Remember 2009?
I do. It's especially characterized in my mind's memory as part of the year of this night, where I got to see Julian Casablancas perform live at the Palace Theatre, in promotion of his album Phrazes For the Young. If you've not listened to it, rectify that situation. It's everything good that The Strokes was and aren't really anymore plus extra pulpy science-fiction visuals and pulsating 80's synths.
And I'm sure everyone else was as much in love with puffy, age-catching-up-to-lifestyle, post-rehab Casablancas as I was. Right?
Right. He really is a magnetic performer, in a very carefully detached rockstar persona kind of way.
Going back to the visuals, the album's entire concept was carefully conceptualized by Casablancas and art director Warren Fu. It's all sweeping desolate matte paper cut landscapes of a dystopian diorama and dark muted cool hues and old sci-fi paperback cover fonts, and a familiar built-in-vocaloid voice singing in that icy, easy, droll, delivery.
Recently, Fu has collaborated with The Weeknd to release a video for "Starboy", featuring both (personal faves) Daft Punk and model Kiko Mizuhara. There's definitely a certain thematic aesthetic there that Fu clearly enjoys and returns to, comfortably, and with skill.
