Modern English are having a moment, and it is a fun one. The new wave lifers just dropped a video calling out the Strokes, captioned "We have beef with the Strokes." The reason? "Bad Decisions," the 2020 belter off The New Abnormal, borrows more than a little from "I Melt With You," their glorious 1982 gem.
Fans clocked the resemblance the second that track landed. Those chugging guitars, that bright melodic lift: pure Modern English DNA, pulled straight from their After The Snow days. The band knows it too, and they are laughing about it.
Here is the best part: no actual bad blood. Modern English admit the Strokes "completely ripped off" their signature anthem, then turn around and say they love them anyway. It is a wink, not a lawsuit.
Two generations of great guitar bands, linked by one killer riff. "I Melt With You" never gets old. Neither does watching legends embrace their own influence with a grin.