How Is This It Reset Rock｜Modern Classics Month

[@abigaildevoe]

popping in to say the cover was photographed by *colin lane i have no idea how i missed this in post. so sorry! ANYWAY: what’s your favorite album from the 2000s? comment below!

[@evilscientistrecords]

My favorite indie albums all came out in 2004: "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes" by TV on the Radio, "Misery is a Butterfly" by Blonde Redhead, Franz Ferdinand's S/T, "i" by The Magnetic Fields, "Funeral" by Arcade Fire, "La Maison de Mon Rêve" by CocoRosie......

[@tylerthecreation998]

Cliche music nerd pick but madvillainy. Just two of the bests at their best

[@thomasnewsome5923]

My favorite is Southern Rock Opera by the Drive-By Truckers

[@alanclayton9277]

charlotte hatherley the deep blue. an album of beauty neglected to the point of absurdity. it happens.

[@millivinilli]

Easy Listening Album by Pigface

[@VictorRamirez-em4tv]

Lester Bangs has got nothing on you!!! “For 30-some-odd minutes I get to try on a life I was never hip enough to live”. That is brilliant writing!

[@josemaria8177]

I nearly wheezed when I saw the end announcement. OH MY GOD THIS IS NOT A DRILL, I need to get ready to look like Buddy Holly asap

[@abigaildevoe]

HOW ARE YOU ALREADY THAT FAR this video’s only been up for 14 minutes??

[@josemaria8177]

​@@abigaildevoe jumped ahead because I can't handle suspense and then went back to watch the video.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Oh boy! Inching closer to a Modest Mouse episode. Someone's gotta send her a vinyl of This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About or something.

[@abigaildevoe]

i would 100% feature building something out of nothing, interstate 8 was one of my favorites in college

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

​@@abigaildevoe I said this half-facetiously cuz I never think anyone will talk about MM cuz they've always been off in their own little corner of music, it can be difficult to weave them into a grander musical historiography (other than as a link between grunge and post-punk revival, perhaps) but not only are you familiar, you go droppin a relative deepcut. I am impressed! Building Nothing and Everywhere and His Nasty Parlor Tricks got me out of a big slump when I was still learning guitar - it helped me escape the blues boxes. Forever in debt to Isaac and the gang for that, so I fly the flag whenever I can. I proselytize for the cult of Modest Mouse.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

Oh. Fairwarning, it might be a bit difficult to do your thing with Building Nothing out of Something since it's technically a compilation album.

[@TheBurdenOfHope]

First video of yours I’ve ever seen (the algorithm isn’t TOTALLY busted it seems!) and was introduced to SO much. Mod Month 2023 looks amazing so I’ll be catching up on that next. Alvvays are one of my absolute faves ❤❤

[@rjramone4051]

Is This It re-newed my faith in rock n roll when I bought it back in 2001. I was so tired of post grunge and post alternative music. The Strokes was a breath of fresh air. Great video!!

[@CDPlayer1994]

SHE DID IT! SHE COVERED THE STROKES

[@evilscientistrecords]

But did she stroke the cover?!

[@flannigan7956]

I can still hold out for my OK GO Computer

[@sonnysumo8172]

I listened to this album for the first time a few years ago and I was taken back as to how well it holds up. It flows very well, all killer no filler imo. It has this way of acclimating you to the vibe and how earnest it is. It’s not flashily produced, it’s practically Lofi. Buts endlessly relistanble

[@66jodaco]

Not just important to the indie rock revival but the perfect transitional record and jolt needed for the slumping britpop scene with it's timing.

[@smaz9]

I'll be honest, my love for indie music has waned a fair bit as my music taste has veered into experimental territory over the last few years, but I do have a soft spot for this album in particular, because it's simultaneously a throwback and a glimpse into the future. I have a better appreciation of this one now that you've talked about its backstory, because now everything on here makes sense to me. I think what I'm trying to say is that Mod Month has gone off to a lovely start! ❤

[@Glendoras]

I read a rave review of it and bought it the week it was released without hearing a note before I got home and put it on the stereo. It blew me away! I still love it.

