OTP Science Bros / Rec List
The personal likes of a music loving, book reading, film watching obsessive geek who spends way too much time watching TV and getting emotionally attached to fictional characters.
• A Song Of Ice & Fire • Alabama Shakes • The Avengers • Awake • Being Human • Ben Wyatt • Boyd Crowder • Breaking Bad • Bruce Banner • Chuck • Community • Cougar Town • The Dark Knight Rises • Doctor Who • Fables • Fringe • Game Of Thrones • Happy Endings • The Hobbit • Homeland • Iron & Wine • Jeremy Renner • Jesse Pinkman • Joss Whedon • Justified • Lincoln Lee • Locke and Key • Mark Ruffalo • Mission Impossible 4 • The Muppets • Parks & Recreation • Pearl Jam • PJ Harvey • Prometheus • Pulp • Scarlett Johansson • Sherlock • The Shield • Southland • Spartacus • Steve Rogers • The Strokes • Timothy Olyphant • Up All Night
Books of 2011 / Films of 2011
The Strokes Promo Videos Masterlist
This is for the anons who were after links to the all videos
Last Nite : YouTube / Download
Hard To Explain : YouTube / Download
Someday : YouTube / Download
12:51 (Tron version) : YouTube / Download
12:51 (Studio version) : YouTube / Download
Reptilia : YouTube / Download
The End Has No End : YouTube / Download
Juicebox : YouTube / Download
Heart In A Cage : YouTube / Download
You Only Live Once : YouTube / Download
You Only Live Once (Warren Fu version) : YouTube / Download
Under Cover of Darkness : YouTube / Download
Call Me Back (Unofficial Albert Hammond, Jr. version) : YouTube / Download
Taken For A Fool : YouTube / Download
Song of the Day
Won’t decide, but he won’t debate
Said, “Thanks my friend,” but he was too late
Oh why, oh why
I don’t know
So you think things move pretty fast down here
Well just wait my dear ‘till you look up there
Oh maybe someday you’ll know
Had his second kid, was an early night
Got to be well dressed ‘cause he hates to fight
Oh loves his job, takes it home
When It Started by The Strokes
To mark the 10th anniversary of Is This It in the US, here is the song that replaced New York City Cops due to the 9/11 attacks.
I do like When It Started but it doesn’t have the same appeal as NYCC did. Still a good song though and I adore the guitar solo seriously so good.
Anonymous Asks:
deardarkness Said:
Evil question is evil!! OK not in any order
Is This It
The Modern Age / Hard To Explain / Trying Your Luck / New York City Cops / Someday
Room On Fire
Under Control / What Ever Happened / Reptilia / I Can’t Win / Automatic Stop
First Impression of Earth
Ize of the World / Vision of Division / Red Light / Razorblade / Ask Me Anything
Angles
Machu Picchu / Taken For A Fool / Two Kinds of Happiness / Under Cover of Darkness /Life Is Simple In The Moonlight
B-sides/unreleased songs
Hawaii / Modern Girls & Old Fashioned Men / In Her Prime / Clear Skies / I’ll Try Anything Once (Demo)
3/4 ths of The Strokes Discorgraphy on tape.
Last of my Strokes tape porn, hope you enjoyed it. Gonna go listen to them now and cry into my pillow. All the booklets are the same with the exception of FIOE. The art is not available, but the pictures of the boys + lyrics are there. It’s the cutest thing ever.
I own all the albums on CD, and I’m only missing FIOE on vinyl.
So beautiful
Let’s start with a photo set.
Is This It: Some Rambling Thoughts
Though the 10 year anniversary is tomorrow the actual first time I heard the record in full and not live was on its UK release date (27 August 2001) after coming home from Reading festival and grabbing a copy of the album at Paddington Station. Overall my memory is poor but when it comes to remembering music I can recall vivid details like it was yesterday (and I mean really I can’t believe its been ten years, where has the time gone?)
None of the songs were new to me having worn out my Modern Age EP and Hard To Explain single as well as seeing the band live only a few days previously but everything still felt fresh and different hearing it as a complete work and in the right order.
Yes the correct order, because I think in this age of MP3s sometimes we tend to listen to albums on shuffle which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but Is This It is a good example of how sometimes the tracklisting order of a record can be perfect.
I’m not entirely sure the last time I heard Is This It in full as it was intended so whilst writing this entry I did just that. As perfect as ever.
Rather than talk about the importance of the band to me personally which I have done many times or their impact on music which has been discussed as well I’m simply going to listen to the album and talk about the songs.
Is This It
I can’t think ‘cause I’m just way too tired
I still think starting the album with a ‘slow’ number is a brave choice and not what you expect but what I’ve always loved about the band is their ability to slow it down when needed. There is such a vulnerability in Julian’s voice especially in the opening verse. Its actually a beautiful song, something about the bassline always makes me feel incredibly sad I can’t explain it really.
