The Wall Street Journal - 07.04.2020

A14| Tuesday, April 7, 2020 THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

SPORTING CHANCE| By Carl Larson

Across

1 She has her

OWN network

6 Old man,

familiarly

11 It disappears

on rising

14 Christopher of

“Superman”

15 Number of

Mousquetaires

in a Dumas book

title

16 Broody rock

genre

17 Big booty

19 Energy

20 Performs

brilliantly

21 Shell variety?

23 Having a knack

for

24 Audience’s

show of

impatience

26 “Aw, heck!”

27 Like many wine

barrels

29 Camera setting

30 Co. with brown

trucks

31 Opposition

member

32 Super stoked

33 Salsa alternative

36 Wooden strips

39 Broke ground?

40 Hive inhabitant

43 Alexa

alternative

44 River through

Lake Geneva

46 Is profitable

47 Repeating

electronic

rhythm sample

49 Polo need

51 Transplants in a

greenhouse

52 About 80% of

the elements in

the period table

53 Regrettable

54 Low probability

of success, and

a hint to the

circled letters

57 Org. whose

members are

experts at driving

58 Stationary

59 Love atLa Scala

60 Still

61 Vedder of Pearl

Jam

TheWSJDailyCrossword|Edited by Mike Shenk

12345 678910 111213

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25

26 27 28 29

30 31 32

33 34 35

36 37 38 39 40 41 42

43 44 45 46

47 48 49 50

51 52

53 54 55 56

57 58 59

60 61 62

Previous Puzzle’s Solution

s

Solve this puzzle online and discuss it atWSJ.com/Puzzles.

SATE CRAB GLASS

I CER PETA RENAL

ETERNALTRIANGLE

NOOSE I NCAN RED

ARF UKE AMI TY

FOREVERSTAMPS

POLER EMOTE

ACME PR I SS ABAT

GA I NS EQUAL

ENDLESSSUMMER

TYPEA EON EBB

IRE TAMPA ISTOO

PERPETUALMOT ION

ADMI T EGOS ANTE

DOSES LENT BASS

62 World of

Warcraft

spellcasters

Down

1 Sphere

2 Dense fog

3 Fiery candies

4 Dodges

5Dyefor

temporary

tattoos

6 Mom-and-dad

orgs.

7 Chicago airport

letters

8 Dog with a curly

coat

9 Drivetrain gear

10 Off-kilter

11 Improve a video

game character’s

abilities

12 “Did you start

without me?”

13 Juice brand with

a distinctive

bottle

18 Compound used

in solvents

22 Rogue

23 Bearded antelope

24 Place to get

boots and

bindings

25 Group of whales

28 Didn’t fast

31 Sounds at a

fireworks display

32 Foreign policy

issue

33 Early rocket

traveler

34 Interminable

time

35 Judged

36 You might trip

on it

37 Result of too

much cabin

pressure?

38 “You said it!”

40 Player who

passes on

passing

41 Unsightly sight

42 Superlative

suffix

44 Plump

45 Welcomed into

one’s home

46 Ionized gas

48 Sarge’s superior

50 Elite group

52 Tiny bit

53 Eve in “Killing

Eve,” for one

55 Indian honorific

56 Some NFL

linemen

Weather

Shown are today’s noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.

