highlights of the fourteen songs include Casablancas venting on "Razor Blade" with the cutting line "My feelings are more important than yours"; guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. ripping into a solo on "Vision of Division" sounding like Dick Dale on crack; and the starkly beautiful "Ask Me Anything" (which came to the singer in a dream), featuring only Casablancas' vocals, and Mellotron courtesy of guitarist Nick Valensi.

Casablancas is racking his brain for the album's title and artwork. But he feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. "I'm relaxed now," he says. "Almost done."

The band is revving up for a larger tour than the one following the previous album. "We were a little road-weary after [2003's] Room On Fire, so it was light," says Casablancas. "Now I think we're ready for fatal touring again -- to go all out. We got our energy back."

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7401616/thestrokes?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single1&rnd=1119119086834&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1059

OTM. this is what will happen to M.I.A. as well.

Shit On Sandwich?

The S.O.S. Band?

OTM. this is what will happen to M.I.A. as well.

-- joseph cotten (josephcotte...), June 18th, 2005.

see also: big industry "electronica" push circa '97

Hahahahahaaaa is that from Bush?!

Wow!

Hahahahahaaaa is that from Bush?!

-- joseph cotten (josephcotte...), June 18th, 2005.

hhahaha yeah that bush thread kinda got me laffin' at those ol' lyrics

So, it's a genetic mutation of a normal album with all the black seeds taken out without only a shred of white seeds left in.

Sounds par for the course.

For real though, working with what they had, they should have waited longer before releasing the 2nd single from Room On Fire, because "12:51" didn't get the exposure it deserved, and "Reptilia" got a little too much exposure. And the third single should have been "Under Control."

Hmm. Had they actually pressed it on vinyl and released it at the same time, some people who had liked them from the start may not have given up and bought something else.

Yes, I am fickle, but late vinyl releases really piss me off.

what?

I bought it on vinyl right when it came out, and I don't own a CD copy.

it seems unfair to judge the band because of their fans and/or the media hype surrounding them, I think...

anyway, I really really like the Strokes and actually like Room on Fire better than the first, so I'm pretty stoked.

You Only Live Once - Of all the songs on the new Strokes record, this one sounds the most familiar. It's got the classic chiming guitars from 'Is This It', plus the soaring pop of 'Room on Fire'. That said, the song immediately distances itself from the band's past endeavours, thanks to the uncharacteristic clarity of Julian's voice. It's been debated for years but the truth is out - he really can sing.

Juice Box - Possible first single. Anyone wondering what The Strokes are going on for record number three, get it right here: imposing bass, crazy metal-head drumming, and weird self-amused guitars, accompanied by Julian's unadorned howl. This song introduces a new band, one not afraid to get loose and loud, and fronted by a lead singer who's as available and exposed as he was once evasive and shy.

TBA1 - One of the standout new tracks, this song is reminiscent of early Strokes songs like 'Hard To Explain'. Albert Hammond Jr and Nick Valensi's guitars chase each other through a tight rhythm, while Julian drawls through lyrics like: "I hate them all" and "I hate myself for hating them". It's a gorgeous mix of cheerful guitars and aching lyrics.

TBA2 - This song is almost operatic. It sounds like it could have been on the Donnie Darko soundtrack as it showcases the band's use of a Pixies-style fast/slow dynamic. Their Casio-esque guitars sound even cuter, and the cuter the guitars sound, the louder and more aggressive the drum and bass seem. The end result is sort of schizophrenic - but in a good way.

Razor Blade - On this track, Nick and Albert's twin guitars play with a Sabbath-like heaviness, then jump back into a loose Strokes solo. 'Razor Blade''s lyrics are some of the best Casablancas has written: "My feelings are more important than yours" he sings, "the world's in your hand or it's at your throat".

TBA3 - One of the most experimental new songs. An initially clean and tight rhythm gives way to a theatrical, crescendo-filled chaos. The band have never been as messy as they are here, but they've developed the skills to pull it off without losing focus.

Ask Me Anything - This song features only Julian accompanied by Nick on a mellotron. The lyrics from the bizzarre ("we named a summer camp after you"), to the amusing ("don't be a coconut"), the suggestive ("we could drag it out but that's for other bands to do") and even the poignant ("Got nothing to give/Got no reason to live/Got nothing to hide/I will fight to survive/I wish I wasn't so shy".) The overall feel is of total intimacy, like The Strokes are playing in your bedroom.

Heart in a Cage - The guitars on this one sound like The Who - dramatic scales and lots of volumes. But the lyrics give it a sense of eerie depression: "I don't want what you want/I don't feel what you feel/I'm stuck in a city but I belong in a field".

Killing Lies - Old-school Strokes with distant vocals. The guitars carry the song, but you can make out "don't think everything is gonna stay the same" from Julian's mumblings.

TBA4 - Currently Fab's favourite song (though he insists they're all his "babies"), this track is the sound of insomnia. Urgent bass and drums underlie post-punk guitars, then the sound shifts to a cavernous echo overlaid with Julian's sleep-obsessed lyrics.

Evening Sun - One of the mellower, this track shows exactly what happens when a young, talented band gets to spend a year tnkering with expensive toys in their studio. The pretty feel of the song is reminiscent of Pavement and the lyrics are classically impenetrable: "They love you or they hate you/They thrill you or sedate you/They don't ever let you be".

Fear of Sleep - This song uses The Strokes' new favourite juxtaposition between happy guitars and big rock drums and bass. It's a slow-fast tirade during which Julian repeats the line "fear of sleep" in everything from a near-whisper to a grating scream.

TBA5 - References to the trappings of fame abound on this waltzy track, during which Julian's voice is so clear and deep it's disarming. Standout lyrics include: "It was all just a dream" and "today they talk about us and tommorow they won't care".

TBA6 - The last of the 13 songs NME heard is one of the best. The lyrics are consistent with the perils-of-fame theme evident throughout ("I can't still see yesterday sailing away"), but here Julian also dabbles in uncharistically outward-looking commentary on his generation's alck of direction, describing "an entire generation that has nothing to say".

I think it's totally fair! Roast them on spits!

Old-school Strokes

This is one of the funniest phrases ever.

This is one of the funniest phrases ever.

You new jacks don't appreciate how it was back then, dude....Man, I remember Julian cutting up Bongo Rock at the Bronx River Center back in the day with Kool Herc....Then Fab battled Cowboy from the Furious Five.

http://flathat.wm.edu/2003-10-24/strokes.jpg

Skatalites had one called that back in the 60s.