when you hear the new strokes single--and you will, but probably not as often as "last nite"--tell me that julian doesn't sound like a bono w/o an edge--that is, the guitarist w/ the hat; bono's never had "edge," though he's fooled a lot of people into thinking so.

the title "juicebox" made me think this would be more 80's-inspired goodness, like the room on fire lp (which i think is vastly underrated). i'm not sure how you would describe the music. quite a statement about a band--emphasis on band--whose highlights have all related to musical moments, e.g. the strange time signature on the original "modern age," the lead-in to "last nite," fab's real fake drums on "hard to explain," the keyb-like guitar tones on "12:51," &c. indeed, the worst part of the single is an annoying peter gunn-ish bassline.

so, back to julian, then. he's clearly foregrounded on "juicebox." in the past, i've compared him to iggy pop, lou reed, and jim morrison (see "touch me" for the genesis of his style!), but bono never entered my mind. listen to the "you're so cold"s on the fade and how it recalls the early bono; listen to the "we've got a city to love"s on the chorus and hear bono at the end of a world tour. "juicebox," i suppose, could well fit in on an early u2 record, if only it had a memorable guitarline. which is to say that it'd be right at home on pop.