|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 20, 2006 8:35:13 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (Domino) Paul TaylorIT'S possible to draw a timeline back through British pop music in which all the interesting landmarks are provided by the stroppy voices of urban yoof, from the lager-fuelled poetry of The Streets in the noughties, to the world-rogering self-confidence of Oasis in the nineties, to the cooler-than-thou reign of the Stone Roses in the eighties to the foundation-quaking explosion which was the Sex Pistols in the seventies and, of course, the sweet but edgy-in-their-time Beatles in the sixties. OK, that misses out a lot of good stuff, but you get the idea: he who shouts loudest gets heard, and it's never a bad thing to do that shouting with a northern accent. Do the Arctic Monkeys, the rough-and-ready voice of Sheffield, provide the landmark for the late-noughties? On the strength of this hotly-anticipated album, the answer must be "perhaps", though Hard-Fi must be sorely displeased not to have received quite as much hero-worship for their equally worthy evocation of the life in the suburban ghettos of Middlesex. Skinner It is the voice of Ordinary Bloke which connects Arctic Monkeys with Mike Skinner - the perspective of Joe Bloggs, the idea that the rock star is no longer the lofty commentator on life, but the man or woman in the street who just gets a crack at saying what everybody else is feeling. He is just another one of the binge drinkers helping the police with their inquiries in the Arctic Monkeys' song Riot Van. This is punky pop for the age of the blogger. The Arctic Monkeys, of course, would hate such analysis. They just sing rough-hewn songs about nights out hoping for a legover, encounters with scary bouncers, petty criminals and scumbags, all the while specialising in a sneering dismissal of all things pretentious. "You sold your soul to the fashion. You're a Topshop princess," sneers Alex Turner, but still pragmatically concludes "Yeah, I'll still take you home". There's absolutely nothing new in the Arctic Monkeys' ragged riffmongery, it's just an authentic voice which has managed to sneak its way through to the public via the internet. Released on January 23
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 8:09:22 GMT -5
Blog band up to Monkey business
31jan06
IN the Chinese horoscope, 2006 is the Year of the Dog but as far as the music industry is concerned it's the year of Arctic Monkeys, four spotty Sheffield youths who are the most talked about new band since the arrival of Oasis 12years ago.
At the weekend, their album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut in British chart history, beating the Beatles and Oasis. The album, to be released in Australia next month, reached the top of the British charts after recording 363,735 over-the-counter sales in its first week of release. Album downloads from iTunes and other online stores, which have not yet been included in the tally, are likely to push the opening sales past 400,000.
It sounds like hype, but that is a commodity Arctic Monkeys have shunned throughout their meteoric rise. The group, three of whom are 19 and all of whom live with their parents, turned down an invitation to appear on music television. No videos, no promos, no "bollocks", as they put it. Arctic Monkeys are the first "blog band" to build a huge fan base before the record industry had even cottoned on. They seemed to come from nowhere.
The means of their ascent via the internet, in the face of the industry's fears about the illegal downloading of music, is not the only thing that distinguishes them. Their raw power and driving songs have caught the public imagination and rescued rock'n'roll from complacency, as did the Beatles, the Sex Pistols, Nirvana and the Strokes before them.
Reviewers wax passionate about Alex Turner, the group's singer-songwriter, whose lyrics follow the British tradition of local social observation conjured up by Ray Davies, Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker. They love his demented voice, described as a blend of Joe Strummer, Eminem and George Formby. Last year he was named by NME as the coolest man in the business, displacing the previous year's joint winners Pete Doherty and Carl Barat, both formerly of the Libertines.
His sharp songs describe the experience of being a teenager in the provinces: disputes with club bouncers, chatting up girls, the temptations of two-timing, being slapped around by police in the back of a riot van, and trying to fit six blokes in a taxi made for five.
Unusually for such a young band, its musical talent is spread evenly, encompassing guitarist Jamie Cook, the eldest at 20, drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson. "It's a brilliant rhythm section," says Mark Edwards, The Sunday Times's rock critic. "The vibe is there and it's really well rehearsed."
