10 Times Rock Bands Trolled You
6. The Strokes - Comedown Machine
Bourgeoisie saviours of rock’s new millennium, The Strokes released their fifth studio album Comedown Machine in 2013. While the occasional silly lyric has slipped into The Strokes’ music, here it was the record label that were being made fools of.
Their last release on RCA Records, with the shortest wait between Strokes albums having followed 2011’s Angles, Comedown Machine is an album used to get the band out of their record contract.
It is the only Strokes album with a media blackout, and is the album that most sounds like a Julian Casablancas solo effort.
To add fuel to fire, the band likely irked the label by not designing any elaborate artwork. While the cover resembling an old RCA tape reel box is pretty cool, it is unattractive to consumers browsing record stores, and could appear as amateur. All the signs point to The Strokes wanting this album to just come and go, and it did.
The Strokes seemed happy about their label exit with tongue-in-cheek track titles such as Tap Out and Happy Ending. The album closes with a track called Call It Fate, Call It Karma.
Comedown Machine is the worst received album by the New Yorkers, and it was all mostly on purpose.