Julian Casablancas' solo album Phrazes for the Young iz fantaztic.

Ever since "11th Dimension" hit the internet (you haven't heard it? Holy hell, go listen to it, man!), any concerns I had about Casablancas going electro melted into giddy anticipation for the album. And now that I have it, I can't stop listening to it. Don't let the synthesizers fool you. This is no nostalgic trip to the currently trendy 80s. As one reviewer put it, He’s delivered an album that is at once firmly stuck in the 80s and, yet, futuristic at the same time. That pretty much sums it up. While the album is full of surprises, the most unexpected song is probably Ludlow St, a country dirge about gentrification. It's kinda Leonard Cohenish!

In other awesome Julian Casablancas news: he's releasing an xmas song. I know what you're thinking-- xmas songs suck (exceptions include John Waters' xmas album and Sarah Silverman's "Give the Jew Girl Toys"). But this is different and it's going to be perfectly wonderful. It's a cover of "I Wish it was Christmas Today" from an old SNL skit with Horatio Sanz, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, and Tracy Morgan.