Once a year, for the past 20 years, I spend one day trimming some ladies' bushes. I have become quite gifted I think, trimming to near perfection. It makes them happy and although I would do it for free, they insist on paying me. It is a hot, sweaty, messy job that most people would quickly refuse, but it needs to be done, at least yearly so I pull out my trimmer…
Hey wait a minute! Get you mind out of the gutter. I am talking about hedges! Yew bushes specifically. You people! *Scoff* Unbelievable.
Moving on (you sickos… I mean we're talking about my mom here among "the ladies"… *vomits a little in mouth*)… I listened to The Strokes almost the whole time, so I think it is only fitting to select one of their songs.
Don't let The Strokes fool you. Their songs may seem to all kind of blend together the first few times you hear them. The melody may not be the kind of tune you find yourself humming in the shower… at least not at first. They may seem to be a little "one note". However, once you are sucked in, you will love them and love them all. In fact I have been holding off on adding The Strokes to my "Must Own Albums" list because I was having a tough time picking which album. I have finally decided that "Room On Fire" is the one most likely to hook you with songs like Reptilia, Automatic Stop and 12:51 as the shiny bait.
Once you are hooked, listening to and loving the other two albums, "Is This It" and "First Impressions of Earth" will just be second nature, like opening another bag of your favorite favorite comfort food. Your ears will feel at home and never tire of each and every song.
…that is of course only true if you like any of their songs. Like one and I am convinced you must hear the rest. I'm not saying they have only one song, but I would say they have a sound and if you don't like it, then I pity you. If you do, then you have hit musical gold!
Oh and as a beginner drummer, they have really been great to play along with. The beats are steady, repeated, energetic, and generally not so difficult you cannot play along with some if not all of each song. G likes to play along with the bass parts too! Like The White Stripes, great music need not be impossible to play.
Here are my 5 favorites from the album, with "Reptilia" being my favorite.
This is definitely one of my favorites from The Cardigans, though I bought their first album "Life" immediately after it came out. I also got to see them as the opening band for Beck years ago.
I've always pondered about what music is "sexy". I know for sure that this song is sexy. (No wonder it is one of my favorites.)
I like the video too. It reminds me of another band in an improbably but equally doomed situation, which G showed me the other day…
Ever since G pointed out how this song ends in the middle of the line "Cities to vaporize" I've been addicted to it. The last 5 lines are…
Enemies to neutralize
No time to apologize
Fury to tranquilize
Weapons to synchronize
Cities to vapor-
Very clever. Read the rest of the lyrics here. The way song unrelentingly and gradually builds to a climax at the end is also an awesome feature of the song.
I know I have already posted about The Strokes' song "Automatic Stop", and I have tried not to repeat too many artists given there are so many I love I have yet to even mention, but this one was on my mind. I was listening to The Strokes yesterday along with yesterday's SotD artist, The Bravery. I think if you like one, you'll probably like the other. I was tempted to post another song off of The Sounds new album that came out TODAY but I already did recently, so just go here to listen to it!
G has been playing The Strokes regularly for a couple months now. In the past two weeks I've been totally hooked, and this morning the only song in my head is "Automatic Stop". I like the small but clear contrast between what I call in my head the "two beat-two beat" part and the "dancing guitar with rock beat" part. I guess you could call it the verses and the chorus, but that is so boring of you. I like the unassuming and subtle style of The Strokes in general too.
Just for the record, the video link is a "fan made" video. I am surprised this song was not a "single" from "Room On Fire". Enjoy!
