The Strokes Debut New Song "Starting Again" In Maya Wiley Advertisement

The Strokes have become the de facto spokesband of NYC mayoral candidate Maya Wiley. A month ago, they played their first virtual acoustic show as a fundraiser for Wiley; a few weeks after that, they reopened Irving Plaza with a full band show that was, once again, a fundraiser for Wiley. And now they’ve contributed a new track to a Wiley campaign advertisement, which comes out a day before the NYC mayoral election primaries. The song is called “Starting Again” and Julian Casablancas co-wrote it with Gregg Alexander of New Radicals, who reunited after 22 years for the Biden inauguration.

Here’s what Casablancas and Alexander said in a joint statement:

In an era of voter suppression and mega donors dismantling democracy, it’s crucial to remember New York City is too important to risk handing the reins of America’s most diverse metropolis to the same kind of party machine that’s controlled NY’s governance for most of the 20th century… one of Brooklyn clubhouse politics, big real-estate money, and mutual back-scratching. It is time we elect Maya as the city’s first woman mayor to make things better for ALL of our futures.

Watch the ad below.

The Strokes have also shared footage of them performing the Star Spangled Banner, which aired as part of their virtual concert: