It has been a year since the "the bands" have hit the American rock scene in full force, after a ridiculous amount of promising hype from the British music press. What are the "the bands," you ask? That is my affectionate nickname for the garage-band, retro-rock crop of groups like the Strokes, the Hives, the Vines, the White Stripes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Not only do they wear cool leather outfits and feature clean-shaven, feminine-looking men and alterna-women with eye-liner galore, but their names all happen to begin with "the." Supposedly, they are the "saviors of rock 'n' roll" in the current musical wasteland of teen pop schlock. After a year gracing the covers of British magazines like Q and NME, American music magazine readers found the Sept.19 issue of Rolling Stone magazine featuring the Vines on the cover, with the headline "Rock is back," also naming the Strokes, the White Stripes and the Hives as part of the phenomenon.

Despite the recent cover the Vines landed, due to the July release of their debut album "Highly Evolved," in America, the Strokes have gotten more publicity than other bands in this movement from the beginning. Yet, they have also been criticized more than any other "the band."

Promoted as an "underground" New York find, in the classic CBGBs vein, it turns out they had only released a three-song demo EP before finding themselves anointed the new kings of the New York music scene. In addition, one of their best songs, "New York City Cops" had to be cut from the American release of their debut album, "Is This It," as it contained lines like "New York City cops … they ain't too smart," which did not go over very well with listeners, especially New Yorkers, post-Sept. 11.

And, a lot of critics feel they would rather listen to the Strokes' forerunners, like Television or the Velvet Underground, than listen to the admittedly whiny voice of privileged lead singer Julian Casablancas, whose father is the enormously wealthy owner of the Casablancas modeling agency. Dating, or simply being seen with "a Stroke" has become a trendy phenomenon among Hollywood starlets such as Winona Ryder and Drew Barrymore.

Not all of the "the bands" are from such privileged, American backgrounds. Two of the most famous ones hail from outside the U.S. — from Sweden (the Hives) and Australia (the Vines). Somewhat ironically, none of the "the bands" hail from Britain, although their music does sell very well there. In addition, despite this "musical renaissance," the "the bands" remain in the domain of trendy college students and indie-rock fans, failing to sell nearly as many albums as bands like Linkin Park or No Doubt.

The Hives and the White Stripes had released previous albums, which were largely ignored, except in the underground music scene. This makes old fans accuse them of selling out, although almost all admit they still put on great live shows in these days of Britney Spears-style on-stage lip-synching. MTV, and especially its edgier sister network, MTV2 have caught onto this cultural phenomenon, playing videos for the Hives' "Hate to Say I Told You So," the Vines' "Get Free," and the White Stripes' "Fell in Love With a Girl," almost non-stop this summer, and featuring them in live award show performances.

Beneath the surface of this movement, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, another New York-based band, with crazy female lead singer Karen O, is waiting to make it big. Her snarly voice dominates their self-titled, five-song EP. A full-length Yeah Yeah Yeahs album has yet to be released, but they have previously opened for the Strokes and the White Stripes, and are now touring with indie faves Sleater-Kinney.

In the end, are the "the bands" really saving rock music as promised? Can critics even fully answer that at this point? Currently, they are the most visible movement in modern rock, and provide a release from the stale top-40 line-up. Their "back-to-the-basics" minimalism is refreshing, and I think that while listening to the older music that inspired them is still enjoyable, it is surely nice to have active bands producing quality new music.

They have filled the void of the declining nu-metal trend, and seem to be much more interested in producing quality music than appealing to the masses of young teenage boys than those bands. More importantly, they are inspiring to young people who have dreamed of forming their own garage band. The Strokes could barely play instruments when they formed a few years ago in their late teens. While the "the bands" may last no longer as an active movement than their edgy 1970s predecessors, at least they are inspiring the next generation to learn how to play guitar rather than sing in an instrument-less group like N'Sync. And, how can that be a bad thing?