Best Coast's Debut Album Inspired by Snacks the Cat

Posted on Jul 30th 2010 8:45AM by Andrew Kerr
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Most bands are routinely asked about their music, but for Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino fielding questions about her cats has become more of the norm. Speaking to the Guardian, she said, "As a musician, maybe it's weird that I'm always getting asked to talk about my cats. But the truth is, I'd sooner talk about my cats than my music. In fact, the two things go hand in hand."

She continued, "You can hear my cat Snacks meowing on our early demos -- he appears on our album sleeve and he even gets a credit on the record."

Snacks has been immortalised on the cover of debut album 'Crazy For You.' The singer explains, "When I was on tour in Europe, my boyfriend sent me a picture of Snacks that he took on his iPhone. I knew when I received it that it had to be the cover of our album. It sums us up, I guess: goofy and nostalgic, and featuring a cat with California on its butt!"

Feline fashion seems to be spreading as Cosentino points out, "I've noticed it becoming a trend as well. I kind of wish the Klaxons album sleeve had been ours. And then there's the Wavves cover, which also features Snacks! I leave Snacks with Nathan Wavves sometimes when we go away on tour."

So afraid for her beloved cat's safety while on tour, a friend of Cosentino has gone as far as to set up a Twitter page for Snacks so the singer can keep in touch.

Rumours have it that Snacks was responsible for choosing the track list for the newly released record; however, Cosentino denies it. "There's a rumour that Snacks actually picked the track list for the record and that's why 'Sun Was High (So Was I)' didn't appear on the album. It's true, he hates that song. But to be honest, I just wanted the record to consist of our brand new songs, rather than old singles."

She went on, "If you want to believe that Snacks picked the track list for the album then that's fine. Anything that helps Snacks reach the level of Garfield – the No. 1 cat in pop culture – is good with me. He's basically the benchmark that Snacks aims for."