I started listening to The Strokes in 2017, when Spotify added to my personalized Discover Weekly playlist “One Way Trigger.” I listened to this song nonstop on my way to work when I first started at Disneyland, permanently etching a memory of the tune playing while I rode a shuttle backstage that would drop me off at my work location.

I tried listening to this same song after a shift one time, but it didn’t feel quite right. I even tried listening to other songs from The Strokes, listening to one of their most popular songs “Reptilia” and hated it lol.

“Huh. They only have that one good song,” I remember thinking to myself.

This soon changed in a couple of years, when my music taste changed and I grew to love all their music. I later bought tickets to see them live in concert after the release of their latest album in 2020. (A concert that got postponed at least three times, but I digress).

I finally saw The Strokes live in Los Angeles in October of last year. Soon after, I received a text from a friend saying she listened to “12:51” and thought of me. I remember I had posted on my Instagram story a short clip of this song from the concert.

She said she used to listen to this song all throughout high school, and listening to it again brought her back to those years.

I love it when music has that effect, when certain songs and lyrics bring you back to another time, and for a moment you feel like you’re still there.

I felt honored that she thought to text me after listening to that song. One thing that caught my attention was that she said she listened to the song in high school. This struck me:

…should I have been listening to The Strokes in high school?

Am I behind on the times?

Why am I only now listening to their music as an adult?

What did I listen to when I was in high school? (I don’t really remember to be honest, lol).

Listening to music from bands that have been around for years makes me sad sometimes. I feel behind in a sense, like I missed when a particular song topped all the charts, had every fan talking about their latest music video, and had audiences lined up at record and music stores to buy their latest CD.

When I think about it more, however, I realize that I was meant to find and listen to the music today. If I had listened to The Strokes when I was in middle or high school, I would have probably played them so frequently that I’d hate them by now lol.

I listened to “Reptilia” back in 2017 and did not like it. And that’s okay! I wasn’t meant to listen to it then. Now I love the song, and I absolutely do not allow any talking in the car when it comes on shuffle (it’s called respect, y’all).

By discovering The Strokes and other bands as an adult, I’m also able to still enjoy them as well as better understand their lyrics and other nuances.

At the end of the day, as long as I am enjoying the music I am listening to, even if it is 10+ years old, I am happy.