The Strokes are a transportive band, not 

just in the tongue-in-cheek nostalgia of their 

stylistic references, but in the way their 

music can fixate you in memories. Of course, 

the music we hear at one time in our lives 

inherently grounds itself in our memories 

of that time, but this fact could not be more 

personally applicable to Is This It, the band’s 

bittersweet debut album, released in 2001. 

Despite 
the 
youthful, 
incandescent 

brightness of that album, it often reminds me 

of how memories can be ambiguous and messy, 

distorting the way music hits your ears over 

time. Is This It is a complicated album for The 

Strokes, as both a playground of near-flawless, 

punchy jams and simultaneously a bar too high 

to be reached by the band’s later work.

Their latest album, The New Abnormal, 

attempts to free itself from the burden of 

memory, and the result is a genuinely fun — 

even if inconsequential — reminder of what The 

Strokes once were. It is wistful, grin-inducing 

and, at times, unbearably catchy. It doesn’t 

move mountains or break new ground or 

warrant another legendary SNL performance, 

but I’m certainly glad it’s here. 

The New Abnormal is at its best when it 

regresses into The Strokes’ signature style; 

Julian Casablancas’ vocals fall somewhere 

between a croon and a mutter, with jaunty 

guitar licks that flow so effortlessly it 

hurts. “The Adults Are Talking” and “Why 

Are 
Sundays 

So 
Depressing” 

exemplify this return 

to familiarity without 

feeling like replicas of 

other Strokes material, 

balancing 
the 
line 

between comfort and 

freshness. 

Undoubtedly 
the 

strongest track to fit 

this 
well-balanced 

familiarity 
is 
“Ode 

to the Mets,” which 

closes 
the 
album 

with such infectious 

sweetness 
that 
it 
overshadows 
almost 

everything else. There’s this guitar melody 

that finishes off the last two minutes, and it’s 

as ingenious as anything The Strokes have 

ever written. “Gone now are the old times / 

Forgotten, time to hold on the railing / The 

Rubik’s Cube isn’t solving for us,” Casablancas 

muses over the riff. His words are undoubtedly 

sad, but I can’t help but smile at the sentiment 

every time. I find myself recalling these notes 

over and over again in my head, like sunspots 

in my vision. 

As a complete playthrough, the album is 

pleasant even if it’s not totally engaging. Not 

every song is memorable, but the standouts 

earn their place. It’s been seven years since the 

last Strokes album, and in that time, a few of 

the band’s members 

have stayed busy with 

their 
own 
musical 

endeavors. 
These 

layers 
of 
influence 

add electronic, almost 

disco flare to tracks 

like “Eternal Summer” 

and “At the Door.” 

They 
approximate 

the soothing grime 

of Casablancas’ side 

project 
The 
Voidz 

without 
disrupting 

the album’s flow. And 

yet, it’s impossible to 

overlook the fact that these experiments with 

style are often the weak points of The New 

Abnormal. 

However, just because the album fails to 

reinvigorate the sound of The Strokes doesn’t 

mean it shouldn’t be celebrated. To me, The 

Strokes’ return to making music is a medium 

to enjoy their work without the complex 

memories I have of their more polished albums. 

It’s fun, and yes, there are certainly more 

qualities a listener can ask of a Strokes album. 

But honestly, I can’t bring myself to care.

Monday, April 20, 2020 — 6
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

SME & BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT

ANISH TAMHANEY

Daily Film Editor

After seven long years, The Strokes are finally back

ALBUM REVIEW

So many of our childhoods are made up of 

Disney movies. How could you forget the first 

time you watched Aladdin and Jasmine soaring 

on a magic carpet, Ariel passionately singing 

“Part of Your World” or even Tarzan seeing 

Jane for the first time? But while everyone 

remembers and appreciates those movies so 

much, oftentimes we forget that Disney made 

sequels for a lot of them. They may not have 

gotten the same amount of attention as their 

predecessors, but some are worth a watch. So 

here’s a list of six of the most underrated Disney 

sequels you should give a chance.

“Mulan II” (2004)

Besides “Frozen II,” the sequel to “Mulan” 

is probably the most watched and respected 

animated Disney sequel. What sets this movie 

apart from the original is the addition of three 

princesses, the emperor’s daughters. We get to 

see their love stories unfold while also getting 

to watch Mulan blossom into an even fiercer, 

more determined and more inspiring woman. 

We also get to see more of Mushu in this 

movie (who is, of course, the best part) along 

with the three army men from the first movie, 

Yao, Ling and Chien Po: supporting characters 

from the first film whose roles are much more 

important in this one. Not to mention, this 

movie has some incredible songs like “Lesson 

Number One” and “I Wanna Be Like Other 

Girls” that are often overlooked. I will admit, 

though, that there are parts of this film that 

even to this day I have to watch through my 

fingers because they’re so devastating, but 

the added suspense and emotion that those 

scenes add makes the overall movie-watching 

experience so much better. 

