Julian Casablancas favorite philosopher, whose work, Casablancas claims, held truth as an important standard value. He recognizes Paul Robeson as someone who used his musical platform to help further his serious political intrigue and as someone who, therefore, serves as a role model for politically engaged musicians. Casablancas has been a guest on the Russian sponsored program "Redacted Tonight", as well as included its host, Lee Camp, as an opener for a Voidz show in Houston, Texas in October 2018. Casablancas, along with the Strokes, provided vocals on a cover of Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" with Joshua Homme on
Is This It Julian Casablancas, guitarist Nick Valensi, bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. Casablancas's stepfather and Moretti's and Fraiture's older brothers introduced the quartet to the music of reggae artist Bob Marley, protopunk group the Velvet Underground, and alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Discussing the formative stages of the group, Moretti noted, "Our music was, like, [the Doors'], but trying to be classical. We all took music classes and tried writing songs, and when we put them together they were this crazy amalgam of insane ideas that we thought was really cool." In 1998, Albert Hammond, Jr., who Casablancas knew from