The Strokes song that came to Julian Casablancas in a dream

Another two years passed and, like clockwork, The Strokes returned with another dose of impeccable guitar music. First impressions of Earth included future genre classics like “You Only Live Once,” but also a beautiful album-only track called “Ask Me Anything,” where they swapped their guitars for a Mellotron.

It’s a downtempo and dreamy track, so it makes sense that frontman Julian Casablancas first thought of it while he was fast asleep. I remember the writing process during an interview with Rolling StoneCasablancas explained that the original idea for the song came to him during a dream, but the execution of the piece was slightly different than what he had imagined during the REM dream.

He originally didn’t want the song to be a slow, emotional ballad. Rather, he saw it as a song that the Scissor Sisters could write. “The song in my dream was a little faster than the one that made it onto the record,” he explained, “so much so that I thought it was a Scissor Sisters song.”

Casablancas didn’t realize he’d written it subconsciously, but he remembered thinking how cool the song sounded. “It just blew me away,” he said. “It took me a while to realize I’d made it up myself.” He didn’t see himself singing it over a Mellotron, but heard it filtered through the high notes of Jake Shears.

“It really messed me up,” he mused, “but I liked it.” He liked it enough, in any case, to include it halfway through The Strokes’ third record, although he didn’t go so far as to hire Shears to sing. Rather than commit to creating an electrifying Scissor Sisters track, he picked up a microphone and brought in Nick Valensi to play Mellotron on what would become one of the most emotional tracks in the world. First impressions of Earth.

Amid classic indie rock hits like “Razorblade” and “Heart In A Cage” that showcased their talent for catchy riffs, “Ask Me Anything” brought a new depth to the record. As Casablancas repeats the phrase “I have nothing to say” over and over again, his hopelessness is palpable. The warm yet detached sounds of the Mellotron only enhance this feeling.

Although “Ask Me Anything” didn’t take the form Casablancas once envisioned, it added a whole new dimension First impressions of Earth. Nevertheless, we would love to live out Casablancas’ dream and hear a version of the song by the Scissor Sisters.

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