Berlin Will Ruin Their Album (In the Best Way)

Marc—devoted reader, self-appointed authority on the Ting Tings—slipped me some intel: Jules and Katie are heading into the studio for their next album, and Berlin is on the shortlist for inspiration, alongside Paris. Their own summary of the situation: We’re mad about Berlin, but I don’t think we’ll get much work done there. Too many distractions.

Which is exactly right. Berlin is where you go when you want to start something and then cheerfully lose the thread for six months. It doesn’t help you finish things—it helps you feel things, and sometimes that’s worth the delay. Nora and I are already here making that exact mistake on a rotating basis, so Jules and Katie will fit right in.

My personal goal for the year, quietly revised: meet Katie White before she gets completely absorbed into Kreuzberg and disappears.