Alex Turner & Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys shared their thoughts and tunes at Avatar while the full unit invaded the Garden…

Tame Impala, “Elephant” (technically, last year I know but c’mon, it’s my fave of the whole year)
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, “Jubilee Street”
Lorde, “Royals”
Josh Ritter, “Hopeful”
Arctic Monkeys, “R U Mine?”
Clairy Browne & The Bangin’ Rackettes, “Love Letter”
The White Buffalo, “Joey White”
Billy Bragg, “Handyman Blues”
Daft Punk, “Get Lucky”
Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, “Party Kids”

Is there a better rock band that formed in this century than Arctic Monkeys?

In early 2006, they unleashed their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not that sold more copies in their native UK than any debut that had come before. Since then, they’ve been consummate artists – exploring, experimenting, and embellishing their sound on subsequent releases. The August 15, 2013 interview, recorded at the studio then known as Avatar now known at Power Station at BerkleeNYC, is with frontman Alex Turner and his pal since childhood drummer Matt Helders. Both were insightful and funny.

The chat coincided with the release of their fifth LP AM whose title refers to the name of the band and not the time from midnight to noon as I ran up the pole during our conversation. As Turner commented, the studio previously always seemed kind of secondary (to live shows) but on this album they embraced getting the most out of the controlled environment. We got into The Attractions’ Pete Thomas (“a rhythmical masseuse”) dropping by the sessions as well as Josh Homme’s exhilarating appearance. The latter led to why Queens of the Stone Age ex-drummer Joey Castillo was significant for Helders. Turner casually dropped his five fruit and veg-a-day of The Stooges, Zep, Sabbath, Stones, and Beatles and how Arctic Monkeys copped some production elements from contemporary R&B and hip-hop.

I’m not such a big fan of festivals. Seeing more than a few bands on one day can be grueling and the sound and stadium-like lack of intimacy generally keep me away. However, I was fortunate to go to the lovely Liberty State Park on Saturday as it was the only day of the 3 it didn’t rain. It was still plenty muddy and it smelled like a petting zoo but I had little else to complain about. The organizers did some good things, none more important than passing out free earplugs which were so necessary when MBV and Tool played. Free sunscreen was also distributed in a tent where, if you waited long enough, you could even get a free massage. People with ID got a bracelet that allowed a maximum of seven drinks. I’m a libertarian but this didn’t seem unreasonable to me. If you need more than 7 drinks, you should probably be experimenting with other drugs. The sound was fantastic on the big stage and generally good all around.

The best part of the festival experience is seeing a band you don’t really know and becoming a fan. That’s what happened to me with St. Vincent. I also came to the conclusion that you can always trust a fat guy in a Tool T-shirt and that whoever that other woman is who plays with Neko Case is should really speak a lot less on stage.