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."
Julian Casablancas sang about drugs and sex, about the people around him — it was so matter-of-fact," Casablancas stated in a "Rolling Stone" interview. "Reed could be romantic in the way he portrayed these crazy situations, but he was also intensely real. It was poetry and journalism." Additionally, he has stated that Bob Marley, Nirvana and Pearl Jam are major influences on his work, the latter being the reason he started making music, upon hearing the song "Yellow Ledbetter". Julian, in agreement with several members of The Voidz, has named Stevie Wonder as being a composer with a “next level mind". Julian