Since the first Strokes album appeared in 2001, guitars have returned with a vengeance, but the scene has become dominated by arty, knowing, new-wave rock music. At one extreme is Doherty, the troubled singer of Babyshambles. In a sense Arctic Monkeys have occupied the musical terrain where Doherty would be if he could concentrate long enough to stay off Kate Moss and drugs.
The group rubbish the idea that their instant success last year with the single I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor can be attributed solely to the internet. "That's what the media said; they have to put a dampener on it," Nicholson says. "No, it got to No.1 because it's a f---ing good song that people wanted to buy."
They have a point. New groups have always been obliged to build a fan base before a record company will sign them. The Beatles's instrument was the Cavern; for many new groups it's the internet. Hundreds of bands hope to be discovered there, but only exceptional ones succeed. Yet there was was no internet masterplan, Arctic Monkeys maintain. They had posted a couple of songs on their website and gave away 20 demo CDs at each gig. The CDs carried their own artwork, many featuring a picture of Helders's uncle with an airgun, which they thought looked "right cool".
Unknown to them, the fans uploaded the songs to the website myspace.com, the launchpad for many unsigned bands. The group were largely ignorant of the site, but were not bothered that their music was being dispensed free. "There's nowt you can do to stop it, and we were just chuffed to bits that people wanted to hear it," says Turner.
Word spread rapidly. This first became plain to the group when they were playing the Sheffield Forum: the fans knew the words to their unrecorded songs better than Turner, who had not learned them properly.
Even when their Dancefloor record shot to the top of the charts, they seemed uncaring. "We didn't know we were going to No.1, we didn't want to know," Cook says. "We all went down to the local pub."
Soon they were fighting off journalists. "It were amazing," says Turner. "That day it was like, 'Sky News wants to talk to you'."
It's odd to think that rock music's hottest band had their first gig as recently as the summer of 2003 at a Sheffield pub where they earned pound stg. 27 from the ticket money. "We were very nervous but it were right exciting," Turner says. Arctic Monkeys are from High Green, a northern suburb of Sheffield. Turner and Helders had been friends since primary school and knew Cook as a neighbour. Nicholson joined the latter two at secondary school. They would all hang out near the school playing fields. "We weren't hooligans but we knew people that were," says Turner.
Turner, whose mother teaches German and whose father is a music teacher, received a guitar for Christmas in 2001, as did Cook. Seeing other Sheffield friends forming bands, the pair linked up with Helders and Nicholson.
The band "sort of formed itself". They had little idea what they were doing, but playing any kind of music together seemed like an achievement. Their influences ranged from hip-hop and Queens of the Stone Age to the Smiths and Oasis. There were other inspirations: Sheffield had produced the synth-pop innovators the Human League, the heavy metallers Def Leppard, the soulful rocker Joe Cocker and the arch indie rockers Pulp. The band's name was suggested by Helders's father, who had once played in a group called Arctik Monkeez. Turner, who believes Helders has a better voice, only took on the singing role when nobody else would. He sounded initially like a strangled American and wrote meaningless lyrics just for the sake of having something to sing.
However, inspired by the Mancunian punk poet John Cooper Clarke, he developed a sardonic style of chronicling what he saw around Sheffield, and found his singing voice by reverting to his local accent.
Steering clear of record labels and eschewing London, the band played all over the Midlands, the north of England and Scotland. Even by the end of 2004, when the music industry was taking notice, Turner and Helders were still considering university. Cook was working as a tiler and Nicholson was on the dole.
London record agents swarmed up to Sheffield, but the band signed with Domino, an independent label that has found success with Franz Ferdinand. On the strength of their hit single, they toured Japan, the US, Spain and Italy. Even now they see fame as a poisoned chalice.
They cannot wait to get back on tour. Playing live is the only time they feel in control. All the rest is "propaganda and bollocks". The Beatles believed that once, but not for long.
The Sunday Times
The single I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor is released on February 12, and the album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not on February 18.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:27:26 GMT -5
'Arctic Monkeys': White HotLONDON, Jan. 31, 2006------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Arctic Monkeys, from left to right, are Andy Nicholson, bass guitar; Matt Helders, drums; Alex Turner, lead vocalist and guitar; and Jamie Cook, guitar. (CBS/The Early Show)
(CBS) They're a hard driving, good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll band with, as the saying used to go, a beat you can dance to. And, reports Mark Phillips, they're turning the music business upside down. Arctic Monkeys is their name and, not only have they just had the biggest-selling debut album in British rock history, taking a raw, edgy look at young British life, they've done it in a completely different way. Their CD, "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not," was only released Jan. 23 and has sold more than 360,000 copies. "Arctic Monkeys have made it look as easy as falling off a log," remarks rock writer David Sinclair. "They're just, basically, four lads from Sheffield; teenagers who've put together their songs and released them through the Internet." Four fairly ordinary, badly-dressed lads, at that, observers say. Playing gigs around the northern English town of Sheffield, the band simply gave away CDs of their early songs to their fans, who then obligingly spread them around on the Internet. It's called viral marketing and, says Phillips, word spread with the music until they were the hottest thing around. "They came to the attention of the public via the Internet, and you had chat rooms, everyone talking about them," says Gennaro Castaldo of HMV Records. The un-hyped hype created such a buzz that, when their first album came out last week, it flew off the shelves, selling more than first albums by the Beatles, the Stones, you name it, Phillips says. "To actually have a band that seems to have done it for themselves … who, through their fans, managed to get it on the Internet," adds Castaldo, "get that kind of buzz going and now achieving this huge chart success, I think that's why the media responded and why the broader record-buying public has reacted as well." Part of the band's appeal, notes Phillips, is "attitude." They've got plenty. They won't appear on TV pop music shows. They won't do interviews. They won't sell out, except in record stores. And it's left the big record companies scratching their heads. The big acts in today's pop world benefit from massive promotion from the industry, and massive play on the cable music channels. But the Arctic Monkeys did it themselves. "It's a big wakeup call to all the record companies, the establishment, if you like. … This lot caught them all napping," says Sinclair. "We are living in a completely different era, which the Arctic Monkeys have done an awful lot to bring about." The Arctic Monkeys' music and attitude may not translate when their CDs go on sale in the United States in a few weeks but, Phillips says, "They probably don't care." Some music industry insiders wonder whether this will be the biggest British invasion since the Beatles.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:30:55 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys have been covered by Sugababes.The girl group are set to release their version of 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' as the B-side to their upcoming single 'Red Dress'. In October, Arctic Monkeys knocked Sugababes' 'Push The Button' from the top of the UK singles chart when they released the song. Arctic Monkeys' 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not' this week became the UK's fastest-ever selling debut album. The LP topped the chart after racking up 363,735 sales in its' first week. That now overtakes Hear'Say - 306,631 snapped up their 'Popstars' album in its' first seven days onsale in March 2001. 'Red Dress' is set for release on March 6.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:33:58 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys most popular band onlineThe official site the Arctic Monkeys is the most visited bands and artist site in the UK, with an increased interest in community sites helping to generate the band's popularity, according to new research. Web research firm Hitwise reports that the Sheffield band, who this week achieved the fastest-selling debut album of all time, have seen searches on the band increasing by 62% ahead of the release of their debut album, Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not. Hitwise analysis reveals that when the band was virtually unknown, visits to their website, www.arcticmonkeys.com, came from chat rooms and blogs, with the majority of traffic coming from MySpace.com. However, as the band's name recognition grew, search engines have become a more important source of visits, according to Hitwise. Heather Hopkins, director of research for Hitwise UK said: “Viral marketing is both a challenge and an opportunity for online marketers. Blogs and chat rooms can be a venue for consumers to rant about a negative experience but can provide opportunities to build awareness of a product, service or, in the case of the Arctic Monkeys, a band.” The Sheffield band, who built up a substantial fan base through the internet in the last year, saw searches noticeably increase in the weeks leading up to the release of their debut single I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor, which went on to take the number 1 spot in the singles chart the week of 29 October 2005. Now in January 2006, the Arctic Monkeys are the most searched-for band on the Internet and also the most popular band online, accounting for 3.25% of visits to the Bands and Artists category for the week ending 28th January, up from 1.89% market share just a week earlier. The second most popular website belongs to that of The Ordinary Boys, www.theordinaryboys.com, a website which first entered the Hitwise rankings just 3 weeks ago coinciding with lead singer Preston’s appearance in Celebrity Big Brother. In addition, Hitwise analysis reveals that UK consumers are increasing their use of online communities, with the sector growing 10% year-on-year in December. In terms of sites, last week visits to MySpace had grown 555% year-on-year, visits to Spaces.MSN.com had grown 1056%, visits to Bebo had grown by 6009%, and visits to Piczo had grown 2173%. These sites were all among the top 10 Net Communities and Chat websites last week based on market share of UK internet visits, whilst only one (www.myspace.com) featured amongst the top 10 just one year ago. MySpace.com is currently ranked number 16 of all sites online. Hopkins added: “Online marketers should proactively monitor online conversations around their brand, product, and industry. These online conversations provide raw customer feedback in real-time and can identify future competitive threats or opportunities whilst Hitwise clickstream data identifies sites that are growing in popularity through viral channels.”
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:36:29 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys Advance Tickets Sell Out In Minutes Leaving many disappointed...by Scott Colothan on 1/31/2006Arctic Monkeys’ pre-sale tickets sold out in a matter of minutes yesterday. Advance tickets went on sale through Arctic Monkeys’ official website at 6pm, but thousands of fans were left empty handed. Fan had to go on the website and wait in queuing system. After a few minutes, those who got to the front of the queue found that all tickets had sold out. The remaining tickets go on general sale from 6pm on Thursday and once again are expected to go within minutes. The tour dates are as follows: Nottingham Rock City – April 13 Glasgow Carling Academy - 14 Newcastle Carling Academy - 15 Bournemouth BIC - 17 Plymouth Pavillions - 18 Wolverhampton Civic - 19 Newport Centre - 21 Rotherham Magna Centre - 22 Blackpool Empress Ballroom - 23 Hull Ice Rink - 25 Cambridge Corn Exchange - 26 London Brixton Carling Academy - 27
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:39:00 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys
Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (Domino)‘Hotly-anticipated’ is a dirty term, used by the lazy to describe the undeserving. For once, it’s apt. Since the sensational success of ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’, breath has been held and fingers crossed... can this album satisfy the rabidly high expectation? This isn’t a singles-based tour-de-force. Arctic Monkeys have brattishly created what nobody is referring to as “a three-pronged accompaniment to urban disaffection”. Yep, it’s a three-parter. The first part, featuring ‘I Bet…’ and second-best single ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’, thrashingly observes the escapism, or otherwise, offered by your average night out. The second, with ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ its stand-out track, is subdued, reflecting the often grim life of being in t’ city. The third, comprising just closer ‘A Certain Romance’, marries the two – half-upbeat, half-down, promising it’s not all bad. This sounds painfully trite and it frequently is. Arctic Monkeys don’t believe in understatement and everything on Whatever…, from the bleakly observational lyrics to the predictable, miserable artwork (it’s some youths! Looking disaffected!) is so polished and decisive as to preclude engagement by the listener. Also, this has been done before, more eloquently and universally, by The Streets. Mike Skinner may be southern, but there’s nothing uniquely northern about Arctic Monkeys’ voice, other than vocalist Alex’s unmistakeable twang. This may be worth buying for the singles alone, but in no way heralds a new sensation. By Alison Lutton
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:42:14 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys Hailed as "Music Saviors" by Pulp FrontmanPulp frontman Jarvis Cocker is hailing British rock phenomenon Arctic Monkeys as the saviors of the music industry - for proving talent can outweigh hype and promotion. The rockers' album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not was yesterday named the fastest selling debut disc in British music history, after clearing 363,735 units in just one week - despite a non-existent marketing campaign. And the Common People star hopes record companies will take notice of their rise and focus on finding talent, rather than manufacturing pretty pop groups. He says, "I think it's very important because they've done it without trying. The only reason people have got into it (the music) is because they've listened to it and they like it, so it's something real. I guess all the music industry will probably think 'how can we emulate that or what can we do?' I think there's nothing they can do about it because it's something that has happened naturally, there's no way to apply spin doctorism to it."
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:45:21 GMT -5
Jarvis Cocker Praises Arctic Monkeys His Sheffield city mates...by Scott Colothan on 1/30/2006Fellow Sheffield lad Jarvis Cocker has heaped praise on the Arctic Monkeys. The Pulp frontman loves the way the Monkeys have achieved phenomenal success without trying and believes the foursome have got what it takes to rise above the hype. In fact he sees Arctic Monkeys’ success as a triumph over the pop industry that pumps millions into their acts to make them big. As contact music quotes, Cocker explains: “I think it's very important because they've done it without trying. "The only reason people have got into it (the music) is because they've listened to it and they like it, so it's something real. "I guess all the music industry will probably think 'how can we emulate that or what can we do?' "I think there's nothing they can do about it because it's something that has happened naturally, there's no way to apply spin doctorism to it."
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:47:19 GMT -5
Fever rises for Arctic Monkeys
Sat Jan 28, 2006 By Lars Brandle
LONDON (Billboard) - The year may be young, but the Arctic Monkeys are already laying claim to be the hottest-tipped British rock band for 2006.
The Sheffield-based rock act's album debut "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" has been flying off the shelves since its January 23 U.K. release. Sales chart compiler the Official U.K. Charts Co. said sales of the album were "in excess of 100,000 units" by mid-day January 24.
Leading music merchant HMV suggested that Arctic Monkeys' country-wide first-week sales could exceed 350,000 units. That would make it the fastest-selling debut album in U.K. chart history, ahead of reality TV show-spawned pop act Hear'Say's "Popstars," which the Official U.K. Charts Co. says sold 306,631 units in its first week.
In the space of a few months in 2005, the four 19-year-olds in Arctic Monkeys rose from being an unsigned outfit with a dedicated fan base to a U.K. singles chart-topper receiving widespread critical praise and attention from the mainstream press.
London-based indie label Domino Records, home of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, won an intense competition to add Arctic Monkeys to its roster.
The album came out a week earlier than originally planned, because "it was so hot that there was no point sitting on it," said Domino founder Laurence Bell. "It certainly wasn't because of Internet piracy. The success of the band already has proved that the Internet is nothing to be scared of."
The group's quick rise at home was built on its glowing live reputation, which swiftly spread in the north of England. The act's buzz has risen to a roar, so much so that the Arctic Monkeys declined Billboard's interview requests. Its U.S. publicist cited fear of overexposure.
At early gigs, the band distributed CD-Rs of demos, which some supporters posted online to share as digital files. "The fans were instigating the movement of the music," Bell says.
Although Bell calls it a "word-of-mouth" phenomenon, "word of Internet" is more appropriate. "I'm not sure there's anything we can compare it to," he said.
In the United States, the album will hit stores February 21 on Domino's American affiliate through a new deal with Alternative Distribution Alliance. Retailers in America are well-aware of the hype, but no one is ready to call the Arctic Monkeys a sure thing.
"That's a really good record, and it has good potential," said Terry Currier, who runs Music Millennium in Portland, Ore. "It could turn into a Bloc Party kind of sales story, but nothing is guaranteed these days." (2005 newcomer Bloc Party's "Silent Alarm" has sold 226,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.)
