New York City Cops (song)

"New York City Cops" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released along with "Hard to Explain" as a double A-side single on June 25, 2001, in Australia and Europe. It appears on international editions of their debut studio album, Is This It (2001); it was replaced with another track on the then-unreleased American CD edition following the September 11 attacks due to its lyrics regarding the New York City Police Department. As a double A-side single, it reached number 16 in the UK and number 66 in Australia.

"New York City Cops"
Single by The Strokes
from the album Is This It (international editions)
A-side"Hard to Explain" (double A-side)
ReleasedJune 25, 2001 (double A-side)
RecordedMarch and April 2001
StudioTransporterraum, New York City
Genre
Length3:30
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)Julian Casablancas
Producer(s)Gordon Raphael
The Strokes singles chronology
"Hard to Explain" / "New York City Cops"
(2001)		 "Last Nite"
(2001)
Audio sample
  • file
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Background and release

"New York City Cops", written in response to the 1999 murder of Amadou Diallo by four plainclothes police officers, was released along with "Hard to Explain" as a double A-side single on June 25, 2001, through RCA Records in Australia and Europe.[1][2][3] Both tracks would later be included on their debut studio album, Is This It (2001).[4] The song features the refrain "New York City cops, but they ain’t too smart."[5] Since the American CD release had not been released yet, the song was removed from it following the September 11 attacks. The band did so after they witnessed the "valiant response" of the city's police department during the tragedy, feeling that it would be "wrong to release it during these highly sensitive times". They replaced the song with the newly recorded "When It Started".[6] The vinyl release retained the original track list, due to its release falling on September 11, 2001.[7]

Live performances

The song was performed at a rally for Bernie Sanders at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire on February 10, 2020.[8] According to some accounts, "New York City Cops" was not on the band's setlist, but the Strokes performed the song after taking issue with lights being turned up and attempts to stop crowd-surfing fans.[5]

Track listing
7-inch vinyl
No.TitleLength
1."Hard to Explain"3:43
2."New York City Cops"3:30


CD
No.TitleLength
1."Hard to Explain"3:43
2."New York City Cops"3:30
3."Take It or Leave It" (in LA)3:15
4."Trying Your Luck" (in LA)3:25

Chart positions

"Hard to Explain" / "New York City Cops"

Chart (2001–2002) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 66
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 16

"New York City Cops"

Chart (2020) Peak
position
LyricFind Global (Billboard)[11] 10
LyricFind U.S. (Billboard)[12] 2

Footnotes
  1. "The Strokes – Why New York's finest will change your life – forever!". NME. June 9, 2001.
  2. "The Strokes – Hard To Explain / New York City Cops (Australia)". Discogs. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. "The Strokes – Hard To Explain / New York City Cops (Europe)". Discogs. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  4. Is This It (international editions) (CD booklet and case back cover). The Strokes. RCA Records; Rough Trade Records. 2001.CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. Variety. "Strokes Sing 'New York City Cops' Face-to-Face With Cops as Sanders Rally Gets Rowdy". Variety. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. Schumacher-Rasmussen, Eric (September 21, 2001). "Dave Matthews Band, Strokes, Sheryl Crow Rethink Their Music". MTV. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
  7. Roach, p. 96
  8. Bloom, Madison. "The Strokes Debut New Song "Bad Decision" at Bernie Sanders Rally: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  9. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  11. "The Strokes Chart History (LyricFind Global)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  12. "The Strokes Chart History (LyricFind U.S.)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

References
  • Roach, Martin (2003). This Is It ... The First Biography of The Strokes. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9601-6.
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