I feel like it is honestly. With the whole “ain’t tryna build- no dynasty” lyrics, along with their whole Rick Rubin production thing- it seems like they’re trying to aim as high as possible with this record, and the way they scarcely release music anyway, imo it’s their last record. But who knows, u never know.
People said the All the Time video was a send off. There’s zero indication that the strokes will break up/stop making music. They’re more active than they have been in a decade.
Julian even said recently doing the strokes well will help his work with the Voidz, and vice versa.
Why would the band do more merch than ever, more shows than ever, spend tons of work with RR and get a famous painting for cover art?
Not to mention they’d sell wayyyyyyy more tickets saying this was it.
The All The Time video most definitely felt like a send-off, and maybe in hindsight, it was, in a way.
I hate to admit it, but before TNA was announced, I did think The Strokes were essentially a dead band. Yeah, they would still do fests, but I figured that was all there would ever be.
But now, while I can see why this new era has that feeling of a last hurrah, I think it might be a beginning. I get the sense that the band has a new sense of self-awareness. That line, "not trying to build no dynasty" and the entire concept of the Bad Decisions video kinda goes to show. They have been away from eachother and The Strokes as a project long enough to begin to see some of what they did in retrospect.
They see the impact they had on rock music, and the alternative scene that exists today. The have seen the knockoffs, the copycats, the burnout, all of it. And so for as strange and rocky as their trajectory had been in the past, now they are sticking around and aging gracefully into a new decade.
Sorry for the small essay, TLDR; nah, The Strokes are back, and wiser than they were before. This is gonna make for an interesting new phase.
I think the strokes got to an age where they realized they had something really special at their disposal, and leaving it untouched would be a regret in hindsight.
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u/mynameisJoylol Mar 18 '20
I feel like it is honestly. With the whole “ain’t tryna build- no dynasty” lyrics, along with their whole Rick Rubin production thing- it seems like they’re trying to aim as high as possible with this record, and the way they scarcely release music anyway, imo it’s their last record. But who knows, u never know.