History Music / IsThisIt

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Soma" is a reference to Aldous Huxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', where a drug called soma is used to keep the population docile and complacent.

The album title's lack of a question mark was intentional; albeit grammatically correct, the question mark aesthetically "did not look right" to the band.

The album title's lack of a question mark was intentional; albeit grammatically correct, it aesthetically "did not look right" to the band.

''Is This It'' is the debut album by American rock band Music/TheStrokes, released on July 30, 2001. After recording a demo in 2000, The Strokes caught the attention of future Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, who scheduled them for four gigs in December. Encouraged by this opportunity and supported by associates, the band released ''The Modern Age EP'' and attracted the attention of multiple record companies. A drawn-out, pricey bidding war ensued before Creator/RCARecords won the rights in March of 2001, inducing attention and hype for the band within the music industry.

The sound featured on ''Is This It'' came about as protest against the then-mainstream sound of music, since the band focused on making a raw, gritty and energetic sound. Many techniques used in production, inspired by Music/TheVelvetUnderground and Music/TheRamones, emphasized distorted, low-fidelity noise - singer Julian Casablancas sang through a Peavey amp - and a compressed drum sound which retained the pickup noise from the guitars and bass. The result was a bare, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth minimalistic sound]] that eschewed the [[LoudnessWar heavy clipping]] present in many rock albums in favor of unrefined {{pop}} sensibilities. ExecutiveMeddling, however, pressed the band to forgo the original album cover, and the band replaced the track "New York City Cops" in the wake of [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror the 9/11 attacks]].

-->''We're not enemies, we just disagree''

* ContemptibleCover: The cover is a crotch shot of a naked woman (the photographer's then-girlfriend), touching her own hip with a leather glove. Hence the US had to change it for the much less racy psychedelic photograph of subatomic particle tracks in a bubble chamber.

* AlbumTitleDrop: Happens in the TitleTrack. The band originally wanted to name the album after the final track, but felt that ''Is This It'' sounded less pretentious.

* ContemptibleCover: The original album cover is a picture of the photographer's girlfriend, who posed for the photo after coming out of the shower. While UK stores reluctantly sold the album, the band was hyperaware of [[MediaWatchdog Media Watchdogs]] in the States who would censor it, and thus went with a picture of subatomic particles.

'''''Is This It''''' is the debut album by American rock band Music/TheStrokes, released on July 30, 2001. After recording a demo in 2000, The Strokes caught the attention of future Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, who scheduled them for four gigs in December. Encouraged by this opportunity and supported by associates, the band released ''The Modern Age EP'' and attracted the attention of multiple record companies. A drawn-out, pricey bidding war ensued before Creator/RCARecords won the rights in March of 2001, inducing attention and hype for the band within the music industry.

Unfortunately, the album proved to be a ToughActToFollow, as the Strokes' followup albums did not receive critical acclaim. Despite this, ''Is This It'' is considered to be ''the'' most pivotal moment for rock music of the 2000s, and one of the greatest albums of all time. It continues to earn high praise from publications such as ''Magazine/RollingStone'', which listed it as the #199 [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime greatest album of all time]], and ''Magazine/{{NME}}'', which listed it as #4 on [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime its own list]].

The sound featured on ''Is This It'' came about as protest against the then-mainstream sound of music, since the band focused on making a raw, gritty and energetic sound. Many techniques used in production, inspired by Music/TheVelvetUnderground and Music/TheRamones, emphasized distorted, low-fidelity noise - singer Julian Casablancas sang through a Peavey amp - and a compressed drum sound which retained the pickup noise from the guitars and bass. The result was a bare, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth minimalistic sound]] that eschewed the [[LoudnessWar heavy clipping]] present in many rock albums in favor of unrefined {{pop}} sensibilities. ExecutiveMeddling, however, pressed the band to forgo the original album cover, and the band replaced the track "New York City Cops" in the wake of [[TheWarOnTerror the 9/11 attacks]].

Upon its release, ''Is This It'' earned rave reviews from critics and major commercial success. It proved to be massively influential within the next few years, with its sound being considered a fresh alternative to PostGrunge and NuMetal, and inspiring a wave of GarageRock bands. The album would inspire the UK [[AlternativeIndie indie rock]] scene; {{Music/Interpol}}'s ''Turn On the Bright Lights'', Music/TheLibertines' ''Up the Bracket'', and Music/ArcticMonkeys' ''Music/WhateverPeopleSayIAmThatsWhatImNot'' would follow in the wake of this record's success, introducing PostPunk elements into the genre.

