arctic monkeys muses: alexa chung
timeline: alexa & alex dated from 2007-2011.
alexa chung is an english writer, television presenter, model, & fashion designer. she has written two books & currently co-hosts the show next in fashion with queer eye’s tan france.
songs about her:
fire and thud: fire & thud is one of the first songs believed to be written about alexa. “if its true you’re gonna run away/tell me where, i’ll meet you there” refers to when alexa landed her own show on mtv & was relocating to New York. alex ended up moving as well in order to be with her.
suck it and see (the album): the entirety of sias is believed to be about alex’s relationship with alexa, so im just going to pick the most notable songs.
she’s thunderstorms: it was reported that this song was written during a “mad thunderstorm” in alex’s New York apartment that he shared with alexa. “here’s your host/sounds as if she’s pretty close” is almost definitely referring to alexa, who at the time was hosting her mtv show it’s on with alexa chung.
all my own stunts: yet another song written about alexa, the song is about alex moving to New York with alexa for her career, but he ended up being left alone in their flat & wasting a lot of time there while she was gone.
am (album): if suck it and see is the album for alexa & alex’s relationship, then am is the breakup album.
do i wanna know: after alexa & alex split in 2011, there were a few instances of them being spotted together in the years leading up to the release of am. the two were reported as still being friends, & alex spent a period of time on his own before he started dating arielle vandenberg later that year. “too busy being yours to fall for somebody new” & “crawling back to you” could potentially be about how they still got together for a little bit after the breakup & how alex was truly upset by it.
knee socks: another ode to a girlfriend past, this song is almost definitely about alexa because one of her wardrobe staples during their time together were her knee socks. “you & me could’ve been a team” shows that this was written about an ex, & “you cured my january blues” fits the timeline of alex’s breakup with johanna & how he met alexa a few months later in april. when he says “i got a feeling i might’ve lit the very fuse” he is referring to the show alexa co-hosted from mid-2012 to the end of 2013 ‘fuse news’. additionally, in alex’s infamous valentines day poem to alexa it is revealed that they didn’t get together immediately after they met, which fits the line, “you were a stranger in my phonebook i was acting like i knew”.
fireside: another song written post-breakup, this one is more subtle in its references to chung. “in my heart there’s that hotel suite/& you lived there so long/it’s kind of strange now you’re gone” refers to the fact that up until this point, alexa had been alex’s longest relationship, four years together, he had written songs about her, their relationship had inspired a full album, he had even moved to the us for her, so now that it’s over he’s not used to the void where alexa once was. additionally, the lyric “& your fuse is fireside” is another allusion to alexa’s show ‘fuse news’.
