First Impressions of Earth

Product Information

American album certifications – The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved December 20, 2022.

There were a lot of tomorrows between Is This It and First Impressions Of Earth, and a lot of things were different now. In 2004, Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture married Ilona Jankovich, and the couple had their first child later that year. Guitarist Valensi had met and fallen in love with British photographer Amanda De Cadenet; the pair would go on to get married later in 2006. Drummer Moretti had gotten into a serious relationship with the actress Drew Barrymore, with whom he stayed for five years, from 2002 – 2007. Guitarist Hammond had gotten engaged to the musician Catherine Pierce. Listen to some of those old Bangles jams, listen to First Impressions Of Earth, listen to “Summerboy,” and then consider what Kahne said about working with Raphael and Casablancas — but this time, exclude the part about Raphael, and focus only on the part about Casablancas: Hélas, "Ask Me Anything" vient tout gâcher. Il lui manque des paroles dignes de ce nom -même si elles ont le mérite de la sincérité-... I’m not a huge supporter of side/solo stuff. I’m of the opinion that you’re in a band and that’s what you do. If there’s leftover material and time, then sure, by all means. But if you’re playing material that you haven’t even shown to your main band and you’re just sort of keeping it for yourself, I’m not a big fan of that.Murray, Noel (2006-01-04). "The Strokes: First Impressions Of Earth | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2011-02-20. Five years after being shunted aside in favor of Kahne, Raphael offered a synopsis of the Strokes’ mindset at the time: “I believe they saw all the bands that came in the door behind the first record that were selling three times more than them and were wondering if it was a production thing. At the time, they were getting married and having children and wondering how they could go higher than they did.” Another small victory is that Casablancas’ falsetto has improved. What once felt like a novelty (at best) actually leads to some striking moments. The verses of “Eternal Summer” are sleek and exciting—that is, until the unfortunate Austin Powers impression of a bridge waltzes in to kill everyone’s buzz. “The Adults Are Talking,” with its steady build and soaring climax, adds to their legacy of great album openers. After his distracted performances on Angles and Comedown Machine, Casablancas now sounds tasked with keeping spirits light; from the slurred Sinatra croon in “Not the Same Anymore” to his pop-punk sneer in “Brooklyn Bridge to Chorus,” he seems up for the challenge. Since U Been Gone” changed the direction of pop music; Max Martin himself spent the next two years fooling around with minor variables in that equation, trying to recapture its effect with artists like the Veronicas, Marion Raven, Avril Lavigne, and Pink. So it doesn’t seem hard to imagine that Gaga — devastated after being dropped by Def Jam; directed by her management to expand her sound beyond electropop; dancing at go-go bars on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which was famously known for being the Strokes’ stomping grounds — recognized how Clarkson, Martin, and Luke had adapted the Strokes sound for the pop market, heard “You Only Live Once,” and decided to put her own spin on that formula. Whatever the case, a little more than a month after the alternate video for “You Only Live Once” made its debut, “Summerboy” first appeared online, in demo form, on Gaga’s Myspace. The Strokes: First Impressions of Earth" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

