The Arctic Monkeys Essay

‘There’s only music, so that there’s new ringtones’ – a one-liner from one of Arctic Monkeys’ song entitled A Certain Romance, encapsulates the nature of the present generation whom they have conquered through their music. In the era where Ipods, social networking, and the vast cyberspace dominate the youth, the Arctic Monkeys became the solid element of representation of today’s music trends.

The rise of this Sheffield rock band from U. K. cause a significant mark in spreading their music through the propagation of their audience by means of the internet and ‘viral marketing’ (a. k. a ‘word of mouth’). From an independent rock band in a small town to breaking into the mainstream music scene, the music of Arctic Monkeys became well-known even before they officially release the fastest selling album in U. K. The nature of their music and the path towards their musical fame perfectly reflected the social trends of not just the youth but of this whole generation. Biography

After receiving their respective instruments for Christmas, main members Alex Turner (vocals and guitars) and Matt Helders (drums) together with friends Jamie Cook (guitars) and Andy Nicholson (bass) formed their band called the Arctic Monkeys in their teens around early 2002 (Dawson 161). Their hobby turned into a serious commitment and decided to drop out of high school when their passion to create their music intensified. The Sheffield community housed a number of underground bands playing small-scale gigs and the Arctic Monkeys became a part of the independent scene by 2003 where they gave out free CDs of their demos to their fans.

Due to the limited supply of these CDs, their fans decided to upload the songs for free download via the internet. This tactic helped boost the band’s popularity with their songs having manifested some of their influences such as The Strokes, The Clash, Oasis, and the Queen of the Stone Age (Leahey Allmusic. com) and resulted into a music of full of energetic danceable post-punk, rock and roll tracks. From the perspective of key writer Alex Turner, their songs reflected the humor, beauty, flaws, and romanticized normal everyday sceneries which an ordinary Sheffield teenager experience.

Themes of hormonal male teenagers fighting in front a bar, irritating taxi drivers, raunchy club bouncers, and young love (Lynskey 2006) reflect on each song. Being ordinary lads themselves, their craft relate to thousands of common people having a dose of experience each Arctic Monkeys track. Their success via the internet and word-of-mouth defied the commercialization in the music industry which is ruled by big-shots record labels. They inspired other bands to market themselves through the internet where the audiences are not limited within a certain territory. Annotated Discography

Ever since the rise of the Arctic Monkey in 2006, they have released two studio albums. Four tracks coming from their albums, Whatever You say I am That’s What I am Not (2006) and Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) will instead be taken into account. Arctic Monkeys. “Fake Tales of San Francisco. ” Whatever You say I am That’s What I am Not. Compact Disc. Domino, 2006. This track from their first official album reflected the diversity of the band. The guitar introduction seems to lean into a reggae tempo then gradually pacing up faster further at the end of the song which brought out the signature intensity of other Arctic Monkeys tracks.

This proved to be one of their most successful songs outside Britain, specifically in the United States. Arctic Monkeys. “I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor. ” Whatever You say I am That’s What I am Not. Compact Disc. Domino, 2006 The first track ever to be commercially released by the Arctic Monkeys, this became the band’s vanguard to commercial and critical success. This is a consistent energy bundle of Arctic Monkeys loudness which embodied the band’s post-punk influences. The danceable and no-breather song and the patterned endearing details of Turner’s lyrics became a major rock and club hit.

Arctic Monkeys. “Brianstorm. ” Favourite Worst Nightmare. Compact Disc. Domino, 2007. The first single off their sophomore album, this track clearly showed the progress that happened on the band’s musicality. Influenced by a lot of harder contemporary rock bands, Arctic Monkeys incorporated a more solid and louder riffs and intense drumming than the ones from Whatever you say I am…This single conveyed the kind of musical path which the Arctic Monkeys will most likely take in future projects. Arctic Monkeys. “Teddy Picker. ” Favourite Worst Nightmare. Compact Disc. Domino, 2007.

This track brought back the same appeal that most of the songs have from their first album. Less heavy than Brianstorm, Teddy Picker is the Arctic Monkeys signature danceable with prominent bass line rock tune. A song which deals with the desire of people for instant fame, the band paired with the metaphor of teddy picker which is a crane use for picking out toys from an arcade booth out of sheer luck. Critical Commentary Off from their first album Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m Not, one of the tracks which gained recognition is a track called When the Sun Goes Down.

It is a detailed narration from a third person point of view about a scummy man and a nameless girl which leaves a strong impression as a prostitute. The song changes its tone from a slow introduction of the two characters to the subsequent fast pace guitar chords and drum beats – a prelude to the unfolding story. Just like in any other tracks, each instrument has its own identity which can be clearly distinguished and heard unlike other contemporary bands where the bass lines are overpowered by the raunchy rhythms and lead guitars.

Turner’s lyrics gave this track an image of a moving storybook where the movements and events in the song have been described in detail. This track leans unto the genre of classic rock with clean guitar riffs and matched with Turner’s Yorkshire singing accent, the song provided that British reality. For More Information Updated news and additional information can be found at Arctic Monkeys Official Website: www. arcticmonkeys. com. Currently the band is in the middle of recording their third studio album.

Those who are interested in following them, the website provide blog entries, photos, news, and videos regarding the progress of their work. Listeners can also go their official forum posted on the website to share thoughts about the band’s music. For people who are generally interested in discovering the latest British music, one can check out the website of The New Musical Express or NME at www. nme. com. The newest music, most especially the British underground bands are being featured in this site where the Arctic Monkeys have numerous exposure.

Aside from the music news, the website offers live podcasts of live music sessions of these new artists. NME have been consistently digging the underground British music scene for talented bands like the Arctic Monkeys to present them to the mainstream industry.

Works Cited Dawson, Mary. How to Get Somewhere in the Music Business. USA: Mary Dawson, 2007. Leahey, Andrew. Arctic Monkeys Biography. AllMusic. 18 March 2009 < http://www. allmusic. com/cg/amg. dll? p=amg&sql=11:0xfyxqesldae~T1>. Lynskey, Dorian. The Lads Are Alright. May 2006. Blender. 18 March 2009 < http://www. blender. com/guide/articles. aspx? id=1897>