Crazy for You (Best Coast album)

Best Coast was formed in 2009 by Bethany Cosentino and Bobb Bruno in Los Angeles, California. Cosentino had been around the Los Angeles music scene from a young age, and had also involved herself in talent competitions, musicals, audition tapes and commercials for Little Caesars. She began writing music at age 15, inspired by Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, as well Weezer and Blink-182. Cosentino began uploading her music to MySpace under the name "Bethany Sharayah".{{cite web|url=http://altmusic.about.com/od/interviews/a/bestcoast.htm|title=Best Coast Interview|publisher=About.com|date=August 11, 2010|accessdate=October 4, 2013|last=Carew|first=Anthony|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006034046/http://altmusic.about.com/od/interviews/a/bestcoast.htm|archive-date=October 6, 2013|url-status=dead}} She was approached and offered record deals from major labels in her teens, but resisted as they desired to mold her into a "pop princess" type.{{cite web|url=http://www.imposemagazine.com/features/interview-bethany-cosentino-best-coast|title=Interview with Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast|work=Impose|date=November 17, 2009|accessdate=October 4, 2013|last=Krinsley|first=Jeremy}} In the mid-2000s, she met Amanda Brown at the downtown LA DIY venue the Smell. Brown attempted to act as a "big sister" to Cosentino, who seemed "sort of depressed, missing music, [and] feeling a bit weird about some of her friends." The two began playing together in the experimentalist, drone group Pocahaunted. Pocahaunted's music had no traditional lyrics, and instead contained wordless vocalizations from Cosentino and Brown. The collaboration began in 2006 and released several cassette-only recordings on local label Not Not Fun. The recordings were supervised and produced by Bobb Bruno, a multi-instrumentalist stalwart in the city's music scene.{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Gustavo |date=November 4, 2010 |title=The L.A. Weekly Interview: Best Coast |url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-l-a-weekly-interview-best-coast/ |work=LA Weekly |accessdate=October 4, 2013}}

Pocahaunted achieved minor success (at one point opening for Sonic Youth), but Cosentino left the project to pursue creative writing at the Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts in New York City. Studying journalism and creative nonfiction, she read Joan Didion, David Foster Wallace and other authors she enjoyed and she interned at The Fader, where she penned a fashion column.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-ca-noise-queens7-2010feb07-story.html|title=Queens of L.A.'s lo-fi scene|work=LA Weekly|date=February 7, 2010|access-date=October 4, 2013|last=Weiss|first=Jeff}} Cosentino lived in Brooklyn and all but abandoned her musical pursuits, and soon fell into a mundane routine and seasonal depression in her second semester, feeling miserable. Having grown up on the constantly sunny and warm West Coast, she found the city "stressful, congested and cold," and based much of her nonfiction on California. Although she felt she would be letting her family and friends down by dropping out, she phoned her mother to come help her gather her belongings and return to Los Angeles over the course of a weekend in March/April 2009. Returning to La Crescenta, she lived with her mom and began work as a part-time sales associate for Lush, but felt immediately inspired to write new music, using her acoustic guitar to cope with anxiety. She informed Bruno, and the two began laying down demos in his home studio. The band's first release, "Sun Was High (And So Was I)", was released by Art Fag and was the first of a string of 7-inch singles.

The band's second 7-inch single, "When I'm with You", was financed by Black Iris, which functioned as both a music and film production agency. The track was produced, mixed, and engineered by indie-rock veteran, Lewis Pesacov. After their first experience recording with live drums and "real" production, they made a conscious effort to stray away from their original, more lo-fi and hazy sound. A collection of 7-inch singles on Art Fag and Black Iris alerted Adam Shore, owner of buzz-generating website The Daily Swarm, who became the group's manager. Jeffery Kaye, label manager of Mexican Summer, discovered the band's music online.

