Are The Strokes the most important band of the decade?
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Is This It by The Strokes was named as the album of the decade by the NME. In fact, if you buy this week’s anniversary edition, you’ll find an essay style feature about The Strokes’ influence on music in this decade and why they’re so important. The pull quote from the article is:
The Strokes once more made us all fall in love with rock ‘n’ roll as a lifestyle choice.
There wasn’t really that much at all to their music. Sure, Is This It is a great album but nothing you hear on it is new. It’s a bit of The Velvet Underground, a bit of Iggy Pop, a bit of everything really. Their music wasn’t new or original. However, it was the strength of those songs that made people fall in love with them. This wasn’t music to be analysed at all, but that’s not really an issue. At a time where music didn’t really seem to be that much fun, The Strokes made the indie world a lot more exciting.
Perhaps the biggest nod to their influence is the bands that came to prominence after their arrival. A garage rock explosion saw bands like The Hives and The Vines ascend in popularity, whilst Britain’s answer, The Libertines, morphed into an entirely different beast altogether that imploded after just two albums. The Libertines then spawned a ton of copyist bands until the revival was once again brought to life via the Arctic Monkeys…followed by yet more copyist bands. It’s arguable that The Strokes were very much responsible for this chain of events.
If The Strokes were this decade’s most important band, then their entire discography wouldn’t be hit-or-miss. Sadly, this is exactly what happened. Following from Is This It, the band rushed out a second album in 2003 called Room On Fire that, whilst containing some classics, didn’t really spark a similar level of excitement upon release. Their third album, 2006′s First Impressions Of Earth, saw a more polished and more expansive band but with mixed results. It also showed up Julian Casablancas’ lyricist skills for what they were – unspectacular and clunky.
So how best do you answer the question in the title? If you’re mean the question in a musical sense, the answer would be no since their career reached its creative peak in 2001 and hasn’t recovered since then. If you mean the question in a cultural sense, the answer would lean towards yes because of the influence it had not just on bands but also on pop culture in general. However, we’re talking about both aspects and so the answer you’ll find is ultimately no because, whilst their influence on future bands is undisputed, their own output for most of the decade is somewhat of a let down.
What do you think? Are The Strokes the most important band of the decade and, if not, who is? Is there even a band from this decade that fits this title?
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Posted on November 19th, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Features, News
Yes they’re the most important band of the decade.
No, Gnarls Barkley is…
Without question – Kanye West. He told me so himself.
Just the fact that you’re asking this is a pretty good sign it was a lost decade… OR you guys are totally deaf and/or dumb and never heard of the Queens of the Stone Age.
No i don’t think they any most important anything,they are just another band,while good not the most important as i don’t think there is a most important band as they are all important as we all are.
In the US, possibly. In the UK the history of music is as follows Beatles – Kinks – XTC – Field Music. Sunderland’s Field music are therefore the most important band of the decade. Ok, I realise I’m on my own here. But I prefer to listen to them any day of the week over the one album wonders that were The Strokes.
No – I don’t think so. I prefer Interpol as they have a more solid and consistent sound, and they also emerge from the same New York Sound scene. I also think Yeah Yeah Yeahs are better.
But in my opinion I think the most influential act coming out of this decade is “Radiohead” – does that count since they are from the 90′s? But Kid A, Amnesiac and In Rainbows are really good albums and they seem to me to be the only band experimenting with different sounds…..just a thought!
of coarse their the most important band. Julians lyrics arent cluncky, theyre fucking brilliant. And this new york sound you guys talk about was created by the strokes. and then saying that the other two albums arent good?the strokes inspired the awesome bands that are out here today so fuck that