City Hi LoW Hi LoW City Hi LoW Hi LoW

Today Tomorrow Today Tomorrow

City Hi LoW Hi LoW

Anchorage 34 23 pc 37 21 pc

Atlanta 78 64 pc 83 67 t

Austin 87 70 sh 89 68 c

Baltimore 64 56 c 76 51 pc

Boise 64 41 pc 68 41 s

Boston 6241pc 4637r

Burlington 55 33 pc 51 34 c

Charlotte 83 62 pc 86 63 pc

Chicago 73 49 t 67 39 r

Cleveland 63 54 t 62 46 pc

Dallas 85 64 c 91 61 c

Denver 71 39 s 61 35 pc

Detroit 62 53 c 67 40 pc

Honolulu 80 68 t 80 67 pc

Houston 86 69 pc 90 69 pc

Indianapolis 76 60 pc 71 42 s

Kansas City 78 51 pc 77 38 pc

Las Vegas 61 50 sh 62 47 t

Little Rock 82 64 t 84 57 pc

Los Angeles 62 50 t 61 53 c

Miami 86 73 pc 90 72 s

Milwaukee 68 46 t 59 37 r

Minneapolis 67 42 c 52 31 sh

Nashville 81 66 t 80 55 pc

New Orleans 86 70 pc 87 71 c

New York City 63 52 pc 63 48 sh

Oklahoma City 83 53 pc 82 46 pc

Omaha 76 48 pc 64 36 s

Orlando 87 67 t 89 70 pc

Philadelphia 64 55 c 74 50 sh

Phoenix 83 55 s 75 51 t

Pittsburgh 66 56 t 68 48 sh

Portland, Maine 56 35 pc 50 35 r

Portland, Ore. 59 38 pc 69 43 s

Sacramento 64 44 pc 72 49 s

St. Louis 81 59 pc 79 44 pc

Salt Lake City 65 45 c 69 45 s

San Francisco 60 49 pc 61 50 pc

Santa Fe 69 37 s 71 40 pc

Seattle 56 40 pc 60 41 s

Sioux Falls 72 41 pc 53 31 pc

Wash., D.C. 68 59 t 79 54 pc

Amsterdam 66 50 pc 71 48 pc

Athens 56 49 sh 58 48 s

Baghdad 86 66 c 85 63 pc

Bangkok 96 81 t 97 81 t

Beijing 66 40 pc 64 41 s

Berlin 65 44 pc 69 45 pc

Brussels 69 51 pc 75 51 pc

Buenos Aires 65 51 s 65 54 s

Dubai 88 73 pc 94 79 s

Dublin 57 42 pc 59 43 pc

Edinburgh 57 45 pc 56 41 c

Frankfurt 73 47 pc 74 47 s

Geneva 68 45 pc 69 44 s

Havana 90 68 s 91 66 s

Hong Kong 71 63 sh 71 67 pc

Istanbul 52 44 s 51 43 s

Jakarta 85 77 t 88 77 t

Jerusalem 63 46 pc 61 46 pc

Johannesburg 77 53 pc 70 52 pc

London 67 48 s 72 49 pc

Madrid 66 49 sh 70 51 pc

Manila 96 79 s 96 79 pc

Melbourne 62 51 c 65 51 pc

Mexico City 79 55 pc 81 56 pc

Milan 70 43 s 71 45 s

Moscow 52 41 pc 51 33 r

Mumbai 91 77 pc 93 78 pc

Paris 72 50 pc 74 51 s

Rio de Janeiro 84 71 t 75 71 sh

Riyadh 98 76 pc 103 78 s

Rome 66 45 s 66 44 s

San Juan 83 74 pc 85 74 pc

Seoul 63 36 pc 60 35 s

Shanghai 70 49 c 72 52 c

Singapore 90 79 t 90 79 t

Sydney 6859pc 6962sh

Taipei City 67 60 r 74 66 r

Tokyo 6150pc 6749s

Toronto 5540pc 5440pc

Vancouver 52 38 pc 53 40 pc

Warsaw 69 39 s 68 43 pc

Zurich 70 39 pc 71 40 s

Today Tomorrow

U.S. Forecasts

International

City Hi LoW Hi LoW

s...sunny; pc... partly cloudy; c...cloudy; sh...showers;

t...t’storms; r...rain; sf...snow flurries; sn...snow; i...ice

Today Tomorrow

Warm

Cold

Stationary

Showers

Rain

T-storms

Snow

Flurries

Ice

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Detroit

Kansas

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Dallas

El Paso

Billings

Portland

Miami

San Francisco

Sacramento

Orlando

Atlanta

New Orleans

Houston

San Diego Phoenix

Los Angeles

Las

Vegas

Seattle

Boise

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Mpls./St. Paul

St. Louis

Chicago Washington D.C.

Boston

Charleston

Milwaukee

Hartford

Wichita

Indianapolis

Cleveland

Buffalo

Austin

Helena Bismarck

Albuquerque

Omaha

Oklahoma City

San Antonio

Des Moines

Sioux Falls

Jackson Birmingham

Reno Cheyenne Philadelphia

Santa Fe

Colorado

Springs

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Richmond

Raleigh

Tucson

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Topeka

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Augusta

Ft. Worth

Eugene

Springfield

Mobile

Toronto

Ottawa

Montreal

Winnipeg

Vancouver Calgary

Edmonton

70s

60s

80s

40s

30s

20s

10s

90s

80s 80s

70s

70s

70s

60s

60s 60s

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60s

50s

50s 50s

50s

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70s

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live appearances, the band found

themselves a top draw at festivals

globally.

