I like to write about music, culture, weird human stuff, and anything old or haunted.
I love to put myself at great personal risk to deliver takes on pop culture trends and I also like any story that allows me to lurk around Los Angeles.
I've been published in StyleCaster Magazine and Carrie Ann Conversations and self-published pretty much everywhere else.
I love to put myself at great personal risk to deliver takes on pop culture trends and I also like any story that allows me to lurk around Los Angeles.
I've been published in StyleCaster Magazine and Carrie Ann Conversations and self-published pretty much everywhere else.
The cry-laughing emoji has absolutely earned this
In a stunning victory for the rights of people who find out about TikToks via Instagram Reels and have fond memories of Warped tour, the cry-laughing emoji has once again emerged from the fray as the most-used emoji of the year, according to data from the Unicode Consortium. The tearful grin, whose Christian name is “Face with Tears of Joy,” hasn’t relinquished its stranglehold on the top spot since 2015, when we as a nation were reeling from Zayn Malik’s One Direction exit, marveling at the Sisyphean efforts of pizza rat and becoming slowly numb to "Uptown Funk." That was the same year that the teary-eyed grin was named Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year.
For Protocol.
For Protocol.
3 Catio Experts On Crafting The Perfect Feline Funland
It’s been three years since Amber’s cat got insta-famous. When she first got Jake, her striking four-year-old bengal cat, she laughed off suggestions from her friends to make him his own account on Instagram. But when posts on her personal account that featured Jake kept getting attention from random users, she decided to go for it. “In three days, I had more followers on [Jake’s account] than on my own personal Instagram that I’d had for three years,” she says. Users loved to follow Jake’s exploits and admire his gorgeous dappled coat. However, not long after she’d gotten Jake, she was facing a dilemma. Bengals, especially ones who have been raised with dogs like Jake has, are extremely athletic, and love to run, jump and climb. Jake got into the habit of dashing at doors, trying to get out of the house any time he got the chance. Twice, he got out. The second time, he disappeared for four days. Amber was certain that he had been stolen. When Jake turned back up on her porch on that fourth day, she knew they both needed a change. “He’s clearly got wild cat in him and wants to go outside,” she says, “but he’s so beautiful, he’s going to get stolen.” She found her inspiration in a pile of wood left over from a fence she and her husband were building in the back yard just after Jake’s second birthday. “I asked my husband if we could build a catio. He definitely thought I was crazy at first.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
For Carrie Ann Conversations
A Look Inside Wildlife Conservation with The Wildlife Learning Center
David describes a recent trip to the Amazon where the rainforest is being threatened by oil drilling. “To me, there’s always all this talk that we have to save it because what affects the environment and affects animals eventually affects people.” While he says this is totally valid, he thinks that saving animals doesn’t always need additional motivation. “I see these as treasures, as historic buildings or famous paintings or music. These are living treasures that should be maintained for that reason alone. You don’t get it back. Sure, if we destroy the earth and its inhabitants it’s going to affect us, yes, but I think it can be more than that. The biodiversity of this planet is extraordinary. It’s an incredible thing and we should value it for that reason alone.”
