The Strokes are putting on a concert in support of Bernie Sanders, news that satisfies both my iTunes library circa 2007 and my Spotify playlist from three days ago. The rally will take place at Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire on February 10, the day before the state’s primary. It’s free to attend with an RSVP accessible via Sanders’s official campaign website.
The Strokes are just the latest band to commit to putting on concerts for Sanders; Bon Iver and Vampire Weekend are both hosting concerts in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses. And while Sanders appeals to a wide array of musicians—from Willie Nelson, to Cardi B, to Ariana Grande, to Miley Cyrus—these upcoming concerts are certainly zeroing in on the Former Indie Fuck demographic.
The Strokes are one of the more well-known rock bands of the aughts, and they had a seismic influence on the post-punk and garage rock revival scenes that dominated a prominent corner of the rock world at the time. But does Bernie Sanders even know who The Strokes are?
My gut says that Sanders has probably never heard “Last Nite” in his life. But what do I know? Let’s instead assume that this Strokes-Sanders matchup isn’t just the brilliant work of his 20- and 30-something-year-old staffers and that Sanders is actually a Strokes superfan. With that in mind, I just have a few questions for him, from one Strokes goon to another:
1. What is your favorite Strokes album? (There is only one correct answer here, so consider this a test.)
2. Is Room On Fire actually a good album or does it coast on the brilliance of “Reptilia” and three other decent songs?