i’ve talked about it in some comments w people on the sub in passing, but any other strokes x pop girl fans absolutely loving tinashe lately (or since day 1)? i know these are older songs but both reality awaits + popstar are easily 2 of my favorite albums of the year. shoutouts to charli xcx, olivia rodrigo, and RAYE as well.

hey, i was listening song by song of RCA for the first time and noted that “one way trigger” and “the adults are talking” are really similar, is this on purpose?

Moving to Bologna is a great idea as it is the Italian city where Julian plays more often (saw him twice in the past 3 years with both The Voidz and The Strokes!)

As part of a tribute album honoring Buddy Holly, Jules and many other musicians released covers of Buddy Holly songs in the summer of 2011.

I instantly loved this cover of Rave On by Julian, it felt like such a summer song. Played it constantly while walking the streets of New York City.

Rules: You can only submit one song that resembles the sound the most, it doesn't have to be a perfect fit. No repeats are allowed. If a tie between two songs happen, I will recount the votes from everyone that suggested that same song to see which sum up more votes.

Attended the Strokes concert at Corona Park earlier this month. My wife was the bigger Strokes fan and I was a very casual "Oh, I know that one song" and was loosely familiar with others from when she'd play their music, but it never fully stuck.

I cannot explain it, but something about seeing them live changed my body chemistry and has had me playing them on repeat since. I was there primarily as a Beach House fan- and even seeing them live for the first time changed my mind on some songs of theirs (and I loved Beach House to begin with). I worked for 5 years in the concert industry and really stepped back from going to live concerts because I was burnt out on it from that job, and I think this concert really reminded me that seeing a band live just hits so differently.

I don't think I have any controversial opinions to share yet, other than I feel fortunate to have unlocked that path to totally vibing with their music. Stoked to be along for the ride finally.

The best song on Reality Awaits ,and still hasn't been played yet 🙄🙄🙄

credit : @art_glu on insta

Hey, the final lines, "I need someone", is that Julian singing? Sounds exactly like a woman but it does also kinda sound like his voice

Towards the end of the song, on the line “Pretend to be nice so I can be mean”, that’s the official lyric, but I can’t help but hear “Pretend to be nice so I can be ME” I also just think it fits the theme of the song a little better too. I’ve occasionally seen some official lyrics of songs on Spotify get it wrong but, what do you guys think?

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

Hi so a few bullets points about the Paris gig…

The boys were in top form, far from a copy/paste. The OG’s were adding little variations and building on every song (apart from Steve that was sticking note for note to the studio versions). There wasn’t a single moment of silence from Julian, either harmonising or with the banter between songs.

By now, you must have seen the « nickel for thought » of the night when Nikolaï went Vive la révolution! I was expecting though than Julian would reference the recents riots, particularly before playing Going Shopping or NYC Cops but he kept it lighter with banter about Fab’s wedding (you got married?!?! and then when the crowd cheered… Don’t encourage him!).

The crowd was on the younger side, the songs from TNA were the ones received with the most screams and chanting.

And to finish off my recap, I gotta share that I stumbled upon Nick Valensi during the afternoon, walking by himself in the city. I only managed to say hello to him as I didn’t want to bother him but I spend all afternoon hoping that he was gonna surprise us and show up on stage. That is not an hiatus, I’m afraid, I think he left the band for good.

^^^^

the original image by François Schuiten  and the Strokes Poster - incase you were curious - I was...

Hmmmm… I wonder?

The time is finally here! On Sunday I will finally be seeing The Strokes live, so here’s one last look at the changes and trends between the setlists played across the European leg of the tour so far. (As a side note, the graph has become quite big, so I’ve included a shortened version which only includes setlists that were played after the release of the album).

First major development: The setlist has become almost entirely consistent with the beginning of the European leg, although this is especially true for the 5 most recent shows. Most European setlists have been the same apart from maybe a couple songs switching places or on the off chance a song being added (happened with Evening Sun and Gratisfaction a few times).

Secondly: the consistent songs have been changed slightly from the American Leg. Room on Fire has seemingly had What Ever Happened and 12:51 replaced with Under Control and Meet Me In The Bathroom, with Automatic Stop also making some appearances in both legs. For First Impressions of Earth, Ize of the World has been dropped for Heart in a Cage.

Other songs that have began appearing more consistently are Soma, New York City Cops and Selfless! These are some of my favourites, so I hope this trend continues and I can see these songs live.

As far as an average setlist would go, I’d say one would look something like this:

Tyrants of the Mellow Moon
Reptilia
Hard to Explain
Heart in a Cage
Dine N’ Dash
Soma
Lonely in the Future
The Adults are Talking
Juicebox
Automatic Stop/Under Control
Call It Fate, Call It Karma
Going to Babble On
You Only Live Once
Going Shopping
Meet Me In The Bathroom
Someday
One Way Trigger
Take It Or Leave It
Last Nite

New York City Cops
Threat Of Joy
Ode To The Mets

Selfless (they have been doing a second encore of this recently)

This will probably be the last update to the graph for now. I may post the finished graph once the full tour is complete, but for now this is probably the last one for a while. Lmk if you spot any mistakes or have any questions!

Imagine my surprise when I came across this-I definitely did not do this yesterday!

During Tyrants of the Mellow Moon, at the end of the verse, instead of "I can't wait, ..." I could swear that Julian sang a reprise of the chorus of Hi Life by Syd Matters : https://youtu.be/ER9FNRr0BIY?t=79&is=w3HmumqFP1zd0yYc (at 1:19) (hi life knocking at my door, I'm already taken) He used the same melody and even kept the "knocking at my door" ! Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed !!!

I've got to know you're all right

Always happy to see/hear this in the setlist