Watch: Is This It Live on Mad TV, Julian looking as nonchalant as he sounds in the song
The Modern Age
Oh, in the sun, sun having fun
Being the first Strokes song I heard I always have a great love for this song I mean really its perfect in every way the drums, that god damn guitar solo which still gives me chills and sends me into a fit of dancing. The way Julian sings ‘Darling let me g-g-g-g-g-g-go’. Like so many songs by the band it evokes a feeling of nostalgia, like surely this song was written in the 70s and yet it feels oddly modern as well.
Watch: The Modern Age live (MTV’s $2 Bill), that fucking guitar solo and then Julian falls to his knees. Yeah!
Soma
I’ve been doing this 25 years….
Underrated song alert. Seriously it feels like a lifetime since the band played this song live but its so good. I specially love the intensity of the last verse.
Watch: Soma live at Radio City Music Hall
Barely Legal
Like my sister, don’t give a fuck
I’ve always thought this song summed up The Strokes don’t give a fuck attitude perfectly.
Watch: Barely Legal live at Columbia Hall, Berlin
Someday
When we was young, oh man, did we have fun
Perfect summer song. Seriously every time I hear this I get transported back to the summer of 2001 and 2002 and everything feels splendid.
Watch: Someday on Letterman “Happy Thanksgiving y’all” timely holiday greeting from Julian ha
Alone, Together
He knows it’s justified to kill to survive
This always felt like a kind of dark moody song like yeah an undercurrent of darkness and yeah I’m always going on about solos but my god seriously just listen to it!
Watch: Alone, Together Live (MTV’s $2 Bill) Nick and Albert completely lose their shit, brilliant (Nick’s bendy legs! Albert’s face!)
Last Nite
Well, I’ve been in town for just about fifteen minutes now
Ok for a while after this song was officially played to death on the TV and by radio I grew a little bored of it and would skip it but then maybe about 4 years back I was listening to it for the first time in like ages and all the original hysteria I felt when I first heard it came flooding back. It’s not their best song but its a damn perfect piece of pop, everything a single should be.
Watch: Last Nite promo video because frankly its still so amazing all these years on.
Hard To Explain
I try but you see, it’s hard to explain
Let’s take a moment to appreciate Fab’s drum machine drumming at the beginning of this song? Awesome right, yeah fucking awesome. Then lets take a moment to appreciate every fucking second of the song because Hard To Explain probably tops many fans favourite song poll and you can see why. Then there is of course the brilliant fake ending.
Watch: Hard To Explain on Leno
New York City Cops
They act like Romans, but they dress like Turks
Fact every time I see this song live I usually end up injuring myself. I freak out so much to it. It’s like I can’t even describe how I feel when I listen to this song other than completely manic. I love how the guys fuck with the feedback when they play it live.
Watch: New York City Cops on TOTP
Trying Your Luck
And I lost my page. Again.
I think when I first heard this song something instantly clicked with me, I realised Julian wasn’t a songwriter content to sing about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, he had this melancholic side to his writing. I am rambling here by the way but like Is This It there is a strange beauty about Trying Your Luck.
Watch: Trying Your Luck live (MTV’s $2 Bill)
Take It Or Leave It
He’s gonna steal your friends if he can
Such a bittersweet song for me because its amazing but it always signals the end of a Strokes show so in one way you want to hear it but then of course you never want the moment to end.
Watch: Take It Or Leave It on Letterman, fact this is their greatest TV performance ever.
So if you do one thing this weekend take 36 minutes and 29 seconds to sit down and listen to the album that influenced a hundred bands, shaped the minds of thousands of music fans and allowed us all to remember music doesn’t have to be dull and that 5 skinny kids from NYC dressed in battered leather jackets and Coverse can make a difference.
30 Days of The Strokes
Day 28 - The Song That Blew You Away
New York City Cops
This was the song that turned me from ‘I’m rather interested in this band’ to ‘HDKJSHKJHDJHSHHD I WANT TO BE IN THIS BAND’
30 Days Of The Strokes
Day 27 - The First Album You Bought
Is This It
9 years ago yesterday, I proceeded to play it to death for the next two years until ROF came out. One of my first reaction to the actual CD (not the music) was looking at the inlay booklet and going WTF at JP & Gordon who looked like drug dealers and Ryan who looked insane with that manic grin.
Nine years ago, after packing up my tent post-Reading Festival and taking the train back to Paddington I popped into the Our Price at the station and picked up an album that would change my life.
That album was Is This It by The Strokes
Yep 9 years since that beauty was released into the world. I’m hoping for some special edition deluxe album next year.
12 Days of The Strokes
Day Eleven Favourite album
Is This A Room On Earth!
Basically I still can’t decide, each album means different things to me.
Is This It was my days at University being care free, enjoying myself
Room on Fire helped me through a terrible time of depression.
First Impressions of Earth reminds me of one of my favourite holidays with my best friends in France. It also got me through a bad time at work.