{{Quote box

| quote = There are a shitload of songs about being in love with someone who doesn't love you back and I talk about weed and my cat and being lazy a lot.

| author = Bethany Cosentino

| width = 25%

}}

Crazy for You was recorded, mixed, and engineered for Black Iris at Mexican Radio Studios in Echo Park, California from January to April, 2010. The group's sonic goals were to emulate the Ramones in guitar tone ("really punky, messy, and sloppy-sounding"), the Beatles in percussion, and Phil Spector in vocal quality. Cosentino and Bruno used baritone guitars during recording.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MhI0rSAjMxg Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20170405161814/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhI0rSAjMxg Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite AV media| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhI0rSAjMxg| title = Rig Rundown - Best Coast's Bobb Bruno & Bethany Cosentino | website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

The theme of Crazy for You revolves around longing and heartbreak, and dealing with everyday emotions that are often left unsaid. Cosentino felt the record both a document of her own personal experiences and an homage to the music that influenced her. The songs on Crazy for You were mainly written without "intense meaning," and occasionally centralize around unrequited love. For example, "Goodbye" was inspired by Nirvana and was written when Cosentino felt "super bummed out."{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37917-best-coast-talks-debut-album/|title=Best Coast Talks Debut Album|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=February 22, 2010|accessdate=October 4, 2013|last=Dombal|first=Ryan}}

The album artwork of Crazy for You features Snacks, Cosentino's cat, alongside images reflecting "the beach, hazy summertime nostalgia" and her home state of California. The cover was designed by California native David Rager, who was contacted by producer Lewis Pesacov. The two attended college in San Francisco together and he had previously designed artwork for Pesacov's band Fool's Gold. Rager was told to complete the design in a week and his only instruction is that Cosentino wanted Snacks on the cover. Rager, who lived in Paris, met the duo while on a European trek and showed them his near-complete first version, which the band chose. "They gave me a copy of the album, and I was listening to it and just working, often late at night," said Rager. "My in-laws were in town at the same time. I think a lot of it was winding down at the end of the day, having a drink, and hashing it out." The original photograph supplied of Snacks had his tail end cut off, which worked to Rager's favor: he placed an outline of California in the area to disguise the error.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/39403-take-cover-best-coasts-crazy-for-you/|title=Take Cover: Best Coast's Crazy for You|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=July 9, 2010|accessdate=October 4, 2013|last=Breihan|first=Tom}}

{{Music ratings

| ADM = 7.6/10{{cite web|url=http://anydecentmusic.com/review/2008/Best-Coast-Crazy-For-You.aspx|title=Crazy For You by Best Coast reviews|publisher=AnyDecentMusic?|accessdate=December 21, 2019}}

| MC = 76/100{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/crazy-for-you/best-coast|title=Reviews for Crazy for You by Best Coast|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=March 26, 2015}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/crazy-for-you-mw0002005485|title=Crazy for You – Best Coast|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Sendra|first=Tim}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2score = B{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/review/best-coast-icrazy-for-youi-43493|title=Best Coast: Crazy For You|work=The A.V. Club|date=July 27, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Murray|first=Noel}}

| rev3 = The Guardian

| rev3score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jul/29/best-coast-crazy-for-you-cd-review|title=Best Coast: Crazy for You|work=The Guardian|date=July 29, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Dean|first=Will}}

| rev4 = Los Angeles Times

| rev4score = {{rating|3.5|4}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0728-albumreviews-20100728,0,2128232.story|title=Album Reviews: Best Coast's 'Crazy for You'|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 28, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Brown|first=August}}

| rev5 = MSN Music (Expert Witness)

| rev5score = A−{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/ew2011-01.php|title=Deerhunter/Best Coast|work=MSN Music|date=January 14, 2011|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 8/10{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/best-coast/11468|title=Album review: Best Coast – 'Crazy For You' (Wichita)|work=NME|date=July 30, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Robinson|first=Martin|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308044842/http://www.nme.com/reviews/best-coast/11468|archivedate=March 8, 2016}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 8.4/10{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14472-crazy-for-you/|title=Best Coast: Crazy For You|work=Pitchfork|date=July 27, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Fitzmaurice|first=Larry}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite journal|title=Best Coast: Crazy for You|journal=Q|issue=290|date=September 2010|page=122}}

| rev9 = Rolling Stone

| rev9score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/crazy-for-you-20100727|title=Crazy for You|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=July 27, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Hermes|first=Will|author-link=Will Hermes}}

| rev10 = Spin

| rev10score = 8/10{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/2010/07/best-coast-crazy-you-mexican-summer/|title=Best Coast, 'Crazy for You' (Mexican Summer)|work=Spin|date=July 13, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|last=Kornhaber|first=Spencer}}

}}

Crazy for You received a nod from Exclaim! as their No. 6 pick for Top Pop & Rock Albums of 2010.{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/Features/YearInReview/pop_rock_year_in_review_2010/Page/6|title=Pop & Rock: Year in Review 2010|work=Exclaim!|date=November 25, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227085555/http://exclaim.ca/Features/YearInReview/pop_rock_year_in_review_2010/Page/6|archive-date=December 27, 2012|url-status=dead}} Ian Gormely said "fuzzed out lo-fi recordings are all the rage, but Bethany Cosentino rises above her peers on her Best Coast debut, striking the perfect balance between reverb-drenched vocals and classic California pop hooks."

