Every track comes with a note on its specific connection to Someday — whether that's a guitar tuning, a shared producer, a CBGB stage, or a direct line of influence that one musician has named in print.
The Velvet Underground
What Goes On1969
The Velvet Underground
"What Goes On" strips back the experimental excess that defined The Velvet Underground's earlier work, landing closer to the raw garage energy that Television would amplify on "Prove It" eight years later. Written by Lou Reed and released in 1969, this track shows the band moving toward leaner arrangements—a direct line to the proto-punk minimalism of mid-seventies New York. Where The Strokes mined Velvet Underground's cool detachment in 2001, "What Goes On" demonstrates the original source: unpolished rhythm work and Reed's deadpan delivery over straightforward rock bones. Formed in New York City in 1964 as Andy Warhol's house band, the Velvet Underground spent their first active period (1964–73) teaching punk and art rock what restraint could do. This song proves that lesson stuck.
Ramones
Beat on the Brat1976
Ramones
"Beat on the Brat" shows how the Ramones built raw punk energy that Television would refine into art-rock complexity on "Prove It" just a year later. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens in 1974, the Ramones stripped rock down to its skeleton: three chords, maximum volume, zero pretense. This 1976 track hammers out the blueprint—Joey Ramone's sneering vocals, Johnny's buzzsaw guitar, Tommy's machine-gun drums—that made the Ramones one of the first bands recognized as defining the punk genre. Their relentless approach performed 2,263 concerts over 22 years directly paved the way for Blondie's catchier, more accessible take on punk attitude in "Hanging On The Telephone." The Ramones proved punk didn't need technical skill; it needed conviction.
Television
Prove It1977
Television
Where the Velvet Underground's raw experimentalism left room for interpretation, Television carved out a sharper path. Formed in New York City in 1973, Television's guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd built something different: art rock with punk energy, refusing to choose between intellectual precision and street-level attitude. "Prove It" channels that dual approach—complex chord work paired with direct, urgent delivery. The band became central to the 1970s New York scene alongside the Ramones, Blondie, and Talking Heads, proving that post-punk didn't have to be simple or obvious. Their influence rippled forward into how punk bands could think and how art rockers could hit hard.
Blondie
Hanging On The Telephone1978
Blondie
Where the Ramones stripped rock down to pure aggression, Blondie took that punk energy and made it dance. "Hanging On The Telephone" shows how New York's new wave pioneers—formed in 1974 by Deborah Harry and Chris Stein—borrowed the Ramones' raw intensity but wrapped it in disco beats and pop hooks. Producer Mike Chapman gave the track a polished sheen that proved punk didn't have to stay ugly to stay powerful. The song's nervous tension and Harry's deadpan vocal delivery influenced decades of bands mixing anxiety with accessibility. By 2002, Interpol would pick up this exact thread—moody post-punk that made you want to move—proving Blondie's bridge between street-level rebellion and mainstream radio never lost its edge.
★ The Strokes
Someday2001
SONG ZERO
"Someday" is the Song Zero — the starting point that pulls everything backward through rock history. Released on *Is This It* in 2001, it points almost immediately toward The Velvet Underground's "What Goes On," wearing that influence openly in its locked, hypnotic guitar groove.
Produced by Gordon Raphael in a New York studio for a reported budget that barely registered, the track captures five guys playing a room rather than a production. Nick Valensi's lead guitar and Albert Hammond Jr.'s rhythm parts lock together with the kind of controlled looseness that defined the whole album.
Julian Casablancas delivers the melody like he's slightly bored with how good it is — which turns out to be exactly the right move. Follow the line backward from here and you land straight in 1969.
Interpol
Obstacle 12002
Interpol
"Obstacle 1" bridges Blondie's synth-driven new wave with the darker post-punk revival that would dominate the 2000s. Released August 19, 2002, as the second single from Interpol's debut album *Turn On The Bright Lights*, the track strips away Blondie's pop polish and rebuilds the tension with Joy Division-influenced guitar lines and sparse production. Paul Banks's deadpan vocals and Carlos Dengler's hypnotic bass create an anxious energy that directly influenced Yeah Yeah Yeahs' more chaotic approach just months later. The album itself was critically acclaimed, establishing Interpol as the intellectual heirs to post-punk's dark legacy while proving that distanced, angular rock could matter in the 2000s indie landscape.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Date With The Night2003
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Where Interpol's crisp post-punk precision opened the door, Yeah Yeah Yeahs kicked it wide open with raw garage energy. "Date With The Night" hit in 2003 with Karen O's piercing vocals cutting through Nick Zinner's fuzzy, distorted guitar—a stark contrast to Interpol's tighter restraint. Producer David Andrew Sitek captured the band's controlled chaos in the studio, with Brian Chase's drums driving the track forward like a jackhammer. The song became their breakthrough moment, proving indie rock didn't need polish to punch hard. It set the stage for LCD Soundsystem's arrival two years later, which would take this post-punk revival energy and layer it with dance-floor precision.
LCD Soundsystem
Losing My Edge2005
LCD Soundsystem
Where Yeah Yeah Yeahs brought raw guitar energy to New York's indie scene, LCD Soundsystem took the city's dance floor and married it to post-punk anxiety. Released in February 2005 on James Murphy's own DFA Records, "Losing My Edge" became the Brooklyn band's breakthrough single—a seven-minute confession wrapped in synths and restless rhythm. Murphy's deadpan vocals catalog decades of musical taste-making while the track itself proves he'd mastered the sound he was singing about: precise, jerky dance-punk that felt both retro and urgently modern. The song announced a band ready to compete with rock's indie royalty using only electronics and nerve, setting the stage for LCD Soundsystem's three critically acclaimed albums.