Domino GM Kris Gillespie, who heads the label's U.S. operation, said the main objective in America has been to keep the hype to a minimum.
"We've been trying to keep a lid on it so it could play out naturally," he said. "The road is littered with bands who were huge in the U.K. and were supposed to do well in the States."
AROUND THE WORLD
In support of the album, the band has completed promotional dates and performances in key territories, including the United States and Japan.
"I think people get tired of hearing about 'the latest big thing from England,' and I think that's a terrible weight for a young band to carry," Bell said. "To come in early and play before the record (is released) is a good thing. It dispels a lot of things."
With the group's debut single, "I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor," and its follow-up, "When the Sun Goes Down," both hitting No. 1, British retailers expect sustained sales.
"They have a great opportunity to sell throughout the year," said Phil Penman, head of music at HMV U.K. & Ireland.
The influential weekly music magazine NME's reviewer section gave "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" 10 marks out of 10, and the group has subsequently received a clutch of nominations for the February 23 NME Awards, including best group.
The band will begin an extensive run of U.K. and European dates January 31 in Nottingham, England. American audiences will have a chance to see Arctic Monkeys in March, including a performance at the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin. Gigs will follow in Japan in April.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:49:50 GMT -5
Sheffield's Arctic Monkeys to set fastest-selling album recordThe Arctic Monkeys rock band from Sheffield, who first built their fan base on the Internet, are all set to have the fastest-selling debut album since chart records began in the UK. The Arctic Monkeys' debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" sold more than 100,000 copies on the day of release, and is currently outselling the rest of the top 20 albums combined. Music critics are showering the band with the highest praise and they have been nominated for four top prizes at next month's NME awards. The Arctic Monkeys have already had two number one singles. Gennaro Castaldo of HMV music and bookshop said that sales could top 350,000 by the end of the week. The British record for the fastest-selling debut album is currently held by the group Hearsay's debut "Popstars" which sold 306,631 in its first week back in March 2001. The Arctic Monkeys played their first gigs in 2003, handing out their demos to fans who had contacted them on their website. The band have signed with the independent label Domino, whose last big discovery was Franz Ferdinand. The Arctic Monkeys are now battling against fellow nominees Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs, Oasis and Franz Ferdinand to be named the Best British Band at the NME Awards on February 23.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Jan 31, 2006 11:51:44 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys in Norwich
Written by Lily Ayre
Arctic Monkeys are one of those bands everyone across the land must surely be familiar with unless they have been living in isolation from the media over the past six months. The Sheffield indie darlings have won the hearts of many, promoting themselves initially by handing out free CDs after their first shows as people left the venue. Due to the power of the internet, the phenomenon spread and it’s clear to see what greatness the 19 year olds have achieved when such papers as The Times or The Telegraph describe the band as "the biggest band since Oasis". Kicking off their autumn tour in Norwich, this night confirmed that the hype most certainly is justified. Friends’ of the band Milburn kicked off the night. Similar in genre to the Monkeys but with the added ska flavour that has fuelled bands like The Ordinary Boys and Hard-Fi; they got the crowd moving and deserve to be recognised in their own right, although it is likely that they shall be referred to as "another" Arctic Monkeys. But with songs like Send In The Boys with catchy lyric ‘the book that you’re reading is upside down’ Milburn are sure to build a strong fan base.
The crowd are so up for it there is an electric atmosphere reading to snap at any minute. Over the speakers a remix of Bigger Boys And Stolen Sweethearts get the crowd singing along and everywhere you turn smiles stare back at you in knowledge that the band are on their way. The band enters on stage and start with an amazing, energetic I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, the bands upcoming single. The Arctic Army, as the fans call themselves, go mental. United in song, they launch into Fake Tales Of San Francisco and start running through the hits they've created. Despite only have one limited release, the 750 or so fans chant back the lyrics to frontman Alex Turner. He holds their gaze in the palm of his hand.
