Arctic Monkeys: Classic Or Dud?

She denied the Golliwogg symbol was being "retired" because it was an offensive image. "We sell 45 million jars of jam and marmalade each year and they have pretty much all got Golly on them," said Ms Knox. "We also sell 250,000 Golly badges to collectors and only get 10 letters a year from people who don't like the Golliwogg image".[1]

"Your name ain't Rio but I don't care for sand..."

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Ailx.wh3rd.net+arctic+monkeys

Please use those.

Absolutely fucking dud.

Their debut seems to be on countless lists of "best albums of the '00s" and to this fucking day I've never been able to figure out why. Sure, there's the occasional witty lyric and some good drumming, but witty lyrics and good drumming alone do not make a great album. Alex Turner's delivery and incredibly limited melodic sense on top of some of the most lumpen chord progressions leads to pretty much every song sounding near enough the fucking same, and most of the material for me most part strikes me as being very unmemorable. To be honest with you, I thought these fuckers were nothing more than a fad back in 2006 and never really understood why everyone seemed to be collectively ejaculating at the mere thought of 'em, especially when there were much better bands around at the time. In fact, I thought so little of them that I remember thinking that maybe, just possibly, their careers would be over in a small handful of years a la Kula Shaker when everyone realised how rubbish they were. I wasn't a massive fan of Franz Ferdinand either, but I thought they were miles and miles ahead of Arctic Monkeys at the time, and still think they're the superior band. Listening back, Franz Ferdinand's debut still holds up incredibly well. The Arctic Monkeys one doesn't, but did it ever?

Melodic sense certainly developed in some positive directions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12dzPEm9J6A

Haha, er...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rq0Ag15sAI

yeah i wouldn't really hold their debut against them anymore, they've grown tremendously

The second album >>>> the debut

I've been pleasantly surprised at how their fifth album is their best seller.

im a fan, but yeah, a lot of their songs do follow lumpen indie structures/chord changes with tragic faithfulness which ruins the replay value.

last album had some of their best stuff though, even if the dr dre production impersonation could occasionally have been done a bit better.

I always pictured Alex Turner giving a sly wink after that "save it for the morning after" lyric in Teddy Picker. I never got this band despite all my friends going crazy for them back in '06. I do like some kitchen-sink lyricism but they never did it for me and the new stuff sounds compressed and boring like all modern rock does now. and Alex Turner has turned into shithead Indie Bono. I do like "Cornerstone" though. They got it right there imo.

This band paved the way for a new, bright future by being slightly less lumpen than their 05-07 landfill chums

I've been a fan of them since their second album and I think they've only gotten better at just about everything since then. What Alex Turner's always had from the beginning though is undeniable charisma. Even back in 05 when they were shit at guitar and all the songs sounded the same he had a commanding presence.

This band paved the way for a new, bright future by being slightly less lumpen than their 05-07 landfill chums

― Master of Treacle, Thursday, July 16, 2015 10:10 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ooh, I dunno. As I said before, I thought Franz Ferdinand were making better music at the time, and I still think Bloc Party, Maximo Park and The Futureheads debut albums are all good records, even if they seemed to struggle to match those albums afterwards.

What Alex Turner's always had from the beginning though is undeniable charisma. Even back in 05 when they were shit at guitar and all the songs sounded the same he had a commanding presence.

― MrExplorer, Friday, July 17, 2015 12:28 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm beginning to think I must be one of the few people on Earth who is completely blind to Turner's supposed "undeniable charisma" ... but that rock'n'roll, eh? Invoice me for the microphone.

Correction. Witty lyrics and good drumming alone does make a great album.

Okay, so after giving Humbug a couple of spins and finding myself really liking it... I'm going to revise my opinion from "dud" to "mostly dud" ...

A.N.I.M.A.L.!

i actually don't know that album. i did buy it but resold it before i even opened it, now i can listen on Spotify.

i love AM and think it's the best thing this band has done. songs like "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?," "One For the Road," "Arabella," "Fireside," the wonderful "Knee Socks" and of course "Do I Wanna Know?" might be my most played album in 2013.

I did try AM at one point, but was put off because I thought the first couple of songs sounded identical.

There are a couple where I never quite registered one song had ended and a different one had started.

'One for the road'/'Arabella'

there's a much longer thread about AM somewhere i think?

they peaked at Suck It And See IMO, the Glastonbury show in between Suck It.. and AM was extraordinary.

Hmm. I should listen to Suck It and See today - it seems to be the album of theirs that nobody talks about.

Humbug is getting stronger with each spin. I still hate that first LP, though.

About time they did a new one.

and paid some tax!

Ah, nobody used to mind when the Stones did that..

Sounds like they've made their Hot Space. I'm here for it!

Anyway some bright spark has made a Spotify playlist of the tunes Alex Turner said he'd been listening to of late(in a MOJO feature) and it's amazing

https://open.spotify.com/user/1155895922/playlist/5juwa93Oj6U2PEl3s8Vt4w?si=Y_4_zAFRT1GwiysCkx1ZwA

Hot Space is a terrible record, so if that's what the Arctic Monkeys have made then that really doesn't sound promising.

(Although Hot Space does have 'Under Pressure' and 'Back Chat' on it, which are about the only two songs I'd keep from it)

Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

xp Isn't Cool Cat on Hot Space?

Love that song

They've got quite a few good singles, ya know.

So many threads on these guys geez

Haven’t cracked new one. Is it good?

yes

maybe my aoty at this point

brad otm

Really good with a few weird play-them-once-skip-them-forever-after tracks. Also an 8.1 on Pitchfork, 0.1 better than the best review they'd had on the site previously (for AM).

Liked the rolling stone article. Got the record but haven’t played it beyond track 1. Haven’t heard any other records by these guys tbh

Took me a second to realize these were not all the same person:

https://img.wennermedia.com/article-leads-horizontal-1400/397816-e4_16a-edit---pc-zackery-michael---300dpi-2-efdcb0ae-ef35-45c7-8933-e7b213268dcc.jpg

my fav monkeys song remains "Leave Before The Lights Come On," a non-album single which apparently has a video starring Paddy Considine?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEukS2YN9B8

Let me rank my favorites.

Classic and dud at the same time, great highs, abysmal lows... they obviously have good taste but perhaps they’re too self-conscious.

Humbug is one of their best albums, IMO.

second greatest band since beatles therefore third greatest oat obv