New York City Cops listed on playlist

The album was produced by Gordon Raphael, as was their follow-up album Room On Fire . RCA Records delayed the North American (US) release over concerns with the album’s cover and lyrics. The internationally released cover features a black-and-white photo of a gloved hand on a woman’s naked backside, shown in semi-profile (photographer Colin Lane’s then-girlfriend) while the North American version replaced it with a photo of particle collisions in the Big European Bubble Chamber . RCA replaced the track “New York City Cops” with “When It Started”, as the former featured potentially inflammatory lyrics in the wake of the September 11 attacks . The track “New York City Cops”—featuring the refrain, “New York City Cops, they ain’t too smart”—was listed as No. 12 on New York magazine’s “Ultimate New York Playlist” on March 1, 2010. Despite its delayed release (and the potential controversy), Is This It received critical acclaim—among other accolades, four stars from Rolling Stone , and a 9.1 from Pitchfork Media . The album made many critics’ top-ten lists, was named the best album of the year by Entertainment Weekly and Time , and (in an article previewing summer concerts) NME urged readers to attend The Strokes’ shows—as they were touring some of the “best pop songs ever”. While critics noted the influence of CBGB stalwarts Television , Casablancas and bandmates said they had never heard the band, instead citing the Velvet Underground and the Doors as reference points.