The set comes to an end with classics Mardy Bum, When The Sun Goes Down and anthemic A Certain Romance. This song clarifies the culture of today with lines like 'there's only music so that there's new ringtones' it's clear for all to see that Turner has captured the hearts of everyone in the room. Firm favourites for years to come, you feel that there should be some criticism to make (bar the fact that there was the absence of an encore tonight), that surely the hype is not to be believed. But this cannot be done. Brilliant lyrics, catchy melodes and no signs of drug problems means that, fingers crossed, they will continue to grow and go on to, like Oasis, sell out the likes of Knebworth. Arctic Monkeys - you better believe the hype.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Feb 4, 2006 13:16:03 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Feb 4, 2006 13:40:43 GMT -5
Arctic Monkeys defend album coverThe album cover also features an ashtray filled with cigarette buttsAn Arctic Monkeys spokesman has defended the band's album cover, after it was criticised for showing a man smoking a cigarette. Dr Laurence Gruer of NHS Health Scotland said the chart-topping album's cover "reinforces the idea that smoking is OK", he told the Herald newspaper. But the band's product manager, Johnny Bradshaw, denied it promoted smoking. "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good," Mr Bradshaw said. The Arctic Monkey's debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not has sold more than 360,000 copies since its 23 January release. It features a photograph of a friend of the band smoking on its front cover and an ashtray filled with cigarette butts on its reverse. Dr Gruer, director of public health science at NHS Health Scotland, said: "Although the band is from Sheffield, thousands of youngsters in Scotland will buy it because it is good music. "It is the fastest-selling album in British history, but it gives out the wrong image." He added: "With a blatant image of a guy smoking, it will be seen by many as a cool thing to do." But Mr Bradshaw said: "The image has been used all over the place. "We have not had any complaints from supermarkets or places where the album has been stocked." The band perform in Manchester this weekend as part of a UK tour.
|
|
|
Post by Fuggle on Feb 4, 2006 13:45:30 GMT -5
Hey, hey, we're Arctic Monkeys Bigger than The Beatles? So far so good for the little band that roared
Noel Mengel
A NAME like Arctic Monkeys might conjure images of freezing, squealing apes slithering about on the ice, but everything else about them is about as hot as it gets. If you are a particularly obsessive rock music fan, you might have had one of their songs playing on the iPod for months already. If not, chances are you soon will . . .
"Uh oh," sensible readers will be saying, since they think they have heard this story once or twice before.
"Not another mob that will flame and fade quicker than you say The Vines?"
They can be forgiven for being cynical. The speeding up of popular culture is producing a punishing casualty rate out on the killing floor in the world of pop.
But even if you wouldn't know a Killer from a Dandy Warhol, there is something intriguing about Arctic Monkeys. On the surface, it might appear they are a thoroughly modern rock 'n' roll story. Underneath though, it's a very old one.
In the record game these days, the to-do list of how to sell a new band is down to a fine art.
So fine, in fact, that bands can arrive on a wave of positive publicity but with almost no chance of living up to the unrealistic expectations thus created on their behalf.
If you are getting five-star reviews in the press, you had better be making five-star records. Otherwise, the name of your next song might as well be Hyped to Death.
Bloc Party, anyone? Libertines? Kaiser Chiefs? By the time the second album rolls around – if it does roll around – the listeners have blockbuster fatigue and, wary of the big sell, move on to something else.
The Strokes, The Vines and Franz Ferdinand are all learning to deal with this. If they have any brains, they have come to the same conclusion that rock bands have for the past 50 years or so. The only thing that is really in your control is to write the best songs you can, play cracker gigs every time you go on stage and let your fans tell their friends next time you come back to town.
One might conclude that a fresh-faced band – three aren't yet 20 and all still live at home – won't have been analysing their career that far ahead. But they have.
Not far out of school – where they formed when they were 15, as you might guess by the 10th-grade-but-cute band name – of course they understand what's been happening to their recent predecessors.
The band motto, apparently, is Don't Believe the Hype, which happens to be the name of a Public Enemy song released when they were still in nappies. One of their songs, which is either about record company suits or rock critics, or both, is called Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong but . . .
