12:51 (The Strokes song) 12:51 (The Strokes song) "12:51" is a 2003 song by the American indie rock band The Strokes and was written by Julian Casablancas. The song was released as the first single from their second album, "Room on Fire". "12:51" received positive reviews from critics. "Billboard"'s Wes Orshoski wrote of the song: "Julian Casablancas' sleepy vocals arrive in synch with a nerdy, very '80s keyboard [Nick Valensi's guitar] that sounds so much cooler than it probably should against guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr.'s raw, fast strumming, the throbbing bass of Nikolai Fraiture and drummer Fabrizio Moretti's cool swing beat."
The Strokes number two on "Rolling Stone"s 100 Best Albums of the '00s, 199 on "Rolling Stone"s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and number four in the "NME" top 500 albums of all time. Lead singer-songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, and drummer Fab Moretti started playing together while attending Dwight School in Manhattan. Bassist Nikolai Fraiture befriended Casablancas while the two attended the Lycée Français de New York. At age 13, Casablancas was sent to Le Rosey, a boarding school in Switzerland, to improve his academic performance. Casablancas met guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. in Switzerland. Later, when Hammond came to