"Everyone seems to do a Christmas song at some point, so I always said to myself I'd do that song... I now checked that off the list of things to do!"

You'll be able to grab the single as a download or limited edition 7" on Dec. 21.

Here's the original:

He has a few December dates in the UK and Ireland, but nothing for the States quite yet. We'll keep you updated.

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Phrazes is out 11/3 in the US. Here's the cover:

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His solo album Phrazes For The Young is out this fall. Expect it to be good.

If you missed the album teaser, here you go:

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According to a press release, Casablancas recorded the eight-song album over the past year in New York, Los Angeles, and Nebraska. Jason Lader served as producer, and Bright Eyes/Monsters of Folk dude Mike Mogis contributes additional production. Check out this video preview of the album via his website:

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So despite the legal problems surrounding the release of Dangermouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul, the album was recently leaked.

Take a listen to "Little Girl" ft. Julian Casblancas:

Some other site has the download:

Danger Mouse + Sparkle Horse featuring Julian Casablancas - Little Girl

Head over to NPR to stream every track from the album. You know how to download it.

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I'm not really sure that the 10th anniversary of a formation constitutes a magazine cover, but at least we got our hands on a couple of sweet interviews with bassist Nikolai and drummer Fabrizio. In the interviews, the guys mainly focus on the creative process behind some of their most popular songs from what NME titles the "10 Classic Strokes Songs":

In another exclusive interview with Spin Magazine, Nikolai has revealed a little bit about the band's follow up to the 2006 LP First Impressions of Earth.

Nikolai said he is expecting "a shift from [their] regular sound". He failed to mention anything specific but he did end up giving some possible causes for the change. "Maybe that'll be our producer, maybe it will be different songwriting...But I think the only way to go forward is to change."

The Strokes' side projects (Albert Hammond, Jr., Little Joy, and Nickel Eye) have all done pretty well while falling just outside the usual Strokes niche, so maybe we will see guys exploring some new genres in their fourth album.

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Kings of Leon are largely hit or miss. Aside from about half of Aha Shake Heartbreak and a few selections from Youth and Young Manhood and Because of the Times, Kings of Leon are mostly miss. One of The Strokes greatest strengths is their ability to remain consistently good. They found their niche and there is no reason to suggest that their fourth album will stray very far from that. You can listen to any Strokes album without having to press the skip button once. The same cannot be said for any Kings of Leon album. You know the first time you heard Caleb start that scream/shriek in "Charmer", any Strokes-like mood the riff from "Knocked Up" may have put you into became a feeling of mysterious concern for the Followill's sanity. It's like you are listening to Konk, thinking The Kooks may have done it again, and then "Do You Wanna" comes on. Lets be serious about how much thought was put into the chorus. If any of you viewed "Charmer" as some kind of post-punk tribute, you have a legitimate argument. Caleb has cited The Pixies as one of his biggest influences. However, my point is that Kings of Leon seem to find themselves in the position of mood-crushers on a pretty frequent basis.

The 2008 release of Only By The Night signified the backwards progression of the Kings' sound. The album represented a distinct switch to the arena rock wave. This serves as a direct contrast to the whole idea of being a garage rock band. The original premise is that you make the music that you and your fans love, without burying it behind mountains of overdubs. The new Kings album is highly refined and required a lot of mixing. You don't switch genres to appeal to some larger fan base, especially a genre that has only extremely loose ties back to garage rock. The Strokes, as I have mentioned, have found their niche, have grasped their fan base, have remained consistent while also keeping their fans eagerly anticipating every new release. Kings of Leon cannot say that.

If it wasn't already apparent, Kings of Leon's lyrics are, to put it nicely, less than appealing, out of touch, and when they try to utilize pretty obvious metphors they fail magnificently. My first piece of evidence is "Soft" from the acclaimed Because of the Times. The song tells the tale of a young man at work trying to get hard so he can sleep with a girl he longs to embrace. The song title so subtlety gives the listener the perfect image to work with. Second case in point, the new hit single "Sex on Fire". Explicitly stated throughout the song, the main topic of discussion is, about "some really good sex"(see Monday the 1st). Was I the only one who thought it could be about some strange night on tour and a groupie with an STD? Regardless, Kings of Leon once again prove that their lyrics aren't relevant. Music is art and what Kings of Leon are singing about does not constitute art.

When Kings of Leon posted videos daily, a month before the the release of Only by the Night, we got a good look into the making of the album and the interrelationships in the band. Apparently, Caleb didn't want "Sex on Fire" to be on the album, credit to him. The infighting in the group, as witnessed in the aforementioned videos, really makes the band seem less compelling as legitimate artists. If you have ever taken a gander at The Strokes' documentary In Transit, you get a completely different picture. If they aren't all in it together, why would we be expected to derive anything from them all making music together?

The Strokes don't have infighting, they sing about relevant topics, and they consistently appeal to their fan base. Kings of Leon cannot be considered 'the Southern version of The Strokes' because they have almost nothing in common except for a few catchy guitar riffs. Kings of Leon do not deserve most of the accolades the have received, especially the comparisons drawn between them and The Strokes.

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With so much going with The Strokes individually, you'd think it impossible that the band would be coming back any time soon. Julian Casablancas warmed us up with that Converse song with Pharrell and Santogold, rhythm guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. just finished touring ¿Como Te Llama?, Little Joy (featuring drummer Fabrizio Moretti) is about to release their debut album, and Nickel Eye's The Time of the Assassins (featuring bassist Nikolai Fraiture) is out in January. But it only gets better:

According to Nikolai, The Strokes will start recording the follow-up to First Impressions of Earth in February 2009.

Nikolai talked a little about the new disc: "I got sick in New Orleans. I was hallucinating so all these crazy ideas came about from that experience," he explained. "It's about going through something and how you come out a different person afterwards. I'm excited about moving on from this phase and using all the experience we have from projects like this for our fourth album. Doing stuff like this is necessary for us because we've been in the same band for so long."

In case you didn't know why the band went into hiatus originally, Nikolai told BBC, "It started with Nick [Valensi] having twins with his wife [two years ago] and he asked for a good amount of time off." Albert then started his solo project, and everything picked up (or dropped off) from there. Regardless, The Strokes are back!!

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