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.
You Won't Be Fooled By This
Albert Hammond Jr. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And say that you're stuck
Surrounded by foolish things
Now that you have
All that was bad
I know now what I must bring
To all my friends
You haven't changed
[Chorus: ]
You won't be fooled, by this
You won't be fooled, by this
You won't be fooled, by this
You won't be fooled, by this
What's left to say
I'm on my way
I won't know what you last said
I'm not one that asks
Or then what's said
I know now that I can change
And now and then
As I close my eyes
My foolish wisdom
Becomes my (?)
[Chorus: ]
In "You Won't Be Fooled By This," Albert Hammond Jr. encourages his friends to stay true to themselves and not be fooled by the "foolish things" that surround them. He urges them not to give up or feel stuck, despite having experienced bad things in the past. While he acknowledges that he, himself, has made mistakes, he has learned from them and wants to bring positivity into his friends' lives. The chorus serves as a rallying cry for his friends to remain resolute and not be deceived by the negative influences in their lives.
The verses also express a sense of personal growth and self-awareness. Hammond reflects on his past mistakes and acknowledges that he has gained wisdom from them. He is confident in his ability to change and wants to inspire his friends to do the same. The repeating line "You won't be fooled by this" serves as both a reassurance to his friends and a mantra for himself to stay on track.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you give up
Don't lose hope or give up on yourself
And say that you're stuck
And accept that you're stuck or incapable of moving forward
Surrounded by foolish things
Surrounded by things that may seem foolish or unimportant
Now that you have all that was bad
Now that you have all the negative experiences and emotions behind you
I know now what I must bring
I know what I must bring or do to make things better
To all my friends, you haven't changed
To all my friends, you remain the same and haven't changed
You're still think that
You still think that which implies nothing has changed
[Chorus: ] You won't be fooled, by this
You won't be fooled by the negative experiences of the past
What's left to say
What else should be said or done
I'm on my way
I'm moving forward with my life
I won't know what you last said
I won't remember what you said last
I'm not one that asks or then what's said
I'm not one that asks for clarification or what was said subsequently
I know now that I can change
I know now that I can be better and make positive changes
And now and then
Occasionally
As I close my eyes
As I drift off and daydream
My foolish wisdom
My seemingly unwise thoughts or ideas
Becomes my (?)
This line is unclear and the meaning is uncertain
[Chorus: ] You won't be fooled, by this
You won't be fooled by the negative experiences of the past
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ALBERT HAMMOND JR.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mary
MI GUSTA ESTA CANCION TANTOOO xoxoxox
eackley32
this may be my favorite song by albert, he needs to come out with another album
Paulo Almeida
This song is painfully nostalgic toward a certain period of my life. I’ve done a lot of maturing and I’m in a very different place but I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss those people and the things we did together. “I guess she’s out there somewhere”
P G
reminiscent of "Hitherto" by Cocteau Twins in the middle there, but I love this song -- it has memoris of a trip to Majorca, Spain
isabel
Oh how i love the end(:
Giovanni Stroke
hell.. i love this fucking song... and i can´t find the Guitar pro 5 Tablature u.u... or any cover ..... what ever i love this song :D
Carito Herrmann
Hey matt! is that a song by him?, or do you recomend a band with that name?
strokesfan1107
this sounds like 311's "Amber" in 3/4 time
mattdigges93
Listen to King Colour!