Few bands are as synonymous with New York City than The Strokes, who helped launch the rebirth of the city’s rock scene nearly 20 years ago. So it’s fitting that their new album, The New Abnormal, concludes with “Ode To The Mets,” a mercurial and layered finale of nearly six minutes. But you won’t hear frontman Julian Casablancas crooning about the team’s bullpen woes or Wilpon mismanagement—in fact, he doesn’t mention baseball at all.
Like much to do with the team in Queens, it started as a joke. Casablancas, a Manhattan-raised Mets fan—one of his first memories is the team winning the 1986 World Series—attended the 2016 Wild Card game against the Giants at Citi Field with Paul Vassallo, a Strokes guitar technician.