[@anthony_dimaggio]

7:35 Pitchfork from around 1998-2002 was the most egregious and most unintentionally funny thing in all of music journalism history. And that's saying a lot!

[@cuzy8013]

I love all the records from last year's mod month so much :( hope you're not discouraged to keep making them

[@Felonious_Punk]

Brilliant breakdown of the tracks. Perfect blend of history info, cultural info, music info, but through a clear and humorous curator who actually gets it the way it was intended to hit. So this is more than info. It's knowledge. Bravo. I only disagree with the dismissal of "When it started". I never listen to "NYC cops", but yearn deeply for the former.

[@cody7812]

The strokes have been my favorite band for 20 years now, found them when I was 11 and was hooked, now they have so much music out and in so many different directions they have songs for any mood!

[@JamesHopkins-on3mv]

Strokes were steady shoppers at Other Music,a great and gone East Village store with its own documentary.

[@theapires-foley5730]

Wow! You really brought back some memories for me with this installment! (Please forgive this novella length rant) When NME was still printed in the newspaper-style format, they declared The Strokes to be THE best band to come out of New York City, EVER. I've tried googling for that orig. cover, but couldn't find it with that exact headline, (I'm not crazy, NME DID declare that). When that issue was circulated, there was an instant backlash. Especially, from other New York City bands. The strokes were a nepo-baby, lower east side transplant. With all of that said, I liked the orig ep, cd they released (I still have it) and I did get to see them on Halloween, 2001 (the original show I had tickets for to see them were cancelled due to the Sept. 11th attacks and all of lower Manhattan was access restricted). A few in the audience were dressed for Halloween, (my friend and I were Father Damien and Regan from The Exorcist) but the vast majority of the audience (regardless of gender) looked exactly like the band. Fitted denim jackets and curly, shaggy hair. The band performed the songs in the exact order of the cd, the band barely interacted with the audience but they sounded good and their fans loved it. - Thanks for the nostalgia, Abagail. Your videos are consistently top quality, you're just great!

[@Rll_2206]

I’ve always wondered what your thoughts are on Queens of the Stone Age. They are one of the best bands from the 2000s and still manage to put out quality to this day. Their 2002 album Song for the Deaf is in my opinion one of the best rock albums of all time.

[@Lynnamon]

AHHHH SHE'S TALKING ABOUT THEM!!! YESSSS

[@terryhu57]

I would love to hear you review Patti Smith Horses. Granted Television was the first band at CBGB’s, Patti was the first album.

[@leomilani_gtr]

20:10 And Julian's daddy was the owner of elite model agency. Imagine how that works...

[@cwag07]

and Albert Hammond Jr. is the son of.... Albert Hammond

[@ozelljohnson7723]

Love how you brought it for this LP You're really 🎉 good @Abigail Devoe Fun House and Is This It Damn ❤

[@jasoncromwell4206]

I'm glad you mentioned Weezer, Abby!!!!! Weezer and The Strokes have a lot in common. The curse of the Perfect Debut Album. Both bands have spent the rest of their careers chasing or remaking their debut album to little success. The Strokes are a great band. I think the White Stripes eventually passed them up, but I think like "The Ramones" and VU they will be more appreciated by future generations.

[@TheHelloWaterface]

I remember very well when this album came out; I was just beginning my senior year of high school. It was refreshing, especially in the face of the horrid tractor rock of guys like Nickelback and Staind and their ilk. While it was my younger sister who REALLY cottoned on to the Strokes, I always dug what they brought to the table. Excellent video, as always!

