Back in 2004, near the beginning of Sheiks of Sheba, I met a man named Gordon Raphael. He was the producer on the first two albums created by the band ‘The Strokes’.
I liked their gritty, lo-fi, no-nonsense style, and I discovered he was the one that made them interesting enough to get my attention. He seemed to take a liking to me, even writing an article about me on rockfeedback.com, and I spoke with him on a fairly regular basis.
However, upon the release of The Strokes’ third album, I heard from Raphael directly that they decided they no longer needed his assistance, and dropped him as a producer.
This being said, when I heard the album he was no longer involved with, I was in awe at how it in no way compared to the previous album, and simultaneously wondered what made them decide to change their sound, and more specifically, wondered why they were creeping up the alley towards elements that were similar to my style of music.
Erratic drum beats, bizarre guitar tones, spiritual elements, strange chord progressions and visual concepts instead of just regular, cool, New York City rock in roll. What made them enter my territory so soon after their producer had been introduced to me?
After this, a few things caught my attention, sent to me by friends of mine. The things The Strokes were beginning to do were really starting to resemble my own musical and visual activities. But, I thought I was just being crazy, and I wasn’t worried, as the album in question did not succeed.
BUT NOW. Julian Casablancas, the lead singer of The Strokes, has decided to release a solo album. I now find a very obvious, almost mocking portrayal of an artist stealing from another artist.
I realize that this “happens” in the music industry, however, Julian Casablancas is rich, successful, and blatantly stealing art work, music styles, photography, and basically all things encompassed in my solo efforts with no regard or acknowledgment.
I may be crazy, but here is proof. I am not doing this to promote legal action, I am merely pointing out my abilities to create and his abilities to copy, rape and steal from someone in a less fortunate position. Feel free to create your own opinion, but look at these first;
My “gold ringed belt” was a trademark image for me, something I inherited from my mom’s closet. I’ve tried finding a similar one in thrift stores everywhere with no luck. To find a rare belt like this, so specific, would take a deliberate search. Also, notice the jean jacket? Why pair these two together? I dismissed it as a coincidence at the time, though.
Years later, nothing is to be heard from The Strokes. However, out of nowhere, more than half a year after the creation of my new solo project” Leone of Sheba”, came a “trailer” for Julian Casablancas solo album, using an ominous, gold logo that filled the screen, with random abstractions, blending spiritual imagery with futuristic concepts. Notice on my website in the visage section how my music “trailers” predate his, in both content and style.
Then came this. The “Phrazes for the Young” album cover. Notice the guitar, the wood type, the pose. Who are they trying to fool? Did they think I’d forget my own photography 5 years later?
And so on…
This one really made me sad. My “Lion’s Credo”, a storybook filled with my artwork, lyrics and “credos” that were quotes I had been developing for myself for self-motivation. This artwork is displayed prominently on my website in conjunction with the lyrics. This is a concept I have been utilizing since 2004. However, how blatant can you get when you use the same type of “classically bound” book? I am willing to bet they are even the same proportions. Why???
All in all, I am very disappointed. As I said before, I am merely posting this so everyone knows who did all this first, and to publicly express my disdain for this type of activity from people who are successful enough that they can be more sportsmanlike with their “competition”. If you are going to so blatantly rip off someones ideas, at least offer them a hand, at least show some respect, at least show some acknowledgment while you do so.
I know that may be an old-fashioned, naive concept, but hey, tell that to this gentleman who is falsely portraying himself as such!
Looks like he’s at it again. I’m not going to link his sub-par video and give him more publicity, but I’ll post some screenshots so you can see what I mean.
Looks like he’s a Sheiks of Sheba fan — if so, why not give a hand, a shout out, show some comradery? Instead, rich snobs like this want to take credit for everything so they can appear talented and creative, when really they are empty, fearful, soulless vessels who live off harvesting other peoples ideas. How pathetic!
- G
Are you blind ’s’? I’ve never made one racist remark. Please get your facts straight, idiot.
Hey dear S, my points ended by using a sarcastic expression. Probably you didn’t understand but I can’t blame you for that… you barely know grammar and how to read: I’ve never written “…and omy god, your like mental” but “God, you’re mental”. Do you know the difference between “your” and “you’re”? It seems as if you didn’t. It’s sad I have to teach you grammar since English is my second language, but that’s not the point.
And yes, Julian will never see his work because it’s actually terrible, as some of us previously said.
Try and relax, S - I don’t need to give any proof, we all know this guy is trying to use Julian’s name to get a little bit of attention…Don’t get mad at it
The only thing I’m afraid of is that you have such an empty life that you need to answer every comment and try and justify this pointless post by this guy which can’t even be justified.
Even if all this bullshit were true, his problem is that it worked for Julian and not for him. BUT IT’S NOT THE TRUTH. GET OVER IT!
I’m not going to answer anything else since this very moment so don’t waste your time. I will no longer waste my time here either.
Peace out.
Yes, I have terrible grammar, and as you can see, G had perfect grammar, so you know this isn’t him. I am a girl, I have responded to a lot to derail insults in search of actual people with actual messages, and to show everyone all these insults are making you look bad, which they are, and still are with this last comment. I guess I insulted you with my last post, which is good to see as I must be Semi-right. My life may allow me to spend time on this fiasco, but at least I am not pretending I know anything, or throwing around nasty comments to someone on their personal website.
I completely agree with Lucille. Jules is a creative genius, and you are acting a bit, excuse me, very paranoid. So a happy and creative year to you, and maybe you should see a shrink in 2010.