Norwegiancharts.com – The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2020. Well, to be fair, some people liked First Impressions Of Earth. I mean, I liked it, anyway. I loved it, even! I did not love “Juicebox,” though. I also did not like“Juicebox.” In fact, I’ve hated that thing every day since I first heard it, and it sounds worse in 2015/2016 than it did in 2005/2006.In hindsight, we know that wasn’t the case — as Valensi said, the band viewed “Juicebox” as an “obvious candidate for first single”— but nonetheless, “You Only Live Once” did sort of quiet some of the concern that had been stoked in the preceding days. Oddest of all, though, is ‘Ask Me Anything’. Just graceful, classical string sweeps and a whirlpool of synth – no guitar, no drums – it sees Julian take the microphone for a nonsense confessional: “Harmless children, we named our soldiers after you/Don’t be a coconut, God is tryina’ talk to you/We could drag you down/That’s for other bands to do…”. A curious highlight, and it’s only after this that ‘First Impressions…’ truly shows any sign of flag. ‘Killing Lies’ takes The Strokes’ penchant for repetition, but forgets their talent for skidding, giddy propulsion, while ‘15 Minutes’ veers close to closing-time karaoke, Casablancas delivering the lines, “It’s not that I don’t love you, it’s just that I don’t really know,” like a Shane MacGowan so pissed he’s accidentally spilling a pint of whiskey. When the album landed in stores, its commercial reception seemed to further substantiate the decisions made by the band. First Impressions Of Earth debuted at #1 in the UK — a momentous event, as both Room On Fire and Is This It never got higher than #2 in that Strokes-fevered region. It also debuted at #4 in the US — moving an impressive 88,000 units in its first week — and in the top 10 in six other markets. The Strokes had reached new heights, and they’d only released one single off First Impressions. There were still 13 more to choose from!

True, ‘Room On Fire’ was a ‘difficult’ album done good – perhaps because there’s something strangely appealing about the sound of a band on top of the world, but at their end of their tether. Right now, though, The Strokes need something big, and you can forget those jibes about overprivilege: this is the sort of big that no amount of time at Swiss finishing school can prepare you for. Because fittingly, on ‘First Impressions Of Earth’, The Strokes are on their own. In the aftermath, the band seemed disillusioned and disappointed, and those feelings were apparently exacerbated by the fact that everyone operating in that same exact space at that same exact moment seemed to be enjoying incredible commercial success. In April 2003, the White Stripes released Elephant, which went platinum or multi-platinum in four regions. In June 2004, the Killers released their debut album, Hot Fuss, which went platinum or multi-platinum in six regions, including selling 3 million copies in the States. In November 2004, Kings Of Leon — who’d been opening for the Strokes only months earlier — released Aha Shake Heartbreak, which went multi-platinum in three regions. My goodness, Jet’s Get Born (released in September 2003) moved twice as many units as Room On Fire in the US alone. So too did Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled debut LP (released in February 2004). Juicebox” came out as a surprise to me … We’d never really done anything that intense before, so that song just seemed like an obvious candidate for first single for me, as it’s just such a departure for us. Ultratop.be – The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2020.On ne pourra pas les plaindre tant ils ont occupé le devant de la scène pendant quelques temps, un temps ou le revival faisaient mouiller la gazelle citadine et dresser le chibre des puceaux boutonneux !

He really did leave. In 2009, Casablancas moved to Los Angeles and released his own debut solo album, Phrazes For The Young. Not only was it his name on the spine, but his face on the sleeve: a self-consciously solitary image of Casablancas sitting in a studio accompanied by nothing but a guitar, a phonograph, and his dog, Balki. The cover echoed the famous RCA logo, but it was hard to view it without also thinking of a classic quote, attributed to such lonely leaders as President Harry S. Truman and Gordon Gekko— bottom line-minded pragmatists who knew business and friendship could never mix. Spanishcharts.com – The Strokes – First Impressions of Earth". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 15, 2020. Grigsby (2006-12-14). "The Strokes - First Impressions of Earth". Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved 2013-03-23. Initially, the plan was for Kahne to work alongside Gordon Raphael, the Strokes’ longtime producer. But that arrangement was fraught with difficulties. Raphael recounted a conversation he’d had with Strokes frontman/architect Julian Casablancas after a month in the studio with Kahne and the band: Masterdisk, awful sounding pressing, that’s not taking into account the usual UNITED PRESSING noise issues.

Tracklist

Frustrated, confused, and exhausted, the Strokes took some time off before reconvening to record their third album, and when they were ready to do so, they enlisted a new producer: David Kahne. There was no question about why they’d decided to change things up: The Strokes wanted to undo whatever perceived damage had been done by Room On Fire. Drummer Fabrizio Moretti said as much in a 2006 Spin interview: