The Arctic Monkeys

blacknapkins · February 2006

I'm waiting for my album to arrive from the UK, but I've listened to what I can find on line and I love them! We have in our possession four tickets to see them in March and we're excited. There's nothing like the rush of getting in on or near the ground floor of a good band.

Jeremy1012 · February 2006

Bradass wrote:

Personally I can't stand them and the way NME is already hyping them up as "The Most Important Band of Our Generation" is hilarious

yes yes yes thank you i agree.

Dabba · February 2006

punk90k wrote:

Is anyone else into these guys? Just set for their 2nd number 1 single in the UK. Album out on Monday - set to be biggest seller in the UK this year.
Four 19/20 year old lads from my city of Sheffield. They basically sing about life in Sheffield and even sing in our dialect!!.
Refused any tv shows apart from Jools Holland. Success came for demos on the internet.
Suddnely they are the biggest band in England. Weird or what. To think not so long ago I sat next to two of them at a Sheffield Wednesday football game!

I think they're great, I love the album, especially fake tales of San Francisco, when the sun goes down and mardy bum. It's good to know that young bands are being listened to again in this country, particularly ones from out this way!
I don't read NME because I think most of what they print is utter bollocks, they hype bands up and then two weeks later slag them off for being too popular!
They might not be on a lyrical par with Pearl Jam but I don't think there's many bands out there that could claim to be. I like them and that's all I'm bothered about.

barcoach · February 2006

Just finished listening to the whole album.
It damn rocks, I liked it more than expected. This is certainly impressive, a few tracks though seem to repeat the same formula, but anyway I loved the huge, frenetic sound of the album. And the lyrics, they didn't seem foolish to me at all, witty and... kind of fitting with the times. Really good for a start, let's see what does future deserve for them.

Man_Of_The_Hour · February 2006

barcoach wrote:

Just finished listening to the whole album.
It damn rocks, I liked it more than expected. This is certainly impressive, a few tracks though seem to repeat the same formula, but anyway I loved the huge, frenetic sound of the album. And the lyrics, they didn't seem foolish to me at all, witty and... kind of fitting with the times. Really good for a start, let's see what does future deserve for them.

I'm pretty sure they will have a lot of success with this album but I'm not so sure what'll happen after that. There is always the "next big thing" that gets hyped in the UK and when it comes to putting together a second album it kinda flatlines, the hype isnt there and the bands dont know in which direction to go from their first album. And I kinda sense this danger with those gyus as well. The songs are catchy and fun but as you've pointed out they are all the same mold and that makes it hard to put out a second album IMO. But what speaks for them is the way they handle all this -almost PJesque because dealing with this stuff plays a big part on how their path continues. If they dont try to impress critics but try to make good music they could be around some time. But thats a bit far ahead I guess, the album has just come out or has yet to come out so good luck with it.

loveboatcaptain_blak · February 2006

the arctic monkeys rule. i heard when the sun goes down a while ago and loved it and then these guys became huge

Mike_No_One · February 2006

The word 'Hype' is being thrown around a lot here. They've never once 'hyped' themselves and point blank refused to give anything of themselves away in interviews. Such is the interest, the beseiged drummer's family even have a sign in their window telling people as much amd to respect their privacy. They are a canny bunch of lads for their age and seem to instinctively know how the media circus can crush the spirit. Of course the press want to latch onto them for a quick buck. Did we expect anything less? Don't let that cloud the Arctic Monkey experience. Just enjoy t'music!

Arctic Monkeys is a great band and, through the sheer love of their music, the fans have propelled them from playing dodgy Working Men's Clubs in Rotherham to record breaking success. Who can fault that!?

Echoes · February 2006

I call bullshit on the fans. Little to no one would be caring about them if NME and other music rags were saying they were the best thing since the beatles.

as to the music? : zzzzz

(UK)_foxymop · February 2006

Echoes wrote:

I call bullshit on the fans. Little to no one would be caring about them if NME and other music rags were saying they were the best thing since the beatles.

as to the music? : zzzzz

... so what of us who never read NME or other "music rags " ?? That's like saying because you don't rate them, they're no good and undeserving of the hype.

I saw them on 'Later with Jools Holland' in October and really liked them .. made me go find out who they were.
That's when I discovered all the hype!

It might be a bit much to say they're the best thing since the Beatles but alot of people are enjoying their music, you're just not one of them.

Mike_No_One · February 2006

Echoes wrote:

I call bullshit on the fans. Little to no one would be caring about them if NME and other music rags were saying they were the best thing since the beatles.

as to the music? : zzzzz

Eh? The band were already successful, locally, thanks to their fans. They gave away their music at gigs and online. That's how I found them out. Now they have the fastest selling record in UK chart history.

If the music press want to jump on the bandwagon and tell everyone what to think this month then so be it. A lot of people happen to be able to form their own opinions about the music they listen to. If people believe what the press say, whether for good or bad, then they're idiots.

Whether you like the band or not, their music certainly isnt zzzzzzz

psycosmic · February 2006

Echoes wrote:

I call bullshit on the fans. Little to no one would be caring about them if NME and other music rags were saying they were the best thing since the beatles.

as to the music? : zzzzz

i can honestly say that i heard them late at night on john kennedy's show on xfm WAY before the nme even knew they existed... i liked what i heard and checked out their demos...
i think they already had their grassroot cult following going and that's the reason why the nme decided they could cash in on their success...
just wait how they'll react when they realize that they can't milk that cow any more...

"Cause all you people are vampires
And all your stories are stale
And though you pretend that you'll stand by us
I know you're sure that we'll fail"

PaulJam · February 2006

I can't find one thing to like about them. They are jut a really bland version of The Libertines in my opinion, but....where's the music? Where's the melody. Ah man, they're so....nothing. I also heard that they get a lot of help with their lyrics.

Just a perfect example of good timing and marketing determining success in music. If I wanted to listen to somebody commentate in such a literal form on things that are as clear as day...then I'd buy a Streets album.

Why are people so braindead! Go and fucking listen to Stevie Wonder.

Mike_No_One · February 2006

PaulJam wrote:

I can't find one thing to like about them. They are jut a really bland version of The Libertines in my opinion, but....where's the music? Where's the melody. Ah man, they're so....nothing. I also heard that they get a lot of help with their lyrics.

Just a perfect example of good timing and marketing determining success in music. If I wanted to listen to somebody commentate in such a literal form on things that are as clear as day...then I'd buy a Streets album.

Why are people so braindead! Go and fucking listen to Stevie Wonder.

Chill. I do listen to Stevie Wonder but music doesn't start and stop with him now does it.

I don't usually go to this much trouble to 'big up' a band ;-) but I really think you're wrong. Where's the music? Well, there's thirteen songs on the album which touch a lot of different musical genres. Funnily enough, A Certain Romance could be straight off a Fugazi album (minus the shouting). And melody? If you listen to it, the album is packed full of melodies. It is a very varied record mate. Why shouldn't Alex Turner, at 19, come up with witty and heartfelt lyrics!? To think that he couldn't is incredibly patronising. You're just perpetuating a silly myth. Hey, maybe Beethoven didn't really perform his first concert aged 8.

Why do people begrudge them their success? I don't understand it. There is a glut of awful, manufactured, formulaic music out there to rail against. Yeah they compare to The Libertines because they reflect their environment - which makes a refreshing change.

Disclaimer: Of course, I am from South Yorkshire so I may be biased.

Adam84 · February 2006

A

Mike_No_One · February 2006

Apache Rose Peacock wrote:

I don't think they are all that.

I'm still waiting for the next REAL musical revolution.

Maybe they are not "all that" *said in a Simon Pegg voice*. However the Arctic Monkeys are very much REAL. Seriously, are you content for your life be a musical void whilst you're sat on your arse waiting for the next musical revolution to be handed to you?

You want pseudo debate? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4677356.stm

pearljam_addiction · February 2006

their album comes out in two weeks here i nthe us, i have heard few songs from them and i like it, so ill prolly pick up the album

psycosmic · February 2006

Mike_No_One wrote:

Maybe they are not "all that" *said in a Simon Pegg voice*. However the Arctic Monkeys are very much REAL. Seriously, are you content for your life be a musical void whilst you're sat on your arse waiting for the next musical revolution to be handed to you?

You want pseudo debate? http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4677356.stm

the fundamental problem here is that there are two kinds of people...

1) those who jump on the bandwaggon and buy an album because nme says it's cool... those who hate on a band just because it is successful or hyped up by the wrong kind of media... those who start smoking because an album cover shows someone who smokes... those who want to ban these kind of images...

2) those who can decide for themselves if they like a band or not, or if they want to smoke or not...

unfortunately, the second group seems to be in the minority... everywhere...

but it pisses me off how ignorant and fucking stupid some people are... this doesn't even have anything to do with the arctic monkeys, the same could be applied to most other bands but since the discussion is very heated in here i will use this thread to vent...

don't get me wrong, for the most part, people here have different opions and discuss them in a civilized manner (it's a discussion forum after all)... in fact, i enjoy hearing different opinions to better define my own...
it's one thing to disagree and state your opinion without insulting others... and i couldn't care less what others call me for liking a certain band, especially on a message board... but what pisses me off more than anything is stupidity... if someone doesn't like the music that's fair enough... but some arguments are so kindergarden it hurts... "nme says they're brilliant so they must be shite and everyone who likes them must be braindead"... "my mum's friend's hairdresser says they never had any fans, it's just a fabricated media scam"... get over it!

ps. in reply to mike's post: simon pegg rules!

psycosmic · February 2006

oh, and if anyone's actually interested in a track-by-track commentary by alex turner and matt helders you can listen here:
http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?b=reviews&id=167849

Man_Of_The_Hour · February 2006

psycosmic wrote:

oh, and if anyone's actually interested in a track-by-track commentary by alex turner and matt helders you can listen here:
http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?b=reviews&id=167849

‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’
“The lyrics are a bit crap on that one, by our standards anyway.”

That's a cool quote. They don't get a big head because of the hype (btw, I agree that hype shouldnt determine how we feel about bands). I like how they go about their sudden stardom. Even though I was a bit critical in this thread, I basically like them and I'm curious how the album'll do.

PaulJam · February 2006

NME hyped The Libertines to the moon!....And I loved every god damn minute of it because they were a GREAT band. The blood, the guts...the endless POETRY (sorry, blackadder moment)....the romance, the intrigue that all went into this beautiful music. It just irks me that such a poor excuse can come and take all the success that belongs to a band like The Libs. But that's life and that's music. I'm over it...but I still hate The Arctic Monkeys. Bada bing.

The Arctic Monkeys

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