* NewYorkCityCops: "New York City Cops", with the line "''New York City cops/they ain't too smart''". The song was removed from the American track listing of ''Is This It'' after the 9/11 attacks [[note]]Although the song itself isn't about the intelligence of the NYPD, the chorus is merely a random quote from the girlfriend of the song's protagonist[[/note]]. It was replaced with the BSide "When It Started" (except on the US vinyl version, which retains the original track listing).
** To add to the creepy factor, the US Vinyl version was actually released '''on''' 9-11... take a minute to let that sink in).

The sound featured on ''Is This It'' came about as protest against the then-mainstream sound of music, since the band focused on making a raw, gritty and energetic sound. Many techniques used in production, inspired by Music/TheVelvetUnderground and Music/TheRamones, emphasized distorted, low-fidelity noise - singer Julian Casablancas sang through a Peavey amp - and a compressed drum sound which retained the pickup noise from the guitars and bass. The result was a bare, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth minimalistic sound]] that eschewed the [[LoudnessWar heavy clipping]] present in many rock albums in favor of unrefined {{Pop}} sensibilities. ExecutiveMeddling, however, pressed the band to forgo the original album cover, and the band replaced the track "New York City Cops" in the wake of [[TheWarOnTerror the 9/11 attacks]].

Upon its release, ''Is This It'' earned rave reviews from critics and major commercial success. It proved to be massively influential within the next few years, with its sound being considered a fresh alternative to PostGrunge and NuMetal, and inspiring a wave of GarageRock bands. The album would inspire the UK [[AlternativeIndie Indie Rock]] scene; {{Music/Interpol}}'s ''Turn On the Bright Lights'', Music/TheLibertines' ''Up the Bracket'', and Music/ArcticMonkeys' ''Music/WhateverPeopleSayIAmThatsWhatImNot'' would follow in the wake of this record's success, introducing PostPunk elements into the genre.

* NewYorkCops: "New York City Cops", with the line "''New York City cops/they ain't too smart''". The song was removed from the American track listing of ''Is This It'' after the 9/11 attacks [[note]]Although the song itself isn't about the intelligence of the NYPD, the chorus is merely a random quote from the girlfriend of the song's protagonist[[/note]]. It was replaced with the BSide "When It Started" (except on the US vinyl version, which retains the original track listing).

'''''Is This It''''' is the debut album by American rock band Music/TheStrokes, released July 30, 2001. After recording a demo in 2000, The Strokes caught the attention of future Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, who scheduled them for four gigs in December. Encouraged by this opportunity and supported by associates, the band released ''The Modern Age EP'' and attracted the attention of multiple record companies. A drawn-out, pricey bidding war ensued before Creator/RCARecords won the rights in March of 2001, inducing attention and hype for the band within the music industry.

* ContemptibleCover: The album cover is a picture of the photographer's girlfriend, who
* DrugsAreBad: "Soma".

* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Soma" is a reference to Creator/AldousHuxley's ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'', where a drug called soma is used to keep the population docile and complacent.

* StopAndGo: "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain" both stop

* TooSoon: After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the band removed "New York City Cops" from the American track listing of ''Is This It'', due to the lyric "New York City cops/they ain't too smart"[[note]]Although the song itself isn't about the intelligence of the NYPD, the chorus is merely a random quote from the girlfriend of the song's protagonist[[/note]]. It was replaced with the BSide "When It Started" (except on the US vinyl version, which retains the original track listing).
** To add to the creepy factor, the US Vinyl version was actually released '''on''' 9-11... take a minute to let that sink in).

'''''Is This It''''' is the debut album by American rock band Music/TheStrokes, released July 30, 2001. After recording a demo in 2000, The Strokes caught the attention of future Strokes manager Ryan Gentles, who scheduled them for four gigs in December. Encouraged by this opportunity and supported by associates, the band released ''The Modern Age EP'' and attracted the attention of multiple record companies. Creator/RCARecords ended up winning a drawn-out, pricey bidding war in March of 2001, inducing attention and hype for the record within the music industry.

