Take It or Leave It

Band: The Strokes
Album: Is This It
Genre: Indie Rock

Have you ever asked yourself the question "is this it?" in reference to something you've heard? The name of The Strokes debut album asks this very question to its fans. It even seems to be a question to the band themselves, wondering if they would have to stop after the very first album they made. That was not the case for this incredible band since the album had topped the charts all around the world. Reaching number 33 on the Billboard 200 is a pretty phenomenal feat for a band that wasn't all too know in 2001.

The Strokes 2011 from thestrokes

The lead singer of The Strokes is a man from Manhattan, New York named Julian Casablancas. Julian being from New York is really important to me since I am too; him being from there allows me to connect with him on a more personal level even though the two of us have never met. He is extremely soft spoken in interviews and keeps his personal life to himself. That happens to be one of my favorite things about Julian and the entire band. They keep their personal life separate from their life in front of the cameras.

Julian's voice is extremely unique; it has a natural edge to it that bring anyone in. His sound enhances the true rock feel of the album. Some tracks off of the album have a more sultry feel while others have a darker feel all because of his voice.

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The rest of the band is made up of four other people as opposed to three, like most bands are. Having five people in The Strokes gives the band a much better sound and quality; this allows Julian to focus on just singing rather than playing rhythm guitar like most frontmen do. Albert Hammond, Jr. plays rhythm guitar, Nikolai Fraiture plays bass, Nick Valensi plays lead guitar, and Fabrizio Moretti brings them all together by playing the drums. Everybody in the band compliments each other perfectly and they have been playing well together for seventeen years.

Is This It is the album that had put The Strokes on the map. The first song I had ever heard from this band was off of this album; the song is called "Someday". It is still one of the band's most popular songs to date, actually! My personal favorite songs off of Is This It are "Barely Legal" and "Take It or Leave it"; I can listen to each of these songs for hours on repeat and not get tired of them at all.

"Barely Legal" is a song where Julian tells a girl who is eighteen to not take shortcuts in life just like he hadn't. He notices the innocence of her being only eighteen and that, even though she is a legal adult, she still has a lot to learn. "Take It or Leave It" is a song where Julian expresses that he has no wish to be apart of a romance with someone that is just going to string him along. Even though this was made seventeen years ago, it's still prevalent because people today are constantly leading others on. He says "just take it, or leave it" indicating that he has no desire to be strung along like other guys might.

The album as a whole is an absolute masterpiece, in my humble opinion. The Strokes are an incredible band that everyone should give a chance to at least once; the sound is so unique compared to any other modern, or classic, rock band!

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