Post-punk began in the late 1970s and persisted into the early 1980s. Contrary to what the name would imply, post-punk really developed along side and with punk rock as opposed to after punk's initial 1977 boom. However, because it was a much less limited genre sonically, post-punk did enjoy a significantly longer lifespan than the rock and roll revivalism of the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, etc. While punk itself soon came to have a signature sound, a few acts began to experiment with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance.
Musically, post-punk is fairly diverse, though there are some important genre identifiers, most of which derive from krautrock, dub reggae, the work of progressive-thinking garage rock groups like The Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, and Hawkwind, and other avant-garde and world musics. Most post-punk features a very prominent bass guitar, some use of electronic instrumentation, jagged, angular guitar work and melodies, highly poetic lyrics, and a generally intellectual attitude towards the proceedings derived from art rock, although none of these are necessarily requirements. Post-punk was largely produced in North America and the British Isles, and key groups from those regions include Pere Ubu, Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Wire, Mission of Burma, and Joy Division, among countless others. There also was a worldwide post-punk following which produced bands like France's Métal Urbain, Australia's The Birthday Party, The Church and Tactics, and Ireland's U2 and the Virgin Prunes.
Bands such as Crass also came within the scope of post-punk, as with several outfits formed in the wake of traditionally punk rock groups: Magazine was formed by a member of Buzzcocks, for instance, and Public Image Ltd. derived from the Sex Pistols. A list of predecessors to the post-punk genre of music might include Television, whose album Marquee Moon, although released in 1977 at the height of the punk movement, is considered by some definitively post-punk in style. Other groups, such as The Clash, remained predominantly punk in nature, yet were inspired by the experimentalism of the post-punk movement, most notably in their album Sandinista!.
The original post-punk movement ended as the bands associated with the movement turned away from its aesthetics, just as post-punk bands had originally left punk rock behind in favor of new sounds, critically acclaimed but never particularly commercially successful. Bands who began playing post-punk only found mass commercial success once they excised the more difficult elements of their sound in favor of sonic elements associated with pop and dance music. Many post-punk bands, most notably The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, evolved into gothic rock (formerly a style of the larger post-punk movement) and became identified with the goth subculture. Some shifted to a more commercial New Wave sound (such as Talking Heads), while others were fixtures on American college radio and became early examples of alternative rock (such as U2). Post-punk was immensely influential; its various facets spawning, influencing and inspiring Britain's independent label infrastructure, the goth subculture, massively internationally popular groups like the previously mentioned U2, The Smiths, R.E.M., and Red Hot Chili Peppers, post-punk's own pop-friendly cousin new wave, the post-hardcore music of the late 1980s and 1990s, among other things and styles.
From the late 1990s to the new millenium, a second wave of post-punk emerged, incorporing sounds and aesthetic of the original post-punk, along with influences new wave and, at times, of dance music. This wave, commonly known as "post-punk revival" either draw particular influence from the more angular strain of post-punk such as Wire and Gang of Four or are more clearly indebted to the atmospheric wing of post-punk epitomized by Echo & The Bunnymen and Joy Division.
An extensive list of post-punk, post-punk influenced and post-punk revival bands can be found here.
Reptilia
The Strokes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
The lyrics of The Strokes' "Reptilia" are a conversation between two people. The first person seems impressed by the way the second person entered the scene and asks them to tell a story since they are not boring. The second person fears that they might seem uninteresting but is told to take something to calm down and just tell the story.
The second part of the song sees the second person asking the first one not to slow them down if they are going too fast. They are in a strange part of town and the night is not over yet, they should try harder. The lyrics also hint towards a sense of exhaustion, with the second person feeling like they are drowning fast enough.
Overall, "Reptilia" is a song that expresses a sense of competitiveness and anxiety in a social setting. It speaks to the pressure to impress, to be interesting and exciting, and the fear of being considered boring. The lyrics are open to different interpretations, and it is possible that they are referring to the music industry and the pressure to stay relevant and come up with new material.
