The Strokes returned to Saturday Night Live for the fourth time alongside return host/former show writer John Mulaney, and brought the house down with a pair of performances of songs from their latest album.
Julian Casanlancas and company played “The Adults Are Talking” and “Bad Decisions,” both of which are from their most recent release The New Abnormal. The latter is a melodic powerhouse of a song that wouldn’t be out of place among the work of bands like Echo & the Bunnymen or The Smiths (and actually includes elements of Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself”).
The former sounds a bit more classic Strokes, albeit less garage rock and more of a new wave-oriented spin on their sound. The New Abnormal, which was released in April, found the band exploring more new wave and post punk territory overall, veering away from their garage roots.
Casablancas made headlines recently for his views on playing older songs and hits in concert, admitting that they don’t “move” him anymore after playing them every night on tour.
“When you’re growing up and imagining playing music, it is for the excitement, but the one aspect of doing it for a living that is a sadness you don’t anticipate is that you play songs so much, you become sick of them,” he said in an interview.
The singer specifically called out perhaps their best known hit, 2001’s “Last Nite,” when discussing the lack of enthusiasm for old songs when the band returned to live performances this year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We hadn’t played for a while,” Casablancas said, “so it was still fun, but when you start playing 30 or 40 shows, the music doesn’t move you. You feel phoney. To some extent, that’s why I play with Voidz. I couldn’t care less about playing ‘Last Nite.’ Really, it’s similar to listening to a song. I get sick of songs quickly. Even Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ You listen to that enough, you will get sick of it.”
