The son of Gibraltarian-British songwriter Albert Hammond, Albert Jr. was sent to the elite boarding school Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland at the age of 13. While there, he met Julian Casablancas, who would go on to be a fellow band member.
In 1998, Albert met up with Julian in New York City and together they formed a band with Julian's former schoolmates: Nick Valensi, Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti.
His trademark is wearing formal suits, usually a different one for each show. Albert is usually seen playing an olympian white Fender Stratocaster, or bandmate Nick Valensi's Les Paul Jr. He is usually associated with the "rhythm" guitar portion of the majority of Strokes songs, and most solos are played by Valensi. The solos in which Albert does play are Last Nite, Trying Your Luck, Take It Or Leave It, Under Control, The End Has No End, Ize Of The World, and Vision Of Division. His solos tend to focus largely on more emotional, "bluesy"-type melodical work, and the guitar tends to have a cleaner, softer tone in comparison to Valensi's (with a noteable exception found in Vision Of Division). He often holds the guitar in a high horizontal position, similar to Bob Dylan and Ian Curtis.
Although vocalist Julian Casablancas is the major contributor to the songwriting process for The Strokes' music, Albert has been known to write a few pieces of his own. He has been credited to writing three mostly instrumental songs (Swiss Beats, Holland, and By The Way) for the bands' 2001 tour video entitled "In Transit". He had also written a song called "Elephant Song", in which Albert used when he was was required to record a song for his Sound 101 class in freshman year, using the school's recording equipment. The song was played at a few shows before the release of their first album. The Strokes were to later rerecord the song as a special giveaway for fanclub members.
Hammond released his debut solo album on October 9th in the United Kingdom. Entitled "Yours to Keep," the album features musical guests such as Sean Lennon, Ben Kweller, and even The Strokes' manager Ryan Gentles and lead singer Julian Casablancas. Bassist Josh Lattanzi and drummer Matt Romano serve as the backing band, with Albert the main singer and guitarist. It was produced by former Thin Lizard Dawn vocalist Greg Lattimer at the Electric Ladyland Studios.
Hammond played his first solo dates at the end of October in a few cities including New York City and Philadelphia. He is set to tour the UK and Europe in November and December 2006, and provides support to Incubus on their forthcoming US tour of January/February 2007.
Albert has finished working on his second solo album with the title "Como Te Llama?", which was released on 8th of July in 2008. The new CD gets 8/10 in NME! This 8th of July is incidentally the first date of his world tour, which kicks off at the Virgin Store in his hometown of NYC. Dates in LA, as well as Japan and Australia have been already scheduled. Cont.
Back To The 101
Albert Hammond Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One by one I realized
There was something I could do
I lost my way, that's what she said
Back to the 101
If we don't know somewhere to go
Back to the 101
I never said to feel relaxed
I never said to love me back
What was I next to you?
And in my mind it all goes black
I lost control of what I had
All my thoughts left one by one
I lost my way, that's what she said
Back to the 101
Back to the 1, another one
Back to the 101
I caught the 1, I caught the 1
I caught the 101
I caught the 1, I caught the 1
I caught the 101
I know I lost my way
(I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101)
This time we'll find a place
(I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101)
I know I lost my way
(I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101)
This time we'll find a place
(I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101)
"Back to the 101" by Albert Hammond Jr. is a song about finding one's way back to the basics after losing oneself. The lyrics talk about the realization of having lost oneself and how it took the singer by surprise. They also talk about how the singer lost control of what they had and all their thoughts left one by one. The song talks about someone saying "back to the 101" as a way to find their way back to reality.
In the second verse, the lyrics talk about how the singer never expected to be loved back or feel relaxed but wonders what he was to the person he was with. The song repeats the line "Back to the 101" multiple times, emphasizing on that as the way to go back to a place of simplicity and clarity. The song ends with the singer catching the 101 and finding a new place this time around.
The song talks about the importance of taking a step back and finding a simpler way of life when things get complicated or overwhelming. The mention of the 101 could be a reference to the highway in California, which connects Los Angeles to Ventura.
Line by Line Meaning
Though it took me by surprise
I was caught off guard
One by one I realized
Gradually, I came to understand
There was something I could do
I had an option
I lost my way, that's what she said
She told me I was lost
Back to the 101
Returning to a familiar place
If we don't know somewhere to go
If we're lost
I never said to feel relaxed
I didn't tell you to be at ease
I never said to love me back
I didn't expect your feelings in return
What was I next to you?
You didn't value me
And in my mind it all goes black
I lost my thoughts
I lost control of what I had
I couldn't manage what was mine
All my thoughts left one by one
My mind became empty
Back to the 1, another one
Returning to a place that's familiar
I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101
I found what I was looking for
I know I lost my way
I'm aware that I was mistaken
(I caught the 1, I caught the 1, I caught the 101)
I found what I needed
This time we'll find a place
We'll discover our destination
Contributed by Elizabeth L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Joel García
Though it took me by surprise
One by one I realized
There was something I could do
I lost my way
That's what she said
Back to the 101
If we don't know
Somewhere to go
Back to the 101
I never said to feel relaxed
I never said to love me back
What was I next to you?
In my mind it all goes back
Lost control of what I had
All my thoughts left one by one
I lost my way
That's what she said
Back to the 101
Back to the one
I never won
Back to the 101
I count the one
I count the one
I count the one oh one
I know (I count the one)
I lost (I count the one)
My way (I count the one oh one)
This time (I count the one)
We'll find (I count the one)
A place (I count the one oh one)
I know (I count the one)
I lost (I count the one)
My way (I count the one oh one)
This time (I count the one)
We'll find (I count the one)
A place (I count the one oh one)
maria luna
Viejos recuerdos con esta buena canción!!!
Sean Parkin
Should have been album of the year
aarondavid826
love this album
Kika H
Que recuerdos, iba en la secundaria cuando oía esta canción
TheOmniBach
This whole record is awesome. Especially this song.
Sonial
Those sugary and electric guitars. I am so proud of having been a 2000's teenage boy
Camille Mordacq
Love this song 👍
Joel García
Though it took me by surprise
One by one I realized
There was something I could do
I lost my way
That's what she said
Back to the 101
If we don't know
Somewhere to go
Back to the 101
I never said to feel relaxed
I never said to love me back
What was I next to you?
In my mind it all goes back
Lost control of what I had
All my thoughts left one by one
I lost my way
That's what she said
Back to the 101
Back to the one
I never won
Back to the 101
I count the one
I count the one
I count the one oh one
I know (I count the one)
I lost (I count the one)
My way (I count the one oh one)
This time (I count the one)
We'll find (I count the one)
A place (I count the one oh one)
I know (I count the one)
I lost (I count the one)
My way (I count the one oh one)
This time (I count the one)
We'll find (I count the one)
A place (I count the one oh one)
Coltronn_
best song <3
lippskiid
All this time I thought he said "I lost my life on the 101".