On the one hand, I think that music is a dangerous thing because it gives you a kind of escape, and politics is rubbing the problem in your face. Sometimes it's a downer; it doesn't matter if it's Bob Marley who's on the stage telling you, "I'm going to tell you who to vote for"—that's just not sexy. Sometimes, people just want to lose themselves in music. Politics in general, as we know, is really boring. It's not so much about government policies, but about philosophy, about bigger picture issues, about what kind of world, system, and society we want.

We know that music doesn't necessarily have to act as a form of political resistance. But do you think that, given the current situation, especially in the United States, the music industry should be more combative? Well, yeah. For me, the music industry is basically a disaster, but I think there's a parallel between quality music and political truth. The most political music is probably rap, but even the mainstream rap isn't very political, you know?

Do you remember your acidic but funny comment this year at the Estéreo Picnic in Bogotá? When you spoke with the public, you enjoyed it, saying how easy it was to get massive applause. Do you believe that the public is generally less critical today? From my point of view, there are a lot of tricks you can use on the stage to pump up the people: "Everyone clap!"; "Everyone scream!"; "How's everybody doing?" And if you're really feeling it, yell, "Are you ready to party hard?" You know what I'm talking about? And everyone's like "Yesssss!" And I can understand if you're at a concert and an artist does that. But from my point of view, I feel like I have to say something more interesting. The same thing happens when you touch on something truly powerful and people just look at your and their silence says, "Wow, that was cool." But in your head, you're thinking "Wow, they hated that." And after that you can sing "Happy Birthday" and everyone will clap. [_Laughs_] People love that song, so it's hard to evoke a massive reaction in terms of artistic quality. But I think that there's an immense inability for critical thought in general these days, given the way the media works, because they control every story, and the sad thing is that so many people don't realize this. It's really depressing and disturbing, and it's worse than ever.

What do you think of the classic archetype of the rockstar? Is it something you aspire to be? How do you see things now, after 20 years in the industry?

I think that my personal view is that image and those things aren't the most important, and I personally don't care a lot about them. I've learned to take care of them, but as part of the job. Music has a visual element, a narrative element, and elements that go beyond the (musical) notes. In other words, it's the notes that are the most important. Don't misunderstand me. But if you're young, you go to a show, and you also want the band to look cool: Look what belt he's wearing, what shoes he's wearing… everything on the stage, all of that is key to the final story that's told. That's the image game and I participate in that game because I believe it helps me personally. Get it? Obviously, I try to do it my own way, but honestly, it doesn't seem like something essential to life.

At this point in your career, how do you deal with the critics. Do they matter to you?

Typically, I stay away from the comments section. I think that kind of negativity can be terrifying. If you're not mentally prepared, stay away. Does it matter to me? Yes and no. Do you understand? I don't really believe those people who say that they make music only for themselves. I think that half is for me and half is for the public.

Not too long ago, you denied that The Strokes were recording in the studio with Rick Rubin, but what are your plans for the next year? Can Julian's fans look forward to new stuff?

Yes, I'm really focused on The Voidz right now. Some new stuff will come out soon. With The Strokes, I don't know—there's no news right now.