Though I'm not really a huge proponent of American rock, there are definitely some great ones out there that are worthy of all the attention they get and ones that have created their own legacy that'll live on forever. When looking at the last 15 years of American rock music, there were a lot of great bands like Foo Fighters, The Black Keys, Queens Of The Stone Age and The White Stripes. However, I would argue that none of them or any other American rock band have had the same kind of worldwide cultural impact and influence on bands that followed them like The Strokes. And certainly, no other U.S. rock band in the last 15 years has put out better music than these guys. I'll explain these things in more detail later, but first, Iet's delve into the history of The Strokes.

The Strokes is an alternative rock band from New York City that formed in 1998 and its first official release came in 2001, an EP called "The Modern Age EP." The band consists of lead singer Julian Casablancas, lead guitarist Albert Hammond Jr., rhythm guitarist Nick Valensi, bass guitarist Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio (aka Fab) Moretti. Casablancas, Valensi and Moretti all met each other when they attended the same Manhattan school. Then, Casablancas switched schools and met Fraiture at a different Manhattan school, until he switched schools, yet again, and met Hammond Jr. at a boarding school in Switzerland. When the Casablancas and Hammond Jr. returned to New York, they shared an apartment together and the five-piece came together and began playing shows around New York.

The band first got noticed after they sent a demo to Rough Trade Records in London and it resulted in a free mp3 giveaway of its song, "Last Nite," (soon to be part of its debut EP and eventually, debut LP) via NME's website. It sparked one of the largest record label bidding wars for a rock band in years, which resulted in them signing with RCA in the U.S. and Rough Trade Records in the UK. Even though there was a huge interest in the potential of this band among record labels, I'm not sure the labels really knew just how big these guys were going to be (although they would probably argue that they knew) and just how big of a home run this record deal was. In 2003, just two years after their debut album was released, sales of their first album had reached 2 million copies worldwide.

Their debut album is the greatest American rock record of the last 20 years

Their debut album, "Is This It," was released in 2001 and it's hard to articulate just how huge it was at the time and still is. It's definitely the most important American rock record of the last 20 years. I'm not sure there's an argument that exists that could really prove the contrary. It wasn't just a massive, worldwide commercially-successful album. It was also a massive, worldwide critically-acclaimed album. It's kind of rare when both of these two things happen, especially on the level it did with this album. Also, it wasn't just a commercial and critical success, it had this huge cultural impact that made this group of five New Yorkers the voice of a generation.

Although the brilliance of their debut album was never to be topped by any of their following albums, there are not very many bands that ever managed to put out an album of this caliber in their entire career. One of the album tracks, "Last Nite," which was the spark that initially prompted their success, is just so iconic, as is its accompanying music video. The video shows the band performing live in front of a huge, brightly lit sign with the band's name while Casablancas displays several onstage antics. At one point, Casablancas throws a microphone stand like a spear and then, he throws his microphone to the ground a couple times. Then, Hammond Jr. accidentally knocks over one of Moretti's drum microphones during his guitar solo, and the microphone falls on one of the drums, so Fab starts hitting the microphone like a drum, in beat with the song, to try and get it off of his drum. Classic.

In regards to the song, Casablancas' voice aggressively rips through the song, but not so aggressive as to scare (like nonsensical heavy metal or grunge), just enough to hold the right amount of slick swagger and danger. Another song, "The Modern Age," is where I think Casablancas shines the most on this album, especially the bits where he sings, "let me go, oh, let me g-g-g-g-g-g-go." He somehow gets this distorted, muffled effect when he sings that just sounds so cool. It sounds a bit like he's singing into a closed fist that's covering the microphone and that vocal sound is all over the band's records. Casablancas is simply one of the coolest frontmen in recent years and he's also got a way with words. He wrote simple, observational lyrics about romance and life in New York in the early '00s. Although his lyrics are simple and conversational, they aren't dumbed down or full of cliches. They're smart, sharp and witty. The song "Soma" from their debut album is actually a reference to an imaginary drug from Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World."

