brits: explain arctic monkeys

OK, so who amongst us is popping out lunchtime to buy the Arctic Monkeys album?

-- mcd

You lucky lucky people.

also, significantly, they follow in a great tradition of british working class 'realism' (cf. loneliness of a long distance runner/coronation street/alan bennet/the clash), parochial in nature, alien to outsiders.

What it says about music in the UK in a wider sense.... *shrugs*

america gave us good charlotte.

I thought Robbie Williams was pretty cute when he tried to "break" over here. We didn't get him either.

Innit, there can barely be a country on the planet where boring rock music isn't wildly popular

How many albums do The White Stripes, The Strokes or The Yeah Yeah Yeahs actually sell in their homeland?

You might want to look at some of these articles for basic "explanations" of the phenomenon:
http://search.ft.com/search/totalSearch_Form.html?vsc_appId=ts&symb=&ftsite=FTCOM&searchtype=equity&vsc_query=arctic+monkeys&searchOption=news&x=18&y=10

(although you'll need to subscribe to read)

Maybe one of the more poppy things. I know this is kind of your area so I'm quite worried about the result being something of a letdown, but that was the thing that stuck with me after I'd passed the CD on to someone else

I meant the music, obviously the lyrics and identity are very specifically from northern England. Whether people, especially Americans, can get past that is another matter

Working class? Alan Bennett? Joe Strummer?

The hype is irritating but just 'cos something is hyped doesn't mean it's no good.

Incidentally, I've said this before but - if they remind me of anyone stateside, it's Kings of Leon. Esp. the accents obviously. And they are nothing remotely like Oasis. Thank fck.

no-one's been working class since 1945 anyways.

Bollocks

welfare state yo.

that wasn't my intention at all! i'm just curious.

Something being revived more than once does not equal a cycle, because things are never revived in exactly the same way - cross-pollination due to history prevents that.

Internet now and for a while been perceived as instrumental in breaking bands. It seems to get tacked on to AM press just to strengthen the story, creating a mythology of sorts. The only difference I can see is that somehow the scale of it was a new high (rather than a new thing in itself). If that's deemed noteworthy on it's own terms then fair enough but really it's just a statistic.

Cross-pollination doesn't always come through in either the music or messages though. It's not coming through enough in what I've heard of the AMs whereas I think it seems more evident in the sound of FF or Kaisers.

I think a lot of the people buying the AM's record aren't just in the 15-21 bracket, that explains the two #1 singles. I think that as it's a relatively quiet since the Franz album for releases of that ilk (Just The Strokes and Ashcroft.) Throw in lack of large rock act having a greatest hits over christmas. (Take That, The Progidy, Destiny's Child and Supertramp probably didn;t end up in too many Dad's stockings) I think it's safe to say that a lot of Coldplay, Stereophonics and Oasis fans are buying this record too.

I also guess that Editors slow burn chart success is due to good singles selction at the right time. Bullets was top of the MTV2/NME chart for a long time and re-releasing 'Munich' and knocking a couple of quid from the price has done them wonders. It had still sold 200,000 by October at any rate (When I read that I assumed it was an extra zero.) Does this explain Hard-Fi and Kasiers as well (Kaisers never got above #3 but was only outsold by Blunt and Coldplay.)

Is that all it takes to be a success now? An album with three catchy singles one you can re-release a year after and you quietly shift 5,000 records a week for 8 months. I guess even Funeral fits under that catergory (I think it charted at #47 and then on the back of Neighbourhood #3, Rebelion (Lies) and Wake Up it re-entered the top 50 but not the top 40 until it got so many EOY plaudits.)

OK, explanations over. Now it's the yanks' go.

Put it this way: I'm still playing it, the best track seems to be the one tacked on at the end at the last minute, What's not to like?

Noel Gallagher compares Arctic Monkeys to Oasis
The Oasis star speaks out

Noel Gallagher has stuck up for Arctic Monkeys following Morrissey's comments that success has come to fast for the band.

The Oasis guitarist spoke just hours before the Monkeys opened for the band at the Toronto Air Canada Centre (March 20).

"It happens when it happens, man, and I would say thank God that it does happen," he said. "You'd be a bit of an idiot if you said, 'No, I'm too young for a record deal.'"

He also explained that Arctic Monkeys' success reminded him of Oasis' career, telling the local Toronto Sun newspaper: "We used to sit and read things about us and think, 'Are they talking about the same band?' Cause we've sold a few records but we've not sold that many records, and we're not that popular.'"

He added: "But I would embrace success when it happens. Any level of it. Just fucking get on with it. If the music didn't stand up... but you've only got to listen to (their) tunes. They're unique to themselves. And they've got their own thing and I think it's great. It doesn't sound like anybody else and I like the way that they don't wear shirts and ties and blazers... These kids seem to be pretty much like us. They kind of look like we do."

Morrissey slammed Arctic Monkeys earlier in the week, saying: ""It's happening all too quickly for them. They haven't proved a thing and they haven't had to work very hard - that must make them insecure. It's all a bit unnatural. OK they've sold about 700,000 albums, but it can't be gratifying. They haven't been driving up and down the M1 for fifteen years."

Gallagher however has praised the band's lyrics saying: "I think with the Arctic Monkeys, a lot of it is about the world play. 'Cause they are quite stunning lyrics, to be honest. The thing about the words, it's alright if you understand them."

He continued: "But I'm sure that the Arctic Monkeys couldn't really give a monkey's - whether it translates to people in China or not. They're just doing their thing. And when this kind of thing happens in the first two years, people will dislike the Arctic Monkeys purely for all the hype that surrounds them but that's got nothing' to do with them.

"They're probably as embarrassed by it as people who don't like them, 'They don't fucking deserve it.' They're probably as upset about it as Morrissey is, but there's nothing they can do about it. You've just got to fucking get out there man and ride it out."

eh?

I HATE EVERYTHING THAT ISN'T ME

-- Onimo

OTM, that is what I was thinking.

Morrissey has apologised to the Arctic Monkeys if his recent comments about them caused offence.

The singer was quoted criticising the band's rapid success while at the South By South West festival last week (March 16), suggesting it was too soon and "a bit unnatural".

However Morrissey has issued a further statement to NME.COM, explaining he was not criticising the Sheffield newcomers.

"I'm sorry that the comments I made at SouthBySouthWest about the Arctic Monkeys were printed so harshly in The Times and the NME," states Morrissey.

"I actually quite like the Arctic Monkeys and whatever I said was said with tender, avuncular concern. I hope to God I didn't upset their grannies," he added.

"In any case, I was wrong about their success being too sudden and without any dues paid, because that's exactly how it happened for The Smiths. So, I really should shut it."

Thank god we occasionaly get some decent stuff from the UK!!!!

crosspost

50 cent singles which are not just good but GREAT: wanksta, in da club, candy shop, outta control, just a lil bit, plus he's on lil kim's magic stick, and g-unit's poppin' them thangs.

SO OTM it draws blood from a stone!!!
if you added the Cure or Depeche Mode you'd destroy reality with yr correctness...

I believe the correct term is "rather ripped."

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/mar/04/british-teenager-michael-piggin-planned-new-columbine-massacre

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ADwLN586vw

Obviously he wasn't planning on assassinating rock'n'roll, then.

band this terrorist music now!

ban.
ban.

I think that song on the radio sounds like the Carpenter score to "Escape from New York:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM&feature=kp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OnM2v2DnBo&list=PL5xYrQPWgYDgvJC2YIq0i6n_re2FE9U4G