The Strokes song Julian Casablancas felt was “cheesy”
The Strokes were the coolest band of the 2000s. Donning skinny jeans and floppy hair, Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr, Fabrizio Moretti, and Nikolai Fraiture became indie icons with records packed with hits.
The band honed their own indie rock sound that was so specific and unique that after hearing their debut record, Is This It, rival frontman Brandon Flowers was forced to rethink the sound of his own band. In 2012, The Killers frontman told NME: “That record just sounded so perfect”. As a result, The Killers threw away all of their material for their own debut, Hot Fuss, other than the iconic ‘Mr. Brightside’.
Having secured the envy of their peers and the admiration of indie enthusiasts everywhere, The Strokes were the hottest guitar band on the planet. Led by an effortlessly suave frontman in Casablancas, they defined a decade of alternative music and are still lauded by those nostalgic for an indie comeback.
Nonetheless, even The Strokes had songs they deemed uncool. Casablancas once called one of their most famous tracks, ‘Under Cover of Darkness’, a somewhat “cheesy” effort. Speaking with NME, the singer explained the story behind the song. He said: “I guess it’s about someone who works in the military and has a girlfriend. It’s cheesy, I guess, but it’s about having to leave a loved one behind.”
‘Under Cover of Darkness’ formed the lead single for The Strokes’ fourth record, Angles, ending their five-year hiatus. The upbeat track doesn’t seem to reflect its “cheesy” subject matter, however. With effortless vocals from Casablancas and layered guitars, ‘Under Cover of Darkness’ was a characteristic Strokes song in what was a fitting return.
Rather than the sound, it was the lyrics that the frontman deemed cheesy. As indifferent as ever, Casablancas declares, “So I’m joining the army, no house phones, but can I still call? Will you wait for me now?” The latter part of this lyric is repeated throughout the song – later, the frontman asks, “I’ll wait for you, will you wait for me too? And they sacrifice their lives and they’re lying about those odds and they said it a billion times and they’ll say it again, so long, my adversary and friend”.
It’s perhaps more vulnerable, telling a more dramatic story than the lyrics to ‘Last Nite’, but it’s far from cheesy. Guitarist Nick Valensi thought it was the perfect song for the band to return with, describing it to NME as “a song where literally all of us contributed to the writing. It made me think, ‘Wow, maybe we’ll do our best work when we put all our ideas together.”
Despite their excursion into more “cheesy” lyricism, The Strokes have maintained their reputation as one of the greatest indie bands over a decade later.
