Is This It

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Is This It
Is This It cover
Studio album by The Strokes
Released 27 August 2001 (UK)
9 October 2001 (US)
Recorded 2001
Genre Garage rock, Post-punk revival
Length 36:28 (UK)
35:34 (US)
Label RCA
Producer(s) Gordon Raphael
Professional reviews
The Strokes chronology
Is This It
(2001)		 Room on Fire
(2003)


Alternate cover
US cover
US cover

Is This It is The Strokes' debut album, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music). The Strokes were the first band to break into the mainstream as part of the turn-of-the-millennium garage rock trend.

After signing with RCA Records, the band went on the opposite way of recording adopted by traditional rock bands. Instead of doing their full-length debut in a professional studio, the Strokes instead opted to record in a basement on Manhattan's Lower East Side, to which they put the name Transporter Raum Studio.

Hyped by the music press on both sides of the Atlantic, The Strokes' auspicious debut garnered them critical and popular attention, as well as a backlash from listeners turned off by the hype. Nonetheless, Is This It's more famous songs "The Modern Age", "Last Nite", "Hard To Explain" and "Someday" won the band much respect and helped the album reach #2 in the UK and #33 in the US.

The track "New York City Cops" was pulled from the North American edition of Is This It following the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack and was replaced by "When It Started". This was because the band and their management thought the song might be considered insensitive, particularly the main chorus line "New York City Cops, they ain't too smart", which is repeated throughout. The band still plays "New York City Cops" live and the song is available on the international edition of the album, along with its original cover art.

In 2002, Is This It was re-released with a DVD with music videos and outtakes from a performance on MTV2.

Is This It is one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2000's. It was ranked 89th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 367 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In June 2005, the album was ranked number 100 on Spin Magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005". In July 2006, the album was ranked 48 on The Observer's list of 'The 50 Albums That Changed Music.' It is also number 367 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

Is This It has sold 1 million units in the US as of October 2006, yet is still merely certified gold there.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Julian Casablancas.

  1. "Is This It" – 2:34
  2. "The Modern Age" – 3:32
  3. "Soma" – 2:37
  4. "Barely Legal" – 3:58
  5. "Someday" – 3:07
  6. "Alone, Together" – 3:12
  7. "Last Nite" – 3:17
  8. "Hard to Explain" – 3:47
  9. "New York City Cops" – 3:36
    • "When It Started" (replaces "New York City Cops" on the U.S. edition) – 2:57
  10. "Trying Your Luck" – 3:27
  11. "Take It or Leave It" – 3:16

[edit] DVD track listing

  1. "Last Nite" (music video)
  2. "Hard to Explain" (music video)
  3. "Someday" (music video)
  4. "New York City Cops" (MTV2 outtake)
  5. "The Modern Age" (MTV2 outtake)

[edit] Samples

[edit] Personnel

The Strokes
Julian Casablancas | Nikolai Fraiture | Albert Hammond, Jr. | Fabrizio Moretti | Nick Valensi
Discography
Albums and extended plays: The Modern Age | Is This It | Room on Fire | First Impressions of Earth
Singles: "Hard to Explain" | "Last Nite" | "Someday" | "12:51" | "Reptilia" | "The End Has No End" | "Juicebox" | "Heart in a Cage" | "You Only Live Once"
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