I was a big fan of The Strokes through my time in college and grad school, but I haven’t paid much attention to them in recent years. So my thanks goes out to Jackie, a.k.a. The Baseball Bloggess, for sharing this gem with me!
The lyrics of this song look back at the band’s career and their history in New York City, where they grew up together. The title of the song, of course, references the New York Mets, whom lead singer Julian Casablancas calls the team of his youth. Casablancas wrote the song after the Mets lost Game 7 of the 2016 NL Wild Card to the San Francisco Giants — a loss that exacerbated the frustrations of fans of a team that has not won a World Series since 1986. The band views the name as symbolic, with the Mets representing something that you set your heart on, but that continues to disappoint.
I’m not sure what instrument that is at the beginning, the one that is truly somber, a perfect sound for a Mets fan or any team that gets so close, but fails. I sometimes think of the Braves being the saddest team or not the team, but its fans being the saddest since they won all those division titles in the 90’s but only won one World Series in 1995 and it had to be in the year after the strike. I think the 1995 season was cut short by a few games making those who like asterisks busy at the bottom of a records page.
I like the passion in this song, especially the singer screaming and that sad instrument returning. Maybe it’s an electric violin? Reminds me a little of the Magnetic Fields. I had never heard this song before or The Strokes!
This album is a little different from what I remember about their sound back in the day, but I do like it. The Strokes are definitely worth checking out! I hear ya on the Braves. The 90s were a weird almost-great-but-not-quite period for them.