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Guys, I'm Worried About The Strokes
Pitchfork has an epic story up today that interviews a bunch of the Strokes, and some people involved in their organization, discussing their catalog up to and including Angles. And there's a lot of stuff in the article that should make Strokes fans worry that these guys aren't that happy to be back together. Mostly, it's Nick Valensi being Debbie Downer. To wit:
Valensi, the only member to not actively pursue another project, doesn't mince words when asked what he thinks of these non-Strokes-related musical endeavors: "I'm not a huge supporter of side/solo stuff. I'm of the opinion that you're in a band and that's what you do. If there's leftover material and time, then sure, by all means. But if you're playing material that you haven't even shown to your main band and you're just sort of keeping it for yourself, I'm not a big fan of that."
And also this:
While Casablancas' disengagement may have been by design, Valensi found the whole experience deeply dissatisfying. "I won't do the next album we make like this. No way. It was awful-- just awful. Working in a fractured way, not having a singer there. I'd show up certain days and do guitar takes by myself, just me and the engineer. Some of the third album was done that way, but at least we were on the same page about what the arrangements and parts were. Seventy-five percent of this album felt like it was done together and the rest of it was left hanging, like some of us were picking up the scraps and trying to finish a puzzle together."
The main picture we get of the band here is that of a big business that is trying to rehab its image after some bad press. It certainly doesn't seem like the committed group of youngsters that made Is This It?. Read the whole article at Pitchfork.
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Nice Valensi has some good points
Although side projects are pretty standard these days
Wait. Do we even want the Strokes to stay together?
I don't know--I guess no album, probably, or band, probably, will knock me out as hard as they did when I was 14. So maybe not?
Come on...
I hate it when a band is trendy and pseudo elitist fans say they would prefer the band to split, just because they don't want everyday music fans to love this band. The Strokes have always been mainstream and have always done great music. Please stop thinking you knew them before everybody else. Old and new fans agree than their last album was great.
Seriously, how could a real Strokes fan wish them to split now?
cloucloud
a big problem with them was that their first album was a classic. i've liked the albums they've put out since but that first one set the bar insanely high
Yeah. I really hate the argument that when you don't like a band's later output it's because you don't like a lot of people liking them. Maybe it's because the albums aren't as good (which is certainly the case with the Strokes). I mean, when I first fell in love with the Strokes, I thought they were the biggest band on Earth. I had no concept of indie, mainstream or any of that.
I became a fan in about 2007 when I was 14, so I've been impatiently waiting for the new album.
I don't think they've lost their touch, but it's been 10 years.
It's sad, but people grow up and I guess they've grown apart, by what Nick says.
I am confident their touring will bring them back though, and they will keep the albums coming more frequently.
Frida
Many fans won't say their 3rd album was less good than their 1st one. I would be ok to say that Room On Fire was kind of poor overall, despite at least one very big hit (Reptilia). But take First Impressions Of Earth : how do you beat a song like Ize Of The World? The singles were all great. Both the press and the mass of fans agreed that it was a fresh and superb album.
Maybe some fans did not like that album, but I really don't belive it is the opinion among the majority of Strokes fans. Let's admit that their last album had a deserved success. Should we want the Strokes to split because we are skeptical about their coming album? Come on, we have waited 5 years. In less than a month, Angles will be out. Maybe it will be awful, but for now their latest output is still their 3rd album and it does not deserve fans wondering if the band should split.
Don't you think so?
cloucloud