The Strokes released a puppet music video for “Lonely in the Future,” targeting billionaire power and corporate influence following their appearance on Saturday Night Live, estacionk2.com reported.
- The new music video was directed by Warren Fu and created using Spitting Image puppets to satirize billionaires and media figures.
- The release followed the band’s live performances on Saturday Night Live, hosted by comedian Druski as reported by Urbana.
- The track belongs to Reality Awaits, the group’s seventh studio album produced by Rick Rubin and released on July 24.
The visual production for “Lonely in the Future” features caricatures created by the British satirical puppetry company Spitting Image, noted for their work on Genesis’s “Land of Confusion” video. The storyline points directly at the concentration of wealth and power held by modern technology leaders and media executives.
Characters in the video include Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Rupert Murdoch, with Musk and Bezos specifically depicted in a parallel storyline as a couple, estacionk2.com reported.
Alongside corporate titans, the video incorporates cultural figures such as Lou Reed, Stanley Kubrick, and Johann Sebastian Bach, alongside producer Rick Rubin, critic Anthony Fantano, and activist Greta Thunberg. Members of The Strokes also appear as physical puppets within the sequence.
The parent record, Reality Awaits, launched on July 24 as the group’s first full-length project in six years, following their 2020 LP The New Abnormal, as detailed by V Magazine. Production started in a mountainside house in Costa Rica, an environment producer Rick Rubin described as one of the most distinctive settings of his career.
Guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. expressed strong support for the final product, calling it his favorite album by the band. Julian Casablancas utilized vocoder effects on his vocals throughout the record, continuing a vocal style he previously explored both with Daft Punk and on earlier tracks by The Strokes, despite drawing debate among listeners upon release.
The band debuted material from the new project live on television during an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by comedian and social media personality Druski, according to Urbana. The group performed “Lonely in the Future” alongside another album track, “Going Shopping.” Following the broadcast, the official music video premiered online, expanding the political critique central to the new cycle.
V Magazine noted that the New York band has embedded political observations within nostalgic instrumentation across a career spanning nearly 25 years since their 2001 debut. Additional figures appearing on strings throughout the four-minute film include Amazon Labor Union co-founder Chris Smalls and commentator Lee Camp.
| Album Details | Production Facts |
|---|---|
| Release Date: July 24 | Producer: Rick Rubin |
| Previous LP: The New Abnormal (2020) | Video Director: Warren Fu |
| Recent TV Appearance: Saturday Night Live | Puppet Creators: Spitting Image |
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