He says he hopes that places like the Wildlife Learning Center can be a bridge to people who can’t see animals like this in the wild, helping them get engaged in the fight for wildlife conservation. “If you’re not lucky enough to go out into wilderness and see it, you can gain that appreciation that people that work here have. Why would you ever want to lose sloths? You don’t want to look at it in a book and say. ‘This used to exist,’ like the dodo or the Tasmanian tiger.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
He says he hopes that places like the Wildlife Learning Center can be a bridge to people who can’t see animals like this in the wild, helping them get engaged in the fight for wildlife conservation. “If you’re not lucky enough to go out into wilderness and see it, you can gain that appreciation that people that work here have. Why would you ever want to lose sloths? You don’t want to look at it in a book and say. ‘This used to exist,’ like the dodo or the Tasmanian tiger.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
When The Big Day Isn’t So Big: 3 People On How COVID Completely Changed Their Wedding Plans
Amory says that, for all the stress and disappointment, the new wedding plans did offer her one thing: freedom, and hugely reduced pressure. “Once we adapted to the situation, it really was an extremely low-pressure wedding. I had been really nervous about walking down the aisle and being the center of attention with so many people and I really didn’t have a single thing to be nervous about on the day of our wedding. It was a really comfortable time. I think my mother-in-law called it ‘the freedom wedding,’ just because it was free of all pressure and we could kind of do whatever we wanted.” Another nickname, “Our Guerilla Wedding,” arose when it came time to lock down a new location. When the couple called their favorite park about making a reservation to have their new ceremony, they were told reservations had been halted due to the lockdown. Thankfully, one helpful employee told them that if they showed up, nobody would kick them out. “We ended up getting a ‘wink wink’ from a park that couldn’t give us an official reservation.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
For Carrie Ann Conversations
5 Plant Care Tips (From Someone Who Sells Them)
From the very beginning, Shawna Christian has cared about plants. This past month Shawna Christian celebrated the one-year anniversary of opening her shop, Tansy, a bright, airy storefront in Burbank, CA bursting with gorgeous plants, eclectic decor, personality and warmth. Shawna’s journey with plants started ten years ago when she started renovating her house and backyard. “It was this ten year journey for finding stuff for my home from all around the world and making it bright and colorful, and creating this backyard that turned into a garden of Eden.”
Shawna realized that she couldn’t wait to spend every spare moment in her yard tending to her plants. She started realizing that she could stay out in her garden for up to eight hours without having a single conscious thought. “It was like my version of meditation,” she says. “When I decided to open up a shop I wanted to bring what I was experiencing in my own home and garden to a place where people could come and start their own journey with their own homes and their own plants. I found such joy and peace with it.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
Shawna realized that she couldn’t wait to spend every spare moment in her yard tending to her plants. She started realizing that she could stay out in her garden for up to eight hours without having a single conscious thought. “It was like my version of meditation,” she says. “When I decided to open up a shop I wanted to bring what I was experiencing in my own home and garden to a place where people could come and start their own journey with their own homes and their own plants. I found such joy and peace with it.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
Tattoo Artists’ Tips for Coming Up With A Great Tattoo Idea
If you’re getting your first tattoo, or even considering adding another to your collection, it can feel paralyzing to need to find an idea that’s “important” enough. Janice would argue that the very fact that you’re drawn to an image means it’s worth getting. “I love telling stories through art; [tattoos are] my favorite form. However, I really value when people don’t know why they’re getting the tattoo and just love it for the sake of what it is. Choosing it connects them to something bigger than they really understand and sometimes once you get the tattoo it slowly creates that meaning for you. It’s like you grow with the tattoo and the tattoo grows with you and slowly it decodes itself no matter what. When I’ve gotten tattoos, the meanings changed, or sometimes the meaning’s irrelevant because it’s more a time capsule of where you’re at.”
For Carrie Ann Conversations
For Carrie Ann Conversations
Coping With An Eating Disorder During COVID-19? You’re Not Alone.
For years now I’ve been unpacking my college experiences with disordered eating, slowly learning how to invest in my body and appreciate it instead of being disappointed by it or, more often, trying not to think about it altogether. One day almost two years ago now, in a rushing realization, I took a walk in the grass with my shoes off and for maybe the first time in my life I was thankful for the legs and feet and skin and nervous system that made all of it possible, regardless of their aesthetic components. Little by little, I started to believe in my body. I started scheduling in time for breakfast, a meal I’d traditionally neglected, every morning, because I knew it would help my body feel its best and it deserved that.
I didn’t know that the COVID-19 pandemic would become such a challenge to the new peace I had found. Everywhere I looked, triggers would activate alarms in my head that hadn’t sounded for years: having to stockpile two weeks’ worth of food, my normal daily step count taking a nosedive as my usual haunts all closed down, and posts all over social media panicking about the “quarantine fifteen” and listing all the ways to stave it off at home.
For Carrie Ann Conversations
I didn’t know that the COVID-19 pandemic would become such a challenge to the new peace I had found. Everywhere I looked, triggers would activate alarms in my head that hadn’t sounded for years: having to stockpile two weeks’ worth of food, my normal daily step count taking a nosedive as my usual haunts all closed down, and posts all over social media panicking about the “quarantine fifteen” and listing all the ways to stave it off at home.
For Carrie Ann Conversations
I Asked My Parents For Love Advice, And Here's What They Said.
A little background on my parents: They’re perfect. Okay, they’re not perfect (For instance, sometimes they don’t answer their phones even when I was JUST texting them. Like, I know you have your phone!) but they’re pretty damn good at being married. I would endorse them on LinkedIn for it. They met when they were seventeen and have now been married for twenty-nine years (and they even dabble in pre-marriage counseling). In my entire life, I remember them getting in one, maybe two fights—tops. It wasn’t until I started seeing more of how other people’s parents interacted with them and with each other that I realized exactly how rare it seems to be for two people to be married for so long and still seem to enjoy it so much. So, if it wasn’t already clear, I knew getting love advice from my parents would be worth it.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
Dude, F*ck Arugula
I’ve taken a lot of, shall we say, hard stances on Twitter—but only one of them in my living memory has embroiled me in a real-life fight. September 18, 2017 I tweeted that arugula tastes bad. About eight seconds later, I was in the text-fight of my life with my friend of six years (let’s call her “Maggie” because that’s her name and I feel no need to protect her), who had taken up arugula’s cause like it was Jimmy Stewart’s character in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Our relationship has never fully recovered. To this day, I still refuse to believe that such an unpleasant, coarse, and to be completely honest, bitchy plant has such fervent defenders, fans and customers. I would like to forever cement as a matter of public record that not only is arugula the biggest garbage plant on earth, but it’s also complete lunacy that otherwise rational people continue to emotionally defend it to me.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
What the hell even happens at a Convention For Pet Influencers?
From the moment I arrived—9 a.m. on the dot for the PetCon Talent-VIP-Press breakfast—I knew this was going to be one for the books. I started seeing dogs in designer shirts before we even crossed the threshold.
The first thing I saw was a booth for Duke, the Bush’s Baked Bean star of stage and screen, who was celebrating the launch of his new Instagram channel. “Oh my god, the bean dog is here,” I whisper-shouted at my roommate, Coreena, who was already forsaking me for the large Adoption Garden in the center of the venue. (There, adoptable pups played with volunteers wearing “SERVICE HUMAN” shirts.)
A spread of complimentary Spindrift seltzer and Ellenos Greek yogurt—both event sponsors—was set up next to the Get Caked booth, where flapjack portraits of the furry guests were being served. I saw an absolute plethora of dogs chowing down on ice cream for dogs, courtesy of a booth from The Bear And The Rat, a specialty dog creamery. (Yes, that is a real thing that exists.)
For StyleCaster.
The first thing I saw was a booth for Duke, the Bush’s Baked Bean star of stage and screen, who was celebrating the launch of his new Instagram channel. “Oh my god, the bean dog is here,” I whisper-shouted at my roommate, Coreena, who was already forsaking me for the large Adoption Garden in the center of the venue. (There, adoptable pups played with volunteers wearing “SERVICE HUMAN” shirts.)
A spread of complimentary Spindrift seltzer and Ellenos Greek yogurt—both event sponsors—was set up next to the Get Caked booth, where flapjack portraits of the furry guests were being served. I saw an absolute plethora of dogs chowing down on ice cream for dogs, courtesy of a booth from The Bear And The Rat, a specialty dog creamery. (Yes, that is a real thing that exists.)
For StyleCaster.
A Beginner's Guide to the catio trend
Breslauer and his team have developed their own well of knowledge for this extremely niche industry. “There aren’t any books about catios,” he says. Over time, they’ve amassed an array cat-specific tricks of the trade they’ve learned along the way. “For example, if you just paint shelves and put them in the catio, they’re going to get slippery if it’s dewy or raining in the morning, and your cat could fall,” he explains. “We paint the shelves with a rubber material used for kids’ playgrounds that gives the cats extra grip. Most people wouldn’t have any idea to do that.” Breslauer says his team has developed such immense expertise in the catio space that they even know how to space out shelves for optimal cat jumping.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
Your Grandma’s Favorite Pastime Is a Hit Among the Digital Generation
My journey into stitching paired so perfectly with my first full year of freelance; each small accomplishment in thread providing balance for swarms of unanswered emails, failed pitches and job windfalls. As an actress, Brittany related to me on an almost painful level. Just like most of the work I’ll ever do is digital, there are so many projects she’s done where “there’s nothing to add to a resume and no IMDB credit, or you can’t get someone to send you the footage, and my self-worth goes down because I did this work and have nothing to show for it.”
She says the tangibility of embroidery is really important for her. “It’s not about productivity, it’s about completion when you’re ready. It’s about feeling good about the time I’ve spent when it’s done.” She smiled when I nodded fervently to this last part and said, “There’s a type of person who does embroidery, I’m starting to notice."
For StyleCaster.
She says the tangibility of embroidery is really important for her. “It’s not about productivity, it’s about completion when you’re ready. It’s about feeling good about the time I’ve spent when it’s done.” She smiled when I nodded fervently to this last part and said, “There’s a type of person who does embroidery, I’m starting to notice."
For StyleCaster.
How To Win At Cat Yoga
Look, I love cats, but they have no sense of fair play or even distribution, or honestly really any loyalty at all. It’s part of their “charm.” But what this means is that you do have to vie for their attention, and you’ve gotta be cutthroat about it. Does your yoga mat have straps or strings on it that, from the right angle, might look like a toy to a passing kitter? Perfect. Do you have long hair that a cat might want to play with? You’re ahead of the game. If you have time beforehand (which you should, if you followed step 2), grab a toy and play with a cat for a minute to pre-establish a bond that you can cash in on later.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
history's Most Fashionable Ghosts (And Fall Pieces They Would've Loved)
There’s a reason we tell ghost stories. Not to put too fine a point on it, but they’re kind of iconic. Stories about ghosts have a tendency to stick around. We remember floating figures, ghastly moans, rattling chains—and our minds cling to visuals, like trailing dresses, oblique veils, period clothing showing up in places where it doesn’t belong. Since ghosts are basically offering us undying lessons in how to craft outfits so timeless they’ll survive long after you do, we’ve decided to do a deep dive into the ghost archives and dig up some of the most prolific style stars from centuries past.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
I'm Obsessed With Leaving Evidence Around That I Existed.
Every three months or so I become convinced that I’m about to die. I spend a lot of time considering what dark mechanism inside me is slowly breaking down, something I’ll never find in time and they’ll only discover after I’m gone. I see evidence of it anytime I experience a small pain or ache. I got a small-ish cramp halfway up my left side when I took my shower yesterday morning. I can’t wait until I die and they figure out that cramp was really a tumor the whole time, or whatever. I find it really satisfying to sow these seeds today that will eventually become revelations when I’m dead: “wow, my head hurts to one side today” seems innocuous now when I say it to my friends, but once I die it will become a Fatal Clue that everyone ignored.
For Medium.
For Medium.
I Tried Making Instagrammable Smoothie Bowls for a Week, and It Went Poorly
I woke up on Thursday physically tired from staying up too late and spiritually drained at the thought of assembling yet another attractive smoothie bowl. I’d planned to test-drive a “BEST Green Smoothie Bowl EVER” recipe, but, now wary of the color green, I pivoted. I substituted a recipe that involved ingredients from Monday’s success, a golden day where nothing went wrong and no one was poisoned.
