There’s a really nice moment in this month’s MOJO cover story. Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys is telling Keith Cameron about his hunt for a vintage David Axelrod interview when, with characteristically fastidious self-consciousness, he stops himself and asks: “Is that too MOJO?”
There is, of course, nothing that should be considered too MOJO, and most of us will recognise ourselves in such obsessive behaviour: that music fan’s hunger to go right back to the source.
As Arctic Monkeys return with another impressively complex album, loaded with knowing historical signifiers, we find Alex Turner in thoughtful, self-effacing mode. He tells Keith Cameron about a new track that didn’t make the final tracklisting of “The Car”. “I guess we don’t need to spend too much time talking about the song that isn’t on the record,” he muses. “That would be perverse – although it is pretty MOJO.”
We have some quotes for the boxset retrospective, then. But we also have Turner’s latest cratedigging epiphanies to enjoy alongside his own fine music. Last time the Arctic Monkeys appeared on the MOJO cover, in 2018, Turner enthused about the Francois De Roubaix soundtrack for Le Samouraï, and about Alan Hull’s “Pipe Dream“. This time, he’s turned us on to Gloria Ann Taylor’s “How Can You Say It”, a ‘70s R&B single where everything sounds slightly queasy and out of sync. Rich with classic soul resonances, but disorienting, too; a bit like “The Car“. Give them both a listen.
And don’t forget, of course, that there’s much more to an issue of MOJO than the cover story. This month we herald the arrival of Bob Dylan’s “Rough And Rowdy Ways” tour by sending John Harris to Oslo for a night out with the master. MOJO’s Bob Dylan special is also on sale now. BOB DYLAN: 1941-2022 REVISITED Deluxe Anthology Edition, two specials in one sumptuous single volume, is an essential purchase for every music fan. Also in the issue, Sylvie Simmons talks to those who know Tom Waits best. Paul Weller shows Pat Gilbert his tattoos. Bill Callahan is just as psychically revealing to Bob Mehr. Plus we have interviews with Alabaster DePlume, Joan Armatrading, Steve Harley, Eddie Chacon, Pauline Black, The Mary Wallopers, Charles Lloyd, Blossom Toes and Weyes Blood, and a How To Buy guide to ELO.
And for UK readers and all our print members/subscribers, the issue comes with the long-awaited sixth volume in our Heavy Nuggets CD series. Mighty jams from Groundhogs, Hawkwind, Edgar Broughton Band, Mighty Baby, Blossom Toes and loads more. A cratedigging mission on a par with Alex Turner’s, hopefully.
The Fat Angel Sings 