The modern part of the story is this: The Internet has been a vital part of spreading a buzz which has taken them from the backblocks to top of the charts in a year.
The old-fashioned part? This was no clever viral marketing campaign, or even anything deliberately clever. Mostly it was just word-of-mouth from people who like them, spread further and faster via chat rooms and MP3s.
Here's how it happened.
Four Christmases ago, Alex Turner and school-chum Jamie Cook received guitars as pressies. They started practising and were joined by Andy Nicholson on bass and Matt Helders on drums.
They hail from Sheffield, south Yorkshire, as is apparent when hearing the unmistakable accent of singer-guitarist-songwriter Turner on their debut Australian single, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. His opinion of the band's swift ascension: "What's happened has been proper hysterical."
Arctic Monkeys started playing gigs at establishments such as The Grapes, Sheffield. They thought it was rather cheeky of other young bands to sell their CDs at shows so they just gave away their demos.
Then something unexpected started to happen.
The little-known band would turn up at gigs in the north only to find people had driven from places as far away as Aberdeen to see them. They didn't have a record out, not even the sniff of a recording deal, yet the crowds would be singing along with all their songs.
Those fans with the free demo CDs had put the songs online and started swapping them. One of them, Sheffield girl Karen Barrow, told this not untypical story to The Observer magazine last month.
She was working in Greece when she met a girl wearing a T-shirt with some interesting lyrics. These turned out to be by Arctic Monkeys.
She asked if she could get a copy of their CD. No, they didn't have one, but by this time you could download songs from the band's website.
So she burned a CD to give to a friend working as a DJ in a bar in Greece. People in the bar kept asking who was the band? She kept telling them their website address.
And so did thousands of others, apparently. The curiosity was intense and genuine, a real fan-led revolution.
The band were packing out their shows long before they signed to the Domino label in June. Result: their first two singles went straight to No.1 in the UK, as did their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. It sold 364,000 in the first week of release last month with digital downloads expected to take that past 400,000, the fastest-selling debut album yet in the UK and the biggest thing in UK music since Oasis.
So, what are they like? Witty, excited, tuneful, sharp. As much as fun as, well, a barrelful of you-know-what.
They aren't the saviours of music, don't claim to be. But rock 'n' roll, as has been proved many times in the past 50 years, is fuelled by a renewable resource: youthful vigour. And Arctic Monkeys have plenty of that.
The songwriter employing a distinctive English voice is also a noble tradition: all the way from Ray Davies of The Kinks through Paul Weller, Ian Dury, Billy Bragg and to rappers like Mike Skinner in The Streets. Turner is also a fan of punk-era poet John Cooper Clarke, who delivered scattergun lines in a rich Mancunian accent.
But it's fair to say Turner's broad South Yorkshire – complete with "summat" and "owt" and doing a "Frank Spencer" – is probably a first.
Arctic Monkeys aren't embarrassed by where they are from, they celebrate it, respond to it imaginatively, when others might whinge about how miserable it is. The album comes with a superb photographic essay in the accompanying booklet, like a Sheffield 2006 update of those other classic tales of suburban tribes, The Who's Quadrophenia and The Jam's Setting Sons. There's a shopgirl on the bus, friends sharing chips from a styro cup in the back of the car, a grim day outside the Frog and Parrot pub.
Arctic Monkeys songs are like that, too, snapshots of bars, girls, domestic rows, youthful yearnings, beery fights on the cab rank.
Usually, this kind of thing doesn't appeal to Australian radio station programmers. But there's something that seems unstoppable about the little band from Sheffield that roared, already blasting from radios across the nation with their I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor.
And if their boisterous rhythm and razor-sharp guitars don't do it for you, you have to admit a band that gets a mention for the Montagues and the Capulets in a lyric on radio is at least doing their bit to keep another distinctive English bard in currency.
What People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys is out on February 18 through EMI.
|
|