The album was also named the 39th best album of 2010 by Pitchfork.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2/|title=Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2010|work=Pitchfork|date=December 16, 2010|accessdate=March 26, 2015|archive-date=February 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228232312/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2/|url-status=dead}}

In October 2011, NME placed "Boyfriend" at number 49 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/list/150-best-tracks-of-the-past-15-years/248648/page/11|title=150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years|work=NME|accessdate=March 26, 2015}}

Crazy for You, as the result of Internet buzz, became a mainstream success. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number 36 with 10,000 units sold and also debuted at No. 10 on Digital Albums. Mexican Summer focused on super-servicing mom-and-pop stores, while ensuring a presence at all digital retailers ("Boyfriend" was an iTunes free Discovery Download). Initial sales ran 50% digital, 30% CD and 20% vinyl, which gratified Mexican Summer, who began as a purely digital/vinyl outlet.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/956836/best-coast-rides-crazy-wave-of-blog-buzz-to-success|title=Best Coast Rides 'Crazy' Wave of Blog Buzz to Success|magazine=Billboard|date=August 16, 2010|accessdate=October 4, 2013|last=Mason|first=Kerri}} It has sold 108,000 copies in US.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/5755326/independent-spirit-best-coast-launches-imprint-for-new-ep|title=Independent Spirit: Best Coast Launches Imprint for New EP|magazine=Billboard|publisher=|accessdate=12 January 2018}}

The album's success led to maximum exposure: "the blogosphere was suddenly abuzz with talk about her album, her tweets, her personal life, her daily habits and even one of her cats." The album also met with criticism, including charges that Cosentino's material was anti-feminist.{{cite news|url=http://www.laweekly.com/2012-05-10/music/the-branding-of-best-coast/2/|title=The Branding of Best Coast|work=LA Weekly|date=May 10, 2012|accessdate=April 21, 2013|last=Flanders|first=Kai}} Crazy for You and its sound, "simple and pungent songs […] toying with 1950s and ’60s melodic structures," had become something of a touchstone for Best Coast and adopted by several other bands. Cosentino hid her vocals behind layers of reverb and distortion, which was an extension of her onstage anxiety.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/arts/music/bethany-cosentino-with-new-sound-on-the-only-place.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=No More Reverb: Full-Throttle for Best Coast|work=The New York Times|date=May 16, 2012|accessdate=April 21, 2013|last=Caramanica|first=Jon}}

{{Track listing

| title1 = Boyfriend

| length1 = 2:30

| title2 = Crazy for You

| length2 = 1:50

| title3 = The End

| length3 = 2:42

| title4 = Goodbye

| length4 = 2:40

| title5 = Summer Mood

| length5 = 2:26

| title6 = Our Deal

| length6 = 2:08

| title7 = I Want To

| length7 = 2:46

| title8 = When the Sun Don't Shine

| length8 = 2:16

| title9 = Bratty B

| length9 = 1:42

| title10 = Honey

| length10 = 3:02

| title11 = Happy

| length11 = 1:44

| title12 = Each and Every Day

| length12 = 2:52

| title13 = When I'm with You

| note13 = bonus track

| length13 = 2:58

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese edition

| title14 = Crazy for You

| note14 = demo

| title15 = Sleepy One

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Rough Trade bonus CD

| title1 = Something in the Way

| length1 = 2:08

| title2 = Wish He Was You

| length2 = 2:19

| title3 = Far Away

| length3 = 1:22

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.mexicansummer.com/shop/best-coast-crazy-for-you/ Best Coast on Mexican Summer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714011119/http://www.mexicansummer.com/shop/best-coast-crazy-for-you/ |date=2010-07-14 }}
• [https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2/ Pitchfork.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228232312/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/7893-the-top-50-albums-of-2010/2/ |date=2016-02-28 }}

{{Best Coast}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2010 debut albums

Category:Best Coast albums

Category:Mexican Summer albums