Song: Only One
Artist: Antfood Music & Sound Design Studio
This Budweiser ad had me feeling oddly nostalgic, which I’m sure was the intention inherent in the words to this custom track. The lyrics aren’t exactly what it was that caused me to reminisce over the post-Strokes landscape of alternative rock of the early to mid-aughts, though. It had way more to do with the style in which they were delivered. As one may recall, around the turn of the millennia, a flood of bands began to surface whose respective sounds all blatantly referenced various bygone musical movements. Punk, garage rock, new wave, post-punk, prog-rock, shoegaze, and the influence of about a dozen other sub-genres revealed themselves in the music of numerous emergent bands. It was arguably the most derivative period in rock music, but nonetheless it was a period that marked a distinctive shift from the predominant rock-less sounds of the previous decade’s end and provided quite a few groups of lasting worth. Bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, White Stripes, Interpol and The Strokes themselves have stayed together for the better part of the past decade and produced substantial music for devoted audiences beyond their initial breakthroughs. The early to mid-aughts also produced the most pop culture satirists (Andrew W.K., Electric Six, Junior Senior, Peaches, etc.) and sound innovators (Liars, Clinic, Fiery Furnaces, TV On The Radio, etc.) since the early 80′s.
As I digress, please forgive me as this era was the last time that I truly paid such close attention to and was broadly excited about new music. So, the opportunity to tie a WSIITC post into writing about this period was too good to pass up. And here is where it (finally!) ties in!: In the months and years that followed The Strokes’ commercial breakthrough, quite a few bands with slightly softer edges to their sound began to appear – bands whose sound was situated somewhere between that of The Strokes and Coldplay. It’s a sound real similar to the track in this Budweiser ad. Bands like Longwave, The Stills, French Kicks and Bloc Party utilized the driving 4/4 drum beat, chiming guitar, and croon-ey but rugged vocals all borrowed from 80′s post-punk groups like Echo & The Bunnymen, U2 and Joy Division, but filtered through the scruffy rock & roll of The Strokes (itself somewhat borrowed from the band Spoon, among other sources). Unfortunately this custom track, like many, is unavailable to download, but if you greatly enjoyed it and wish to hear some similar tunes by bands with entire catalogs of similar jams I would recommend the following bands and these tracks specifically.
Song: Everywhere You Turn
Artist: Longwave
Download: 
Song: Changes Are No Good
Artist: The Stills
Download:
Song: Don’t Thank Me
Artist: The French Kicks
Download:
Song: Little Thoughts
Artist: Bloc Party
Download:
