Arctic Monkeys touring Australia/NZ - May 2014

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quickstraw

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One of the things I like about the AMs is the quality of their non hits (people are calling it B-sides but their whole body of work is a pretty decent standard). So many bands have a few good well known songs and then drop off very quick into an abyss of s**t. The measure of a good band is often the quality of the songs that aren't hits or well known. But at the same time, let's be realistic - there's plenty of other bands with a high standard across the board.
 

Engimal

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My top tracks (I'll narrow it down to my top 3 on each album):

WPSIAM: Riot Van, Mardy Bum, When the Sun Goes Down
FWN: Do Me a Favour, Teddy Picker, 505
Humbug: Cornerstone, Crying Lightning, Secret Door
Suck It And See: Suck it and See, Black Treacle, Reckless Serenade
AM: Arabella, Fireside, R U Mine?

I highlighted my top 5 favourite songs as well. * they're a good band.
 

getthefooty

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* it, I'll chuck my 2c in

WPSIAM: From the Ritz to the Rubble, A Certain Romance, Red Lights Indicate Doors are Secure, When the Sun Goes Down. They're all fun though and Riot Van is great too
FWN: Do Me A Favour, Teddy Picker, Brianstorm, Balaclava, Fluorescent Adolescent
Humbug: Crying Lightning, Secret Door, Pretty Visitors, My Propeller
SIAS: Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair, All My Own Stunts, SIAS
AM: R U Mine?, Arabella, Why'd You Only Call Me..., No.1 Party Anthem, Do I Wanna Know?

Some top tunes I have to leave out.
 

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Gibbsy

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The lyrics are relatable and the chorus is great to scream out. One of the best tracks on the album (of basically no bad tracks)
 

Silent Alarm

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Ritz is cool. Great vibe, the first half does that really cool thing where the instruments seem like they're just about to lose all structure and shape and it's about to turn into a mess. Or it's about to just kick off. Such a great atmosphere. I love how he rushes through half of the lyrics in that time too... like he's got too much to say in not enough time and it's all too important to say so he'll just spit it out.

Certainly makes not getting in fun. He'd clearly never been to Melbourne. Though maybe he had. I can barely walk to a game at Etihad without looking sheepishly at Brown Alley thinking of my conquests and wrong-quests. Don't steal that line either.

Shout out to A Certain Romance too. Going back to WA and seeing people from school at the same old pub feels exactly like that. Except there genuinely ain't no romance around there. Except the 20-year old girls I know who're pregnant.
 
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Just listened straight through Whatever... for the first time since 2007. Brought back lots of memories. The sound is really mid-00s. I remember turning 17 shortly before this album was released. I got all my friends in to it and it was in high rotation all year, one of the regular soundtracks during camping, drinking, BBQs, HSC study, part-time job, etc.

It really rocks out and has lots of great riffs. The lyrics are also very sardonic.
 

WALDENPOND

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I have tried all of their albums and the first has great John Cooper Clarke esque lyrics, and I hate, I mean really hate people saying, 'not as good and never will be as the first album', but for me................
 
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NarniMagic

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What this show at the Palace? I'm pretty sure that's the one I went to! Bloody amazing gig, awesome band, awesome sound, awesome venue and as you can see.. awesome setlist :)
EDIT: Don't worry I just saw your post a couple down :p
 

PuntRoad Celt

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I have tried all of their albums and the first has great John Cooper Clarke esque lyrics, and I hate, I mean really hate people saying, 'not as good and never will be as the first album', but for me................

Definitely agree on the slight JCC esqueness of the lyrics in their earlier stuff. Ive always thought there was a sorta line from The Buzzcocks - The Wedding Present-Arctic Monkeys in the lyrical style and content in their ways of telling a story in around 3 1/2 mins from a Northern English viewpoint (NB Im not saying these bands sound the same).

AM has definitely grown on me and feel it sits well in their catalogue, their sound has changed but theres still that arctic monkeysness about whatever they do that makes it good.

I am a bit concerned about Alex Turner and this persona he has sort of created, this smooth talking, smarmy pseuodo american lounge singer style. noticed it on stage during their gig last year in Glasgow, compared to how he used to behave, wasnt sure at the time about it and the recent speech at the brits, sorta showed that it doesnt work.
 

Silent Alarm

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He's an intelligent guy though, so I don't see why people reckon he's a w***er or cheating his past. I mean is he really supposed to have the same s**t haircut he did in 2005? Evolution is interesting and musicians have always relied on their aesthetic to ship records – and to say something about themselves. Wearing v-neck jumpers during the early days was just as relevant as having half a kilo of gel in his hair in 2014, and I think it's a good thing how they've all seemingly said "how about we wear leather jackets this time around?"

But yeah, he's still an incredibly thoughtful and contemplative person. He will always sing about how he feels and the details that make that up. This "how arrrr ya Missouri!" thing is just playing up to a stereotype. Good on him. If it makes teenage girls in the front row scream louder, cool. You go to a gig to have fun and act like a dickhead and sing out of tune and jump up and down and if he tells people to do it, and they comply, it's a win.

