Is This It

Untitled

Is This It is the debut album by the American alternative rock band The Strokes, released in 2001. The Strokes were the first band to break into the mainstream as part of the turn-of-the-millennium garage rock trend. Hyped by the music press for their melodic pop-influenced garage rock sound on both sides of the Atlantic, The Strokes' auspicious debut garnered them critical and popular attention, as well as a backlash from listeners turned off by the hype. Nonetheless, Is This It's more famous songs "The Modern Age", "Last Nite", "Hard to Explain" and "Someday" won the band much respect and helped the album reach number two in the UK and number thirty-three in the US. This album is featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Reception

Is This It is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2000s. It was ranked 89th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 367 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In June 2005, the album was ranked number 100 on Spin's list of the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In July 2006, the album was ranked 48 on The Observer's list of 'The 50 Albums That Changed Music.' In November 2007 Q magazine rated it at 21 in "21 albums that changed music" In addition to being ranked among the greatest albums of all time, the non-U.S. version of the album cover has been ranked as one of the greatest album covers of all time. The U.S. cover is different; it features a photo of particle collisions in the Big European Bubble Chamber.

Is This It has sold one million units in the US as of January 2006, yet is still merely certified gold there.

In the Rolling Stone June 2008 edition, the closing track "Take It or Leave It" was named number 71 on their list of 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time

According to Metacritic, which combines reviews from the nations top critics, the album has a 90% approval rating from critics, thus receiving the title of a "universally acclaimed" album.

History

After signing with RCA, the band went on the opposite way of recording adopted by traditional rock bands. Instead of choosing a famous established producer and studio, the band choose to use Transporterraum, in Manhattan's East Village, which was started by Gordon Raphael and Jimmy Goodman. This is where The Strokes had previously recorded their Modern Age EP with Gordon Raphael.

Track listing

All songs by Julian Casablancas.

1. "Is This It" – 2:34
2. "The Modern Age" – 3:32
3. "Soma" – 2:37
4. "Barely Legal" – 3:58
5. "Someday" – 3:07
6. "Alone, Together" – 3:12
7. "Last Nite" – 3:17
8. "Hard to Explain" – 3:47
9. "New York City Cops" – 3:36 ("When It Started" – 2:57 on US edition)
10. "Trying Your Luck" – 3:27
11. "Take It or Leave It" – 3:16

The track "New York City Cops" was pulled from the North American edition of Is This It following the September 11 attacks and was replaced by "When It Started". This was because the band and their management thought the song might be considered insensitive, particularly the main chorus line "New York City Cops, they ain't too smart", which is repeated throughout. The band still plays "New York City Cops" live and the song is available on the international edition of the album, along with its original cover art. The US release of the album still says "New York City Cops" on the track listing on the back of the album, instead of "When It Started." In 2002, Is This It was re-released with a DVD with music videos and outtakes from a performance on MTV2.

Singles

Information
"Hard to Explain" Released: October 15, 2001 Chart positions: #16 (UK Singles Chart) #27 (US Modern Rock)
"Last Nite" Released: May 7, 2002 Chart positions: #5 (US Modern Rock) #14 (UK Singles Chart)
"Someday" Released: September 23, 2002 Chart positions: #17 (US Modern Rock) #27 (UK Singles Chart)

Personnel

• Julian Casablancas - vocals
• Nick Valensi - guitar
• Albert Hammond, Jr. - guitar
• Nikolai Fraiture - bass
• Fabrizio Moretti - drums

• Ryan Gentles - manager
• Gordon Raphael - producer
• Greg Calbi - mastering
• Steve Ralbovsky - A&R
• JP Bowersock - guru

External links

• Is This It at Metacritic