“Mercy Mercy Me” – Julian Casablancas (& The Strokes), Eddie Vedder & Josh Homme (Marvin Gaye cover)

This track, originally a Strokes B-Side, recently made a return to the spotlight as one of the tracks available on the upcoming 3-CD charity album entitled Live From Nowhere Near You, Vol II, (which arrives on July 19). Also featured on this bad boy will be new, unreleased and rare tracks from Modest Mouse, Daniel Johnston, Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Stone Gossard and Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, Bright Eyes, Corin Tucker, Elliott Smith, Joe Purdy, Woodie Guthrie, James Mercer of The Shins and many more.

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Yeasayer, The Walkmen, Stellastarr* and Kanine Records Make a New York in the 00s Mixtape

It’s frightening to consider a musical landscape without the impact of the so called ‘New Rock Revolution.’ Before The Strokes, a lot of us simply felt like we were royally fucked by an age more obsessed with plastic pop than honest, simple, ‘real’ music. Our modern musical idols consisted of Britpop has-beens and transcenders, but that was in England — where they liked good music. In North America it was Britney and Justin instead of Thom and Jarvis.

Then, as if on cue, they arrived just in time to watch their city go to shit. Preloaded with real Fender amps, chugging rhythms and catchy melodies that made it cool to be an American music fan again, The Strokes’ shaggy revamping of 70s underground cool spearheaded a new musical uprising. With their brethren in the White Stripes, they went on to inspire a whole generation to pick up guitars, reject the looming possibilities of technology and embrace the authentic. This was real life; this was real music…

More after the jump