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.
Rude Customer
Albert Hammond Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He brings you the change
You want him to go
but you just don't know his name [x2]
It's all just the same
It's a rule
Give it time
And you will see that you want to, want to
These words ain't solutions
For your one too many times
You got lucky
You're afraid to coexist
But you want to, want to
Want to, want to.
You, he wants you to be
He asks for his faults
He says we're alone
Don't you know you're the cause?
You, you ask for the bill
He tells you his name
You want him to go
But it won't feel the same
It's a rule
You never thought that you wanted
Give it time
And you will see that you want to, want to
These words ain't solutions
For your one too many times
You got lucky
You're afraid to coexist
But you want to, want to
It could be the change
You act rather strange
Could be your fault
You asked for his name
But did you ask for his name
I saw him let his down his guard
The lyrics to Albert Hammond Jr.'s song Rude Customer are somewhat cryptic and open to interpretation. One possible interpretation is that the song is about missed opportunities for connection and communication with others. The opening lines describe a situation where the singer is out to eat and wants the waiter to leave, but doesn't even know his name. This highlights the lack of personal connection between people who are only interacting with each other in a transactional context.
Throughout the song, the theme of missed opportunities for connection is reiterated. The line "you got lucky, you're afraid to coexist, but you want to, want to" suggests that the singer is lucky to have any kind of interaction with others, but is afraid of connecting with them on a deeper level. This fear may stem from past experiences that have made the singer hesitant to open up to others. The chorus also repeats the idea that the singer doesn't know what they want, but that they may come to realize it given time.
The final lines of the song suggest that the singer may have missed the chance to connect with the waiter by not asking for his name. The phrase "I saw him let his down his guard" implies that there was some kind of emotional vulnerability that the singer could have potentially witnessed if they had engaged with the waiter on a more personal level. Overall, the song seems to be about the difficulty of navigating personal interactions and the missed opportunities for connection that can result from fear and mistrust.
Line by Line Meaning
You, You ask for the bill
The singer requests the check
He brings you the change
The waiter delivers the money owed
You want him to go
The singer wants the waiter to leave
but you just don't know his name [x2]
The artist doesn't know the waiter's name
It's all just the same
The situation is unremarkable
It's a rule
A rule is being established
You never thought that you wanted
The singer didn't realize they desired a certain outcome
Give it time
Patience is required to understand the situation
And you will see that you want to, want to
Eventually the artist will desire something without realizing it
These words ain't solutions
Words don't solve problems
For your one too many times
The singer has dealt with this issue before
You got lucky
The situation could have turned out worse
You're afraid to coexist
The singer is hesitant to engage with others
But you want to, want to
Despite fear, the singer still desires social interaction
You, he wants you to be
The waiter desires the singer to act a certain way
He asks for his faults
The waiter wants to know his mistakes
He says we're alone
The waiter feels isolated
Don't you know you're the cause?
The singer is responsible for the waiter's emotion
He tells you his name
The waiter discloses his identity
But it won't feel the same
The situation is altered by the revelation of the waiter's name
It could be the change
Change may be necessary
You act rather strange
The artist's behavior is peculiar
Could be your fault
The singer may be the cause of the problem
You asked for his name
The artist requested the waiter's name
But did you ask for his name
The question is posed as to whether the singer truly sought to understand the waiter
I saw him let his down his guard
The waiter became vulnerable
Contributed by Hudson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.