As for the guitars on this album, they also share this common theme of simplicity and that's definitely the point. It's refreshing for a band to go back to basics with guitars like punk used to do, especially now in a time with some many bands utilizing too many studio effects (like some art rock and indie bands) that strip away the raw sound and energy that rock and roll should always have. I particularly like the guitars on "Take It Or Leave It" and "Last Nite," which are both clear examples of their repetitive and punchy guitar sound that's written all over this record. Even to the present day, Hammond Jr.'s and Valensi's guitars just mesh so well together and it's hard to think of another lead and rhythm guitar duo in recent years that is more in sync and writing better riffs than these two. The title track on this record really brings Fraiture's skills on the bass guitar to the forefront and "Hard To Explain" shows off Moretti's drum skills, especially in the isolated drum intro. I really can't stress enough that these five guys are all musical geniuses who are extremely skilled at their craft and it just so happens that they are all in the same band. It's a dream team, really and so is the tracklisting of their debut album.

They're not shy about embracing their '70s and '80s punk rock influences

The simple, driving guitar riffs from Hammond Jr. and Valensi that are quintessential to the band's trademark, garage rock sound dates back to the punk rock and proto-punk of bands like Television, The Ramones and The Velvet Underground, all of which are from New York and who were prominent in the '70s and '80s. Their garage rock guitars also remind me quite a lot of bands outside the U.S. like Buzzcocks and The Undertones, both prominent in the '70s and '80s. In other words, they were making music that wasn't really in contemporary music anymore. After I heard Is This It, I stumbled upon songs like "Everybody's Happy Nowadays" by Buzzcocks and "Marquee Moon" by Television and immediately thought, "these guys sound like The Strokes!" Although, it was obvious that The Strokes took influence from those bands rather than the other way around. So, although their sound came from punk and new wave bands like Buzzcocks and The Velvet Underground, they're able to produce music that's fresh and relevant to the newer generations of rock fans.

They made American rock music danceable again

The band, whether purposely or not, made rock music that was infectious enough to get you moving, but simple enough to make every kid want to pick up an instrument and start a band (and many did). I dare anyone to listen to songs from their debut album like "Someday" or "New York City Cops" and try not to move. It's literally impossible. This idea of making danceable indie or alternative rock music was something that hadn't been done in America in a while, due to the rise of grunge rock bands (all of which were dreadful, besides Nirvana, if you ask me). This infectious type of rock became a subgenre known as "garage rock revival" and it's what brought rock music back to clubs. DJs began having "indie nights" again where they played danceable indie rock for the whole night rather than constantly playing traditional club music like pop, rap, hip-hop or electronic music.

They influenced countless bands that came after them, even massively successful bands

In addition to their infectious rock that got American rock fans moving again, they also single-handedly were the reason for many huge rock bands forming. British rock juggernauts Arctic Monkeys were basically a Strokes cover band before they began coming out with original material. One of the members of American rock band Kings of Leon stated that The Strokes' debut album was one of the main reasons he wanted to be in a band and the album's title track was one of the first basslines he learned. Supposedly, Brandon Flowers, lead singer of American rock band The Killers decided to scrap his band's entire debut album, except for one song, after hearing "Is This It" and becoming depressed about how good it was (although still to this day, he claims that The Killers' debut, "Hot Fuss," still lacks in comparison to The Strokes' debut). Besides Arctic Monkeys, they had a massive influence on other Non-American bands like The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Editors, The Fratellis, Razorlight, Catfish And The Bottlemen, and many more.

Their look and style was just spot on and it still is today

So, obviously The Strokes have influenced a countless amount of bands (and still continue to do so), but what about their cultural impact? Famous DJ Zane Lowe said that The Strokes' first album moved popular opinion from DJs and pop music to "skinny jeans and guitars." He also called the album "the template for rock 'n' roll in the modern day." I think it's pretty clear that The Strokes was one of those bands that just oozes of cool. They always, always looked cool. They smoked cigarettes and wore things like dress shirts, band T-shirts, jean and leather jackets, blazers, shades, Converse sneakers, and of course, we also have The Strokes to thank for making skinny jeans look cool. They were pretty much always wearing black or blue skinny jeans, but thankfully not quite as tight as a lot of jeans are today, so the band always looked loose and effortlessly stylish.

