The Strokes launch new online video series | NME
The Strokes have decided to get creative during self-isolation by launching an online video series titled Five Guys Talking About Things They Know Nothing About. The first episode was posted on YouTube earlier today (April 9).
Hosted on Zoom, the band described the show as a “private radio show thing” in anticipation of their new album ‘The New Abnormal’. “Like many out there we are staying pretty much at home and keeping to ourselves,” The Strokes wrote in the YouTube description.
- Read more: The Strokes – ‘The New Abnormal’ review
“We wanted to see if we could connect with folks, and turned what was supposed to be a pirate radio thing for our album release (which we would make in-person) into a video chat instead… In light of everything that’s been happening, we hope this distracts you during your quarantine.”
There isn’t much continuity throughout the show, with the ‘five guys’ in question jumping from topic to topic. Watch the full video below:
In the first episode, frontman Julian Casablancas said that the band had “dreamed of this show for many years and here we are finally”. The group also reflected on the passing of music legend Bill Withers, who died on March 30. To commemorate his life, they watched a live recording of Withers performing ‘Lean On Me’.
“He’s one of the greatest ever,” Casablancas said of Withers.
Elsewhere in the episode, The Strokes recalled the story of how the founder of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner, supposedly slapped drummer Fabrizio Moretti in the face for being late to a meeting, and guitarist Albert Hammond Jr.’s idea for a car-based interview series that existed prior to Carpool Karaoke and Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.
As they concluded the show, Casablancas promised that the next episode would feature a review of ‘The New Abnormal’. The Strokes then signed off by airing Lou Reed’s ‘Walk On The Wild Side’.
The Strokes’ forthcoming album, ‘The New Abnormal’, arrives tomorrow (April 10) via Cult / RCA. The record, which is their first LP since 2013’s ‘Comedown Machine’, includes the previously released tracks ‘At The Door’, ‘Bad Decisions’ and ‘Brooklyn Bridge To Chorus’.
