Last month we celebrated the legendary Ramones, and today we put the spotlight on The Strokes. Both bands hail from New York, but we promise it’s just a coincidence and not 100best’s running theme. The Strokes are partly responsible for the 100b crüe getting together as united music geeks. They’re one of a very short list of bands that could have made us stand in line in the cold for seven hours for exclusive tickets to a small venue, and dear Lord, they were worth it. They have a special place in our hearts, and today we choose one song that we consider the best of their entire oeuvre. If you agree or think another song is more deserving of the accolades, feel free to have your say. But like we said last month, we have to stick by the rules and do it in 100 words or less, so it’d be cool if you did too.

aDawgg:

   The Strokes – Last Nite

Take Is This It?, Room On Fire and First Impressions Of Earth. Reduce until the deliciousest core remains, “Last Nite”, “Reptilia” and “You Only Live Once”. Sip each in turn, loud and soft, eyes open and closed. Which kicks most? Which is the pure and unadulterated essence of The Strokes phenomenon? “Last Nite”, indubitably. We crusty bunch may not easily recall, now, what it was like, then, to crank up Is This It? for the first time and be blown away by something so different from everything else at the party. It was love at first listen. And still is.

Bean:

   The Strokes – Soma

This was tough. I got it down to a shortlist (“Soma”, “Last Nite”, “Modern Girls and Old Fashion Men”, “When It Started”, “Under Control”), all of which I love dearly. They each have the trademark Strokesian elements: rolling drums, calmly insistent guitars, vocals that sound like they were screamed over a tin can telephone. But “Soma” has one other tiny thing that I couldn’t ignore: that wee drum roll that starts off each verse. You know it: it’s at 00:07 and 01:10 and can’t possibly last more than 2 seconds. It’s nearly nothing, but it’s enough to make the difference.

Tamboosh:

   The Strokes – Reptilia

My favourite is “Someday” because it was the first Strokes single I’d heard and I was immediately hooked. But I tried to choose not out of nostalgia, but by which song represents their sound best. I decided to take baby steps and chose one from each album first. After whittling the list down, I was left with “New York City Cops”, “Reptilia”, and “You Only Live Once”. All three high energy, über Strokes-y, spitfires of songs. I finally chose “Reptilia”, because the rousing chorus oozes with emotion and the instruments seem as much part of the dialogue as the lyrics.