Christianne out.
Well Said S. Your comment I copied below just about sums up all the attackers on here.
They just keep on burying themselves with their foul mouthes. They wouldn’t be here unless they felt insignificant. And Gordon wouldn’t have paid attention to G and wrote about him in a public article in the past if he didn’t think he had greatness. He thought very highly of him obviously… So again who should we listen to, A producer or you random people? So you don’t need to write any more insecure essays with bad language and invalid points. This below From S sums all you people up very well. Build your own life and stay away from this territory until you do so. You’re not invited.
“So you come on here spouting how bad you think Gs music and art work is? Is that what you need to do to feel better about yourself?
You must have been home schooled to not know the normal social behaviour of insulting someone is BASED OUT OF INSECURITY. You took time out of your day with an obvious intention of only making an insult. You must feel very discouraged, you must feel insulted, you must feel weak, or insignificant.”
I write this fully aware that my comment will likely be overlooked by either side of this frustrated battle, but I post this hoping that it won’t be. Who am I? Nobody that you need to believe is credible on any level. Is what I have to say worth your time? You’ll decide that I suppose.
Like everyone who’s seen this post, I guess I have my own view, my own opinion on the purported matter at hand. It’s easy to be skeptical. It’s just as easy to want to believe in the underdog. Life is fickle, and is, in most cases, a matter of perspective. Our unique experiences will help us to mold the perspective with which we react to the information coming at us from all directions all day long.
Do I digress? I don’t think so. Follow me here for a minute, if you can stomach this tangent. Regardless of what you may think of G, his aesthetic or his music, he is a creative human being who writes music that people do listen to and do respect - whether or not you know that they exist is inconsequential. Regardless of what you think of Casablancas, he is successful and talented; a handful of harsh commenters posting on his behalf, defensively or what-have-you, hardly represent the full range of his fan-base.
There are observations made here, “clear” to either side of the table, as they would argue. All observations are valid and worth listening to, as they represent how we see the world. They speak volumes about us. Sparks will always fly however when we opine on sensitive matters.
The truth is, a comprehensive and legible argument between two clearly opinionated and (at times) civil groups is being buried underneath a crumbling wall of slander and insults!
I was upset to notice almost instantly, as one such example, an unfortunate assumption on the side of those who support G that those who listen to Casablancas’ music only enjoy music that they are force-fed on the radio, while this is neither necessarily true and may be perceived as a sign of pretentious ignorance. Certainly fuel for the fire between two potentially reasonable groups. This is especially hard for me to read since it is clear that these ARE open-minded individuals who are, as I understand it, angry and hurt. Of course, this is only one such comment taken from a series of comments made unfortunately on behalf of G’s argument of Casablancas’ possible plagiarism. Some entire posts are made up angrily, and nearly illegibly, in this manner.
One thing I noticed on the side of Casablancas’ supporters on the other hand is the tendency to bury some very valid comments and observations beneath a more audible blanket of unnecessary slander. A series of comprehensive notes bookended by words like ‘Idiot’, ‘Nobody’, and worst of all, ‘Nigger’ will bring any civil conversation to a grinding halt. I’m most amazed when these comments come included in the same post as an otherwise reasonable and logical comment! If I may expand, for example, mentioning that “G’s music sucks”, outlining that you are clearly NOT a fan of his work, may debase an entire argument on whether or not his visual work has been plagiarized by a fellow musician! Introducing a bias into your argument is a pretty good way to get ignored.
I don’t need to outline my views on the matter of the original post. I know how I feel and am quite comfortable with my personal view. I suppose I’m asking everybody to play nice? How hopelessly idealistic. Well, the way I see it, if G’s work was plagiarized, in whole or in part, by Casablancas, or by a member of the visual team working on his album, this matter is best left between the two men in question, with or without the need for legal recourse. Let them decide.
I would like to suggest though, for Julian Casablancas’ sake, that his supporters stop implying that they are privy to his personal motivations by saying things like “He would never look at you” and “He is a genius who does not need to steal”. It’s a weak argument that makes too many assumptions about this man’s character as a whole that we can not possibly know with only our limited and controlled exposure to him as an icon. I hope you don’t infer from that that I may be suggesting that he DID steal G’s work. As I mentioned before, my views on the matter will be kept personal. But these circular and baseless arguments will do justice to nobody.
Much love to all.
I think the part I like BEST is seeing how these strokes and julian fans/defenders make themselves out to be low-level thinking individuals, and they do it SO WELL! With their INSULTS to show off their insecurities [very nicely put loyal G and lion fan!] and with their arguments that have no VALIDITY and LOGIC [not to mention grammar], but are really making G out to be quite popular!
I do have to send a THANK YOU to all because even negative attention is still attention. So for each time you’re insulting G and his music you’re still FEEDING his success, you’re still thinking of him, you’re still making him BIG!
A day will come and you’ll probably have new comments that include ‘ooOOOh I knew of him befcore he got BIG’ lol very nice!
Happy New Years!!^_^
Thank you all for your comments.
I have reflected and am grateful for both the insults and the support I have received, as both reinforce my growth as an artist and my personal character.
That said, I will not be responding to this issue any further — I personally do not want to call any more attention to it as I need to focus on myself, like many people on both sides have suggested thus far. To ensure this, I will be closing this topic, so we can all begin a new year, and a new decade with positivity and the hopes for a peaceful future.
My only goal is to be the greatest artist and the greatest man I can be, and it was never my intention to incite any of this drama with my emotional reactions.
Thank you all again.
G