Albert Hammond Jr on The Strokes song that will age better than any other
At the start of the 2000s, rock and roll didn’t have much to be proud of anymore. Although the pop-punk genre and nu-metal were still thriving, the golden age of rock and roll seemed to breathe its final breath, with many bands unable to move on after the downfall of grunge. Many people needed a reminder of why they picked up guitars in the first place, and The Strokes helped everyone get back in touch with the dangerousness of the genre again.
Hailing from New York City, the band’s debut album Is This It boasted some of the catchiest refrains to come from the genre in a while, with songs like ‘Last Nite’ and ‘The Modern Age’ becoming the anthems for a post-9/11 rock scene. Although the band were undoubtedly innovative for the time, there were more than a few wisps of rock history in there as well.
For all of the excellent guitar interplay going on between Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr, the production of the album owed a great deal to The Velvet Underground. Down to the way that Julian Casablancas sang, most of the band’s material had the typical punk rock attitude behind it that Lou Reed helped pioneer, especially on songs like ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’.
Although the band were never ashamed of wearing their influences on their sleeves, their music became about pushing rock into new territory across their following albums. After the massive success of their sophomore release, Room on Fire, the band’s subsequent albums would see them working in different musical shapes, either shaking up the approach to recording on Angles or crafting their bid at stadium rock on First Impressions of Earth.
Even though the band have been able to see every one of their albums as a creative risk, Hammond saw more than a few standout performances across the band’s discography. While the guitarist had a soft spot for the band’s more imaginative moments like ‘Ask Me Anything’, he thought the song ‘Someday’ may be one of the ultimate Strokes songs.
While the track may not have been the most forceful track on Is This It, Hammond said that the song would probably outlast any other Strokes classics like ‘Reptilia’, saying, “I love ‘Reptilia’. I think it’ll always be fun. I don’t think it’ll ever age as well as ‘Someday’”.
Even though ‘Reptilia’ may hold a special place in the band’s set every time they take to the stage, it’s easy to hear what Hammond is talking about. Rather than relying on the song’s energy, the breezy atmosphere of ‘Someday’ is about as timeless as the band ever got, especially with Casablancas’s lyrics about trying not to waste any more time as the years pass by in front of him.
When looking at the entire Strokes canon, ‘Someday’ has also never sounded out of date, either. Considering the song was meant to be a touch retro when the band recorded it, the minimal production value of it makes it sound like it could have been recorded today, capturing the sound of the band playing together in the room.
Although albums like The New Abnormal haven’t had the proper amount of time to rest, ‘Someday’ is most likely never going to go out of style. The years may pass, and the band might get older, but the mentality of getting better someday is practically a universal truth.