[@ultang]

Lol tractor rock

[@ljc1520]

I was reminiscing about this album during my morning shower and then the algorithm throws me this after I watched your “Nick Drake - Pink Moon” review the other day, deserves my subscription! I love “Is This it” but I remember the first few months of listening were heavily overshadowed by 9/11 and “New York City Cops” was still on the CD release I owned. I still can’t separate the album from the event over two decades later. A “moment in time” album for sure, you have great taste in music Abigail, you just get it! 👏🏻

[@Catsnnovels]

This album means so much to me. I first discovered it as a high schooler in the early 2010s and I was immediately taken with it, which makes sense to some degree, having already discovered and fallen in love with the influences you stated, mainly ramones and velvet underground. I have listened to this album hundreds of times probably over the course of the follow 15 or so years, and almost every band that I have played in has done a cover of a song from this album, especially Someday and Last Night. A truly iconic band that I will forever love. Next week it's time to weeze, heck yeah!

[@Andyanddiana467]

Wow. I remember seeing the Strokes in Arlene's Grocery, a few blocks from where I lived as a kid with my folks in the LES of Manhattan. This was, '98, '99, I think, a year or two before they hit big. They were alright - enough for me to sign up for their mailing list and buy their demo CD (which I still have, hah). Good times.

[@manny3765]

First time I heard this album I thought it was mid, it took me a long time to like it because of the mix, now I really like this album

[@flannigan7956]

I'd never seen the I Saw A Butt version, atta The Strokes

[@BlueSky...]

Albums like this one, , and provided a great foothold on the 00's when the vinyl resurgence got me back into buying new music on LPs again about 10 years ago. What an exciting revelation it was to discover those albums. My American blue and yellow cover LP of actually HAS NYC Cops. I'm pretty sure it's a first pressing.

[@cavewaller]

That was a nice surprise; clicked the video an up popped Abie…. her positive enthusiasm (an eloquence) just the job to start my weekend.

[@AvanToor]

Ok, I'll try not to mention Trout Mask Replica this month... ...uhm, starting now!

[@colingillis5989]

Great review! That LP was such a breath of fresh air in 2001! It destroyed Nu Metal thank God!!! I was becoming completely apathetic and reverted back to the past and then all this amazing new music came out! Is This It was definitely the catalyst for so many great bands to be brought into the limelight in the years to follow.

[@nvm9040]

Honestly when I listened to this album it took me a track or two to figure a genre i could feel that runs through the album which gives a alt power pop or even Weezer the blue album vibes 🎸 I'm Wheezing for Weezer over here Abbey 😮‍💨🟦

[@alanclayton9277]

ooh the thumbnail just got a significant upgrade : your presence adds more style abby as per usual

[@ArcadianAeon]

Someone else might have mentioned it, but keep an eye out for the Vinyl Me, Please reissue of Is This It. Has the cooler not-a-butt cover and has *both* 'New York City Cops' and 'When It Started'.

[@t.c.bramblett617]

Hi Abby! I am Corey and I love this album! Also love the concise yet really penetrating technical analysis, I have been following your channel for a while. You really should branch out to other genres, although I also love the classic rock niche you have dominated so far. Keep going!!!! P.S. Julien is a true romantic.

[@joshuavargas9668]

whenever i try listening to I found a reason by the velvet underground i imediately think of Is this it, and now I know why

[@adamfindlay7091]

First heard em on a free 45 with that Brit(Mojo, the IggyStoogesissue) mag and loved their post/proto/Manhattan Mad hatter mafia thang...but never did pick up one of their lp/cds but it's good to be here with you. Casablancas/Devoe are underrated in Pop Culture.

[@sunfloweredskies]

one of my favorite albums of all time !!!

[@Fang70]

The American cover was the thing that caused me to buy the CD back in the day. I was a nerd and not only knew what that picture was, but had seen it before in a physics textbook. I had heard of The Strokes, but didn't know much about them other than they weren't Nu Metal. So armed with those two bits of knowledge I bought the CD along with The White Stripes's "White Blood Cells" and The Hive's "Vini, Vidi, Vicious" as those were some of the other "The" bands I had heard of (the term post-punk revival hadn't been invented yet) and never looked back.

[@evilscientistrecords]

Btw, my favorite Strokes album, weirdly, is "First Impressions of Earth". I love the rawness and a bunch of songs from the earlier albums too, but Impressions is overall more varied and I love the melodic approach.

