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The Strokes
American indie rock band
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City that formed in 1998. It has maintained the same lineup since inception: lead vocalist and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas; guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.; bassist Nikolai Fraiture; and drummer Fabrizio Moretti.
They were a leading group of the early-2000s garage rock revival and post-punk revival movements.
members: Julian Fernando Casablancas Christiansen, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond, Jr., Nikolai Fraiture, Fabrizio Moretti
formed in: New York City
labels: Sony Music
genres: rock music, indie rock, garage rock, post-punk revival, new wave
Facts from Wikidata and Discogs, free to use.
indie rockgarage rock revivalpost-punk revivalnew waverockalternative rock music
The Elsewhere GazetteExtra
1998–2001: Formation and The Modern Age EP
Lead singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti started playing together as teenagers while all of them were attending Dwight School in Manhattan, and formed an informal band in 1997. They later added bassist Nikolai Fraiture to their ranks, a close childhood friend of Casablancas who had attended the Lycée Français de New York with him. At the end of 1998, the group invited guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. to play with them. He had just moved to New York City and reconnected with Casablancas, whom he knew from their brief stints at the private boarding school Institut Le Rosey, near Nyon, Switzerland. At this point, he was the last member to join the band. The two soon became roommates not long...
The band's sound has been described as indie rock, garage rock revival, and post-punk revival by media outlets. The band also incorporated new wave and synth-pop on later records like Angles and The New Abnormal. Casablancas has cited The Doors as an inspiration for him to start a music career, and Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground as a major influence on his lyrics and singing style: "The way Lou Reed wrote and sang about drugs and sex, about the people around him – it was so matter-of-fact," Casablancas stated in a Rolling Stone interview, "Reed could be romantic in the way he portrayed these crazy situations, but he was also intensely real. It was poetry and journalism." Additionally, he has stated that Bob Marley, Nirvana and Pearl...
The Strokes' debut album Is This It was named the number-one album of the year by NME and number two by Rolling Stone in 2001. The album won Best International Album in 2002 at the NME Awards, as well as the ASCAP Vanguard Award. That same year, the band was named Band of the Year by Spin.
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of singer Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Following the conclusion of five-album deals with RCA and Rough Trade, the band has continued to release new music through Casablancas' Cult Records.
The band's debut album, Is This It (2001), was met with widespread critical acclaim and helped usher in the garage rock revival movement of the early 21st century; it was ranked No. 8 on Rolling Stone's 100 "Best Debut Albums of All Time", No. 2 on Rolling Stone's "100 Best Albums of the '00s", No. 199 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and No. 4 on NME's "Top 500 Albums of All Time".
Also known as: Strokes, The Stokes, The Stroke, 鼓擊樂團
From Discogs (free to use). Their entry
Liner notes
The Strokes, the records, oldest first
The Modern Age
2001 ep
Is This It
2001 album
on the air
Lasting Memory
2002 album
Room on Fire
2003 album
wanted
Exclusive 5 Track CD
2003 ep
Observer Exclusive 5 Track CD
2003 ep
First Impressions of Earth
2005 album
wanted
Angles
2011 album
wanted
Comedown Machine
2013 album
Future Present Past
2016 ep
The New Abnormal
2020 album
wanted
Reality Awaits
2026 album
wanted
Records from MusicBrainz; covers from the Cover Art Archive.
"Hard to Explain" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released as the lead single from their debut studio album, Is This It (2001), June 25, 2001.
It peaked at number 7 in Canada, number 10 in Ireland, and number 16 in the United Kingdom. In a 2023 interview, producer Gordon Raphael explained that the song was originally written by frontman Julian Casablancas with his drum machine.
Reception
The single was voted number 3 on the NME Top 100 songs of the decade. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 36 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". Rolling Stone placed the song at number 59 on its list "100 Best Songs of the 2000s." In 2020, The Independent and Paste ranked the song number two and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 20 greatest Strokes songs.