For StyleCaster.
For StyleCaster.
On 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action': Franz Ferdinand Comes Back Swinging
"Come home, practically all is nearly forgiven.” The first words on Franz Ferdinand’s new album, “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action” are pulled straight from a postcard that frontman Alex Kapranos found at a flea market.
Delving through strangers’ private correspondence is in no way out of character for the deceptively fresh-faced Scotsman. Kapranos is equal parts unquenchable curiosity and unstoppable passion, a combination that gives him an unabashed and indiscriminate interest in the world around him. Love, heartbreak, religion, death; Kapranos turns his unflinching attention on each in turn, never satisfied with an easy answer. It is this sense of perpetual restlessness which permeates Franz’ new album.
In an August interview with SPIN, frontman Alex Kapranos gave up-and-coming bands advice: “A band should aspire to be that pivotal point where everything changes.” “Right Thoughts…” is an album about questions, both unanswered and unanswerable. Kapranos doesn’t believe in easy answers and he certainly doesn’t hand any out to his listeners. The singer makes it a point to never discuss his private life to the public, leaving the stories he weaves wide open for anyone to step into. The songs from “Right Thoughts…” become collaboration between artist and audience to cobble together a deeper significance, the listeners adding feelings and experiences to Franz Ferdinand’s excellently turned phrases. Anyone listening can so easily become the smiling madman asking for a manual to life, the forlorn wanderer looking for something to hold onto, the “proudest man in the world” who can’t admit he’s wrong to the one he loves the most.
Luckily for listeners, “Right Thoughts…” is also an album about dancing. Franz Ferdinand has proudly stuck to its dance rock roots, brandishing its live instruments in a world turning ever-increasingly to the electronic. The album shows progress without losing any of the frenzied energy from previous work. There are still a few pleasant surprises; “Fresh Strawberries” is an existential crisis swathed in a sweet little retro-pop wrapper. Other tracks fizzle with ominous lyrics, accompanied by coolly sinister melodies that are unsettling in the most deeply satisfying way.
Franz manages to wrap the album up at exactly the level of morbidity you’d expect from a band that once used human bone as an instrument. “Goodbye Lovers and Friends” is framed as a set of rather finicky dictations from a dead man at his own funeral, set to a tune I’d like to call “a peppy dirge.” “Right Thoughts…”closes with the line “This really is the end.” As the last chords fade out, I find myself hoping that’s not the case.
Franz had a lot to prove 10 years out from the success of their last studio release, and as far as I’m concerned, the band outstripped every expectation. Franz Ferdinand is still very clearly capable of turning out its distinct brand of discordant love songs, electrifying dance tunes and everything in between. Franz Ferdinand tackles “Right Thoughts…” with the same passion and ingenuity that put the band in the public eye years ago, and it proves that they deserve to stay there for some time to come.
Originally published in The Edge, 9.18.13
Delving through strangers’ private correspondence is in no way out of character for the deceptively fresh-faced Scotsman. Kapranos is equal parts unquenchable curiosity and unstoppable passion, a combination that gives him an unabashed and indiscriminate interest in the world around him. Love, heartbreak, religion, death; Kapranos turns his unflinching attention on each in turn, never satisfied with an easy answer. It is this sense of perpetual restlessness which permeates Franz’ new album.
In an August interview with SPIN, frontman Alex Kapranos gave up-and-coming bands advice: “A band should aspire to be that pivotal point where everything changes.” “Right Thoughts…” is an album about questions, both unanswered and unanswerable. Kapranos doesn’t believe in easy answers and he certainly doesn’t hand any out to his listeners. The singer makes it a point to never discuss his private life to the public, leaving the stories he weaves wide open for anyone to step into. The songs from “Right Thoughts…” become collaboration between artist and audience to cobble together a deeper significance, the listeners adding feelings and experiences to Franz Ferdinand’s excellently turned phrases. Anyone listening can so easily become the smiling madman asking for a manual to life, the forlorn wanderer looking for something to hold onto, the “proudest man in the world” who can’t admit he’s wrong to the one he loves the most.
