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As short-form content<\/a> continues to consume the lives of younger generations, it\u2019s becoming hard to stay relevant in a news cycle that\u2019s constantly searching for so-called fresh and exciting material. Musicians are forced to adapt to this growing demand for content or risk fading into obscurity. Yet, The Strokes, a band long known for its tendency to take extended hiatuses, manage to gather the public\u2019s attention every time they tease new music.\u00a0<\/p>\n Considered by Lizzy Goodman<\/a> to be \u201cas influential to their era as the Velvet Underground or the Ramones were to theirs,\u201d The Strokes are reemerging at a time when other standout rock acts are few and far between. Although bands like Geese are gaining steady popularity, the state of modern rock remains bleak. After a six-year break, The Strokes are back on the scene with their new single \u201cGoing Shopping.\u201d<\/p>\n A teaser<\/a> of their new album Reality Awaits<\/em> combines retro and futurist aesthetics, featuring an old Corvette with the text \u201cIn the flesh, it\u2019s even sexier.\u201d The band continued their promotional tour by mailing cassettes<\/a> with the new single to 100 lucky fans. Already, social media has been flooded with memes<\/a> stating \u201cIt\u2019s time for The Strokes summer,\u201d and the hype continues to build after The Strokes announced their world tour, beginning in Manchester, Tenn. as a headliner at Bonnaroo Music Festival.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing Shopping\u201d made its live debut in San Francisco on April 6 with Julian Casablancas, the band\u2019s lead singer, prefacing<\/a> the performance: \u201cWhy not, it\u2019s already out there.\u201d The song opens with a bright guitar and Casablancas\u2019 auto-tuned vocals singing \u201cLike a tiger they will chase you down \/ With words instead of claws.\u201d He doesn\u2019t hesitate before jumping into a critique of society\u2019s tendency to ignore its problems in favor of \u201ccool stuff.\u201d The lyrics seem abstract at first: Casablancas drags out his lines, singing about the Dead Sea, a little red jumpsuit, stockbrokers and the mall. Nonetheless, it all comes together to create a caricature of a person ignorant of his social responsibilities. The influence of capitalism is present in every crevice of the song.<\/p>\n