The Devil In The Detail

Symbols can show up in the strangest of places and only a knowledge of their inherent meaning can help to join dots.

When we think of the deliberate inclusion of ancient symbols in modern music media, no doubt we think of awards shows, Hip Hop imagery, Lady Gaga‘s entire output - and the rest. Surely the guitar-based alternative, or what’s left of it, is free from the meddling of freemasons?

These days, even in the supposedly indie world, the next big thing or last year’s flavour of the month is tied to a major through a lesser label – and so it is that The Strokes are signed to RCA Records (which is essentially Sony in cooler trousers).

Speaking of cool trousers, Julian Casablancas appears to have fallen out somewhat with his bandmates, The Strokes. They’re currently, somewhat grudgingly, doing a round of promo before their frontman gets back to his solo work. His debut effort – Phrazes For The Young – was, to the untrained eye, a synth-heavy, pleasing if over-compressed accomplishment. But the teaser for the album, launched on Youtube, had some quite arresting imagery within. Have a look at the symbolism.

• A beehive [10s]
• A solar system morphing into a single atom [19s]
• A galaxy (turning into a hurricane / tornado?) [25s]
• Casablancas in biker gear, echoing Scorpio Rising – Kenneth Anger’s occult heavy, homoerotic Hells Angels movie [30s]
• A rising sun [35s]
• Skyscrapers echoing ancient Egyptian obelisks [40s]
• Detail from an illustration depicting a sacrifice (turning into South America)? [45s]
• A shark’s fin…. [49s]
• …turning into the moon.
• Another rising (or setting) sun - and traffic flow turning into lava-flow[55s]

The video for 11th Dimension, the first single, is also worth a look, as even in that rather hokey and playful few minutes it seems like Julian’s trying to say something. See also the fact that the latest Strokes effort (which involved Casablancas phoning in his vocals at long distance, according to interviews) has an opening track called Machu Picchu – an ancient site many consider to have been built with extra-terrestial involvement. And don’t forget the masonic floor tiling on the cover artwork – and the fact the title involves an aspect that’s pretty essential in geometry…

In fact, if we look harder at the lyrics in Casablancas’ solo effort and then investigate the man’s background – some further interesting aspects come to light.

Phrazes For The Young as a lyrical title sets the stall for what is, cosmetically at least, a series of bon mots aimed at instructing youngsters on how best to behave. ‘Forgive them, even if they are not sorry‘ goes one line. ‘Don’t be shy – at least deliberately‘ he offers elsewhere. It’s an uplifting experience, listening to small nuggets of sincere wisdom. But something niggles when you gain some awareness of Casablancas’ past.

It’s well known that both Casablancas and Albert Hammond (the lead guitarist) went to an upper crust boarding school together. That school was Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. Looking at Institut Le Rosey‘s past register, we get a greater sense of the kinds of students who go to stay at that elite boarding school. Top of the list on the alumni roll call is Prince Michael of Kent – otherwise known as the current Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge Of England.

From that alone we can probably ascertain that this was, and probably still is, fertile ground for the breeding of the elite – specifically those suited to freemasonry. But then a little digging shows that, in fact, that’s exactly what it was. LIFE magazine carried this article on May 7th, 1965, which uses the label the school had earned – School of Kings – to describe this blue-blooded institution. Featuring a picture of the young Prince Michael of Kent (in the middle here):

…the article also features the following quote from then Headmaster, Louis Johannot:

Intriguing.

Aside from this background at close quarters with a freemasonic influence, it’s public knowledge that Julian’s father (also previously a pupil at the self same school), John Casablancas, was the owner of Elite Model Management. What’s possibly less well known is that John Casablancas has been accused of all kinds of heinous activity – all over the press and internet – including a charge of making a fifteen year old aspiring model pregnant. And that’s amongst other accounts of underage abuses. The general impression is that there was something of an environment of sleaze whilst he was in charge over at Elite.

So where’s this all heading?

Well, to add to all the curiousness, take a look at this early shot of Julian C hanging out with Josh Hartnett.

In addition to that hand gesture from Hartnett, notice the spider tattoo on the forearm. According to testimony from those who’ve broken free of Monarch programming – a form of MK Ultra mind-programming that many allege is widely used on public figures to this day – the spider tattoo is a key signifier of an individual having been through the process. In fact:

Spider Tattoo – symbolizes deep levels of programmed perversity, deviance and [the individual being] caught in a Web Of Deception, as the prey of the Spider. Therefore the Project MONARCH Sexual Slave is essentially seen as a commodity of certain Programmers and Handlers.

So is Julian Casablancas under mind control? Is he a puppet, unknowingly working for dark forces in the music industry?

Perhaps – if he ever was – he’s now broken free? The fact that his solo release was reportedly put out on his own, self-funded label ‘Cult Records’, this could be the case. His apparent antipathy towards his bandmates would consolidate the idea, as would some of the lyrics on Phrazes For The Young. At the very least, they point towards an implicit knowledge of what’s going on behind the scenes. Seemingly innocent, when viewed with all the other coincidences, some Phrazes lyrics point to a deep awareness of troubled times ahead. The album features references to cloning, time running out, other dimensions, the need to wake up, his having used ‘tricks to make you like me more’ and a tricksy song title – ‘Left & Right In The Dark’ – which could well be a clever political reference to the redundancy of the left/right paradigm.

Or perhaps we’re looking a little too deeply. Perhaps there’s nothing funny going on at all. But, if you were even slightly suspicious, this half-hearted Strokes performance from a recent British TV appearance won’t help you with any unsettlement.

Notice how, just as Casablancas sings ‘I won’t be a puppet on a string’, he flashes a pyramid hand-gesture at 59 seconds. Then, at three minutes and nine seconds, he blindfolds his ex-classmate, Albert Hammond as he plays a solo. If he’d rolled up his trouser leg whilst doing it we’d be in no doubt at all that The Strokes are (or were) a five-piece who were heavily assisted by freemasons.

Let’s hope, if that’s the case, that the singer’s broken free.

If he hasn’t, it only makes all of the above even more alarming and confusing.