Luckily for listeners, “Right Thoughts…” is also an album about dancing. Franz Ferdinand has proudly stuck to its dance rock roots, brandishing its live instruments in a world turning ever-increasingly to the electronic. The album shows progress without losing any of the frenzied energy from previous work. There are still a few pleasant surprises; “Fresh Strawberries” is an existential crisis swathed in a sweet little retro-pop wrapper. Other tracks fizzle with ominous lyrics, accompanied by coolly sinister melodies that are unsettling in the most deeply satisfying way.
Franz manages to wrap the album up at exactly the level of morbidity you’d expect from a band that once used human bone as an instrument. “Goodbye Lovers and Friends” is framed as a set of rather finicky dictations from a dead man at his own funeral, set to a tune I’d like to call “a peppy dirge.” “Right Thoughts…”closes with the line “This really is the end.” As the last chords fade out, I find myself hoping that’s not the case.
Franz had a lot to prove 10 years out from the success of their last studio release, and as far as I’m concerned, the band outstripped every expectation. Franz Ferdinand is still very clearly capable of turning out its distinct brand of discordant love songs, electrifying dance tunes and everything in between. Franz Ferdinand tackles “Right Thoughts…” with the same passion and ingenuity that put the band in the public eye years ago, and it proves that they deserve to stay there for some time to come.
Originally published in The Edge, 9.18.13
On 'AM': Rainy Sheffield Meets Sun-Dried LA
When Arctic Monkeys’ latest album dropped last month, they’d captured the attention of everyone from Elton John to Robert Pattinson. In the ten years they’ve been together, each of Arctic Monkeys’ five albums has taken the number one spot on the UK charts, something that’s never been accomplished by any band on an indie label before.
The new album, “AM,” has become the second best selling record of the year, right after Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories.” It’s currently in the running for a Mercury Award, competing in the category with heavy hitters the likes of David Bowie.
It’s undeniable that Arctic Monkeys are a success. But sometimes it’s hard to tell whether anyone’s told them that.
As the recognition and accolades pile up, the Arctic Monkeys maintain their dreamy placidness, perpetually appearing to just have been shaken awake. They seem no more preoccupied with their external appearance than they were ten years ago when they were still playing small, dingy Sheffield pubs. If anything, the success has enabled them to be as meticulous as ever when it comes to how their music sounds.
If there’s one thing the Arctic Monkeys cannot abide, it’s a stale sound.
They approach each album as a chance to try something new, to expand their reaches into new areas and to make something that’s fun to play.
So, what was the recipe for “AM?” The Arctic Monkeys started with a strong base of hip-hop influences, mimicking the heavy beats and rapid-fire lyrical delivery of artists like Dr. Dre. They’ve added to the mix lyrical references from Coldplay to Dusty Springfield to Jane Fonda, melodic influences from Lou Reed to Outkast and guest performances from Elvis Costello’s drummer and Coral’s guitarist, not to mention a sample from Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”
To top it off, they’ve given the whole thing a liberal dusting of California desert, using alternative rock group Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme for backing vocals on more than one track. The Arctic Monkeys are insatiable when it comes to variety, and they’ve done a masterful job of mixing the flavors here for something wonderful and unique.
The result is an album of anthems for the modern rebel without a cause. It paints a world that only exists between the hours of midnight and sunrise, against a backdrop of seedy clubs, crowded flats and dark street corners.
According to frontman Alex Turner, the goal of this album was to manufacture an energy so compelling that it’s impossible to turn off, and I think it’s safe to say that’s exactly what they’ve done. Combined with Alex Turner’s well-penned nonsense lyrics, the songs of “AM” project the right amounts of both drive and aimlessness.
