As with so many songs that soundtrack a generation, the feelings The Strokes’ debut single, “Hard to Explain,” pulls out of me are absolutely bittersweet. I don’t even know why, but when I listen to it now, it sometimes makes me feel like I want to cry.
It’s hard to fathom that this song came out 25 years ago. Released on June 25, 2001, it was the lead single from their debut album, Is This It.
I think it’s the memories of our youth, especially as so many of us from that indie-rock generation begin to age into our 40s and 50s. Particularly those of us who were at the helm of this thrilling, exciting scene when this version of rock ’n’ roll was so fresh and new. It wasn’t quite ’60s garage rock, and it wasn’t late-’70s punk. It was f*cking indie rock.
A raw, unfiltered, DIY sound that didn’t swim in the mainstream. It was the antithesis of pop. And the way The Strokes blended live rock instrumentation with electronic rhythm introduced a gritty, almost mechanical sound that felt completely different. And that’s exactly what made all the subgenres of “indie” so different at that time; it was the experimentation and blending of various styles and sounds.
Part of that sound came from producer Gordon Raphael, who combined Fabrizio Moretti’s live drumming with electronic drum programming from a Roland MC-505. That combination gave “Hard to Explain” its distinctive mechanical pulse while keeping the loose, human feel of a live band. It didn’t sound like a conventional garage-rock recording.
Add in Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.’s interlocking guitars, Nikolai Fraiture’s bass and Julian Casablancas’ heavily compressed, distorted vocals, and you get the indie rock bible, and what would become The Strokes.
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And it was this sound that essentially helped to create the “indie rock” genre. What was once a term largely used to describe DIY bands operating outside the major-label system evolved into a distinct sound and culture that is still highly regarded and emulated by contemporary indie-rock bands today. Albeit, the Strokes’ jump from independent to major was swift.
This sound marked a generation of messy-haired, skinny-jeaned, black-leather- or jean-jacket-wearing kids who loved going to backyard shows and grimy little clubs in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco to catch bands like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys, not knowing just how big and legendary these bands — and the scene they helped shape — would become.
Knowing that we’ll never get those days back, but still having these songs running through our heads as though it were 2001, creates a bittersweet feeling that is, well, “Hard to Explain.”
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The Strokes are currently on their world tour, with tickets moving quickly. I absolutely cannot wait to hear “Hard to Explain” live at Just Like Heaven this weekend, along with so many other Strokes songs that soundtracked my very young adult years.
Who knows? I might even rock my classic black smoky-eye look from the MySpace and early Instagram days.
See Our Past Concert Photos of The Strokes
1. The Strokes at Outside Lands 2010
2. The Strokes Put Stamp on FYF Fest with Festival-Ending Romp (2014)
3. The Strokes Blaze Indie Rock Nostalgia at Homeless Benefit at Wiltern (2016)
4. The Strokes Drop All the Hits at The Forum (2021)
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