Julian Casablancas Unveils "11th Dimension" Video, Tour Dates

The mind-bending new video for Julian Casablanca's "11th Dimension," the first single off the Strokes frontman's solo album Phrazes for the Young, debuted at Babelgum today. Inspired by Bruce Lee's Game of Death, the video finds Casablancas literally jumping dimensions, from colonial times to the neon '80s to what looks like a Dexy's Midnight Runners video, where Casablancas' character finds himself embroiled in moral dilemmas. It's confusing unless you've memorized Phrazes' themes to heart, but we have a soft spot for anything that simultaneously reminds us Tron and Berry Gordy's The Last Dragon. The clip was also directed by Warren Fu, a former LucasArts art director who previously helmed the Strokes' alternate "You Only Live Once" video.

The New York quintet, who scored Rolling Stone's Number Two Album of the 2000s with Is This It, are reportedly set to continue work on their much-anticipated new album in the new year, and have a headlining slot at Isle of Wight already planned. Still, Casablancas has set aside some January 2010 dates to bring Phrazes to select East Coast venues. Check out the dates below:
Jan. 8 - Boston, MA / Paradise Rock Club
Jan. 10 - Philadelphia, PA / The Trocadero
Jan. 12 - Washington, DC / 9:30 Club
Jan. 14-15 - New York, NY / Terminal 5

Related Stories:
• The Strokes to Headline Isle of Wight for First Gig Since 2006
• Julian Casablancas Gifts Fans "SNL" Christmas Song on MySpace
• Casablancas Says Strokes Are Divided Over Progress of Fourth LP

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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