the Strokes: influences, peers and legacy

Every connection with its receipt

The Strokes compressed thirty years of downtown New York guitar music into eleven songs recorded in a basement studio on Avenue A. This mix traces the CBGB lineage they absorbed, the obscure power-pop and proto-punk threads under it, the uptown pop songcraft in their bloodline, and the wave of bands who spent the 2000s and 2010s chasing their sound.

The Kynda mix for the Strokes

• Key Influence · The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground (1967). The foundational text for every downtown New York band that followed, and the one the Strokes were measured against from their first press. Lou Reed's deadpan, conversationally bored vocal delivery and the rhythm-guitar interlock of Reed and Sterling Morrison are audible throughout Is This It, as is the Velvets' insistence that limited technique, recorded dry and close, carries more charge than virtuosity. RCA released both records.
• Influencia Obscura · The Only Ones (1978). A largely forgotten London band whose debut married jangling, melodic guitar lines to Peter Perrett's languid, narcotic drawl — a vocal posture strikingly close to Casablancas's. The Strokes were compared to them so persistently in the British press of 2001 that the comparison became a critical shorthand, and Perrett's blend of pop sweetness with deliberate detachment remains the single best pre-echo of the Is This It voice.
• Local Roots · Ramones (1976). The Queens band that set the template for New York minimalism: short songs, no solos, uniform leather-and-sneakers image, every record cut fast and cheap. The Strokes adopted the same self-mythologizing gang aesthetic, played many of the same downtown rooms a generation later, and frequently worked in the Ramones' two-minute attack. Both bands turned a deliberately narrow sound into a complete identity.
• Beyond the Medium · It Never Rains in Southern California by Albert Hammond (1972). Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. is the son of this professional hit songwriter, whose credits include work for the Hollies and Starship and whose own early-seventies records are exercises in immaculate melodic construction. That inherited Brill Building discipline — verse-chorus efficiency, hooks that resolve — is the unexpected pop craftsmanship underneath the band's scuzzy guitars and the reason Is This It functions as a singles album.
• Peer · White Blood Cells by The White Stripes (2001). Released months after The Modern Age EP, it made 2001 a two-band story: Detroit minimalism against New York minimalism, both bundled by the press into a garage-rock revival neither group had asked to join. The two acts toured the same festival circuit and were endlessly contrasted — Jack White's blues primitivism versus Casablancas's downtown cool — while sharing a belief in cheap, fast recording and visual uniformity.
• From the Canon · Is This It by The Strokes (2001). Recorded with Gordon Raphael in the small Transporterraum studio on Avenue A, deliberately thin and mid-range heavy so the guitars could interlock without mud. Thirty-six minutes, no solos of consequence, vocals run through a compressor to sound like a telephone. It reset expectations for guitar bands on both sides of the Atlantic and its American edition famously swapped the cover art and replaced New York City Cops after September 2001.
• Key Collaborator · Soviet Kitsch by Regina Spektor (2004). Gordon Raphael, the producer who shaped the small, compressed sound of Is This It and Room on Fire in his basement studio, also produced records for Regina Spektor, another downtown New York artist of the same moment. Hearing his work with a solo pianist clarifies what he actually contributed to the Strokes: not polish but intimacy, close miking and a willingness to leave rough edges and room noise intact.
• Legacy · Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys (2006). Alex Turner and his Sheffield bandmates have spoken plainly about Is This It being the record that made them want to form a band, and the debt is audible in the interlocking guitars and clipped, talky vocal phrasing of I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. The relationship later became direct: Turner's Last Shadow Puppets orbit and the Monkeys' touring history repeatedly intersected with the Strokes.

