The Strokes ended their set at weekend two of Coachella with some politically charged messaging.
While the indie rock band performed their song “Oblivius” for the first time in a decade Saturday night, they showed a video montage that accused the CIA of enforcing regime change through political violence and concluded with footage of Israel bombing Gaza and the United States bombing Iran.
The video on the massive LED screens alleged that the CIA has been linked to the deaths of foreign political figures, including Panama’s Military Leader Omar Torrijos, former President of Guatemala Jacobo Árbenz and former President of Ecuador Jaime Roldós Aguilera. It also gave voice to the conspiracy theory that the U.S. was involved in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Footage of recent bombings in the Middle East were captioned, “Over 30 universities destroyed in Iran.” Another explosion was then shown with the caption, “Last university standing in Gaza.”
Singer Julian Casablancas repeated the statement in the song’s chorus — “What side are you standing on?” — until the video abruptly ended and the band walked off the stage. The Strokes did not return The Independent’s request for comment.
While the band played the protest video for the first time during Saturday’s performance, Casablancas criticized Donald Trump’s administration during weekend one of Coachella by making fun of the prospect of the military draft amid the ongoing conflict in Iran.
“You guys excited about the draft? Oh, wait, not the NFL draft,” Casablancas joked. “In six months, I think everyone who’s eligible for the military has to register. You guys excited? Well, I hope to lead one of the Coachella units. The sexiest unit in our proud military, I’m sure.”
Despite online speculation, there is no reason to believe that this weekend’s political video was deliberately cut short or that The Strokes will be blacklisted from future lineups. Coachella did not return The Independent’s request for comment on the performance.
The political protest, which was shown in full on the festival’s official livestream, comes in stark contrast to another bold statement made on the Coachella stage last year.
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Irish trio Kneecap sparked backlash when they used their performance at the Southern California desert music festival to condemn Israel for the genocide in Gaza.
The band showed a graphic that read “F*** Israel, Free Palestine” during their set as frontman Mo Chara said at the time, “The Irish not so long ago were persecuted at the hands of the Brits, but we were never bombed from the… skies with nowhere to go. The Palestinians have nowhere to go. This is their f***ing home, and they’re being bombed from the sky.”
After the performance, critics including Sharon Osbourne called for the rap group to have their US work visas revoked over the “aggressive” statements. Kneecap responded to Osbourne at the time in a statement to The Independent saying, “[Our] statements aren’t aggressive. Murdering 20,000 children is, though. Or executing 15 medics and burying them and their ambulances.”