STACK July 2016 Issue 141

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greatest experiences of
my life, it’s been a real thrill.
Now we’re older, we’ve just
come to a better understanding
of how to be more effective. It’s
actually a real healing experience too,
making us fall in love with music all over again.”
And herein lies the point of the new album:
to re-discover what it was about Good Charlotte
that so excited these young men when they
began playing punk rock together in Maryland in
1996. “We just wanted to make Good Charlotte
feel special for us again,” Benji says simply.
“The whole motive behind the record was very
personal. We felt like if we did that, the fans
would connect to it – they would appreciate the
fact that it was real to us.” Part of recapturing that
spirit was the tiny things; the glinting chimes and
shimmering strings in Stick To
Your Guns Interlude, or oblique
puns and references to past
albums (listen closely to the lyrics
in The Outfield). “I think if you listen
back to any Good Charlotte record, for me,
those are the little details that set our records
apart,” says Benji. “If you listen to the intro on
The Young And The Hopeless, or the intros or
outros on Chronicles and even on Cardiology or
Good Morning Revival, we always have these little
elements… there’s little hidden gems in there.
Little bits of information, little messages. I feel like
every time we make a record, I get an opportunity
to be creative. It’s my favourite part, to add those
little details and just be in the studio for hours
and hours.” And if you listen carefully for those
messages, we promise you’ll be rewarded.
visit MUSIC FEATURE
12 JULY 2016
MUSIC
PHARRELL'S TEARS
You may have seen the recent clip of producer Pharrell Williams losing his composure while listening
to an original composition by a student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Benji reckons this and
other instances of artists taking a serious interest is not a new phenomenon; it's not that artists
have become more charitable, but that it’s more visible. “I think you’re seeing it more because [of
the] internet. Artists are naturally giving – they want to help each other, it’s always been a trend. I
think now the business is evolving. Artists are saying ‘Okay, all these labels, all these guys who’ve
controlled this whole thing forever? We’re going to take some of the power back, and we’re going to
stick together.’”
WIN THE
COLOURING
BOOK FROM
40 OZ. DREAM
The lyric clip for Youth
Authority's first single
40 Oz. Dream features a
pretty brilliant colouring
book; there's a drawing
for each line of the song,
including the boys in
2003 (giant spiky hair,
dripping mascara), Snoop
and Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, the
MTV moon man, and a
Californian bear throwing
a have some
mini versions of the exact
book in the video to give
away to you GC fans – but
you'll need to crack out the
Derwents to win.Visit our
comps page at .
au/competitions, where
we've provided you with a
special colouring-in page.
Download, print, do your
best shading, and follow
the directions to submit!
Our Zoë's colouring-in on one of
the book's spreads.
Visit
to win!
The whole motive
behind the record
was very personal