For as long as New York has been around, it’s always been a hotspot for the rock scene. Many popular and influential bands such as Talking Heads, Ramones, and even The Velvet Underground originated in New York.
But the last music wave of New York had passed and things had died down, all these bands had been around for decades by the late 90s with most of them having already split or retired. That all changed around the turn of the century with an explosion of bands popping all around the New York nightclub scene, this was known as the New York rock revival.
Many bands had flocked to New York in hopes of proving themselves and being part of the next influential wave of music. Among these bands were the Moldy Peaches, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Strokes who are often credited with being the bands that kickstarted the latest wave of rock music into the mainstream.
Many of these bands often felt like they never belonged anywhere due to the nature of the music they made, often a mix of folk and rock which wasn’t very mainstream at the time. But they had found their footing in New York with many others sharing the same sentiment.
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Moldy Peaches are some of the biggest examples of this. This type of attitude would bleed over into their music which would give them a unique sound, a combination of alternative rock and occasional acoustic tunes. This elevated their popularity locally since it was a different take on the traditional style of rock.
The Strokes also had a very distinctive style and sound, very reminiscent of prior years, heavily inspired by the Ramones and The Velvet Underground, they came on top as far as commercial success and popularity went. This influx of bands around areas like Manhattan and Queens inspired a lot of people to do the same, some even quitting their jobs to play in bands full-time.
This time period is attributed to having reinvented rock and New York was only the beginning of the movement. The bands and stories accompanying them quickly reached overseas, more importantly, the United Kingdom.
With all these new bands and innovative albums being recorded it was only a matter of time before it inspired other countries to do the same and the lasting impact of the New York revival cannot be understated in the history of rock.
Many important bands such as Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys who directly credit bands such as The Strokes for their earlier sound and inspiration. The New York Revival displays music’s ever-changing nature and that acting out of the box is sometimes the right thing to do.
Written by Fran Vega, Staff Writer