Julian Casablancas, the frontman of both The Voidz and The Strokes, has been talking about popular culture and how he his dislike for The Beatles has benefitted his career.

Casablancas, who recently said that Ed Sheeran’s popularity was down to “cultural brainwashing” and explained how he strives to live in a world that triumphs lesser known artists like Ariel Pink, discussed the origins of his originality in a new interview with Rolling Stone.

“I have that maybe advantage that I didn’t like or listen to the Beatles,” he said. “I feel like that’s almost like the branch of, like, 98 percent of stuff you hear.”

“But then there’s the Velvet Underground. I know Lou Reed hated the Beatles,” he added.

Casablancas is referring to an interview with Lou Reed from 1987 which surfaced recently, the former Velvet Underground man is quoted as saying: “When [bands] did try to get ‘arty,’ it was worse than stupid rock & roll,” Reed says in the interview.

“What I mean by ‘stupid,’ I mean, like, the Doors… I never liked the Beatles [either]. I thought they were garbage. If you say, ‘Who did you like?’ I liked nobody.”