How The Strokes entered guitar music into the ‘Modern Age’
2001 was a weird year for music, especially guitar music. Britpop had burst. Bands like The Verve, Stereophonics and Coldplay had emerged creating a new sound of predominantly traditional rock music. Then 5 kids from New York introduced themselves to the world. With one of the most important debut albums ever ‘Is This It’
The impact felt by the release of ‘Is This It’ was instant, things changed, the way people dressed changed, people were turned away from pop music and DJ’s and back to guitar music.
The Strokes also influenced musicians both here in the U.K. and in the states too. Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys have all claimed to have been greatly influenced by The Strokes. As well as American bands such as Kings of Leon have also claimed to be huge fans of The Strokes and cited them as a major reason for forming a band.
‘Is This It’ made guitar music cool again, it’s short snappy songs really hit home and the singalong nature of tracks such as ‘Last Nite’ and ‘Someday’ have made them staples of the indie rock genre. More than 20 years on ‘Is This It’ still continues to have a huge impact recently being referenced by Billie Eilish. The album itself is one of the most important records ever made.