The Strokes
The Strokes are a pretty successful band right now, so perhaps they're not desperately in need of my tribute. But what the heck: There is more spirit
and passion in the music of this band than in anything else on the radio now. When their single Hard to Explain first started being played a couple years back I remember thinking
"I haven't heard something this good on the radio for years". Because their vocals are so highly distorted at least half of their lyrics are almost impossible to understand. Nevertheless,
there is still more meaning conveyed in the average Strokes song than in most of the clearly enunciated junk they are competing with. Life, love, joy, sorrow, and above all wonder, are
eloquently expressed in their unique sound. The theologian Karl Barth said of Mozart's music that in it he could hear the voice of a redeemed humanity. I don't think I'll follow Barth into
that kind of hyperbole, but I must confess that there have been many times when, amidst the apparent grimness of reality, the Strokes have whispered to me that most hopeful word of all-- beauty.
The Modern Age
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