| "Ode to the Mets" | |
|---|---|
| Song bythe Strokes | |
| from the albumThe New Abnormal | |
| Released | April 10, 2020 |
| Studio | Shangri-La (Malibu, California) |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:51 |
| Label | |
| Composers | |
| Lyricist | Julian Casablancas |
| Producer | Rick Rubin |
| Music video | |
| "Ode to the Mets" onYouTube | |
"Ode to the Mets" is a song by Americanrock bandthe Strokes, the ninth and closing track on their sixth studio album,The New Abnormal (2020). SingerJulian Casablancas began writing the song while waiting fora subway train following theNew York Mets' loss in the2016 National League Wild Card Game atCiti Field. Its title was originally a joke, but drummerFabrizio Moretti, found it a fitting metaphor for the lyrical themes, and convinced Casablancas to keep it.
The Strokes first performed the song live at theirNew Year's Eve 2019 concert at theBarclays Center. Multiple critics regarded it as one of the highlights fromThe New Abnormal. It reached number 27 on theBillboardHot Rock Songs chart.
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SingerJulian Casablancas began writing "Ode to the Mets" on October 5, 2016, following the2016 National League Wild Card Game between theNew York Mets andSan Francisco Giants, which Casablancas had attended with Strokes guitar technician Paul Vassallo. The Mets' loss saw them knocked out of the2016 postseason. A lifelong Mets fan, Casablancas began sketching lyrics and a melody while waiting for the7 train atMets–Willets Point station. As a joke, he gave it the working title "Ode to the Mets", with his original intention being to leave the song title as simply "Ode". However, drummerFabrizio Moretti later dissuaded him from doing so, finding the title befitting of the lyrical themes. Moretti believed that both the Mets and the song evoke "something that you set your heart to and that you love unconditionally but that continues to disappoint you."[1]
Like the rest of the songs fromThe New Abnormal, the band recorded the song primarily atRick Rubin'sShangri-La studio inMalibu, California.[2] The band performed it live for the first time during aNew Year's Eve 2019 concert at theBarclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Casablancas preceded the performance by announcing that they would have a new album releasing in 2020.[3] "Ode to the Mets" was officially released as the ninth and final track onThe New Abnormal on April 10, 2020.[2]
Atlantic City Weekly writer Ryan Loughlin categorized "Ode to the Mets" asdream pop,[4] with others describing it as aballad.[5][6] The lyrics are unrelated to the Mets or baseball generally.[1]Kitty Empire ofThe Observer found them difficult to decipher.[7] Moretti believed the song was about "something that you set your heart to and you love unconditionally, but continues to disappoint you," whichMLB.com writer Michael Clair felt echoed "the kind of self-deprecation Mets fans are famous for."[8] Of this interpretation, Casablancas said, "That wasn't my intention with the song, but I can’t argue with [it]."[1]AllMusic reviewer Heather Phares described the lyrics as "Casablancas [...] telling off someone who's already long gone",[9] while Helen Brown ofThe Independent felt it saw the band "[looking] back on their lost years."[10]
Spectrum Culture's Kevin Korber called the song as a "delicate mix of detached cool and melancholy",[11] with Susan Hansen ofClash noting the song's progression "[building] before escalating in intensity, providing a soothing end to the blistering presentation".[12] Casablancas's vocal delivery goes "from monotone to octave jumping".[13] Ella Kemp ofNME described the song's distinctive riff as sounding had been "put through awind machine".[5] Helen Brown felt that the song would serve as a fitting soundtrack for the closing credits to the upcoming documentary adaptation of Lizzy Goodman's 2017 oral historyMeet Me in the Bathroom, which heavily follows the Strokes.[10]
The band released a music video for the song on July 24, 2020, to coincide with theOpening Day for the New York Mets, which had been delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by the opening titles of the sitcomCheers, the video was directed by long-time collaboratorWarren Fu and features work from eight different animators. It depictsNew York City throughout various points of history; chronologically, it ends in the future with the city underwater, apparently as a result of climate change, adorned with banners featuring optimistic slogans concerning a better future. It also features nods to the Mets, with the team's "Ya Gotta Believe" slogan displayed on a poster, another banner reading "Class of '69", in reference to their1969 World Series victory and it ends with Shea Stadium under water with a sign that says “Believe In Miracles,” another Mets rally cry. A photo of the band in their early days, from Nick Valensi's private photo collection, also appears.[14]
Several reviewers regarded "Ode to the Mets" as a highlight ofThe New Abnormal.[13][15][16][17]Variety writer A. D. Amorosi labeled it an "elegant, odd finale to a sharp-kicking album", adding that no other point on the album was "as slick and theatrical as the melancholy melody of 'Ode to The Mets'".[13]Under the Radar's Caleb Campbell felt the song ended the album on a high note,[15] while Kaelen Bell ofExclaim! deemed it a "solid late-career [entry]".[17] In a mixed review ofThe New Abnormal, Sam Sodomsky ofPitchfork thought the song was one of the album's finer moments, calling it "genuinely pretty," and a "step in the right direction."[16] Some reviewers were less favorable. ForThe Guardian, Rachel Aroesti wrote that "Ode to the Mets provides a decidedly unspectacular finale,"[18] while Jon Dolan ofRolling Stone found the song's "lachrymose lounge moan" pretentious and "over-the-top".[19] Commercially, the song peaked at number 27 on theBillboardHot Rock Songs chart.[20]
Casablancas jokingly suggested that the Mets play the song over thePA system after each defeat at theirhome field in contrast to them playing "New York Groove" byAce Frehley after each victory.[8]
Billboard named the song as the fifth best rock song of 2020.[21] In May 2020,NME ranked it as the band's tenth best song.[22]
Credits are adapted fromThe New Abnormal liner notes.[2]
The Strokes
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| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[20] | 27 |
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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