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The group's showcase at Austin's South by Southwest music conference in March sparked a bidding war won by RCA Records. Since recording their full-length debut in some fancy studio might have cramped their low-rent style, they instead opted to track in a basement on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
The resulting album sounds every bit as free-spirited and wild as the bandmembers. The title track lumbers along a midtempo rhythm while a lazy Casablancas, aloof and unaffected, wonders if this, whatever "this" happens to be, is really it. On "The Modern Age," the singer channels the vocal mannerisms of Lou Reed as the song plods through a simple strum until it surprises with a wiry, fiery MC5-style guitar solo.
The Strokes' foundation in '70s American punk frequently draws comparisons with artists such as Television, Iggy Pop, the New York Dolls, Reed and the MC5. While flattering, the comparisons have already become a bit tiresome to the band.
"They just try to pigeonhole it too much," Hammond said of the conclusions he thinks too many have drawn. "Like 1978, '79 [punk] is what we sound like."
"The first Television album I heard was [1978's] Adventure, and so I really didn't like them so much," Casablancas said. "In terms of songwriting, they probably have less of an influence on us than most other bands. That's why we laugh when people ask us [about them].
"I totally understand why people compare us, though. They're a good band, and I think [1977's] Marquee Moon is good. But I don't mind because in the end all those kinds of things don't matter so much."
"It f---king pisses me off," Hammond said.
The bandmembers' reputations for being five big-city brats on a tear precedes them. It's tempting to see them as five buds touring the world and leaving a trail of blown minds, broken hearts and empty beer bottles along the way. At least, that's what a lot of people like to believe.
"It's so funny because my mom believes the hype," Moretti confessed. "She reads stuff, and she's like, 'You prissy little bitch.' "
"That's what your mom said to you, man," Valensi replied.
"And then I had to explain to her that I'm a rock star," Moretti joked, inciting laughter among his bandmates.
The next-big-thing phenomenon carries with it an ability to make people feel obligated to jump on board. While the Strokes have benefited from this kind of hype — they've established a reputation for converting packed houses into fans with a single live performance — the buzz can be a double-edged sword.
"The only way [hype] works against us is when people read and hear about us before they've heard our music, and I could see how that could turn people off," he said, referring to skeptics. "But I have faith in what we do. It's good enough to beat a lot of the hype. In time all that press stuff will just wash away, and the last thing standing will be the music. So I'm not that worried.
"If we played uninteresting music, no one would care about how we dress or how we look or anything like that."
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