“Aladdin and the King of Thieves” (1996) 

The second “Aladdin” movie, “Aladdin 

and the Return of Jafar,” isn’t very good, and 

in my opinion, that’s mostly because Robin 

Williams doesn’t voice Genie. However, he 

returns as Genie in the third film, “Aladdin 

and the King of Thieves.” This movie is 

absolutely 
incredible 
for 
more 
reasons 

than Williams’s return; it focuses more on 

Aladdin’s childhood and his family, which 

adds many more dimensions to his already 

interesting character. There are magical 

oracles, sword fights and Genie dressing 

up as Disney princesses — all the necessary 

components to an all-around perfect film. 

There are also some surprising voice actors in 

the film, such as John Rhys-Davies — famous 

for playing Gimli in the “Lord of the Rings” 

films — in the role of Aladdin’s father Cassim. 

This film, though maybe not as well animated 

as the first, is one that everyone should watch. 

It’s heartwarming and maintains the action-

packed elements that make the first film 

so exhilarating. Plus, you finally get to see 

Aladdin and Jasmine’s wedding, which is well 

worth the wait. 

“Tarzan and Jane” (2002) 

There are actually two films that go 

along with Disney’s “Tarzan.” One of them 

is “Tarzan 2,” which is a prequel that shows 

Tarzan as a young boy, and the other is 

“Tarzan and Jane,” which features Jane and 

her friends Terk and Tantor (yes, the gorilla 

and elephant from “Tarzan”) recounting 

many stories about Tarzan and Jane. A lot 

of people choose to overlook films like these 

because there isn’t one central plot, but these 

kinds of movies can actually be really fun. 

For instance, in “Tarzan and Jane,” we get to 

see Jane’s prim and proper English friends 

come for a visit in the jungle, along with a 

story involving diamonds and lava-surfing 

and another starring an old friend of Jane’s 

of whom Tarzan quickly becomes jealous. 

These mini-stories are short but still hold your 

attention. The final scene of the film explains 

why Jane, Terk and Tantor have been taking a 

trip down memory lane, and the reason is sure 

to bring a smile to your face. 

“Cinderella II: Dreams Come True” 

(2001) 

Similar to “Tarzan and Jane,” the second 

“Cinderella” film contains three mini-stories. 

These stories aren’t told by Cinderella though; 

they’re told by the mice. In my opinion, the 

first “Cinderella” film didn’t highlight the 

mice as much as it should have. They’re fun 

and funny, and we get to see a lot more of them 

in this sequel. The mice want to make a book 

for Cinderella, so they begin to handcraft one 

that features their very own stories. The three 

stories we get to hear are about Cinderella’s 

first day in the castle, Jaq’s wish-gone-wrong 

and Cinderella’s stepsister Anastasia’s love 

story with the humble baker. I can’t even tell 

you how many times I’ve seen this movie. 

Each story is short and sweet, punctuated by 

catchy songs and beautiful colors. One of my 

absolute favorite things about these stories is 

the hilarious amount of time dedicated to the 

evil cat Lucifer’s love life. I’m not sure who 

came up with that idea, but I would thank 

them if I could. There is a third “Cinderella” 

movie, “Cinderella III: A Twist in Time,” 

which I think is more well-known than the 

second film. But I’ll be honest: Even though 

the third film is good, I think the second one 

is better. 

“The Little Mermaid II: Return to the 

Sea” (2000) 

I’m pretty sure everyone has that one DVD 

from their childhood that they watched so 

many times, they actually ruined the disc. For 

me, that DVD was “The Little Mermaid II.” 

Ariel was always my favorite Disney princess 

growing up, so of course I loved the sequel, 

where we not only get to see her as an adult 

but also get to meet her daughter Melody. The 

movie is unbelievably ironic considering the 

events of its predecessor, given the fact that 

Melody is a human who is forced to stay away 

from the water. But she’s just as curious as 

her mother and ends up finding a way there 

anyway. The sweet story by itself would have 

been enough to make me love this movie, but 

it also has many callbacks to the original film 

that make me nostalgic; there are some shots 

that look like they were taken straight from 

the original film and switched from Ariel 

to Melody. Even the villain in this movie, 

Morgana, has a connection to the original: 

She’s Ursula’s sister! There may be some plot 

holes, like Melody never questioning why she 

could talk to animals, but I’ve always looked 

past them to enjoy the happiness of the film. 

This, in my opinion, is the peak Disney sequel 

because it does something completely new but 

remains true to the original. It’s not a perfect 

movie, but the nostalgia washes over you and 

makes you feel like a kid again. 

FILM NOTEBOOK
Six underrated Disney sequel films worth giving a chance

SABRIYA IMAMI

Daily Arts Writer

Read more online at 

michigandaily.com

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