The Story of 'Room On Fire': The Strokes' Impossible Follow Up

Music credit:

"Song Title"
Nicholas Adamson (The Don't Tell Show)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[gg]

their best album to me. it's similar to is this it but casablancas became a better songwriter and the band grew stronger as performers. the hype and insanity of the time was stupid and the media just wanted to knock the pins down after setting them up by hyping them as the saviors of rock

[Isaacyeah]

I don't think they could've done better than room on fire, it was so good

[Tracey_]

The best way to enjoy Room On Fire is in two ways:
1. Look at each song individually and not as a collective whole. It makes each song better when not having to be pushed together and in an order.

2. Don’t look at it as in the shadow of Is This It, and appreciate it as it’s own thing.

[alexpattle]

I've always said it: This is the best possible follow-up an artist could write after a debut as well-regarded as Is This It (and there aren't many debuts like that in the history of music). Not only is Room On Fire a great follow-up, it's a fantastic record in its own right.

[ortizrangel]

"He want them to sound old-fashioned and at the same time futuristic "

It means the idea of the voidz was always there, jules tried in his first solo, then he accomplished that sound with the voidz . Maybe the voidz is the band he always wanted to be with.

Sounds heartbreaking but maybe the strokes was always a base and the first stage to get what he really wants.

[joshwhalen]

I hold "Is this It' and "Room on Fire" as two sides of the same album. I always considered Gordon Raphael to be the common denominator therein.

Had The Clash released London Calling as two separate, consecutive records they probably would've received similar criticism.

[deannilvalli]

Nice narration on this. Brings back memories of days gone by....

[theslate]

I’m so glad to have found a channel talking about the music I love! Great work mate

[jeffreyroedel]

For the 20th anniversary this year the Strokes need to reissue RoF with the bonus tracks "Modern Girls and Old Fashioned Men" and the three tracks they did with Godrich and scrapped.

[viniciuseneas]

I'm very happy to be part of the group that always thought Room on Fire is just as good as Is This It since day one. No second evaluations needed.

[seahorsesebastiano]

Great dive into the strokes 2nd best album

[DJForget]

I still love the quote about the 12:51 video, regardless of the song itself(I think it's great), "'The video is not good enough.' He goes, 'Because the band didn’t want this song and you see it on the screen.' And he was right. You watch that video and they are bored." - Meet Me in the Bathroom, 2017

[wannenburgwannenburg]

Love the album. Really cool video, can't wait to see more. Would love a video about The Cribs

[pavelgutierrez]

good fucking video. super in depth and informative, keep it going man 🙏🙏

[nova_jewels]

i feel like if the latter half of first impression of earth was just slightly better, room on fire wouldn't be my favorite strokes album. its so close, and heart in a cage is my favorite song but room on fire is just so amazing to me. is this it and new abnormal are tied in 3rd for me, but their whole discography is just amazing its hard to decide on hard rankings.

[MountainBlade]

The whole “the first Strokes album is so much better than the rest” is such lame take. The first three records are all absolute bangers.

[westroom]

Room on fire is just as good as is this it

[AnnetteMay]

Both 1st and 2nd albums are equally awesome. In my opinion you cannot compare the two. Each album is in a class (separately) by itself. The first album was like one song immediately after the next. The second album is like 32 minutes long but not edited as fast as the first one. If that makes any sense. If Gordon Raphael never produced The Strokes, it may not have had the impact that those first two albums had.

[Bullseye_Strength]

Reptilia is a better song than anything on Is This It.
&, IMO, Is This It is pretty much a perfect album.

[ryanjavierortega]

Julian in the states, Pete abroad...good times