The sound featured on ''Is This It'' came about as protest against the then-mainstream sound of music, and as such the main focuses of the album were on making a raw, gritty and energetic sound. Many techniques used in production, inspired by Music/TheVelvetUnderground and Music/TheRamones, emphasized distorted, low-fidelity noise - singer Julian Casablancas sang through a Peavey amp - and a compressed drum sound which kept pickup noise from the guitars and bass. The result was a bare, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth minimalistic sound]] that eschewed the [[LoudnessWar heavy clipping]] present in many rock albums in favor of unrefined {{Pop}} sensibilities. ExecutiveMeddling, however, pressed the band to forgo the original album cover, and the band replaced the track "New York City Cops" in the wake of [[TheWarOnTerror the 9/11 attacks]].

Upon its release, ''Is This It'' earned rave reviews from critics and major commercial success. It proved to be massively influential within the next few years, with its sound being considered a fresh alternative to PostGrunge and NuMetal, and inspiring a wave of GarageRock bands. The album would inspire the UK [[AlternativeIndie Indie Rock]] scene; {{Music/Interpol}}'s ''Turn On the Bright Lights'', Music/TheLibertines' ''Music/UpTheBracket'', and Music/ArcticMonkeys' ''Music/WhateverPeopleSayIAmThatsWhatImNot'' would follow in the wake of this record's success, introducing PostPunk elements into the genre. Unfortunately, the album proved to be a ToughActToFollow, as the Strokes' followup albums did not receive critical acclaim.

Despite all this, ''Is This It'' is considered to be ''the'' most pivotal moment in the music of the 2000s, and one of the greatest albums of all time. It continues to earn high praise from publications such as ''Magazine/RollingStone'', which listed it as the #199 [[UsefulNotes/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime greatest album of all time]], and ''Magazine/{{NME}}'', which put it as #4 on [[UsefulNotes/NME500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime its own list]].

* AlbumTitleDrop: Happens in the TitleTrack.

* MetalScream: "I said just TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, AND TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT..."

* PerishingAltRockVoice
* StopAndGo: "Last Nite" and "Hard to Explain".

* TooSoon: After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the band removed "New York City Cops" from the American track listing of ''Is This It'', due to the lyric "New York City cops/they ain't too smart"[[note]]Although the song itself isn't about the intelligence of the NYPD, the chorus is merely a random quote from the girlfriend of the song's protagonist[[/note]]. It was replaced with the b-side "When It Started" (except on the US vinyl version, which retains the original track listing. To add to the creepy factor, the US Vinyl version was actually released '''on''' 9-11... take a minute to let that sink in).

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/is_this_it.jpg]]

'''''Is This It''''' is the debut album by American rock band Music/TheStrokes, released July 30, 2001. After recording a demo in 2000, The Strokes caught the attention talent booker Ryan Gentles, who scheduled them for four gigs in December. Encouraged by this opportunity and supported by associates, ''The Modern Age EP'' was released and attracted the attention of multiple record companies. RCA Records ended up winning the bidding war in March of 2001, and Ryan Gentles quit his previous job to manage The Strokes full-time.

The sound featured on ''Is This It'' came about as protest against the then-mainstream sound of music, and as such the main focuses of the album were on making a raw, gritty and energetic sound. Many techniques used in production, inspired by Music/TheVelvetUnderground and Music/TheRamones, emphasised low fidelity (singer Julian Casablancas sang through a Peavey practice amp) and a compressed drum sound (the drum kit featured only had three microphones, without eliminated pickup sound from the guitars and bass).

Upon its release, ''Is This It'' earned rave reviews from critics and major commercial success. It proved to be massively influential within the next few years, with its sound being considered a fresh alternative to PostGrunge and NuMetal, and inspiring a wave of GarageRock bands; improved upon further with {{Music/Interpol}}'s ''Turn On the Bright Lights'' introducing PostPunk elements into the genre. As well as spreading across the US, the album had a hand in influencing the UK indie scene. Unfortunately, the album proved to be a ToughActToFollow, as all of the Strokes' followups weren't considered as good. Despite all this, ''Is This It'' is considered to be ''the'' most pivotal moment in the music of the 2000s, and one of the greatest albums of all time, continuing to earn high praise from publications such as ''Rolling Stone'' and ''NME''.

# "New York City Cops" (3:36)