Tag: The Strokes

Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

by KevinLeave a Comment on Discussion: What’re You Listening To?

Good morning!

Late last week, I was in a meeting when my wife walked in and quietly set a stack of (new to us) records down. That by itself was cool. What made it eve better was the how excited she was that she’d found them. She’d been at a garage sale, and they had brought them out while she was there. Right place, right time and all that.

I’ve mentioned it before, but garage sales up here usually follow a specific template:

In Wisconsin specifically, you’re bound to find cross-country skis and…a lot of beer steins (seriously, why do people buy these?!). There’s also a 110% chance that there will be at least one giveaway shirt from a Bucks game. At this point, I am convinced that Gruber Law is single-handedly keeping several T-shirt companies afloat. IYKYK.

Records are a rarer commodity, though judging by the sales I hit, it’s clear that owning at least two Ray Conniff records was a state law at one point. Maybe they came with the beer steins…I dunno. When you find them, they’re not always in the best shape and look/smell exactly how you’d expect them to after spending the last twenty years in a Midwest basement next to a pair of cross-country skis.

No one will consider the records she grabbed for us holy grails. That doesn’t make ‘em any less cool, or dampen the excitement. We’ve been playing ‘em all weekend.

It’s easy for “music people” like all of us here to get lost in things like the Geese discourse, whether or not Madonna’s new record is up to par (it is), and the ongoing saga of curation vs. critique. And who gets to make those calls? Ask 10 people, and you’ll get 11 opinions.

In the end, no matter one’s taste, we’re all chasing that same north star- the electricity you feel when a record finds you at just the right time- even if it happens to be a release from Ray Conniff.

KA—

On to the music…

On to the music. No Madge this week, but her debut record turns 43 today. Oof. I’d put it up there in her top 3. Maybe you have some thoughts? In the what’s old is new crate, we’ve got a track from the latest Rolling Stones record, Teenage Fanclub, The Strokes, and Pete Yorn. There’s also some deep cuts from Heart, and Jet Stream Heart from Temples. Also one from Sioux Falls SD-based Off Contact, and another from Liz Hogg. There’s also some Yo La tengo because, of course, there is (and stay tuned for more on them later this week).

Best of all, we’ve got a brand new one from our pal Brian K. Pagels with Lilly Hiatt (Lilly Hiatt!). If that’s not exciting, I don’t know what it is.

Side A is tracks 1-12. Side B is tracks 13-27.

Other sources: | Apple | Qobuz | YouTube Music |

Now it’s your turn.

What’s been exciting you lately? Any new releases or shows you’re looking forward to? Whatcha got? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The Strokes vs. Ryan Adams

by KevinLeave a Comment on The Strokes vs. Ryan Adams

Two Music Nerds Revisit The Strokes’ Is This It—Does It Still Hit?

Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at Is This It? as it faces off against Ryan Adams’ Gold.

In early fall 2024 Sam Colt and both took one look at Apple’s Best Records engagement bait and had, um, some “strong thoughts.”

We also decided that if we were gonna talk shit we should at least put our money where out months were. Distilled down, it was two avowed music nerds each making their case for a record, and the other one sharing their take. That itself was worth the price of admission, but we’re from different generations and grew up on opposite coasts. I wanted to see where our tastes would converge, and where they’d be miles apart.

The Tl; dr is each of us wound up hearing a ton of records for the first time. This was some real fish out of water type stuff for me, and I loved it.

Check ‘em out if you get some time. You can laud our great taste, or yell at us in the comments. Dealer’s choice!

At any rate, coming in as his #34 pick, Is This It was almost old enough to rent a car when I heard it for the first time. Fighting his corner, he said:

It’s hard to understand if you weren’t of age with Is This It dropped, but mainstream rock was pretty terminal with bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park dominating the airwaves. The Strokes felt like someone stuck a hot dagger in your belly. I first heard “Someday” in middle school and was immediately hooked. The music has this swagger that very few bands even attempt to have and even fewer can pull off.

And my take:

2001: I decide to take what’s supposed to be a 4-month temporary assignment back in Portland. My (now) wife decides to give corporate life the finger and come with me. I cross the country for the 4th time in 3 years. This time, I have a cool copilot and a car with working heat/AC.

It’s spring, and the world is full of promise. That’ll all change in the fall, of course.

Looking back, the whole year was kinda upside down (for a whole host of reasons). Musically, in a year when even New Order released a record, my favorite was Kylie Minogue’s “Fever.”

That’s a lot of words to tell you that I was in a musical desert. I know who The Strokes were, but outside of “Last Nite,” I knew more about Al Hammond Sr.’s music (“It Never Rains In Southern California”) than I did about his son’s band. For some reason, The Strokes, Jet, and a handful of other bands blur into one for me. That’s more of an indictment of my listening habits that year than anything else. At any rate, I was expecting 11 tracks that all more or less sounded like “Last Nite.” It was not the first time this week that I was wrong about something. “Barely Legal” is a favorite, and as I type this, has been playing on & off for a couple of days now. This record didn’t rearrange my mind, but it’s a rock-solid, straight-ahead rock record. Sometimes that’s more than enough.

Flash forward to today: I don’t know that I’d consider this an all-timer, but it was 100% a pleasant surprise. I still listen to more Al Hammond Sr. more than his son’s, but Julian Casablanca’s’ 11th Dimension is one of my more played songs over the last 12-18 months. It’s exuberance is like catnip for me.

As for Ryan Adams? I unironically and unabashedly love “New York, New York” and his cover of T Swift’s “All You Had to do Was Stay” blows the original out of the water. But that’s where it begins and ends for me, and I think that’s all I’m gonna say for now. I’m sure the discourse will be discoursin’, with people sharing their own strong thoughts on Adams, separating art from the artists, etc.

P.S. My #34 pick? Ella Fitzgerald- Ella Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook

Bottom Line: Is this It? Yes. Sometimes that’s all you need. Bracket pick and vote will both be going to The Strokes.

Any thoughts on either of these records? Agree/disagree with my takes? Which one of these would you vote for? Sound off in the comments!