In 2018, Mr. Casablancas and

the Voidz released the album “Vir-

tue,” which won critical praise for

its genre-defying sound. On the

song “Lazy Boy,” he sang: “I don’t

want to be a puppet that the ghost

of my young self still controls.”

The Strokes “were successful

with something that was not main-

stream,” Mr. Casablancas said in a

Wall Street Journal interview that

year. “But I don’t think it was re-

ally pushing the boundaries I was

interested in.”

Then, in another twist—with

kids getting older and solo proj-

ects under their belt—the Strokes

returned again.

“The Strokes had reached out a

couple of times over the years and

demo ideas at those moments

didn’t illustrate a direction to

move in,” producer Rick Rubin

says. This time, “it was clear to me

we could collaborate.”

The band recorded quickly over

two sessions of roughly 10 days

each. In a notable move, Mr. Casa-

blancas relied less on the distor-

tion that has long shrouded his

singing. “I love Julian’s voice,” Mr.

Rubin says. “I fought to be able to

hear it.”

This year, the Strokes regain the

right to exploit 2001’s “Is This It”

commercially; RCA’s license has

expired. This opens up potential

for the band to reissue it, but Mr.

Gentles says there are no plans.

Just as the Strokes released “Is

This It” in the midst of the Sept. 11

attacks, “The New Abnormal”

comes during a pandemic whose

U.S. epicenter is New York City.

The band discussed whether to

postpone the album—and opted to

stay the course.

“I can’t believe we’re coming

full circle,” Mr. Gentles says.

The Strokes Lost

A Decade—

NowThey’reBack

Theyresuscitatedrock,thenthey fizzled. Back

with a new album, the band leans into mystique

There was a conscious decision

to rest, Mr. Gentles says. “It prob-

ably lasted a little bit longer than

any of us thought it was going to.”

Another potential factor: The

Strokes, early on, split everything

equally, including with Mr. Gentles,

according to a former associate of

the band. (Mr. Gentles declined to

comment on the band’s business.)

“Julian was writing it all, and

they all were sharing everything,”

this former associate says. “When

you’re a kid, that sounds great. As

you get a little bit older, you’re

like, ‘Hey, wait a second, they’re

just showing up and playing their

instruments!’”

Then there were the solo proj-

ects. “The Strokes as a band was

no longer the prime focus,” Mr.

Zinker says. Mr. Hammond Jr. re-

leased his first solo album in

2006; Mr. Casablancas went solo

in 2009, having launched a label,

Cult Records. In the 2010s, every

Strokes member had outside proj-

ects. Mr. Casablancas even had a

new band, the Voidz. It “probably

extended that time between re-

cords,” says Mr. Cotterman.

In 2011, they regrouped for

“Angles,” their fourth album, for

which members co-wrote material

more than in the past. But instead

of the extensive touring normal

for rock bands, they focused in-

creasingly on festival appear-

ances. Two years later, “Come-

down Machine” arrived. There

was no promotion or touring.

They didn’t even hire a publicist.

“A band is a great way to de-

stroy a friendship,” Mr. Casablan-

cas told GQ magazine in 2014.

Fans were surprised in 2016

when the Strokes released “Future

Present Past,” an EP that seemed

to grapple with the band’s issues

by having each song represent a

different stage in its career.

