Albert Hammond, Jr. (born April 9, 1980, in Los Angeles) is a musician best… Read Full Bio ↴Albert Hammond, Jr. (born April 9, 1980, in Los Angeles) is a musician best known as the guitarist for the rock band The Strokes. Outside of the band, he has released four solo albums.

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.

Rocket
Albert Hammond Jr. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul
Oh, my rocket, oh, what it ever knows
Oh, my rocket, oh, my rocket
Oh, oh, oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul

And when you come down, you know how to use it
You never come ?round when I am down
Oh, and time has abused it

You, me, me, let's see

Well, oh my rocket, oh, oh my soul
Oh, disaster, oh, what it ever knows
Oh, my rocket, oh, my rocket
Oh, oh, oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul

And when you come down, you know how to use it
You never come down since I've been down

But now you go up, oh, time has abused it
You, me, let's see

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of “Rocket” by Albert Hammond Jr. seems to revolve around the theme of finding the strength to lift oneself up and moving on from hardships. The song starts with the singer addressing their rocket and soul as if they were separate entities, with the rocket seemingly representing a source of strength and the soul being the more emotional and vulnerable side. As the verse progresses, the singer repeats the phrase “Oh, my rocket” multiple times, implying a constant reliance on this source of strength.

In the chorus, the singer continues to address the rocket and soul, saying “when you come down, you know how to use it” and later mentioning “time has abused it”. It seems as though the singer is saying that while they understand the power of the rocket to lift them up, they have not been able to access it or receive its benefits. The repeated “you, me, let’s see” seems to imply a willingness to try and work with the rocket to overcome the hardships they face.

As the song progresses, the chorus repeats with some slight variations, but the overall theme remains the same. The song ends with the repetition of the initial verses, emphasizing the focus on relying on the rocket to lift oneself up and overcome obstacles.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul
The singer is referring to his passion (rocket) and how it gives him a sense of identity and purpose (soul)

Oh, my rocket, oh, what it ever knows
The singer is acknowledging that his passion has limitations and can only take him so far in life

Oh, my rocket, oh, my rocket
The singer is reaffirming his devotion and commitment to his passion

Oh, oh, oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul
The singer is expressing his intense feelings and emotions towards his passion

And when you come down, you know how to use it
When the singer's passion brings him back down to reality, he knows how to channel it into something productive

You never come ?round when I am down
The singer's passion only seems to be present when he is happy and doing well

Oh, and time has abused it
The passage of time has taken a toll on the singer's passion and it is not as strong as it used to be

You, me, me, let's see
The singer is contemplating the connection between himself and his passion and what the future holds for both

Well, oh my rocket, oh, oh my soul
The singer is repeating the opening lyrics to emphasize the importance of his passion in his life

Oh, disaster, oh, what it ever knows
The singer acknowledges that his passion can sometimes bring about negative consequences and is not always reliable

Oh, my rocket, oh, my rocket
The singer repeats his devotion and commitment to his passion

Oh, oh, oh, my rocket, oh, oh my soul
The singer repeats the chorus to once again express the intense feelings and emotions towards his passion

And when you come down, you know how to use it
The singer repeats the line to emphasize that he is able to channel his passion into something productive

You never come down since I've been down
The singer reiterates that his passion seems to only be present when he is happy and doing well

But now you go up, oh, time has abused it
The singer acknowledges that his passion is no longer as strong and powerful as it once was

You, me, let's see
The singer repeats the line to emphasize that he is contemplating the future of his connection with his passion

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Albert Hammond Jr.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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