Line by Line Meaning
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
He appeared to be taken aback by the confidence in which you walked in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
Please share with us a narrative, as I believe you have an interesting one to tell
I was afraid that you would not insist
I worried you wouldn't persist in engaging with me
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
You seem uninterested, here's something to occupy you, but please go away
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly
You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough
Now every time that I look at myself
Each occasion that I gaze upon myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
I believe I mentioned that this planet isn't suited for you
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
The space is erupting as she adjusts her hairstyle
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
You appear upset, but please relax, you found me
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
Please don't hinder my progress if I'm moving too quickly
You're in a strange part of our town
You're in a peculiar neighborhood that you may not be familiar with
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
There's still much left to experience, you haven't put much effort into it
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
Our paths are diverging, and you've caused me to stumble
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
The long anticipation has ended, I am now in control
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
You're not finding amusement in my misery, and I'm not sinking quickly enough
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Julian Casablancas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@UnluckyWednesday
He seemed impressed by the way you came in,
"Tell us a story
I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist.
"You sound so sleepy
Just take this, now leave me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
Now every time that I look at myself
"I though I told you
This world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry
Just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down
If I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over
You're not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road,
The wait is over
I'm now taking over,
You're no longer laughing
I'm not drowning fast enough.
@Darkopolypse98
[LYRICS]
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
@비정한세상
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
"Tell us a story, I know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist
"You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me"
I said, please don't slow me down if I'm going too fast
You're in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night's not over, you're not trying hard enough
Our lives are changing lanes, you ran me off the road
The wait is over, I'm now taking over
You're no longer laughing, I'm not drowning fast enough
Now every time that I look at myself
"I thought I told you, this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"You sound so angry, just calm down, you found me"
@nataliagonzalez3534
He seemed impressed by the way you came in,
"tell us a story
i know you're not boring"
I was afraid that you would not insist.
"you sound so sleepy
just take this, now leave me"
I said please don't slow me down
if i'm going too fast
you're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
you're not trying hard enough,
our lives are changing lanes
you ran me off the road,
the wait is over
i'm now taking over,
you're no longer laughing
i'm not drowning fast enough.
Now everytime that i look at myself
"i though i told you
this world is not for you"
The room is on fire as she's fixing her hair
"you sound so angry
just calm down, you found me"
I said please don't slow me down
if i'm going too fast
you're in a strange part of our town...
Yeah, the night's not over
you're not trying hard enough,
our lives are changing lanes
you ran me off the road,
the wait is over
i'm now taking over,
you're no longer laughing
i'm not drowning fast enough.
@mercutiobates3367
Holy sh*t y'all, I've had this song in my head for literal months, but only the opening part, absolutely none of the lyrics so I couldn't google it (it was just the intro dunun du du dun repeating guitar riff) but the only place I've ever heard this song was in a music history class my freshman year of high school (so like 2017), and I was so desperate to find out what song it was I emailed that teacher, and even he wasn't sure what song it was, but I told him that it was rock music and that the artist was male (I also vaguely remembered something about it reminded me of lizards, but my brain makes really weird connections and associations so this was not considered a vital piece of information), so he told me a few artists that we studied that fit the criteria, but when each artist has possibly hundreds of songs it was impossible to narrow it down enough to even entertain the idea of finding it, so I gave up.
It's a few weeks later now, I'm supposed to be asleep, but I was just thinking about lizards, idk why I just like lizards, and somehow the word reptilia floated into focus just enough for me to, without meaning to, go "hey thats a song title" which I literally have no clue how I even remembered that, but oh my god was it the fastest I've ever gotten out of bed. I'd consider this the most important revelation I've had during quarantine. I absolutely cannot believe I found this song.
Edit: Mom I'm famous
@monkey4hire
god this was quite the read
@trashoclock9339
thank u for sharing fr
@godlesspothead6258
Congrats are for people who can't spell congrarculitonstuis
@mlsslhmn7
Truly a rollercoaster. Any way you find julian casablancas is a good way.
@drawdrawfruit6243
lol listen to some of there other music too. There’s lots of great stuff
@guitarjam2178
The Strokes are one of those bands that really make you want to start your own
@Jokaa656
Never wanted to learn how to play guitar so badly as i want when i listen to the strokes😂
@aida.6771
No wonder they influenced so many bands during early '00s.
@j.c985
They are at a level that most people will never be able to reach, they are all uber talented but definitely galvanising