Auction Link (ended September 8th)
Near Mint Original Pressing with Banned Cover Art and includes the deleted track "NEW YORK CITY COPS"
Made in the E.U.
Rough Trade Records: RTRADELP030
Format: 12" LP, Black Vinyl
Includes: Original generic white inner sleeve
Cover Condition: NEAR MINT! Flawless Copy! Hardly ever pulled from the shelf and always stored vertically in a protective poly sleeve.
Vinyl Condition: NEAR MINT! Played Once and still as good as the day I bought it!
I remember the day I bought this; I was standing in my local record shop holding both the US and UK versions of this LP in each hand, comparing each, and wondering which one I should buy. I typically didn't purchase an import unless the record wasn't released in the US. But I ended up selecting the UK version on the Rough Trade label. Not because of the sexy picture on the cover (although that didn't hurt either) but because I had heard the US version had omitted the song "NY City Cops". And I wanted the song "NY City Cops". So that was it, I bought the UK version. And, as it turns out, it also happens to be the more collectable version of the LP.
Release Info: The Strokes released their debut album Is This It in the US in October 2001 on RCA after some delay due to changes made from the UK-released version (released 27 August 2001).
The July and August 2001 cover art of Is This It is by Colin Lane and features a photograph of a woman's nude bottom and hip, with a leather-gloved hand suggestively resting on it. The model was later revealed to be Lane's then-girlfriend, who explained that the photoshoot was spontaneous and happened after she came out of the shower naked. Lane recalled that a stylist had left the glove in his apartment and noted, "We did about 10 shots. There was no real inspiration, I was just trying to take a sexy picture." The result was included in the book The Greatest Album Covers of All Time, in which Grant Scott, one of the editors, noted influences from the daring works of Helmut Newton and Guy Bordin in its design. Scott concludes, "It’s either a stylish or graphically strong cover or a sexist Smell the Glove travesty." Although British retail chains HMV and Woolworths objected to the photograph's controversial nature, they stocked the album without amendment.
The group deliberately left out the grammatically correct question mark from the album title because aesthetically, "it did not look right". The booklet insert contains stylized separate portraits of The Strokes, Raphael, Gentles, and Bowersock, all photographed by Lane. For the American market and the October 2001 release, the cover art of Is This It was changed to a microscopic close-up of particle collisions. RCA product manager Dave Gottlieb commented that "it was straight up a band decision", while Gentles indicated that Casablancas had wanted it to appear globally. According to the band's manager, the frontman phoned him before the Japan and Europe release and said, "I found something even cooler than the a ... picture." At the time, the Lane photograph was already at the presses and was included in the July and August 2001 versions. The Strokes' 2003 biography mentions the fear of objections from America's conservative retail industry and right-wing lobby as reasons for the artwork's alteration.
The North American version replaces the song "New York City Cops" with "When It Started". The replacement of "New York City Cops", which contains the refrain "New York City Cops, they ain't too smart", was made in good faith following the September 11 attacks. New York City Cops was listed as #12 on New York Magazine's "Ultimate New York Playlist" on March 1, 2010.
Casablancas's writing observes life in New York City and the relationships formed in such a metropolis. Exemplifying this theme, "The Modern Age" is a rant about the oddness of modern life. "Barely Legal" concerns the subject matter of a girl who has just arrived at the age of consent. Discussing its risqué nature, Moretti has stated, "It should be taken the way you interpret it. The lyrics mean different things to different people." "Alone, Together" continues the sexual theme by dropping hints about cunnilingus, while the yelp at the start of "New York City Cops" was created as a pastiche of rock band Aerosmith. During the studio sessions, Casablancas introduced tracks with comic lines and some quips were used when the album was mixed.
In August 2002, the band played at New York's Radio City Music Hall on a bill with The White Stripes. Jack White joined the Strokes on stage to perform the guitar solo on "New York City Cops". During that period, the band also appeared as musical guests on various late-night talk shows. Is This It yielded several singles and music videos, all of which were directed by Roman Coppola.
As of 2010, Is This It has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.
All songs written by Julian Casablancas and composed by The Strokes.
1. "Is This It" 2:35
2. "The Modern Age" 3:32
3. "Soma" 2:38
4. "Barely Legal" 3:58
5. "Someday" 3:07
6. "Alone, Together" 3:12
7. "Last Nite" 3:18
8. "Hard to Explain" 3:48
9. "New York City Cops" 3:36
10. "Trying Your Luck" 3:28
11. "Take It or Leave It" 3:16
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