What influenced the Strokes

• Arctic Monkeys. Arctic Monkeys are named as an inspiration for the band's production experiments. (also via Take It or Leave It, Is This It, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not) “The Strokes have heavily influenced bands like The Killers , Arctic Monkeys , and Franz Ferdinand .” (Wikipedia)
• Television. Critics perceived a Television influence, although the band denied having heard them. (also via Marquee Moon) “While critics noted the influence of CBGB stalwarts Television , Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band” (Wikipedia)
• The Velvet Underground by The Velvet Underground. The band named the Velvet Underground as a reference point. (also via The Velvet Underground & Nico) “Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band, instead citing the Velvet Underground and the Doors as reference points.” (Wikipedia)
• The Doors by Oliver Stone (1991). The band named the Doors as a reference point. “Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band, instead citing the Velvet Underground and the Doors as reference points.” (Wikipedia)
• The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground (1967). The Velvet Underground & Nico (The Velvet Underground) — titan for The Strokes “The Strokes have been said to be "as influential to their era as The Velvet Underground or the Ramones were to theirs" by Lizzy Goodman in her 2017 book on the New York City music scene in the 2000s, Meet Me in the Bathroom – so named fo…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Crystal Castles. Crystal Castles are named as an inspiration for the band's production experiments. “Inspired, in part, by other contemporary bands like MGMT , Arctic Monkeys , and Crystal Castles , The Strokes decided to experiment with various production techniques” (Wikipedia)
• MGMT. MGMT is named as an inspiration for the band's production experiments. “Inspired, in part, by other contemporary bands like MGMT , Arctic Monkeys , and Crystal Castles , The Strokes decided to experiment with various production techniques” (Wikipedia)
• Marquee Moon by Television (1977). Marquee Moon (Television) — titan for The Strokes “While critics noted the influence of CBGB stalwarts Television, Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band, instead citing the Velvet Underground and the Doors as reference points.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• It Never Rains in Southern California by Albert Hammond (1972). It Never Rains in Southern California (Albert Hammond) — culture for The Strokes “It has maintained the same lineup since inception: lead vocalist and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas; guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.; bassist Nikolai Fraiture; and drummer Fabrizio Moretti.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• A Hard Day's Night by Richard Lester (1964). A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester) — culture for The Strokes (themoviedb.org)
• Raw Power by The Stooges. Raw Power (Iggy and the Stooges) — titan for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers (1976). The Modern Lovers (The Modern Lovers) — ghost for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• The Only Ones by The Only Ones (1978). The Only Ones (The Only Ones) — ghost for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• Pavement (1989). Is This It (The Strokes) — legacy for Pavement (via Is This It) (musicbrainz.org)
• Exodus by Bob Marley and the Wailers (1977). Exodus (Bob Marley and the Wailers) — culture for The Strokes

