The Meaning Behind “Lonely In The Future” by The Strokes and the Band’s Laid-Back Diss Track

The Strokes return with a new album, Reality Awaits. And on it, the New York band offers a diss track called “Lonely In The Future”. But in terms of diss tracks, this one comes across as a cool, relaxed, even cordial, rebuke of critics. While many wish The Strokes would reconnect with producer Gordon Raphael and just come out with something like the first two records, the band, clearly, has moved on.

“Lonely In The Future” explains why there’s no need to repeat themselves.

Not Like Us

The new track is a fuzzy, angular banger that finds singer Julian Casablancas lashing out at critics, clones, and the like. With his voice constricted by the Auto-Tune plugin, he begins with a been-there-done-that sentiment.

I did that yesterday, oh,
I heard that years ago when I was a kid.

Then, Casablancas praises The Weeknd’s clothes, mentions The Strokes’ song “You Only Live Once”, and spots his own DNA on Harry Styles’s Strokes-inspired hit, “As It Was”.

Weeknd, I like your outfit,
YOLO, you only live once.
Dude kept the beat “As It Was”.
John Legend, that’s Josh Groban.
I guess I’m flattered, maybe,
All good, we all steal, baby.
Y’all ready for the next fad?
Chris Hedges next.

You Don’t Get It

Critics often miss what’s great about a work when it arrives. As an example, many said Paul McCartney’s 1970 debut was imbalanced, slack, and unfinished-sounding. But Macca’s solo debut contains “Maybe I’m Amazed”, and one wonders what was wrong with people’s ears in 1970. Also, McCartney I helped launch a kind of lo-fi, home recording revolution.

You don’t get it, it’s a pity,
Maybe you’ll catch up sooner.
Rather than later, baby,
It’s lonely in the future.

Here, Casablancas goes after online music critic Anthony Fantano. I don’t know if this rises to the level of Axl Rose vs. Jon Pareles, but it’s an interesting spat nonetheless.

I heard that twenty f***ing years ago, I did,
Fantano, word for word, when I was a kid.
Stick to the technical ’cause that’s great,
But you would not recognize art in any age.

Finally, if you caught The Strokes’ ferocious performances at Coachella, you likely noticed that ignoring them after Room On Fire was a mistake. And Julian, if you’re reading this: Don’t tase me, bro.

Photo by Jeremychanphotography/Getty Images