Music video
The music video for this song largely consists of a montage of random stock footage interspersed with images of the band members performing. It was directed by the team of Roman Coppola and Johannes Gamble (as well as an uncredited Julian Casablancas). Footage of The Strokes playing "Take It or Leave It" from MTV2's "Two Dollar Bill" concert is used in the video. Amongst stock footage, the video contains clips from Magnum, P.I. and Knight Rider (both of which are credited), a clip from the film Brainstorm, a commercial for the 1970 Dodge Charger 500 (scene of a woman sitting in a car), a clip from the film WarGames, NASA footage of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in orbit, gameplay of the 1981 Sega arcade game Turbo, the rocket engine firing...
"Last Nite" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released on October 23, 2001, as the second single from their debut album, Is This It (2001).
Outside of the United States, "Last Nite" peaked within the top 20 of the charts in the United Kingdom.
Background
The track was produced by Gordon Raphael and was issued on RCA Records with the song "When It Started" as the B-side.
Reception
The single was the group's first to enter the American charts, reaching the top five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in late 2001. The single also obtained success in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 14 on the UK Singles Chart.
Music video
The band were originally unwilling to appear in a music video. The band eventually agreed and the resulting video was directed by Roman Coppola.
Cover versions, samples and parodies
"Last Nite" was used in the parody "Angry White Boy Polka" by "Weird Al" Yankovic for his 2003 album Poodle Hat, sung in doo wop.
"Someday" is a song by American rock band the Strokes, written by singer Julian Casablancas. It was released on August 5, 2002, as the third and final single from Is This It (2001).
It peaked at number 17 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. It was ranked at number 53 on Pitchfork magazine's list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2000s.
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Roman Coppola and features appearances by Slash, Duff McKagan, and Matt Sorum (the respective guitarist, bassist, and drummer from Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver) as well as the members of Guided by Voices. The video also features Richard Karn as himself, while the Strokes take on Guided by Voices in a fictional game of Family Feud.
"Reptilia" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Room on Fire (2003) on February 9, 2004.
The song was written by Julian Casablancas and produced by Gordon Raphael. In the US, it peaked at number 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Music video
The music video for the song was their first that was not directed by Roman Coppola. Instead they chose Jake Scott to shoot the video, which features close shots of the band members' faces, hands, and instruments while performing the song.
"Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus" is a song by American rock band The Strokes. The song was released on April 6, 2020, as the third single from their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal (2020).
The song was featured as part of the soundtrack to the sports video game MLB The Show 21.
"Going Shopping" is a 2026 single by the American indie rock band, the Strokes, and the lead single off their seventh studio album, Reality Awaits. The single was released on April 7, 2026.
Composition and lyrics
"Going Shopping" has been described an indie rock song with elements of art punk, surf rock and synth-pop. The song has been described by music critics as a song that reminsicent of lead singer Julian Casablancas' work with The Voidz, as well as past Strokes songs on Angles and The New Abnormal.
Release
The song was released to radio airplay, streaming services, and digital download on April 7, 2026. The day before the release, on April 6, 2026, the band played "Going Shopping" in its current form a show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California in between weekends of the 2026 Coachella Music and Arts Festival. Additionally, the first 100 fans who responded to the band's marketing texts received a physical cassette single of the song. The following week, the single made its radio debut on KROQ's Locals Only evening program for new and emerging songs.
Music video
On June 28, 2026, the band released a music video for "Going Shopping" directed by Johann Rashid. The video features Walton Goggins and references the video for Paul Simon's 1986 song "You Can Call Me Al" featuring Chevy Chase.
Critical reception
Writing for Louder Than War, Martin Gray concluded that "the vocal gimmickry on this new single of theirs is a bit of an acquired taste and requires some perseverance", but ultimately gave positive feedback on the track, comparing the autotune use heavily to bands like The High Llamas and Casablancas' side project, The Voidz.
