Kelsey Mix – Online Editor/Copy Editor
The Arctic Monkeys are an indie rock group from England that have been around since 2002, but recently their new album ‘AM’ has been circulating around the Internet and the “fan girl” game is strong. ‘AM’ was released in Sept. of 2013 and is still just as popular months later.
‘R U Mine?’ was the first single released from the album back in Feb. of 2012 and it topped the charts all over the world. The music video went viral, as did the faces of these four men. Fans couldn’t resist Alex Turner’s seductive voice and their overwhelming good looks.
In May of 2013, the band debuted a new song from the album titled ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ Now if you thought ‘R U Mine?’ went viral, this one was a thousand times more impressive. The music video alone has almost 40 million views on YouTube, not to mention the attention they get from the thousands of lyric posts and video stills on Tumblr. The Internet has had a huge part in blowing this song up to the caliber that it did. You could classify the music video as “trippy” but it’s a creative masterpiece that matches the song perfectly.
Even though this next track isn’t as popular as the previous two, ‘One For The Road’ has also received a lot of interest from the public—seeing as the music video recently surpassed three million views. It’s still a fantastic song and if you listen to Arctic Monkeys, you’ll feel their vibe the second you hit play.
Another enormously popular song from this album is ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ Being one of the best songs they’ve put out in a long time, I’d completely agree. Although you won’t get the full effect of the song until you watch the music video, this song is fantastic because of the underlying message and the careful lyric choice.
Front man of the band, Alex Turner referred to this album as their most original album yet, especially with songs ‘No. 1 Party Anthem’ and ‘Arabella.’ This album gives off a 70’s vibe while still being current and indie, which is something no band on the charts has done recently. They’ve been influenced by a plethora of different musicians, including John Lennon’s lyrics and Black Sabbath.
Not only did they have rock influences for this album, but what set this one apart from the others is the hip-hop aspect. Outkast, Aaliyah, and Dr. Dre’s beats were all considered while making this album, according to Turner. However, critics have compared them to The Black Keys and The Smiths, a British rock band from the 60’s.
‘AM’ is Arctic Monkeys’ fifth album and I’m surprised it’s taken until now for them to become a household name; although, previous albums ‘Suck It and See’ and ‘Humbug’ did not disappoint. For even earlier albums, Turner studied the culture of their band’s hometown, Sheffield, England, and observed people in nightclubs.
Not only are these men talented musicians, but they’re lyrical geniuses too. Research and hours and hours of thought and drafting goes into each song, and the fans can definitely tell. It’s not difficult in the slightest to appreciate music that comes from a band that is tremendously passionate about what they do, and that’s why Arctic Monkeys is one of the best bands in today’s music industry.
