Next week is the ten year anniversary of September 11th, and already there have been plenty of news articles and videos shown on the internet "commemorating" the occasion. I get that it has to be remembered, and it's one of those moments/days/eras that will never be forgotten in American history, but I'm not really looking forward to the continued coverage. I'm sure much of it will veer from tasteful remembrance of the victims to foaming-at-the-mouth anti-Muslim diatribes, irrational war debates, and renewed conspiracy theory garbage. Here's to hoping that the focus is kept on honoring the people lost, and making the world safer for everyone moving forward.
There were other things going on at the beginning of the twenty-first century, at least until September 10th. There were quite a few great NYC rock bands coming up, releasing albums that would actually survive past the usual six-month shelf life of many popular indie albums. Some of the bands themselves ended up flaming out after a few more albums, but surprisingly many are still making solid records ten years later.
The Walkmen are an interesting band. They have real talent, and some of their songs, including "We've Been Had," are legitimately great. I saw them play live once, though, and they were kinda boring. I feel like they're one of those bands that has to be in the right mood to play a great show. "We've Been Had" has really great quarter-life crisis lyrics, and that piano loop is perfection.
The album Is This It by The Strokes is just so great. Everyone wanted to hate them cause Julian Casablancas' dad was a record company exec, but it turned out that every damn song on that album was completely catchy and awesome. Their subsequent records haven't been as good, but this album won't ever go away.
By the time Interpol came around, the NYC rock revival scene had almost petered out. They were accused of being Joy Division rip-offs, but it was really just Banks' vocals that were responsible for that. "Untitled" is still an amazing opener.
