The Strokes - Is This It = Best Album of Past Decade. Discuss

el_chode · Oct 12, 2011, 09:59 PM

I'm sure there is no disagreement on this at all whatsover, right?

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2011/10/the_strokes_is_this_it_anniversary_why_it_s_the_best_album_of_th.html

YimBlaylock · Oct 12, 2011, 10:10 PM

I like the article. Not a great fan of any of the other Strokes' albums, but Is This It is definitely in my top 5 for the decade, along with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Moon and Antarctica, It Still Moves, and Backspacer.

As far as actually ranking any of those and labeling one of them #1, it just depends on the day, but YHF probably has the slightest of slight advantages.

mjk73 · Oct 12, 2011, 10:38 PM

Right

no, it's not the best but is way way high on the list.

el_chode · Oct 12, 2011, 11:11 PM

I really liked this album AND room on fire. Top of the 00s? No, its definitely not. Maybe cracks my top 10.

I get the author's argument though.

sweatboard · Oct 13, 2011, 12:32 AM

Quote from: YimBlaylock on Oct 12, 2011, 10:10 PM
I like the article. Not a great fan of any of the other Strokes' albums, but Is This It is definitely in my top 5 for the decade, along with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Moon and Antarctica, It Still Moves, and Backspacer.

As far as actually ranking any of those and labeling one of them #1, it just depends on the day, but YHF probably has the slightest of slight advantages.

Moookie!!! I'm a huge PJ sheep but "Backspacer"!!!!! REALLY????? ;D

I really love that Strokes album but I wouldn't say the music really put it over the top, I think it was more the image. I'd have a hard time putting it up there with YHF, Moon and Antartica, and ISM which are great picks and also in my top five for the decade.

YimBlaylock · Oct 13, 2011, 12:53 AM

Quote from: sweatboard on Oct 13, 2011, 12:32 AM
Quote from: YimBlaylock on Oct 12, 2011, 10:10 PM
I like the article. Not a great fan of any of the other Strokes' albums, but Is This It is definitely in my top 5 for the decade, along with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Moon and Antarctica, It Still Moves, and Backspacer.

As far as actually ranking any of those and labeling one of them #1, it just depends on the day, but YHF probably has the slightest of slight advantages.

Moookie!!! I'm a huge PJ sheep but "Backspacer"!!!!! REALLY????? ;D

I really love that Strokes album but I wouldn't say the music really put it over the top, I think it was more the image. I'd have a hard time putting it up there with YHF, Moon and Antartica, and ISM which are great picks and also in my top five for the decade.

I'll admit I'm a very large fan of Backspacer. It's definitely the odd one out of my list there. It lacks a sense of being a true album, whether it be cohesiveness or whatever you wanna call it, but I think each track on it is rockin' (with the exception of "Speed of Sound" which I'm not always in the mood for and "The End" which isn't "rockin'" but is a great song IMO). I do think the other albums I listed have some undefinable characteristic that Backspacer lacks (a something that I usually look for in a "favorite" album), but I'll defend that album to the end. To me, it's a perfect example of how a band known for making ROCK music should age. They're not trying to act younger than they are, but they're still killing it.

sweatboard · Oct 13, 2011, 01:14 AM

I like you! It's my favorite since Yield for sure.

Pearl Jam "Unthought Known" Live from Berlin

:) :-*

chaqueta sucia · Oct 13, 2011, 08:32 AM

I have loved PJ since their birth in music but Backspacer? I feel that is their effort to say we are still around but admitting their quality has left the building. I will say for me their era has and will always be Vitalogy/No Code/Yield. They have not made an album like any of these since imo.

YimBlaylock · Oct 13, 2011, 10:12 AM

Quote from: chaqueta sucia on Oct 13, 2011, 08:32 AM
I have loved PJ since their birth in music but Backspacer? I feel that is their effort to say we are still around but admitting their quality has left the building. I will say for me their era has and will always be Vitalogy/No Code/Yield. They have not made an album like any of these since imo.

Again, I realize I'm in the minority here, but this album is really special to me. I don't like it as well as Vitalogy, No Code, Ten, etc. but I'm relatively new to non-mainstream rock music. Is This It, The Moon and Antarctica, and White Blood Cells, were my introduction into real music away from listening to rap radio which was sadly my music preference before then (while I do still like some rap from time to time, I definitely feel I've become more selective since then). So since 2001, I've been trying to catch up with all of the great music I missed before. Got into Pearl Jam around 2004-2005 and as I listened to their albums sequentially, I was blown away by their first 5 but as I started to get to more recent stuff, I was a little disappointed. Being a huge fan of the band, I put the effort into these more recent albums and eventually found merit in them and still like them. However, they've never resonated as well as those first albums. In anticipation of Backspacer, I was expecting to have to go through the same process of making myself like it, but was immediately blown away. It restored my absolute faith in the band (and made for a killer concert when I went to see them for the first time). Maybe it's just me not being able to detach my own personal sentiment from my selection, but as I browsed through all the albums I have from the 00's, this one definitely stuck out (although it probably was the last to make the cut, because both White Blood Cells and Elephant wanted in really badly).

e_wind · Oct 13, 2011, 10:18 AM

Quote from: sweatboard on Oct 13, 2011, 01:14 AM
I like you! It's my favorite since Yield for sure.

Pearl Jam "Unthought Known" Live from Berlin

:) :-*

Unthought Known + Amongst The Waves + Just Breathe = Backspacer on of my top PJ albums. I know people are gonna riot at this statement, but: One of PJ's best albums is Riot Act.

Jaimoe · Oct 13, 2011, 12:21 PM

I think Is This It makes the Top 5 of the decade and have no problem seeing it #1. I think The White Stripes' Elephant deserves top billing too. I'm also partial to Sonic Nurse by Sonic Youth, but maybe not in the Top 10. Arcade Fire's Funeral is a great album, fan or not.

bowl of soup · Oct 13, 2011, 04:00 PM

I listened to this over and over and over when it was new. It was so happily different and fun. But I never listen anymore. I even started to play it the other day and stopped after a couple of minutes. Switched over to Blackberry Belle (Twilight Singers '03) as I often do when tired of whatever it is that I'm hearing.

BB is my personal album of the decade (my favorite album ever), but I'd be hard pressed to argue that it is "the" album of the decade. Not enough people listen to Dulli for anything he does to have "impact" in a broader sense. I guess our little club of self-hating losers will get to keep him all to our selves.

BUT PEOPLE! Listen to the album. It's a concept album - starts with the suicide of the protagonist and then goes back in time to explore the events leading to that conclusion. Ends with the most powerful closer ever (debate is always about whether "number nine" refers to a gun or drugs. I vote drugs; Martin Eden drowned himself):

mjk73 · Oct 13, 2011, 04:59 PM

Quote from: bowl of soup on Oct 13, 2011, 04:00 PM
I listened to this over and over and over when it was new. It was so happily different and fun. But I never listen anymore. I even started to play it the other day and stopped after a couple of minutes. Switched over to Blackberry Belle (Twilight Singers '03) as I often do when tired of whatever it is that I'm hearing.

BB is my personal album of the decade (my favorite album ever), but I'd be hard pressed to argue that it is "the" album of the decade. Not enough people listen to Dulli for anything he does to have "impact" in a broader sense. I guess our little club of self-hating losers will get to keep him all to our selves.

BUT PEOPLE! Listen to the album. It's a concept album - starts with the suicide of the protagonist and then goes back in time to explore the events leading to that conclusion. Ends with the most powerful closer ever (debate is always about whether "number nine" refers to a gun or drugs. I vote drugs; Martin Eden drowned himself):

Long live Greg Dulli

capt. scotty · Oct 13, 2011, 05:04 PM

The only thing Is This It is best at is being overrated

weeniebeenie · Oct 14, 2011, 12:10 AM

Quote from: e_wind on Oct 13, 2011, 10:18 AM
I know people are gonna riot at this statement, but: One of PJ's best albums is Riot Act.

Riot Act is my favourite PJ album. No. Joke.
Maybe 'cause Matt Cameron is all over it. Cropduster, Get Right, You Are...

Back on topic: I love Is This It. But I don't know about the best of the decade.

Jaimoe · Oct 14, 2011, 07:33 AM

Quote from: capt. scotty on Oct 13, 2011, 05:04 PM
The only thing Is This It is best at is being overrated

It may not age well, but I was thrilled when it came out as it kickstarted an important but neglected rock genre: The album almost single-handedly brought back CBGB, New York City rock to the forefront. It was a blast of fresh air and nothing really sounded like it at the time.

mjk73 · Oct 14, 2011, 08:36 AM

Quote from: Jaimoe on Oct 14, 2011, 07:33 AM
Quote from: capt. scotty on Oct 13, 2011, 05:04 PM
The only thing Is This It is best at is being overrated

It may not age well, but I was thrilled when it came out as it kickstarted an important but neglected rock genre: The album almost single-handedly brought back CBGB, New York City rock to the forefront. It was a blast of fresh air and nothing really sounded like it at the time.

I still throw it in and it has aged well in my opinion. The moment it kicks in, I immediatly think of NYC

Jaimoe · Oct 14, 2011, 08:54 AM

Quote from: mjk73 on Oct 14, 2011, 08:36 AM
Quote from: Jaimoe on Oct 14, 2011, 07:33 AM
Quote from: capt. scotty on Oct 13, 2011, 05:04 PM
The only thing Is This It is best at is being overrated

It may not age well, but I was thrilled when it came out as it kickstarted an important but neglected rock genre: The album almost single-handedly brought back CBGB, New York City rock to the forefront. It was a blast of fresh air and nothing really sounded like it at the time.
I still throw it in and it has aged well in my opinion. The moment it kicks in, I immediatly think of NYC

I find that the retro NYC rock movement kind of fizzled-out too quickly, which is too bad. On a related note, The Strokes' new album is quite good, but hasn't sold well.

buaawwww · Oct 14, 2011, 09:15 AM

Definitely still enjoy this album. Although best album of the past decade is a bit of a stretch. Right when these guys I broke I went like a 2 year period seeing these guys over and over again. One of the coolest shows I saw was The Strokes and The White Stripes at Irving Plaza in NY, JUST as they were both breaking... good times.