Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
It's Been 10 Years, Time To Revisit The Strokes' <em>Is This It</em>
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 26, 2011
Modified Jul 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Jul 26, 2011
Modified Jul 26, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Strokes‘ debut album Is This It was released on July 30th, 2001, when we were all... so much younger. For the 10 year anniversary, Stereogum is revisiting the album with a tribute called Stoked: A Tribute to This Is It. (They've done this in the past with Bjork's Post, R.E.M.’s Automatic For The People, and Radiohead's Ok Computer.) Download it here for free—the redux features covers from Chelsea Wolfe, Austra, Deradoorian, Frankie Rose, Owen Pallett, Himanshu "Heems" Suri of Das Racist, and more.
Heems is the only one who changed the lyrics, to the song "New York City Cops"—the reimagined version now goes something like this: "Fuck the police, fuck the NYPD... fuck the New York Pricks and Dicks. They're the worst people, New York cops are the worst." It's a lot better than the original, which was never really a strong point on the album. The notes for the album include this explanation from Heems:
"Michael Stewart, Eleanor Bumpurs, Amadou Diallo, Patrick Dorismond, Alberta Spruill, Timothy Stansbury, Abner Louima, Sean Bell, Ousmane Zongo, Randolph Evans, Anthony Baez, Clifford Glover, and Fermin Arzou were senselessly beaten or killed by the NYPD while unarmed."
Stereogum also revisits the album's original release in 2001, saying, "it helped not only put contemporary New York City in the forefront of music lovers’ minds, it offered an easy reference for people to dig backwards into the Big Apple’s rock ‘n’ roll past. For certain younger fans, it was maybe the first time they carefully considered Television (the late ’70s), the Velvet Underground (mid ’60s to early ’70s), and other lesser known garage and rock and whatever bands that inhabited a dirtier, grubbier Manhattan. Is This It was a history lesson, but one with enough new ideas to also offer a roadmap." We're gonna go to the Darkroom and listen to Interpol now.
Tagged
10 years
album
download
Is This It
mp3s
The Strokes
tribute
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Published Oct 8, 2026
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
If you're playing tourist in your own town, this is an in-demand option.
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries
By
Alec Hamilton
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .