Debut Album by New York band The Strokes.

Released (at least in the UK on Rough Trade in 2001.

Listing:

BTW: This is the listing for the UK version. I am informed, that in the USA, track 09 is different.

The US version of this album is different to the UK version in two ways:

  • Cover - The UK version of the album has a picture of some girl's bottom with her hand on it, in a profile. The american label (RCA) thought that this is too naughty, and that's why their cover shows some yellow-blue fractal pattern.
  • Track 9 - In the american version there's a song called 'When It Strated' instead of the UK version's 'New York City Cops'. This is because the album was released shortly after the September 11th World Trade Center events in which many New York City cops died. The song itself claims that 'New york city cops, they ain't so smart', and the American label found this too harsh in the context of the terror attcks.

The album was released on August 27th 2001 in the UK, and on September 25th 2001 in the US.

Is This It is #49 in the April 11, 2002 Rolling Stone's list of the 50 coolest albums of all time. Not bad for a debut album. The Strokes certainly deserve this honor, and I can't get enough of this album, in its entire 35 minute glory.
Is this It is one of the two most recent albums on the list (The other being Bjork's Vespertine), and this New York band is certainly the newest and youngest group featured in the top 50.
I agree with Rolling Stone that Hard to Explain is the best track on the album, though all the somgs are awesome. I also agree with Sir_Norris that this is one of the best albums released for quite some time. This album is truly a diamond in the rough, the rough being all the crappy pop music, plastic rock, and nu metal that is polluting the airwaves these days.

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