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Cover of Is This It by The Strokes
Cover: Is This It

Song · The Strokes

“Hard to Explain” by The Strokes

From the album Is This It (2001)

“Hard to Explain” by The Strokes appears on 36 radio countdowns from 22 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 2001 on the album Is This It. Its best result is #5 on the CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #47 alternative song of 2002, #1,231 alternative song of all time and #339 of the '00s.

36countdowns
22stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
2001–2025years charted

Watch

The Strokes - Hard To Explain (Official HD Video)

Video from YouTube (thestrokesVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Hard to Explain" is where the Strokes introduced themselves to the world, the lead single from their debut album Is This It, issued in 2001 on RCA and Rough Trade. It's garage rock sharpened to a point: Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr.'s guitars snapping back and forth in tight little knots, Nikolai Fraiture's bass pinning it down, Fabrizio Moretti's drums so crisp and compressed they almost sound programmed.

Julian Casablancas wrote the song himself, words and music, and producer Gordon Raphael explained in 2023 that it first took shape on Casablancas' drum machine. Raphael's production keeps everything thin, bright and blown out, Casablancas' voice sounding like it's coming through a cheap phone line from the bar next door, cool, bored and somehow desperate all at once.

The song travelled: number 7 in Canada, 10 in Ireland and 16 in the UK. "Last Nite" came next.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2001 7 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2001 50
2001 59 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2001 100
2002 18 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2002 107
2002 7 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2002 91
2002 51 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2002 106
2002 76 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 33 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2002 100
2002 46 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2002 92
2002 82 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2002 107
2002 73 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2002 89
2002 5 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2002 101
2002 68 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2002 100
2002 95 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2002 105
2002 43 (tie) WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2002 224
2002 74 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 2002 104
2002 65 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL Buzz 103.1 The 103 Most Played Buzz Cuts of 2002 103
2002 80 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2002 99

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2002 1983 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 1751 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 1751 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 59 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 1751 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2006 174 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 101 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 115 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 112 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 104 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 100 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 98 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 249 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2014 100 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2022 86 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2024 945 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 403 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 728 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 591 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714

Also listed as: Hard To Explain.

Charting alongside it in 2002

Best songs of 2002 →
  1. 1By the WayRed Hot Chili Peppers
  2. 2AerialsSystem of a Down
  3. 3ToxicitySystem of a Down
  4. 4You Know You're RightNirvana
  5. 5All My LifeFoo Fighters
  6. 6SweetnessJimmy Eat World

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