[@richardelliott8352]

although I follow this channel, it took me awhile to recognize this effort as vinyl Monday despite KZbin shoving it in my face every time I looked. without the host pictured , I didn't recognize the effort as vinyl Monday , and finally just clicked in out of curiosity. I type now just to trigger the payment algorithms , as this is just another New York/east coast band to me, and I care little for the characteristic artistic choices.

[@jman9082]

Hard To Explain is my favorite track on the record and I gotta say, Touché Amore’s cover of it is pretty perfect as well

[@paullynn473]

The Strokes were OK, but Detroit ruled with the White Stripes and the that garage sound🎸🎶

[@ramoncarrasco2208]

though i prefer The Strokes, white stripes definitely had a more raw and huge sound for sure

[@ianemery4355]

The Strokes fantastic! Enough said! 😊

[@WilG082]

I hope you cover the libertines

[@brianfalcon_]

Thank god you didn't re-create this cover

[@DoctorInsomnia-qw7us]

Actually she's wearing a leather jacket, which references the leather gloved hand, so it's a subtle recreation...

[@bobsbigboy_]

i wish she did 😢

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

She always captures the vibe which is even better. Is the cover a tip to Smell the Glove

[@shelleylyme6402]

Actually, I was hoping for an X-rated interpretation of the cover but I suppose YT must have banned it 😞 Oh, and wasn't "Smell the Glove" a highly-rated Spinal Tap album once upon a time?? Perhaps Ms Devoe will bless us with a musical critique of that classic in due course 🙄

[@jajcasz6648]

Yeah, it would have been really f'ing weird, honestly.

[@mr.b.5589]

Black jacket, check. guitar pick necklace, check. Dangling cigarette, che....hey! Dangling cigarette please!!

[@cartereckblad]

Can’t wait for the Alvvays debut review this month!!!

[@chillepalmerz]

Great video with info I hadn't heard before. I always thought the drums on Hard to Explain sounded too robotic to be a real drum performance. Also, I used to assume the lyrics were "my ex" until I looked them up and it said "Maya" which I don't like as much so I'm glad to hear that they're in dispute. I do hear the Television/Lou Reed/Ramones influence, but most of all I hear the Buzzcocks especially the track "Everybody's Happy Nowadays". As a vinyl nerd, I was excited to see someone else with a copy of London Calling in shrink with the 2 hype stickers.

[@RGRG3232]

In the "hint" from the last vinyl Monday, all I saw was black and white so I was somewhat hoping for that Royal Blood debut album. Anyway, I'll see what you have to say about this one.

[@VinceWhitacre]

Glad to see you trying your luck with this one.

[@VinceWhitacre]

All the critics in 2001 were comparing this to the Velvets... I never got that; to me this record sounded like The Pretenders with a bored rich dude singing. Time & place? This was a great one. It embodied NYC at the turn of the millennium like Appetite for Destruction did for 1980s Sunset Strip or... well, yeah, the VU did the Village in the '60s.

[@leamanc]

How cool, yet another of my favorite LPs.

[@31carrier]

Thanks Abby you seem to have fun making these Videos

[@AnAbsurdExistence]

such a great album

[@HighViolet79]

Great Great Album! I grew up listening to the US version. I love When it started and Trying Your Luck as follow-ups to Hard to Explain. I think the album flows better(IMHO). When I spin the UK version It throws me off when NYC Cops comes on. Just so used to the US version 😂 .. I do have to say NYC Cops is a fantastic song ! Loved the review 👏🏽

[@Dayglodaydreams]

I didn't know the "Ivy League Wave" was a thing that existed, ever. Now I do. I tend to think of Johnathan Richman and the Modern Lovers (Johnathan seemed like a frustrated romantic in his early life), and songs like "Roadrunner" or "Oh New England" by The Modern Lovers, or Johnathan Richman.