With its gritty rock guitar parts and electrified beat, “R U Mine?” is the song to wear a leather jacket and ride a motorcycle around to. The restlessness and call to wander on tracks like “One for the Road” and “I Want It All” are perfectly in balance with the hopeless fixation and longing found on “Arabella,” “No. 1 Party Anthem” and “Snap Out of It.”
Overall, “AM” is the culmination of a decade of growth and exploration, the result of a relentless passion for making music with true voltage behind it, music with enough energy that it’s nearly impossible to turn off.
With each album, the Arctic Monkeys have become more and more adept at conveying their thoughts and ideas through an ever-shifting array of musical languages. Just like its self-referential title, “AM” conveys everything that Arctic Monkeys have become: a force to be reckoned with.
If you want to get a handle on the feel of the album, a great place to start is “R U Mine?,” “Do I Wanna Know?” or the slower and sweeter “No. 1 Party Anthem.”
Originally published in The Edge, 10.13.13
The new album, “AM,” has become the second best selling record of the year, right after Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories.” It’s currently in the running for a Mercury Award, competing in the category with heavy hitters the likes of David Bowie.
It’s undeniable that Arctic Monkeys are a success. But sometimes it’s hard to tell whether anyone’s told them that.
As the recognition and accolades pile up, the Arctic Monkeys maintain their dreamy placidness, perpetually appearing to just have been shaken awake. They seem no more preoccupied with their external appearance than they were ten years ago when they were still playing small, dingy Sheffield pubs. If anything, the success has enabled them to be as meticulous as ever when it comes to how their music sounds.
If there’s one thing the Arctic Monkeys cannot abide, it’s a stale sound.
They approach each album as a chance to try something new, to expand their reaches into new areas and to make something that’s fun to play.
So, what was the recipe for “AM?” The Arctic Monkeys started with a strong base of hip-hop influences, mimicking the heavy beats and rapid-fire lyrical delivery of artists like Dr. Dre. They’ve added to the mix lyrical references from Coldplay to Dusty Springfield to Jane Fonda, melodic influences from Lou Reed to Outkast and guest performances from Elvis Costello’s drummer and Coral’s guitarist, not to mention a sample from Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”
To top it off, they’ve given the whole thing a liberal dusting of California desert, using alternative rock group Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme for backing vocals on more than one track. The Arctic Monkeys are insatiable when it comes to variety, and they’ve done a masterful job of mixing the flavors here for something wonderful and unique.
The result is an album of anthems for the modern rebel without a cause. It paints a world that only exists between the hours of midnight and sunrise, against a backdrop of seedy clubs, crowded flats and dark street corners.
According to frontman Alex Turner, the goal of this album was to manufacture an energy so compelling that it’s impossible to turn off, and I think it’s safe to say that’s exactly what they’ve done. Combined with Alex Turner’s well-penned nonsense lyrics, the songs of “AM” project the right amounts of both drive and aimlessness.
With its gritty rock guitar parts and electrified beat, “R U Mine?” is the song to wear a leather jacket and ride a motorcycle around to. The restlessness and call to wander on tracks like “One for the Road” and “I Want It All” are perfectly in balance with the hopeless fixation and longing found on “Arabella,” “No. 1 Party Anthem” and “Snap Out of It.”
Overall, “AM” is the culmination of a decade of growth and exploration, the result of a relentless passion for making music with true voltage behind it, music with enough energy that it’s nearly impossible to turn off.
With each album, the Arctic Monkeys have become more and more adept at conveying their thoughts and ideas through an ever-shifting array of musical languages. Just like its self-referential title, “AM” conveys everything that Arctic Monkeys have become: a force to be reckoned with.
If you want to get a handle on the feel of the album, a great place to start is “R U Mine?,” “Do I Wanna Know?” or the slower and sweeter “No. 1 Party Anthem.”
Originally published in The Edge, 10.13.13
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