Julian Casablancas Video (Strokes Headlining Isle of Wight)

Julian Casablancas released the video for "11th Dimension", the first single off his solo debut, Phrazes for the Young. Chock full of stormy pagodas, black and white tricorns, street gangs, and an '80s club scene with obligatory keytar, it's a fun ride in the grand tradition of Dire Straits and Daft Punk. You'll also see a neon clad Julian juggle mallets when he's not scrawling profound (also neon) graffiti like "ANGER IS WEAKNESS. PATIENCE IS STRENGTH." So deep, very very deep. There's even a quasi-romantic twist with a foxy vixen in so much hairspray that you'll smell it through your computer.


What we've learned: Mr. Casablancas is a cold war kid, raised in the good ol' 1980s, and there's a chance he took hallucinogenic drugs. My opinion is that Julian is TRYING to convince us that he's a free spirit and lives a hipster mentality. This video is so cliche, he's begging us to like him. During his media tour to promote this new album, Julian said, "I'm trying to create weird music." WHAT?! If you ask anyone who we consider to make "weird" music (flaming lips, Animal Collective), they're answer is always, "we just make music that sounds good to us." Artists aren't supposed to create music they THINK people will like. Create the music you were meant to create.

Julian, drop the neon jacket, throw on the Ray Bans, exit the 11th dimension, pick up a guitar, and rock the fuck out!

Casablancas has set aside some January 2010 dates to bring Phrazes to select East Coast venues. Check out the dates below:

Jan. 8 – Boston, MA / Paradise Rock Club
Jan. 10 – Philadelphia, PA / The Trocadero
Jan. 12 – Washington, DC / 9:30 Club
Jan. 14-15 – New York, NY / Terminal 5

More importantly, Julian and his band mates have announced their first gig in over three years, grabbing the Saturday night headlining slot at the U.K.’s Isle of Wight Festival on June 11-13, 2010. New York City acts will have a big presence at the fest across the Atlantic as both Jay-Z and Blondie are also on the bill. Jigga is no stranger to playing the British music festivals having already headlined Glastonbury in 2008, and the U.K. has already proven their love of the Strokes, with NME naming the band’s debut Is This It the best album of the decade.

Pending the announcement of any more dates, it’ll be the NYC quintet’s first gig since October 2006. Following their tour behind First Impressions of Earth, the band members splintered into offshoots like Nickel Eye, Little Joy and Albert Hammond Jr. and Julian Casablancas’ namesake solo projects, but now there’s finally confirmed evidence that the Strokes’ long hibernation may be coming to an end.