The Strokes
I remember being in London in the summer of 2001\u2026I made my usual pilgrimage up to the original Rough Trade records store on Talbot Street, off Portobello Road in Notting Hill\u2026\n\nI was a little bummed out with music at the time, so I was hoping for some inspiration\u2026the mainstream was awash in pop music\u2026spice girls, backstreet boys, Britney Spears\u2026\n\nAnd alt-rock had kinda lost its way after grunge burned out\u2026the big acts were searching for direction\u2026there were far too many one-hit wonders\u2026and nu-metal, the biggest thing at the time, was very, very polarizing\u2026you either were really into it or you hated it\u2026\n\nIt also seemed that this new genre dubbed \u201celectronica\u201d was siphoning off a lot of rock fans\u2026music made the old-school way with guitars, bass, drums, and vocals seemed old-fashioned, out of date, and played out\u2026\n\nBut that couldn\u2019t be true, could it?...in the past, every time rock was declared dead, someone or something came along and breathed new life into everything\u2026\n\nI told this story to Nigel, the guy at the desk of the tiny shop\u2026 \u201cGive me something that is exciting, new, and fresh,\u201d I said\u2026 \u201cGive me hope\u201d\u2026\n\nNigel reached under the counter and pulled out a cd single\u2026 \u201cHere, mate,\u201d he said, \u201cThis should cure all your ills\u201d\u2026it was a song from The Strokes.\n\nTurns out he was right\u2026The Strokes were one of the very, very first new bands behind the indie-rock revival that began at the tail end of the 90s and blew up over the next couple of years\u2026nice one, Nigel\u2026\n\nBut why The Strokes?...where did they come from?...and why was this guy in London telling me about a band from New York?...this requires some explanation\u2026\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices