Arctic Monkeys’ “Sculptures of Anything Goes,” the third track on their album ‘The Car’, plunges listeners further into the record’s signature blend of sophisticated lounge-pop and cryptic, cinematic lyricism. The song paints a fragmented, surreal picture, exploring themes of internal contradiction, performative identity, and navigating a world where boundaries seem blurred and absurdity reigns.
Its core meaning appears to revolve around the struggle to reconcile deeply held personal beliefs with confusing or conflicting actions and observations. Building on the atmospheric, observational tone established by the album’s opener, “There’d Better Be a Mirrorball” (Track 1), this track shifts from personal melancholy towards broader, more surreal reflections on absurdity and contradiction. The speaker drifts through bizarre scenarios and internal thoughts, suggesting a sense of displacement and perhaps a commentary on a culture where “Anything Goes.”
Where the first track sought a specific nostalgic symbol (the mirrorball) to beautify an ending, “Sculptures” seems to survey a wider landscape where such clear symbols might be replaced by ambiguity or chaos treated as art. It’s a snapshot of a mind grappling with incongruity, both internal and external, wrapped in the album’s characteristic cool.
Title Interpretation: Where Chaos Meets Form
The title, “Sculptures of Anything Goes,” immediately establishes a central tension. “Sculptures” implies intention, form, structure, permanence, and perhaps the deliberate creation associated with art or high culture.
In contrast, “Anything Goes” suggests a complete lack of rules, randomness, freedom bordering on chaos, and potentially a lowering of standards or moral relativism. Juxtaposing these ideas creates a powerful image: a state where formlessness is given form, where chaos is presented or perceived as if it were a deliberate structure or piece of art.
The title hints at a world or mindset observed by the speaker where contradictions are normalized, or where the lack of clear meaning or values is itself treated as a defining feature, perhaps even celebrated or exhibited like sculptures in a gallery.
“Sculptures of Anything Goes” Lyrics Breakdown
This section examines the song’s evocative and often surreal lyrical journey, exploring the meaning within each distinct part using concise paragraphs.
Verse 1: Conflicting States
The song opens with a direct internal conflict: the speaker questions how to maintain their unwavering, “infallible” beliefs while simultaneously behaving aggressively or confrontationally (“sockin’ it to ya”). This introduces the theme of hypocrisy or the difficulty of living up to one’s own ideals.
The scene then shifts to a bizarre, imagined future scenario: performing in Spanish on Italian TV. This image amplifies feelings of displacement, cultural confusion, and performing out of context.
This surreal projection is sharply contrasted with a mundane, intimate thought: wondering if an ex-partner’s mother still thinks about him. This highlights the speaker’s fragmented state of mind, drifting between grand performances and small anxieties.
The verse concludes with a drawn-out “Hallelujah,” delivered perhaps with resignation, irony, or awe at the sheer strangeness of it all.
Chorus: Art and Ambiguity
The chorus presents a striking visual metaphor set within a gallery space. We see “blank canvasses,” symbolizing potential, emptiness, or undefined futures.
These canvases are positioned near or are “flowing towards” sculptures explicitly named “Anything Goes.” This central image suggests that in this artistic or cultural space, the lack of rules or the acceptance of any standard is itself enshrined as art.
The setting, with its “marble stairs,” implies a place of status or high culture, adding a layer of irony. It seems chaos and ambiguity are not just present but are formally exhibited.
Verse 2: Confrontation and Change
This verse appears to shift towards a direct address. It begins with a “vague sense of longing” personified as something disruptive, “trying to cause a scene,” suggesting an underlying dissatisfaction.
The speaker then directly confronts the listener (“Guess I’m talking to you now”), accusing them of “puncturing” their own relatability due to a “horrible new sound” – perhaps a change in style, opinion, or authenticity.
The verse concludes by observing that the “mixed messages” once delivered by this person no longer hold the same power now that they are stated plainly. This implies changing communication dynamics.
Verse 3: Surreal Scenarios and Escape
The final verse dives deeper into surreal imagery. It references “City Life ’09,” likely an obscure video game, noting the difficulty in obtaining its “simulation cartridge.” This could symbolize niche interests or the difficulty of accessing specific past experiences.
This is contrasted with the speaker’s professed “idea of a good time”: mundane “village coffee mornings,” but populated by intriguing “retired spies.” This juxtaposition creates a quirky, slightly paranoid ideal.
The verse culminates in a plea for help amidst an absurd situation. The speaker asks the listener to flash a harsh “angle grinder smile.” Then, they need assistance getting “untied / From the chandelier,” while bizarrely “twizzling ’round an umbrella” and promising to “sing a tune.”
This final scene portrays the speaker trapped in a ridiculous predicament, resorting to performance and relying on the other person for escape, solidifying the song’s playful absurdity.
Symbols of Incongruity and Performance
“Sculptures of Anything Goes” uses a rich tapestry of contrasting images and metaphors to explore its themes of contradiction, absurdity, and performance.
Infallible Beliefs vs. Sockin’ It To Ya
This opening juxtaposition symbolizes internal conflict or hypocrisy – the struggle between holding strong ideals and potentially contradictory actions.
Performing in Spanish on Italian TV
This surreal scenario symbolizes feelings of displacement, cultural misunderstanding, and performing out of context, like an imposter. (Lyrics: “Performin’ in Spanish on Italian TV”)
Blank Canvasses / Sculptures of Anything Goes
Canvasses represent potential or emptiness. The sculptures embody the theme that chaos or lack of standards (“Anything Goes”) is treated as fixed art (“Sculpture”), perhaps critiquing cultural norms within a gallery setting. (Lyrics: “Blank canvasses… Flowing towards sculptures of Anything Goes”)
Puncturing Your Bubble of Relatability
This metaphor describes challenging someone’s perceived connection with others, possibly due to a loss of authenticity represented by a “horrible new sound.” (Lyrics: “Puncturing your bubble of relatability / With your horrible new sound”)
Mixed Messages
This refers to contradictory signals. The observation suggests that past ambiguity loses its effect when stated plainly, symbolizing shifting communication dynamics. (Lyrics: “Baby, those mixed messages ain’t what they used to be”)
City Life ’09 Simulation Cartridge
This obscure reference likely symbolizes niche interests, the difficulty accessing specific pasts, or perhaps the constructed nature of reality. (Lyrics: “The simulation cartridge for City Life ’09”)
Coffee Mornings with Retired Spies
Juxtaposing mundanity (“coffee mornings”) with intrigue (“retired spies”), this image symbolizes the speaker’s quirky ideal of enjoyment, finding comfort in the peculiar or observational. (Lyrics: “Village coffee mornings with not long since retired spies”)
Angle Grinder Smile
This metaphor describes a harsh, forced, possibly threatening expression, likening it to an industrial tool. It represents insincere or aggressive emotional displays. (Lyrics: “Flash that angle grinder smile”)
Chandelier / Umbrella / Singing
This cluster depicts a surreal predicament. Being tied to a “chandelier” symbolizes feeling trapped absurdly. Twirling an “umbrella” adds incongruity. Offering to “sing a tune” represents resorting to performance as a coping mechanism while awaiting rescue. (Lyrics: “…help me to get untied / From the chandelier / And twizzling ’round an umbrella / I’ll sing a tune”)
Crafting ‘The Car’: The Story Behind “Sculptures of Anything Goes”
Positioned as the third track on Arctic Monkeys’ 2022 album ‘The Car’, this song further solidifies the record’s commitment to a sophisticated, lounge-influenced sound infused with complex lyrical themes. It introduces a darker, more experimental edge compared to the first two tracks, characterized by its heavy bassline and atmospheric synthesizers.
Produced by James Ford, the track benefits from his ability to weave intricate sonic textures that complement the enigmatic mood, balancing retro coolness with an unsettling feeling.
While Alex Turner remains characteristically elusive about direct meanings, the song fits within ‘The Car’s’ broader context. Interviews highlighted themes of performance, shifting identities, cinematic influences, and observations on modern culture – all palpable here. The song feels like a prime example of Turner’s vignette style, stitching together disparate images.
Interpretations often focus on commentary on cultural relativism (“Anything Goes”), the nature of art, or the fragmented nature of experience. Specific links between the bizarre scenarios and real band events are not confirmed; they function more as surreal metaphors. (Reference: Interviews with Alex Turner/Arctic Monkeys regarding ‘The Car’, reviews of the album, information on producer James Ford).
Conclusion: Embracing the Absurd
Arctic Monkeys’ “Sculptures of Anything Goes” is a captivatingly cryptic piece showcasing the band’s adventurous spirit on ‘The Car’. It masterfully blends internal conflict with surreal external observations, creating a mood both sophisticated and unnervingly absurd. Produced with atmospheric detail by James Ford, the track uses its looping groove and dense imagery to explore contradiction, performance, and cultural ambiguity.
Through Alex Turner’s fragmented narrative, the song juxtaposes profound beliefs with questionable actions, high art with chaos, and mundane life with bizarre fantasy. It leaves the listener pondering authenticity and the ways we navigate a world where, perhaps, the lines are blurred and “Anything Goes” is the prevailing aesthetic. It stands as a complex, intriguing, and sonically rich part of the unique journey ‘The Car’ offers.