I just reckon it's an image he's tried on now that he has the confidence to. If you want to hear mumblings about girls who now fawn over him, there's that in excess. But it's cool hearing about feeling good and actually getting chicks, even if it is thoughtful and emotional, too.
 

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WALDENPOND

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If you look at the huge amount of post Libertines bands that just ended almost before they started, it's a success in its self they are still going, let alone being adored by the masses.
 

PuntRoad Celt

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He's an intelligent guy though, so I don't see why people reckon he's a ****** or cheating his past. I mean is he really supposed to have the same s**t haircut he did in 2005? Evolution is interesting and musicians have always relied on their aesthetic to ship records – and to say something about themselves. Wearing v-neck jumpers during the early days was just as relevant as having half a kilo of gel in his hair in 2014, and I think it's a good thing how they've all seemingly said "how about we wear leather jackets this time around?"

But yeah, he's still an incredibly thoughtful and contemplative person. He will always sing about how he feels and the details that make that up. This "how arrrr ya Missouri!" thing is just playing up to a stereotype. Good on him. If it makes teenage girls in the front row scream louder, cool. You go to a gig to have fun and act like a dickhead and sing out of tune and jump up and down and if he tells people to do it, and they comply, it's a win.

I just reckon it's an image he's tried on now that he has the confidence to. If you want to hear mumblings about girls who now fawn over him, there's that in excess. But it's cool hearing about feeling good and actually getting chicks, even if it is thoughtful and emotional, too.

Sorry mate, but thats not what I was getting at at all, obviously didnt explain it well enough, my bad.

Im a bit long in the tooth myself, so old enough to know that people change and grow and its a good thing. Bands cant all be how we first thought of them. I think hes a very clever guy, acerbic, witty and at times poetic with his lyrics and I think these have grown along with the change in the style of sound the Arctic Monkeys now make. In fact Suck it and See is probably played more in the car than any of the previous stuff, with AM a close 2nd for now.

I like the new look also, whish I still had hair, then Id maybe try and get the old quiff going one last time myself...:cool:

The change I noticed in him from previous gigs, was how insincere it all sounded when he spoke and the way he acted( NB Ive never been one to fall for the "your the greatest crowd *insert wherever", as you know bands say that at each venue).
I will put it into a sort of context, the gig we attended was actually a rearranged gig, which had been cancelled at very short notice 2 weeks before (went from a weekend gig to a midweek one), when he was trying to apologise and also throw in the old "I cant think of a better place to now finish the tour" etc, he was doing it in a half californian accent, the guys from fecking Sheffield!

Cant fault the sound that night though, really tight and the place certainly rocked.

I dont ever want them to lose their cheekiness, I laughed with them in the past when they showed up at award ceremonies in fancy dress, e.g characters from the wizard of oz. Its great when a band don't take themselves too seriously, but whatever he is trying to do just now, doesnt work for me and I think it showed again during his speech at the brits.
 

mansize rooster

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If you look at the huge amount of post Libertines bands that just ended almost before they started, it's a success in its self they are still going, let alone being adored by the masses.

Yep.
Now here is a good poll idea
Best UK British debut rock single's 2002-07. That would be a real tough one to pick
So many great starts to bands haha
 

Silent Alarm

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The change I noticed in him from previous gigs, was how insincere it all sounded when he spoke and the way he acted( NB Ive never been one to fall for the "your the greatest crowd *insert wherever", as you know bands say that at each venue).
I will put it into a sort of context, the gig we attended was actually a rearranged gig, which had been cancelled at very short notice 2 weeks before (went from a weekend gig to a midweek one), when he was trying to apologise and also throw in the old "I cant think of a better place to now finish the tour" etc, he was doing it in a half californian accent, the guys from fecking Sheffield!
True, but I guess the accent thing comes down to him wanting to complement the more American sounding AM with a more American look. I mean it's Elvis hair and tight Levi's and leather jackets atop western shirts. Vocalising that Americanism is a little lame but I'm such a fan I'll let it slide. As Ezra Koenig said, if you're going to stick with guitars for five albums, you should at least change your hair a little bit. I reckon he was only being slightly facetious there, too!

I used to love his old banter, genuinely refreshing. I'm incredibly lame and download bootlegs and watch videos a lot so tend to know what song comes next and how a singer'll introduce it. Back in the day he was more way more sheepish and what he said was just so endearing. These drawly "jeeez, there's a lot'a'ya'ere..." and my personal favourite (I always wonder if bands think about this, I always would!) "not sure if I wanna take me joomper off... hmm... maybe after the next song. Yeah, two more songs and we'll get back to that." I just thought that really helped with this image of a young punk being angry and enamoured by an environment so unromantic for someone so romantic. Showed a bit of personality too. I wish he'd get a little more spontaneous like that, surely it's not hard when you notice all the things on a stage as he would. "I wanna sing one about a girl called Arabella" every gig is lame.

Yep.
Now here is a good poll idea
Best UK British debut rock single's 2002-07. That would be a real tough one to pick
So many great starts to bands haha
Singles? I say albums. So many beauts in there, so many solid one album bands... Elle Milano is probably my favourite "uhh... who?!" debut.
 

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