[@Gearhart_Music]

This is one of those modern bands that I liked the singles that were getting played on SNL and radio, but just never got into for some reason. Then again, I'm a metalhead/Hard rock Gen-X'er, so I'm not always into the younger bands these days.

[@nobodynothing6551]

Have you seen the guy that made a cover of As It Was as if it had been a Strokes song?

[@jamiedavis4287]

Now you just need to do Up The Bracket by The Libertines 😎

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

That record did a much better job holding my attention. I felt the same grimey, scumbagginess the likes of FEAR had back in the bronze age.

[@michaelshiflett4835]

I never knew about the other album cover!

[@moistmoist5279]

I fucking love this album

[@ronny-2112]

I also like The Strokes, good band, and all those Revival bands from the 2000's like The Killers, The White Stripes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Ting Tings, Le Tigre, The Joy Formidable, LCD Soundsystem, Le Butcherettes, The Black Belles, Chromatics, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery, The Kills, The Horrors, Blood Red Shoes, TV On The Radio, White Lies, Death From Above 1979, Cansei de Ser Sexy, Metric, Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, MGMT, She Wants Revenge, Savages, Dirty Projectors, Fontaines D.C., The Fratellis, OK Go, Battle, Band Of Skulls, The Black Keys, etc. I still remember the 2000s as the great music of the 90s, but the happy times have changed. Post Punk Revival and Garage Rock Revival were something interesting and fun in the 2000s, I love them... now they are both revived by many new bands, as is Shoegaze, but now they lack the media attention.

[@ratbones620]

Me at the start of this video: Oh hell yeah! Mod month is back! Me at the end: HOLY SHIT WE’RE DOING WEEZER!?!? (But seriously I am so psyched for this episode)

[@Jim-kc3gx]

Hey you got me Monday and Friday too!

[@Dayglodaydreams]

I've seen cloud chamber type pictures for other bands from the 90s and 00s. I think like Rodan.

[@buserror1]

"Music Has The Right To Children" (1998) by Borards of Canada gets my vote for best modern classic album. Looking past BoC's cryptic aesthetic as a band, you get a sense after listening to this album that there's something way, way deeper being communicated here--something mysterious and deeply human that seemed to resonate very strongly, and specifically with my generation.. By content, MHTRTC feels like a love letter written by GenX to itself; a generation saying goodbye to its own childhood, and doing so during the peak of its golden hour, right before it slips into the darkness of middle age mediocrity and frumpy parenthood.. The album kind of asks, "What do you say to the world, when you know its time to move on?" The answer seems to be, you let the world know you were there, and you were cool, too, once upon a time. You let go by acknowleding your time is up, and as the album's title implies, you acknowledge that music has the right to affect a new generation, just as it had a right to you, when you were little. It is a profoundly beautiful, profoundly complex album that more than a few of us have a deep emotional attachment to. I'd be very curious to see if that same feeling resonates with younger generations.

[@brianbowie2551]

I waved to Fab from a boat and because it was a boat, he had to wave back. True story.

[@frankthorne11]

Thank You.

[@alanclayton9277]

i like the nabakov reference in terms of how borderline preferences can be treated and the difference between those who sing and singers. if the lead singer here stopped trying to sound like reed it might have helped and the recording of the vocals grates over an album. modern age is catchy and alone together the track i liked best. mod month is always going to be interesting because albums released in recent times are always going to have a special presence. for some reason thinking there was some kind of link, young bands digging a retro sound, i listened to the la's today and that was a band of honesty, musicianship and songwriting relating to their situation: not some cooked up fashionable thing. look into the past we can't live without it we can't live within it everything must pass lee mavers

[@JavaJohnVideo]

Saw them open for Tom Petty. In Gainesville!

[@asano7389]

Aby, please review an album of the band Black country, new road. They're amazing and you might've heard of them if you like black midi!

[@DoctorInsomnia-qw7us]

It'll be a HAPPY DAY if you choose a BUDDY HOLLY album, but that would be a real hail MARY choice, and you don't care about that, WHATTSA MATTER, WHATTSA MATTER, WHATTSA MATTER YOU, steve TYLER & the stones would be nothing without buddy, what MOORE could you ask for? But that'll be the day...

