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Interviews

My Favorite Things: Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino

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This week: Bethany Cosentino, singer-guitarist for Los Angeles surf-pop outfit Best Coast, whose debut Crazy For You was named one of SPIN’s Best Albums of 2010. Best Coast will play select dates this summer, including San Francisco’s Outside Lands Fest.

FAVORITE SONG:
‘Don’t Worry Baby’ by the Beach Boys. A more classic song could not exist. The melody, the harmonies, the lyrics — everything is so perfect it’s unreal.”

FAVORITE ALBUM:
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac. My favorite band of all time! This album has so many of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs on it. This album is just too good to be true.”

FAVORITE NEW ARTIST:
Those Darlins. My bandmate Bob [Bruno, guitar/bass] got me really psyched on them. They’re making music unlike anyone else out there right now. Their new album Screws Get Loose is definitely already one of my top favs of 2011.”

FAVORITE RECORD STORE:
Rooky Ricardo’s in San Francisco. They have the most amazing selection of 45s and old school LPs. They specialize in soul, girl groups, oldies, and 50s and 60s jams. Plus, Dick, the owner, makes these really amazing compilations that he sells for super cheap that have really amazing songs on them that you’d probably never hear otherwise. And everything is really affordable.”

FAVORITE PIECE OF MUSICAL GEAR:
“My dad gave me my first real guitar, which is a reissue of a ’70s Danelectro. It’s the first guitar I ever played in Best Coast, and it’s the guitar I used to write all the songs for the album. That guitar has a huge sentimental value to me. Plus, it’s great looking and plays really well.”

FAVORITE TV SHOW:
“My favorite TV show of all time is definitely The Sopranos. I’ve never been as invested in a story line as I was with that show. I felt like everyone on that show was real. I was super sad when characters started to die off.”

FAVORITE MOVIE:
Bringing Up Baby by director Howard Hawks. I’m a huge sucker for rom-coms and this movie started it all in that genre. Katherine Hepburn is absolutely perfect in this movie and Cary Grant is such a babe.”

FAVORITE WEBSITE:
refinery29.com. I check this website daily for awesome fashion tips and gossip in the art/fashion world. They also have an online store where you can buy really great stuff. I’m sort of addicted to online shopping, but visiting this site doesn’t make me feel as guilty since it’s also a blog.”

FAVORITE GADGET:
“My iPhone 4. I would be nothing without this phone –especially as a person who tours and travels so much. I can keep up with what’s going on in the world via this phone, plus I can kill time with my Mahjong app!

FAVORITE RESTAURANT:
La Cabanita in Montrose, California. I grew up eating here. It’s seriously the best Mexican food I’ve ever tasted. The chips and salsa are unreal and the margaritas taste like alcoholic smoothies! They’re famous for their mole sauce, so I recommend getting anything smothered in mole.”

FAVORITE DRUG:
“Ambien. Anything that helps me sleep while also making me feel like I’m living inside a dream Im A-Okay with.”

FAVORITE BOOK:
Bossypants by Tina Fey. I know it’s a new book –but, honestly, it’s the best book I’ve read in such a long time. I read it on tour in less than two days. I laughed and I cried! I think Tina Fey is an incredible woman, wonderful female role model, and an extremely talented writer.”

FAVORITE STORE:
Asos.com. I’m completely addicted. I buy almost everything there! It’s an online shop based in the U.K., but they ship for free to the U.S. and do free returns! Plus, it’s cheap and they have the best stuff! A close second is probably Whole Foods — a store I actually spend most of my time in.”

FAVORITE PET:
“My cat! Snacks the cat, duh! He’s the Best Coast icon and he’s the sweetest ginger kitty you’ll ever meet.”

FAVORITE CELEBRITY:
“Beyonce. Hands down. Everything she does amazes me. She has a body I would kill for AND she’s married to Jay-Z!”

FAVORITE KEEPSAKE:
“Gold Chanel ring that my boyfriend gave me for Christmas last year. I never take it off. It makes me feel like a real woman to wear a real gold band on my finger!”

FAVORITE MANTRA/QUOTE/PIECE OF ADVICE:
“‘You can’t push the river, you just got to let it flow.’ My friend Kate Hall said that to me once. I have no idea where she heard it, but I started saying it to my mom as words of advice. I think about that quote a lot when I’m experiencing writer’s block — sometimes it just doesn’t happen. Then I stop and think, ‘Okay, I gotta let this river flow on its own.'”

FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH:
“At home, in my bed, watching TV. Nothing else in the world makes me as happy as those things do.”

WATCH: Best Coast, “When I’m With You”

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8Sj5_WITMpA