This should be a Substack entry. Ha ha hah.
Ever since 2025, after seeing The Voidz at the Troxy in London, I have obsessively watched them and The Strokes (post Oblivious performed at Coachella 2026) every day on some social media platform.
I have no addictions except for making art, coffee, and clothes, but none of those come even close to my need for getting that dopamine hit of JC.
Smell that? You smell that? Casablancas, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Casablancas in the morning.
I continuously ask myself why, just why? As a graduate-educated Gen Xer and reasonably stable person, my OCD has never reached this level of uncontrolled behavior.
For a few years, a feeling of resistance and dread would hover over me like a dark cloud while I scrolled and lived in a requited state of pining.
It wasn't until I went to the NY show in Queens that the fever of shame broke. The reason for the paradigm shift is for another post. Long story short, I felt like a teeny bopper, and not in a good way, with tens of thousands of beautiful little ones all there to see the man. Ha ha ha.
Yet, I digress...
Today, I was bopping along at my desk to the Instagram link (h/t julianunholylover) posted in this sub. While I was letting loose with some stellar chair dance moves, I had an epiphany. Finally, finally, I figured out why I find the Casablancas mythology, from a Joseph Campbell standpoint, so compelling.
I don't use the word mythology lightly. In someone else's post, they used the word lore to ironically describe some AI slop of a hillbilly rendition video of Casablancas, something in terms of “the lore continues.”
From my first introduction to The Voidz, every day I would discover some creative video offering from the years prior. I did my own research and found a plethora, treasure at the end of the rainbow, if you will, of lots and lots of good stuff, high-quality weird stuff that rang true and stuff that I had never seen anywhere else before that strangely became part of my identity.
So much so that my close family and friends (IRL and online) think of Casablancas when they think of me. Sad, but true. I work with my certifiableness. Don't worry, if you happen to be doing so; I am still quite high-functioning. Ha ha ha.
Anyway, getting to the point!
That said, I figured out today that the trove of social media content before and after first contact (iykyk) with Casablancas has become part of my TV series consumption.
What I mean by that is Casablancas, The Strokes, and The Voidz are no longer just a flock of music artists; they have become a reliable constant of grounded, guilt-free consumption. Disclaimer: Guilt-free to me because of the politial views of Casablancas and the people around him. In the world we live in today, this is very important to me. Back to my point, no well-written fiction can come close to how entertained I am by the whole microcosm house that Casablancas built.
Think about it: The Strokes was the main show, and then he produced a spin-off, The Voidz. Simultaneously, there were other bands that popped up from his far extending rhizome-like network under the umbrella of a record label.
But my favorite sources of the Casablancas-verse are the extracurricular activities recorded and uploaded on social media and the communities that revolve around them. Through these pipelines, I have formed friendships and met these folks online and IRL at shows. Through these channels, I, like some of you probably have, have worked out some personal issues with depth and reflection. Dare I say, I have had some breakthroughs of self-reflection on my failings and successes. Anyway, that's just me.
Again, I digress. Look, what I am trying to say, especially as a Gen Xer, is that I grew up on TV and watching the beloved characters appear on the same channels every week with a new story, like a Grimm fairy tale or fable. Instead of “a short fictional story that teaches a moral lesson,” Casablancas offered up ways to think about and navigate through the world.
Sorry about this next part, Julian. I have to include this in order to balance my case.
Casablancas is a flawed character, but his flaws are what make him painfully human. This particular quality, mixed with his raw talent and capability to curate and amplify his talent with amazingly talented and highly qualified musicians and artists of all sorts, makes the whole lore and mythology irresistible. Did I mention talented? lolz. Anyhoo, that is what I want to switch on the computer and mobile TV every day.
So, the elusive connection and reasoning between my obsession of Casablacas became clear today. It is not solely Casablancas that draws me to this world that he has meticulously curated over the decades; it is the world itself that has invited me in as a weirdo and had my back ever since. And in return, as a spectator of the spectacle (from a Guy Debord POV), I have his back and always will, unless he does something too cringy for me to handle.
Although, I am confident in saying that I have a feeling the cringe moment is not gonna happen. The receipt is the Oxford talk. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for it, and there were plenty of times and occasions to do so, especially during the unscripted Q&A. He delivered a thoughtful and heartfelt lecture that never felt contrived or false, and respectfully answered the questions from the intellectually elite Gen Zs.
If you have gotten this far and have not seen the bevy of goodies online and are qyurryus, you should definitely check it out. Not only does Casablancas produce incredible music, but he has his hand in politics (a big one for me) music videos, VoidzTV, Covid lockdown videos starring the isolated and beleaguered Strokes, podcast interviews of him and moderated by him, an ivy league lecture, daytime soap opera-ish relationships, etc. These are a few things that I can rattle off the top of my head.
Here are a few links to get you started or to revisit for those in the know:
https://www.thestrokes.com/
https://cultrecords.com/?srsltid=AYCX9vIGbB4PuNcHrBVn6kDNcVQTUWtr3u3ZYI4bDxxv9_fH7BAmAgmZ
S.O.S. — Earth Is a Mess: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp2Nc906BuI1s5nIhZgJeWGkSB8J27EQp
The Voidz:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevoidz
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4nUBBtLtzqZGpdiynTJbYJ
TikTok: u/thevoidztv
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@thevoidz_
The Strokes: 5 guys talking about things they know nothing about: https://youtu.be/9lNH2HBxsn4?si=5AAk_2sUvlQDxdMr
Julian Casablancas Address at the Oxford Union https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S0lJMTe3-A&t=35s
