BY MIKEY MIGO
Song: Hard to Explain
Year: 2001
Album: Is This It
We get random stock footage of cars racing and driving around. It then becomes random stock footage of airplanes/helicopters/space ships flying or taking off. We finally see the band performing in front of a lit up "THE STROKES" sign about a minute and half into it. We go old school as we see each band member with their name next to them. There is a montage of clips that relate to the lyrics mixed in with clips that are just visually interesting. I know the band isn't "old" by any means, but it's weird to see them look even this young in their first official music video. The end flashes with a montage of the same clips we've already seen. It's nothing special and seems like a fan made YouTube video, yet it's well done.
Rating: 7.0
Song: Last Nite
Year: 2001
Album: Is This It
This is the song that got me hooked on The Strokes. Once I heard this, I knew they would "blow up" so to speak and told many people about them in the process. It's such a simple video with the band playing in what appears to be a throw back 70's pop show setting. The absent look in Jules' eyes fits perfect with the uninterested feel the band gives off. About half way though the band seems to get more interested in what they're doing. It's almost as if they all just got woken up and told "Hey, the set it done and we gotta shoot this video." At the end, Jules throws the mic as if he's bowling and the band just sorta finishes up and calls it a day. Simple, but effective.
Rating: 8.0
Song: Someday
Year: 2001
Album: Is This It
The band is hanging out in a small bar smoking, drinking, playing games, and having a good time. We then see clips from The Strokes vs. Guided By Voices on the Family Feud. The Family Feud stuff is mixed in with candid clips of the band just hanging out or sitting around with friends. This video keeps the theme of simplicity, retro, and calmness that has been seen on all the videos from their debut LP "Is This It". I think the direction, candid shots, and Family Feud clips make this my favorite video of the album.
Rating: 8.5
Song: 12:51
Year: 2003
Album: Room on Fire
We fast forward to two years later and we get the band appearing as if they're being zapped in ala Star Trek. The band is dressed up a little more and their setting is a cool combination of black and neon. As elaborate as the setting is the band still just seems to be casual with their performance. Regardless, the visuals are a nice compliment for the lyrics and the slacker performance.
Rating: 7.5
Song: Reptila
Year: 2004
Album: Room on Fire
This is easily my favorite song by The Strokes. We start with close ups of the band playing their respective instruments. Jules sings into the mic with a close up shot. There are more close ups of the band rocking out or close up of the instruments being played. Jules shows the most emotion of any of the videos we've covered so far. At 3 minutes in we get split and quarter screens of the same style close ups we've had for the entire video. The end is simply Jules spitting in our face (the camera).
Rating: 8.0
Song: The End Has No End
Year: 2004
Album: Room on Fire
We start with a series of clips on the TV screen of news, Girls Gone Wildish stuff, and a guy calling to order. This video has more videos mixed in with appearances from hot celebrities (Eva and Mila). The band performs in a simple setting in wide screen with music notes appearing above and below them. It's a really cool effect. The video basically tells you just what the title does, the end has no end: Work, Love, Sleep, Relaxing, etc. One of the more conventional videos for the band, but still done with their own style.
Rating: 8.0
Song: Juice Box
Year: 2005
Album: First Impressions of Earth
We start off with an "in studio" radio appearance. The DJ is "THE MAN" David Cross. He introduces the band and song as "Stroke with Juicy Juice". The transmission goes out to everyone. We see an older elitist type of woman smoking a cigarette as Cross flips through a skin mag. The elitist lady pours wine on the ground and cleans it up. Two chicks make out as a creepy guy films it. Two people start going at it in the back of a cab until the guy throws up. The video moves really fast and makes it hard to keep up. It's all about what "gets you off" from the many different clips. The band appears a bit more energetic because of the rapid cuts, which is a very nice change of place.
Rating: 8.5
Song: Heart in a Cage
Year: 2006
Album: First Impressions of Earth
We get shots of the band playing in cool locations in NYC. The crowd is chaotic. Jules lies on the ground as the crowd goes all around them and sings. It's black and white and looks great. I enjoy the contrast of Jules singing on the ground as all the rush of the city goes over him. The end sees the crowd attacking the band, the band attacking their instruments, and Jules getting up from the ground. I don't think I saw this video enough when it first came out, because I feel like I missed a pretty damn good video.
Rating: 8.5
Song: You Only Live Once
Year: 2006
Album: First Impressions of Earth
The band performs in a metallic looking room. Jules dances a little and the band seem a bit more comfortable with moving around a little as they're all dressed in white. Filthy water/oil/dark liquid starts to pour from the sides of the walls filling up their performance spot. It gets waist deep about half way through making tit harder to play. The drummer is the first one to be under the liquid. Towards the end the band starts to try to use their guitars and bass' to stop the liquid from pouring out, but it has no effect. The band drowns in the liquid and definitely ruins their cool white threads. I really enjoyed this video when it was in regular rotation. When I first saw this, it definitely had a "what the f*ck is going on" thing going for it.
Rating: 8.5
FINAL RATING: 7.5
The Strokes first videos were more laid back and seemed to be just used as a vessel to get their music out there. Maybe they were going for the whole "whatever" attitude, but it's what drew me in to their music. It's just good music you can listen to while hanging out with friends, as their third video "Someday" gave off. With their next album, they got a little fancier with the effects used in the video and at the same time a little more artsy. By the time the third album came out, they were fairly known. The videos had a bit more of a concept behind them that was a little more "spoon fed" to the audience. While the majority of their videos involve them just standing around and playing with or without a story/special effects thrown in, you can't help but notice their music and videos evolve. None of their videos are groundbreaking and are often easily forgettable, but they are who they are. You clearly see that by watching their linage of music videos.
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