"The Adults Are Talking" is a song by American rock band the Strokes, the opening track on their sixth studio album, The New Abnormal (2020). It was released to alternative radio as the album's fourth single on November 3, 2020.
It was produced by Rick Rubin with music written by all members of the Strokes and lyrics written by the band's singer, Julian Casablancas.
Composition
"The Adults Are Talking" has been described as an indie rock and post-punk song, with new wave integrated. It has been called a "classic Strokes track" by multiple writers. Specific Strokes songs that it has been compared to include "One Way Trigger", particularly due to its usage of a drum machine and digital-sounding guitar riffs, and "Is This It", due to the sound of Julian Casablancas' vocals as well as the song's placement as the album's opener. Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone likened the drum machine beat to the one heard in Joe Jackson's 1982 song "Steppin' Out". Tyler Clark of Consequence of Sound described Fabrizio Moretti's drums as "motorik" and Nikolai Fraiture's bass guitar as "cruising". The song has dueling guitar riffs from Nick...
Release
The Strokes debuted "The Adults Are Talking" at a concert on May 13, 2019, at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles, almost a year prior to its release in studio form. The song was also a part of their setlist during their performance at a Durham, New Hampshire, rally for then-US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders on February 10, 2020. "The Adults Are Talking" received its first release in studio form as the opening track on the Strokes' sixth studio album, The New Abnormal, released on April 10, 2020, through Cult and RCA Records. The band performed the song, as well as "Bad Decisions", during the October 31, 2020, episode of Saturday Night Live's 46th season. "The Adults Are Talking" was later released as a radio play single, impacting...
Music video
The band released a music video for the song on December 1, 2020, after releasing a teaser for it the day prior. It was directed by longtime Strokes collaborator Roman Coppola, who directed four music videos released from Is This It as well as a music video for their song "12:51" from Room on Fire (2003). The video depicts a game of baseball between the members of the Strokes and a team of highly skilled robots. For the video, the band wore custom-designed Strokes baseball uniforms. American musician Beck also makes a cameo appearance in the video as a base coach for the band. In the latter half of the video, a dramatic sequence of events ensues, beginning with Julian Casablancas being hit by a pitch. Afterward, Nikolai Fraiture hits a...
"Under Cover of Darkness" is a song by the American rock band the Strokes. The single served as the lead single for their fourth studio album, Angles, and was released online on February 9, 2011, as a free download for 48 hours exclusively.
It was the first single release from the band in five years, following "You Only Live Once" in 2006. "Under Cover of Darkness" received positive reviews, reaching BBC Radio 1's A Playlist before debuting at number 47 on the respective chart.
Music video
The music video for the song was released on March 2, 2011. The video was directed and produced by Warren Fu at Loew's Jersey Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey, on February 17, 2011. The video begins with a clip of the music video for "You Only Live Once", and contains a reference to the song "Last Nite".
In popular culture
"Under Cover Of Darkness" was made available for download on July 24, 2012, to play in Rock Band 3 Basic and PRO mode utilizing real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards. It appears on the setlist for Rocksmith which was released in October, 2011 in North America.
"You Only Live Once" is song by American rock band the Strokes. It is the opening track on their third studio album, First Impressions of Earth.
The song was written by Julian Casablancas with production from David Kahne and Gordon Raphael. It was released as the third and final single from the album in 2006 by RCA and Rough Trade Records.
Reception
Released on July 24, 2006, the single hit No. 35 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
Music video
The initial music video for the single was directed by Samuel Bayer, who had previously helmed the "Heart in a Cage" video, and features the band performing in an enclosed room that slowly fills with brown water. Julian Casablancas commented on the video saying, "People tell us all the time we're gonna die from smoking, but you only live once," implying that the room is the band members' lungs and the water is tobacco tar. The video can be seen as a reference to the Rolling Stones' video of It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It), in which the band can be seen playing in a tent that eventually fills with bubbles. The video was set to premiere in the UK on May 24, 2006, but was delayed due to last-minute edits until June 21, 2006. Yahoo!...
