Way back in 2003, I had this theory about the Strokes. Under the stipulation that Room On Fire's sublime ballad "Under Control" is their best song, I thought these five fellows from New York City should release a Motown covers album. Really. The aching confessional is, after all, a canny rewrite of the Miracles' "The Tracks of My Tears"; it's a rip-off of the highest order, with the group perfectly projecting their drunken unravel onto a Detroit classic. Why not pull the same trick on "My Girl", "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak From You)", and "Stubborn Kind of Fellow"?

Of course, it's only after Julian started using a real microphone and Nick started thinking cheese-metal guitar solos were the shit that they go the Motown route, covering Marvin Gaye's inconvenient truth eco-anthem (not exactly Holland-Dozier-Holland, sure, but it's close). And then they invite new broheim Eddie Vedder to add craggy grunge vocals and Josh Homme to exchange stuttering robot drum jerk offs with Fab. Inexcusable. Julian sounds like he means it, but everyone else seems to be playing in their own private universe-- one that is totally oblivious to the sorrowful elegance of Gaye's original plea.

Just a B-side lark? Fuck that. The Strokes should be embarrassed-- they officially lost whatever was left of their ragged spark while slumming through this unimpeachable classic.