[@evilscientistrecords]

14:00 ahahah love the psychedelic production

[@oteataa]

yeayyy my favourite album, please do funeral, turn on the bright side, and sound of silver next time😂❤

[@WillieSimpson777]

The album that defined my senior year of high school...it felt so important to me as a teen considering all mainstream pop at the time was total garbage...just having some cool dudes playing rock and roll songs felt like a revelation at the time.

[@MacgyverMike1]

Great video Abby❤❤❤ keep it up

[@ozelljohnson7723]

Meet me in the bathroom by Lizzie Goodman is definitely recommended Her book and documentary

[@Andyanddiana467]

Speaking of Television - have you covered that one yet?! I'd love to hear your thoughts on that one.

[@jimmymelendez1836]

The only song I know off this album is Last Nite. I thought that was a great tune.

[@nomanmcshmoo8640]

Favorite 21st Century Album so far? Oh, too many to list!!!! LADYTRON's self titled ( I call it "Into the Fire"...see the cover) is an icy, dystopian masterpiece. Sturgill Simpson's "Sound and Fury". Country Rock that is presented as how it should be performed!!! Unleash the Archer's "Abyss" is divine prog metal as is Seven Kingdoms' "Zenith".....I could go on! Music is NOT dead....it's on KZbin.

[@nordland2235]

Billy Squire--The Stroke.

[@farrellmcnulty909]

17:22 - 17:57 Classic - modern classic as well as other classics.

[@chrisgreenwood4713]

Love the necklace!

[@HarvestStore]

Great video.

[@ThinkDifferentish]

Do a White Stripes album. Probably, White Blood Cells.

[@christophermiller7051]

Love it when you do 2 albums a week. Rather listen to Arctic Monkeys personally. There are artists that you think you should really like but don't. For me these include Nick Drake, Tim Buckley, My Bloody Valentine and yes, The Strokes

[@MrWayout74]

I've kinda forgotten how much this LP kicks arse. Not a duff track on it.

[@j.fisher8369]

2 albums dropped in that micro-era which gave hedz a renewed sense of faith: this, and 13 tales. Then everything went to beershit until Halcyon Digest. Someone please do anything better than everything being done now.

[@jstall20]

Any thoughts on covering a Paul Weller or Jam record? His name was literally the mod father lol

[@31carrier]

49th liked 256 views posted 31 mins ago Alex and Andy also posted 31 mins ago which one to watch first ok Abby wins

[@bubble-and-scrape]

I really tried to like this album, i owned it the year it came out, listened to it multiple times, but i honestly cannot appreciate it. The singer sounds so boring and the songs lack any adventurous direction. Just not my piece of cake, i guess.

[@Lavagemstomacal]

11/07 hunting high and low's next?

[@JaunGuy327]

It would be really cool if you covered Jimmy Buffet

[@robintownrobintown]

I saw them live last year in salt lake and while the songs were performed decently, Julian was drunk and very obnoxious between songs and even made like he was gonna suck one of the other members off like wtf. gay jokes in 2023? apparently it was one of his better shows though, he hasn't performed sober in a long time from what I know. all their songs sound so similar that I thought the handful I knew were played before they actually were

[@abigaildevoe]

that sounds about right from i’ve heard from recent strokes gigs :( it’s a real shame, watching footage from this era i was impressed with how julian’s voice was ALWAYS spot on back then

[@grandtheftaholic]

QUEEEN

[@latestreject1066]

Abigail you did not talk enough about the modern age 😢😢

[@jose-jq6fd]

Pls do linda perhacs!!

[@999troglodyte]

Thurston at 19:38 in Bethel?

[@abigaildevoe]

YES it’s one of the funniest photos i’ve ever seen. a real finger snapper

[@999troglodyte]

@@abigaildevoe I've tapped my toes to MMM