Peers and kindred spirits

• Regina Spektor. Spektor recorded a song with the band. (also via Soviet Kitsch) “While on tour, Spektor and The Strokes recorded the song " Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men ", released as a B-side on the "Reptilia" single.” (Wikipedia)
• Ramones by Ramones (1976). Ramones (Ramones) — geography for The Strokes “The Strokes have been said to be "as influential to their era as The Velvet Underground or the Ramones were to theirs" by Lizzy Goodman in her 2017 book on the New York City music scene in the 2000s, Meet Me in the Bathroom – so named fo…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Clampdown by The Clash. The Strokes covered the Clash song. “the band included the Clash 's "Clampdown" as a cover, which was released as the B-side for " The End Has No End ".” (Wikipedia)
• Parallel Lines by Blondie (1978). Parallel Lines (Blondie) — geography for The Strokes “The album's sound maintained The Strokes' familiar reference points, while also evoking groups such as the Cars, Bob Marley, and Blondie.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• White Blood Cells by The White Stripes (2001). White Blood Cells (The White Stripes) — peer for The Strokes “In August 2002, the band headlined the UK's Carling Weekend festivals for the second time, subsequently playing at New York's Radio City Music Hall on a bill with the White Stripes.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Blood Sugar Sex Magik by Red Hot Chili Peppers (1991). Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Red Hot Chili Peppers) — collaborator for The Strokes “That summer, they toured as an opening act on the Red Hot Chili Peppers 2022 Global Stadium Tour.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Gregg Alexander. Alexander co-wrote Starting Again with the band. “the band shared a video in support of New York City mayoral candidate Maya Wiley featuring a clip of a new song "Starting Again" co-written with Gregg Alexander” (Wikipedia)
• Jack White. White performed a guitar solo with the band onstage. “Jack White joined The Strokes on stage to perform the guitar solo on "New York City Cops".” (Wikipedia)
• Charli XCX. Charli XCX performed with the Strokes. “During their set, they brought out Charli XCX to perform their song "Take It or Leave It".” (Wikipedia)
• Soviet Kitsch by Regina Spektor (2004). Soviet Kitsch (Regina Spektor) — collaborator for The Strokes “During the 2003–2004 "Room on Fire Tour", the band were supported by Kings of Leon and Regina Spektor.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Fever to Tell by Yeah Yeah Yeahs (2003). Fever to Tell (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) — peer for The Strokes “of the Strokes wore a Yeah Yeah Yeahs pin while performing on Saturday Night Live, as well as a high-profile performance at South by Southwest, leading to the EP's reissue by Touch and Go Records in the United States and Wichita Recordin…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• My Way. The Strokes performed Paul Anka's song with Japanese lyrics. “The band also played Paul Anka 's "My Way" with Japanese lyrics.” (Wikipedia)
• Gordon Raphael. Raphael produced Is This It. (via Is This It) “The album was produced by Gordon Raphael, as was their follow-up album Room On Fire .” (Wikipedia)
• Rick Rubin. Rubin produced The New Abnormal. (via The New Abnormal) “In 2020, they released their first studio album in seven years, The New Abnormal , produced by Rick Rubin and released through Cult and RCA.” (Wikipedia)
• ...Like Clockwork by Queens of the Stone Age (2013). ...Like Clockwork (Queens of the Stone Age) — collaborator for The Strokes “Several sites reported that the album would include many guest vocalists, including Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails, Julian Casablancas from The Strokes, Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, and deceased humorist Erma Bombeck.” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth (1988). Daydream Nation (Sonic Youth) — geography for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• Turn On the Bright Lights by Interpol (2002). Turn on the Bright Lights (Interpol) — peer for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• Spoon. Is This It (The Strokes) — peer for Spoon (via Is This It) (musicbrainz.org)
• Vampire Weekend by Vampire Weekend. Is This It (The Strokes) — geography for Vampire Weekend (via Is This It) (musicbrainz.org)

Who the Strokes influenced

• Geese. Band members named the Strokes as an influence. (also via Is This It) “The members cited the Velvet Underground, Television, the Strokes and Radiohead as influences.” (Wikipedia)
• We Are Scientists. The quoted interview identifies the Strokes among the bands We Are Scientists considered influences. “I think those bands were influences just by us being part of that music scene.” (Wikipedia)
• the Killers. The Killers are identified as a band influenced by the Strokes. “The Strokes have heavily influenced bands like The Killers , Arctic Monkeys , and Franz Ferdinand .” (Wikipedia)
• Wet Leg. Wet Leg are reported to have cited the Strokes as an influence. “Other bands that have cited the Strokes as an influence include Wet Leg and We Are Scientists .” (Wikipedia)
• Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys (2006). Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Arctic Monkeys) — legacy for The Strokes “Inspired, in part, by other contemporary bands like MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, and Crystal Castles, The Strokes decided to experiment with various production techniques, and recorded the rest of the album's material at Albert Hammond Jr.'s ho…” (en.wikipedia.org)
• Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand are identified as a band influenced by the Strokes. “The Strokes have heavily influenced bands like The Killers , Arctic Monkeys , and Franz Ferdinand .” (Wikipedia)
• Charlie Parker. Fu documents Parker’s indirect connection to the album cover through Basquiat’s tribute painting. (via The New Abnormal) “The Strokes ‘ comeback album, The New Abnormal , features cover art that might be familiar to Jean-Michel Basquiat fans. It contains a portion of the late artist’s 1981 painting, Birds on Money . Basquiat created the painting as a tribut…” (Genius)
• The 1975 by The 1975 (2013). The 1975 (The 1975) — legacy for The Strokes (musicbrainz.org)
• Youth and Young Manhood by Kings of Leon (2003). Youth and Young Manhood (Kings of Leon) — legacy for The Strokes “During the 2003–2004 "Room on Fire Tour", the band were supported by Kings of Leon and Regina Spektor.” (en.wikipedia.org)