In 2001, kids all over the world looked in the mirror and then at The Strokes and thought to themselves, "Right, I wanna look like that." Then, they proceeded to buy sneakers, skinny jeans and a leather jacket as fast as they could, so they could feel like a part of the band. In many ways, the way the band dressed mirrored the music it played. They dressed simple, classic, and cool, just like their sound, and best of all, their look was straight out of New York City, which is where it all started for them.

Another important thing about the band's look was their hair, especially early on in their career. Casablancas, Valensi and Fraiture opted for the long (but not too long), messy hair look while Hammond Jr. and Moretti went for the small, curly Afro. Basically, everything about their look said rock and roll, but their iconic rock and roll was better than most other iconic rock and roll looks. They didn't look like Kid Rock, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Motley Crue, Metallica or KISS, who all supposedly had an iconic style, but, in reality, looked and sounded terrible. The Strokes' look is sharp and timeless. If you looked and dressed like The Strokes 30 years from now (or really any amount of time), you'd still look just as cool as they did, whereas if you, at any point in history, ever had a Def Leppard mullet, a Slash top hat, or a KISS painted face, you would look ridiculous.

The four albums that followed their debut are all great records, proving that they weren't a one trick pony.

What came after the release of their debut album, you ask? Their follow-up album, "Room On Fire" came out in 2003 and it was another critical and commercial success, which brought great songs like "Reptilia" and "12:51." However, although most critics praised the album by giving scores like an A or B, 4 out of 5 stars, or 8 out of 10, many said that it was too similar to its predecessor and also less effective, which is hard to argue with. Their next album, "First Impressions of Earth," came out three years later and had similar or slightly worse reviews than the previous album, but it brought one of The Strokes' best songs of their career, "You Only Live Once," which had an accompanying music video that was almost as famous as "Last Nite." The video for the song shows the band dressed in all white performing in an enclosed room, while liquid tobacco tar gradually fills up the room until they are completely underneath the surface by the end.

Their fourth album, Angles, came out in 2011 and was a departure from their raw, early sound due to the use of samples, keyboards and more overdubbing, but it still received positive reviews. It also provided great songs like "Machu Picchu," "Taken For A Fool" and, my personal favorite, "Under Cover of Darkness." Their next and latest full-length release came in 2013 with "Comedown Machine," which although it was another critical success, it sold the fewest amount of copies out of all the band's albums, but this was probably due to the fact that the band didn't do any touring, appearances, shows, photos, interviews or promotion of any kind for the album.

This year, The Strokes came back with a new EP called "Future Present Past," which was promoted on video billboards in New York and London. The billboards displayed a teaser video of a figure running with the words "future," "present" and "past" appearing one by one. I also managed to see a painted, stenciled Strokes logo on the streets of Brooklyn with the hashtag #FuturePresentPast while I was in New York to see The Stone Roses. The EP was titled according to the tracklisting. The EP's first song, "Drag Queen" is meant to represent the band's future sound, where the second track, "OBLIVIUS" is meant to represent their present sound, where "Threat of Joy" is meant to reflect their past sound. What a genius, revolutionary idea. The last track on the album is a remix of the song, "OBLIVIUS" by Fab Moretti (another hint that all five members of the band are all equally talented, tight and vital to the band's sound). I'm particularly fond of the strange vocals on "OBLIVIUS" and the "Is This It"-esque "Threat of Joy."

So, let's recap. The band released the best American rock record of the last 20 years and one of the greatest albums of all-time with its 2001 debut album. They followed it up with four more critically acclaimed albums and still continue to be a force in the music industry today. They've had a huge cultural impact, especially in the 2000s with their distinct, cool, New York rock and roll look. They influenced (and continue to influence) dozens of bands over the years and some of those bands became hugely successful, as well, including Arctic Monkeys, Kings of Leon and The Killers. They have an army of adoring fans who still want them just as much as they did back then. They also made alternative rock music upbeat and danceable again, which resulted in many clubs doing indie DJ nights again, rather than typical club music. All that's pretty impressive, especially when the band are only five albums deep. It would be tough to say that The Strokes are the greatest American band ever (though they're my favorite American band), but they are, without a doubt, the best American band of the last 15 years.