The Strokes - Demos and B-sides

The Strokes - Demos and B-sides

The Strokes

You may have heard of this little band from New York. The Strokes latest album, Angles, sold over 90,000 copies in its first week alone. And songs like ‘Last Nite’, ‘Juicebox’, and ‘Hard to Explain’ have rocked the charts on both sides of the Atlantic since the band’s first album in 2001. 


But what many people do not know is that prior to the debut album This is it, the band recorded The Modern age EP, which included the songs ‘the Modern Age’, ‘Last Nite’ and ‘barely Legal’, all of which would be re-recorded for there first album, along with a handful of other rare demos and B-sides that people rarely get to hear.

The Modern Age EP

Some of the songs that The Strokes chose not to include on there albums far exceed the ones they did. These are just my top 5, but there are many others floating round the internet.

Top 5 Strokes B-sides and Demos

5)In Her Prime (demo)
One of the major criticisms that the Strokes latest album received was that was that they seem to have lost there edge. Where as at one point they were shaping the face of pop music at the time with songs like ‘Last Nite’, now it seems that they are more bowing to the conventions of modern music. 


If you felt that the latest album was a bit soft, a bit too electronic and not rock enough then ‘In Her Prime’ is exactly the song to bring back that original strokes feeling. You know the one… the feeling that kicked ass.

‘In Her Prime’ brings back feeling and the sound the guitar driven songs that launched the strokes in to fame. It’s a great song that reminds us why so many fans are devoted to the band. Why they decided to never release this on an album we will never know.


4) rhythm song (Demo)
The song is called rhythm song, and when you listen it you will see why the song is called rhythm song.  If you are a guitar lover then this is the track for you, Albert Hammond, jr’s heavily distorted guitar makes a great backing for Nick Valensi’s awesome solo towards the end of the track.





When listening to this its hard not to wonder if Julian Casablanca was deliberately trying to channel Jim Morrison. Listen to this song, then listen to either Peace Frog or Roadhouse Blues by The Doors, then listen to a song from the latest album, then listen to The Doors again. Its almost uncanny, or is it just me?

The strokes... in some sort of woodland, for what I'm sure is a very good reason 

3)Take A Walk On The Wild Side. (live cover)

speaking of the strokes sounding like bands from the 60's, here is The Strokes doing a cover of Lou Reed's Take A Walk On The Wild Side. And it is exactly as awesome as you would expect...

 

Yes, that was what you just heard. 

Covering an artist as influential and revered as Lou reed is a ballsy move, but the strokes took it and just wiped the floor with it. Everything about this song is incredible, Julian’s vocals fit the track almost better than Lou’s did and the rest of the band back him up perfectly.

It may have lost a certain grace and looseness that the original track that made the original song so great, but with this being a live track that is forgivable. A studio version would make a fantastic bonus track for the strokes upcoming fifth album.

2)Hawaii Aloha (B-side)

The strokes latest album received mixed reviews. Part of the reason that people found the new album so hard to digest is that Julian Casablanca wrote almost all of the first three albums, where as the fourth album was more of a collaboration from all members of the band. When Julian writes the songs it sounds much more like this…

Hawaii Aloha is pure Casablanca,  it brings us back to his brilliant lyrics and composition. The rest of the band are very talented, as we saw from guitarist Albert Hammond Jr’s solo album, but it is Julian who really has the talent for lyrics and song composition, and this song is a perfect demonstration of this

‘Whether you're drunk or stoned

or we're sober and old,

If I'm with you

I'm a happy man.

if you feel safe and cold

while you count your gold.’

1)I'll Try Anything Once (Demo and B-side)

A version of this song eventually did get recorded for First Impressions of Earth, as the song You Only Live Once, and it was first released as a B-side on the Juicebox single.

 

This slow and beautiful song really shows off how poetic the band can be. Its so far removed from any other of the songs, and demonstrates how big the bands range its.

Its not guitar-driven like the first three albums and its not electronically-driven like the latest, its simply Nick Valensi on the keyboard while Julian Casablanca sings a beautiful and touching personal song.

as always you can pick up strokes tracks from just below.

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charlie craven

Pomplamoose

Pomplamoose.

Pomplamoose at their first ever live gig. 

Pomplamoose truly are a testament to how far unsigned bands can go if they have the talent and the determination. Two young musicians posted their first video on YouTube in July of 2008 and quickly shot to stardom, with many of their videos getting millions of views and being featured on a Hyundai advert.

Pomplamoose is the musical child of Jack Conte and Natalie Dawn, who started posting there music on the web three years ago and now make their living selling music online, posting videos and performing live. This is what they sound like....

Pomplamoose - Expiration date

What I find hard to believe is that this tracks, along with most of the other early Pomplamoose songs weren't done in a studio. The band managed to put together incredibly well produced songs with complex layers in a room in there house, using tables, cameras and a plethora of other objects to create great music.


Perhaps the reason that Pomplamoose rose to fame so quickly is because of how accessible the music is. The easy tracks can be enjoyed by anybody and is generally inoffensive to any musical taste. The songs resonate in a sweet spot between too much and too little, chilled out without being bland and manic without being overbearing.

Jack Conte 

When most Pomplamoose fans think of their music the first thing that jumps to mind is their ‘videosongs’. A videosong is novel way of presenting a music video following two rules:
1) What you see is what you hear(no lip-syncing) 
2) If you hear it you see it at some point.
And it looks a little like this…..

This clever way of presenting music videos really makes you appreciate just how much effort it takes to produce a song of this quality, and it is refreshing to be able to see just how many layers and instruments each song has. Its particularly nice to see Nataly recording her own harmony against what I can only assume is a mattress. Lets hope its a clean one.



A great addition to the video songs are the occasional V-logs that the duo post. The friendly vibe that the band send out really help a listener feel connected to both the music and the musicians. 

be sure to donate!

Their first album is as beautiful and well produced as independent albums get. Its both fun and easy easygoing, with a brilliant mix of songs that will either make you want to chill out or make you want to move. Jack’s fantastic and often manic multi-instrumentalism work is the perfect backdrop to Nataly’s vocals.

Pomplamoose album cover

Top Three Tracks

Beat the Horse.

A really fun track that shows off what the band can do at its best. The descending bass-line when the chorus picks up is the highlight of what is a really well put together track.

Pomplamoose - Beat the Horse

Little Things
A sweet love song, that puts to use an eclectic use of instruments to build to fantastic effect in a ballad that tells us what love really is.

 

Pomplamoose- Little Things

Twice as nice

with almost detached vocals, bizarre organ sounds and even stranger lyrics 'I'm afraid you haven't noticed you forgot to pack your teddy, or perhaps he wasn't ready to leave all of this behind', this track melds together to create a surreal treat. a personal favorite of mine from the Pomplamoose duo.

 

Pomplamoose - Twice as Nice

All the Pomplamoose songs can be bought from their website http://www.pomplamoose.com/, or you can pick them up from Amazon on the link just below. 

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                  

Also worth a mention.

My terrible friend

Along with Pomplamoose Nataly also works with friend and internet sensation in her own right Lauren O'Connell in a band called 'My Terrible Friend'. although they have only done 5 songs as of yet (including one fantastic Tom Waits cover), I'm sure fans of both bands are waiting for more. They sound a little bit like this....

My Terrible Friend - When I decide

And and if you liked that you can buy the songs from the latest E.P the band's Myspace.

If you liked Pomplamoose be sure to check out The Limes

by charlie craven.

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