Casablancas Disses Styles, Groban & Weeknd on New Album

Julian Casablancas, frontman for The Strokes, has released a new album titled Reality Awaits. The song "Lonely Is the Future" includes pointed criticisms aimed at contemporary artists such as Harry Styles, The Weeknd, and Josh Groban. Casablancas suggests these artists do not match his artistic legacy, which he claims to have established years ago.

In addition to fellow musicians, Casablancas also addresses music critic Anthony Fantano directly. He accuses Fantano of lacking the ability to recognize art, suggesting the critic should limit his reviews to technical aspects of music. This personal attack comes from Fantano's recent self-declaration as the most impactful music critic of the past decade.

Fantano responded to the diss track with a video, describing the tone as "bitter" and "one-sided." He speculated that the animosity might stem from his critical review of Casablancas's side project, The Voidz, particularly its use of AI artwork.

Despite the perceived conflict, Fantano emphasized his long-standing appreciation for The Strokes and Casablancas's work. He clarified that his review of The Voidz was from a fan's perspective and that he does not intend to bully the artist, finding the accusation of lacking artistic judgment to be untrue.