Reptilia (song)

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"Reptilia"
The Strokes - Reptilia - CD single cover.jpg
Single by The Strokes
from the album Room on Fire
B-side "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men"
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2004 (2004-02-09) [1]
Recorded2003
Genre
Length3:39
Label
Songwriter(s) Julian Casablancas
Producer(s) Gordon Raphael
The Strokes singles chronology
"12:51"
(2003)
"Reptilia"
(2004)
"The End Has No End"
(2004)
Music video
"Reptilia" on YouTube

"Reptilia" is a song by American rock band the Strokes. It was released as the second single from their second studio album, Room on Fire (2003) on February 9, 2004. The song was written by Julian Casablancas and produced by Gordon Raphael. In the US, it peaked at number 19 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. [5] It fared better in the UK, where it reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The single cover depicts an alien from the video game Centipede . [6]

Contents

The single's B-side was "Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men", a duet between the band's lead singer Casablancas and Regina Spektor. The release of the single was delayed slightly after Casablancas objected to the song being credited as "the Strokes and Regina Spektor", claiming that it should read "Regina Spektor and The Strokes". [7]

In October 2011, NME placed "Reptilia" at number 129 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". [8] In 2020, The Independent and Paste ranked the song number seven and number six, respectively, on their lists of the 20 greatest Strokes songs. [9] [10]

The song has appeared in the video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock , [11] Guitar Hero Live , [12] and Rock Band .

Music video

The music video for the song was their first that was not directed by Roman Coppola. Instead they chose Jake Scott to shoot the video, which features close shots of the band members' faces, hands, and instruments while performing the song.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Reptilia"3:41
2."Modern Girls & Old Fashion Men" (Regina Spektor and The Strokes)3:40

Charts

Chart (2004)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [13] 68
Canada (Nielsen SoundScan) [14] 19
Scotland (OCC) [15] 17
UK Singles (OCC) [16] 17
UK Indie (OCC) [17] 2
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [18] 19

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [19] Gold35,000
Portugal (AFP) [20] Gold20,000
United Kingdom (BPI) [21] Gold400,000
United States (RIAA) [22] Platinum1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  3. "The Strokes and The Warning!". Harmonix Music. Harmonix. May 15, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2021. The drums are fast and dense, as you'd expect from the garage punk sound.
  4. "The Strokes: Next Steps". iTunes. Apple. April 26, 2011. Retrieved April 1, 2021. [...]amping up the post-punk influence and baiting the trap with jagged, Wire-like riffs on "Reptilia."
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  6. Sellers, John (May 14, 2004). "Arcade game inspires the Strokes". EW.com .
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