Thanks in part to their sporadic

SOME BANDSstay together. Oth-
ers break up, only to reunite. Then
there’s the Strokes.
The New York group, which
started in clubs on the Lower East
Side in the early aughts, is known
for resuscitating rock ’n’ roll at a
time when many people thought it
was dead. After releasing two re-
cords in three years, the band put
out just three in the next decade
and a half.
For fans, it’s hard not to won-
der about the band’s lost decade:
Did lead singer Julian Casablancas
prefer the freedom of a solo ca-
reer? Did some members want to
focus more on families? Was
there bad blood driven by dis-
putes over money?
“There’s always been a mystery
around them,” says Jack Rovner,
the music executive who signed
them 20 years ago.
That mystique will help propel
them when the Strokes release “The
New Abnormal,” their sixth full-
length album on Friday. Together
again and seemingly committed,
they’ve hired producer guru Rick
Rubin, a sign that they’re serious
this time. “We took the 2010s—
whatever the f— they’re called—we
took them off,” Mr. Casablancas, the
band’s chief songwriter, said at a
New Year’s Eve show. “Now we’ve
been unfrozen.”
Since last year, the band has
made the concert rounds, even
stumping for Bernie Sanders back
in February. Their new album
comes with shows and festival ap-
pearances, assuming the concert in-
dustry—shuttered by the coronavi-
rus pandemic—reopens eventually.
“That’s a complicated relation-
ship, there,” says Harley Zinker, a
sound engineer who has mixed
shows for Interpol, the Strokes
and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. “Like
any band. But this one, maybe
more so.”
The complicated dynamic
evolved over time. The five mem-
bers are childhood and teenage
friends. After their first concert in
September 1999, they built a cult
following playing New York City
indie-rock clubs like the Mercury
Lounge. “The Strokes were insepa-
rable in the early days, they were
all best friends,” says Lucas
Cotterman, a former lighting tech
who worked for the band during
its first three albums. “It was actu-
ally great to be around.”
Media buzz was intense and
bidding among labels to sign
them grew fierce. Rather than
first sign with a label, the band
self-financed their 2001 debut al-

BYNEILSHAH

LIFE & ARTS

FROM TOP: CUCCAGNA/DAPR/ZUMA PRESS; JAVIER ZORRILLA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

bum “Is This It” for $25,000, us-

ing money from a prior music-

publishing deal,

according to

Ryan Gentles,

their longtime

manager. In an

unorthodox

move, they li-

censed it to RCA

Records, retain-

ing ownership

of their sound

recordings. (La-

bels typically

demand owner-

ship of such “masters” in ex-

change for an advance payment.)

“I had to convince some of the

higher-ups,” says Mr. Rovner. “But

I wasn’t going to let any corporate

bean-counter stop me.” (He now

co-manages the band with Richard

Priest and Mr. Gentles.)

“Is This It” debuted in October

2001 to glowing reviews, winning

fans over with Mr. Casablancas’s

meticulous songwriting and dis-

torted vocals, and the band’s chug-

ging guitars. It is now regarded as

one of the most important rock al-

bums of the 21st century.

The band’s quick follow-up,

2003’s “Room on Fire,” fueled their

superstar rise, but didn’t generate

as many sales, frustrating the band;

2006’s “First Impressions of Earth”

sold even less. That’s when, after

some touring, they decided to take

an extended break.

“Remember, these kids came to-

gether when they were barely in

their 20s, and they were on a rocket

ship for six or seven years,” says

Steve Ralbovsky, the record execu-

tive who brought the Strokes to

RCA. “‘First Impressions’ was a bit

of a turning point.” (The Strokes

declined to be interviewed.)

Unlike most bands with issues,

the Strokes never actually broke

up. For years, they muddled

through a perfect storm of per-

sonal and pro-

fessional con-

flict.

Around the

time of “First

Impressions,”

Mr. Casablan-

cas quit drink-

ing; guitarist

Albert Ham-

mond Jr. dab-

bled increas-

ingly in drugs,

according to

current and

former associ-

ates of the

band. While

Mr. Casablan-

cas wrote most

of the material,

other members

wanted more

say. And some

were starting

families: Bass-

ist Nikolai Frai-

ture had a

child in 2004, guitarist Nick Va-

lensi had twins in 2006.

“The dynamic between all of

them is maybe what’s gotten in

the way of them putting out more

material and touring more regu-

larly,” says Mr. Zinker. “But there’s

also, ‘Hey, I want to be home with

my kids... Because I’m a dad now.’”

Mr. Casablancas found it hard to

write on the road, according to Mr.

Gentles. Meanwhile, they drifted

apart geographically. Mr. Valensi

lived in Los Angeles, for example,

and Messrs. Hammond Jr. and Cas-

ablancas on the East Coast.

The Strokes are in demand globally. They performed at

L’Olympia in Paris, top right, and in Bilbao, Spain, above.