British pop-rock band the 1975 last released an album in 2020, and things were a mess. Already known for its genre-transcending sprawl. Accompanied by the freewheeling chatter of charismatic frontman Matty Healy, the band released their fourth album, a 22/80-track narrative called Notes on a Conditional Form. , which created a global craze and tried to land all the tricks at once. .
Amid Covid and various other apocalyptic fears, the album set an epic tone with an opening song based on a monologue by teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg. But soon after its release, Healy was ‘soft-cancelled’ – his term – Link One of the hottest songs of 1975, The Murder of George Floyd, was tossed out in a Twitter post. At a time when the band and the world were at stake, Healy was busy falling in love too.
Most of them are behind them now. His new 1975 album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, released on 14 October, is the group’s most focused eleven tracks to date, most of them with timeless themes and The gesturing live band sticks to his sound. The sparkling 1980s. His producer Jack Antonoff, a reigning craftsman in pop music, joined Healy and his bandmate and songwriting partner George His Daniel to produce the album. (1975 also included guitarist Adam Hann and bassist Ross McDonald.)
Healy, now 33, tries to curb his most chaotic impulses, but he still writes: An average skinny guy/You call his ego an imagination?” Let
In a recent video interview, Healy talked about cutting, not selling out, and the benefits of banding with childhood friends over the past two decades, between ritual relightings of sturdy joints. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Have you started writing the most cohesive album after perhaps the most awkward “Notes”?
What I knew I didn’t want to do was continue what I had just done. But there were so many ideas for that record, what are you going to do with it? It came down to the rules and it took me about a year to figure out what the rules were. There was a period when I used onlyA conversation with Beabadoobee led to him dating Jack Antonoff. [who is signed to the 1975’s label, Dirty Hit].
What ended up being the main rule?
It was “play and record”. real instrument. A computer you can work on and always find something to do. Let’s not do that. Anyone can do it all and nobody cares anymore.15 years ago you heard XXYYXX“What are these sounds? Did he create them on the computer? Now I know any kid can make something that sounds crazy in the bedroom. It’s about staying for a year, being a good player, walking into the room and getting that freedom.
What made Jack a good choice for this project?
he was not paid [laughs]Well, he didn’t like it, but paidTo be honest, when I make records it’s very personal.i won’t give [expletive] About what people on Twitter have to say about Jack Antonoff. Have a 30-minute conversation with that person about music, then a 30-minute conversation with Jack Antonoff about music and see which one inspires you more.
I have never done anything for clout in my life. It would cost a lot to be 1975 and we wouldn’t take every offer we had. Jack at the time he was the best man of 1975. He has a reputation for being busy, but his actual appearance is just right. If you meet the man and work with him, you’ll understand why people want to work with him.
You and Jack exchanged references, what was the touchstone of “Being Funny”?
In retrospect, we tend to think thatwas doing “Dream Baby Dream” Or what we were trying to do. When I was trying to play “Part of the Band” and there was this stinging string, it was pretty angled. And we ended up with:“Street Hustle” – That’s it! I took And I went for it. You know how loose and tight ‘Graceland’ is? “Still Crazy”, “Graceland” and Paul Simon’s influences will always show up in my work.
And I must admit that my entire career has been obsessed with the song “All My Friends” by LCD Soundsystem. The reference is the first thing you hear on the album. Of all unity, the generation is probably the weakest, but there is something about men my age and their songs – I think it’s the most requested funeral song. and is a genre in its own right.
You’ve written many lyrics over the years using proper nouns, current references and pop culture allusions.
I really, really do.You’re talking about like when Katy Perry said ‘an epic failure’ “Friday night.” It hits you and takes you out of the world. Sometimes I’m scared to do it. It’s funny that I care. I’m at my best when the funniest and most observant comedies are on the table. But anything that is coerced reads as stinging or being unfaithful.
Bands have cringe rules. For example, if something pisses us off, we don’t have to explain why. We simply call it “disgusting”. And if you want, you can have a discussion about it.
As a band, Cringe needs a high bar.
That’s true. There is nothing to be ashamed of. You can criticize me for many things, but you can’t criticize me for being unfaithful. Annoying, whatever. But I am not dishonest. cringe means dishonesty. Their attitude is that if you’re going there, go there.
