Julian, Julian, Julian

I'll just nod, I've never been so good at shaking hands I live on the frozen surface of a fireball Where cities come together to hate each other in the name of sport America, nothing is ever just anything I looked up to you, but you thought I would look the other way

- "11th Dimension" by Julian Casablancas

If you have held a conversation with me longer than 30 minutes, you know I am in love with Julian Casablancas. I mean come on, I named my cat after the man (shoutout to Julian the cat that hates me). The infatuation began when I saw him perform with another one of my crushes, Andy Samberg, on SNL. I was in my Lonely Island phase in 2009-ish, like probably a-lot of other people. I watched all of the Digital Shorts on Hulu in one day. Side note: I don't really know why I didn't just watch them all on YouTube... Once the hours started to fly by, the one video that I kept coming back to on that quiet afternoon was "Boombox".

"Boombox" depicts the journey of two artists (I don't really know what genre of music they sing, but that's what makes it even more entertaining) going to boring places, blasting a boombox. We are taken to a country club, the streets of New York City and a retirement home. Each place drastically changes when the boombox is turned on. Someone even does the Bartman for Christ sake.

If you haven't seen the video here it is for your viewing pleasure.

After I watched the video, I immediately went and purchased fingerless gloves because who the hell wouldn't want something like that. I mean, seriously, they both look so cool. Once I had accomplished this important task, I looked up Julian Casablancas on YouTube. Yes, confession time: this was how I got into The Strokes....through The Lonely Island. Weird, right?

His voice was unlike anything I had heard before. I fell down the rabbit hole and discovered he was branching out on his own solo project. The solo project titled "Phrazes for the Young" showed a different side of Julian. Going into this synth-pop music, he changed his garage band look for a more retro style. There are some elements that he carried over from this project to other ventures as well. "Angles" by The Strokes and The Voidz are more elevated versions of the "solo project" Julian. In addition to this, "Instant Crush", a Daft Punk song is also reminiscent of his 80's style.

From the solo project, Julian has one song that always seems to surprise me each time that I listen to it. This song, it seems like, is entirely made up of quotes. These quotes, are pieces of wisdom during trying times. The song almost acts as a call for us to do better. But two lyrics in particular never fail to bring a smile to my face.

The first one is: "You are looking for your own voice but in others" and then the second one: "We're so quick to point out our own flaws in others". I can distinctly remember the feeling i had when listening to these pieces for the first time. I realized that for so long I had been doing those two things. I was trapped in this dimension of insecurity in whoI was. I knew that another part of me existed. I knew this other person was somewhere. I was just not looking hard enough to find them.

The music video depicts this very thing by having Julians in different era's experience three different moral quandaries. In each one, it takes him a while to realize what the right answer is but once he does, he reaches some sort of enlightenment. Since I listened to it over time, I would get closer and closer to that sense. Eventually, I feel comfortable saying this....ultimately getting there.

The song continually brings a smile onto my face because it represents a time when I was struggling to find myself. I was trapped in a dimension, looking at all the other possibilities right in front of me.

But over time, this song has become "home". Since listening to this song, it has become a staple in each playlist I make. It anchors all my other music that tends to be ever changing. Only this one is the constant. I am transported back to watching back to back Lonely Island videos and discovering the world of Julian Casablancas.