Julian Casablancas’ one big problem with Television: “I don’t relate”
When the world was locked in a period of sepia stasis at the turn of the new millennium, guitar music needed a mega injection of vitality. While dance and electronic music were all the rage, it seemed that the time of the guitar, bass, and drums was ending due to these innovative technological sounds. However, The Strokes emerged from the bubbling New York club scene, and fronted by the captivating Julian Casablancas, they kicked off an immense sea change.
The arrival of The Strokes single-handedly commenced the post-punk revival and the wave of notable indie and garage bands that emerged over the rest of the decade. There’s no surprise either. Writing punchy songs about the Big Apple that fused the young Casablancas’s gravelly baritone with tricky guitar licks and a dynamic rhythm section, the group took the city’s form back to its CBGB roots, and the world was perfectly primed for it. Overnight, the jeans became skinnier; they were hoisted above the waist, and heaps of fusty leather jackets were picked up in boutiques.
Whether it be Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, or Franz Ferdinand taking the world by storm thanks to them, The Strokes’ significance cannot be understated. From post-industrial Sheffield to the heat-beaten vistas of Nevada, these five international school friends refreshed the classic CBGB sound for the modern age. It was taken in many different directions after them, continuing to be widely influential to this day.
While the rambunctious quintet have had an oscilating career since their arrival, one thing has remained, Casablancas’ outspoken nature. As the frontman of The Strokes, The Voidz, and in his time away from music, he has always been one of his era’s most notable voices. He’s also been pretty unrestricted in discussing an array of topics, including scolding The 1975’s Matt Healy for being a white saviour.
One of his most surprising opinions came during a discussion with Royal Trux member Jennifer Herrema for Hero in 2018. As has always been widely thought, Casablancas was informed for the umpteenth time that his voice is reminiscent of Tom Verlaine’s, the leader of New York institution Television. The Marquee Moon band have regularly been deemed ancestors to The Strokes, from the vocals to the twin guitar assault.
Casablancas explained that The Voidz’s 2014 debut, Tyranny, was recorded above the Strand Bookstore in New York, where the manager would rent a floor to the city’s artistic elite. While the band were there, he’d often see Verlaine there. The ‘Last Nite’ singer didn’t talk to the influential musician, as he felt he wouldn’t be interested in him. After all, Verlaine was known to be a touch difficult when he wanted to be.
After a brief mention of Verlaine’s serious nature, Casablancas then outlined his problem with Television. This is significant as it presents a stark difference between them and The Strokes, a group famed for keeping things short and sweet. He explained: “But with Television, I don’t relate to their propensity for fake-out endings. I don’t know if they don’t know how to end a song or if it’s that they don’t like to end a song.”
The Strokes frontman then cast his mind back to watching Television a decade before the interview and jokingly sang: “And the songggg isss endingggg nowwwwwww [does a drumbeat] ‘But maybe it’s notttttt.'” He concluded: “Like ten different fake-out endings, big dramatic, ‘And now we’re out of the song!’ And then they launch back into it.”