Other than “me” and “you,” the most common word on this album might be “love.” Did you make an album about falling in love?
I think you realized what you were doing. I write about the modern way of interpersonal communication via the Internet. Love, loss, addiction. That’s what I always do. All the other records are like, “Love! And I! This! And That! ‘Being Funny’ is where I say, ‘OK, yeah, I love you. Let’s make love. ‘”
The hangover that I have from my predecessor postmodernism and all of the last 50 years of culture is irony as a shield. I’m too lazy to do it now and can’t be bothered to hear people do it. All sorts of tropes of being nihilistic and sexy and drug addicted might be very cool and perhaps appropriate for your 20s, but they’ve made way for a more personally and socially permissive set of values. I will hand it over.
You are one of the greatest writers of our time. Especially outside of rap, it’s written about the process of consumption, whether it’s drugs, culture, or goods. Where is the drinking journey as a lyrical subject?
I find drinking like a drug – if that’s your personality, it’s very boring. I’ve struggled with drinking as a persona. You’re there, right? Just smoke weed and do nothing else. I was able to get to a place where I knew no one was around who was particularly concerned about running out and scoring. I think it’s becoming a smaller part of
Have you ever consciously tried to write like a rapper?
I’m kind of like Mr. Cultural Reference, but with so much information it’s very difficult to see what my actual DNA is. I don’t get much inspiration from writers. I never really thought about it. I think a lot about comedy. But when I first heard Street, I was like, OK. He said if you’re looking for an identity that is a kind of identity in itself. The way I rhyme is Street is the biggest influence, probably Paul Simon.
That’s why it’s still rhythmic and has a lot of words.
“Honesty Is Scary”, “So Far (It’s Okay)”, “Birthday Party” – I always call them feature songs. A long-form song for me means where the rhythmic phrases are long and can bring out a lot. These songs are actually smarter looking ones and much easier to write. People said I rap, but I never thought of it as rap. But I think it’s because Streets gave me the license to think of rhythmic rhyming in an English accent as something quite English.
What are your recent commercial ambitions? Do you think it would be fun to have a number one hit or a TikTok moment in 1975?
It’s hard to be honest about going big and having zero commercial ambitions. There’s definitely something like “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. In other words, I didn’t know what to do and didn’t try to do anything.Therefore, the moment you stop doing that, perhaps [expletive] Up. I tend to say no to things for money.
I don’t know how I can write this unless it’s rude or inappropriate, but I’ve just been offered a four-month stadium tour next year with the world’s biggest singer-songwriter. Never seen or heard of it in my life.
Ed Sheeran?
yes. And as the main support, I was told to do whatever I wanted. Think about the money I think is being offered — it’s not just what’s provided, it’s what he can afford for what he’s made for the show — and triple that Please… that’s insane. The reason I stopped doing it is because I don’t care. It’s not worth it. It’s not because I hate Ed Sheeran. I think he’s a genius in many ways. And he does it better than anyone else. But I’m thinking about opening up for someone, not just being real.
The album is also sprinkled with lyrics about so-called cancellations. How do you look back on that part of 2020, both for yourself and in general?
To be honest, what was a little frustrating when I finished the record was after I finished writing the last song, “When We Are Together,” to find that this “cancelled” line was included. Too many “cancelled” rows. It’s going to make people think I really care.
I was soft canceled. Also, canceling is no problem. Even if you commit a crime and many people know about it, it does not undelete it. If you’re a criminal, that’s exactly what’s happening right now. Say something, people try to censor you, whatever.
I didn’t delete Twitter because I was scared. I’m mainly trying to start writing about this culture war and feel like I’m being pawned in it. All it’s trying to do is diminish my ability to argue in context.And the context I own is my music.
The refrain of the album’s first song is “I’m sorry if you’re alive and you’re 17”. sorry what?
I mean, you know what I mean. I sympathize with people who live in the present. On his first two records, I used to joke that 1975 was like he was playing his teen major keys in an apocalyptic sense. What I was talking about was something like John Hughes’ post-apocalyptic teenage sensation, where the future seemed too huge to deal with. stole the future of
I feel sorry for the kids who are drowning in self-loathing, social media burdens, or even waking up to anything.All these are just instruments to make people feel better [expletive] their life.I’m really sorry if I made you think [expletive] What do you think when you’re 17? that’s not cool.