Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence - ROBERT FRIPP.
Information is not knowledge;
knowledge is not wisdom;
wisdom is not truth;
truth is not beauty;
beauty is not love;
love is not music;
MUSIC IS THE BEST - FRANK ZAPPA.
I think we're a little happier when we have a little music in our lives - STEVE JOBS.
Music in the soul can be heard by the universe - LAO TZU.
Rock and Roll is fire, man. FIRE. - DAVID BRIGGS.
Music grips you, gets into your soul -
GEORGE MARTIN
Arctic MonkeysFavourite Worst Nightmare(CD - Domino, 2007) *** Arctic MonkeysHumbug(CD - Domino, 2009) ** Genre: English pop/rock Places I remember: The Warehouse (New Plymouth) Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: This House is a Circus (FWN)
Gear costume: Fluorescent Adolescent/ Old Yellow Bricks (FWN), Fire and the Thud (Humbug)
Active compensatory factors: For me second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, is the band's high water mark, the fire. I like the guitar attack, the loudness which differentiated it from the debut, the melodic hooks, and the distinctiveness of the arrangements throughout the whole album. It's a winner all the way! Third album, Humbug, in comparison, was more about bass/drums thud, albeit with some interesting textures overlayed, and I stopped keeping up with the band from that point onwards. Where do they all belong? Even though Humbug changed the AM sound quite a bit, for me, the AM problem is how do they develop around those distinctive AM ticks (the Alex Turner vocals are so AM).
Arctic MonkeysWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not(CD - Domino, 2006) *** Genre: English pop/ rock Places I remember: Fives - Leigh-on-sea Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles:When The Sun Goes Down
Gear costume:Fake Tales of San Francisco. Active compensatory factors: In 2005-2006, there was no escaping Arctic Monkeys if you lived in the UK as we did then. They were exciting. Fresh. Young. Organic. Articulate. Guitar driven. Seemingly new (listen carefully and the sixties beat groups were clearly an inspiration) and not hyped by a record company. Singing in a blatant Sheffield dialect, Alex Turner was clearly right for the time. I'm not too sure that it's aged well but who cares. This is about a new band in 2006, not an aging band in 2017. Take a look at that video and get a feel for a band alive in the moment! Where do they all belong? The next album was my favourite worst nightmare!
Arctic Monkeys When The Sun Goes Down/ Stickin To The Floor/ 7 (Domino, 094635334029, 2005) The Arctic Monkeys are an unashamedly British band who sing in a staunch English accent about English life. They do so with élan. So a Morrie Thou', not a Ford Mondeo.
Alex Turner is the writer and I use that word deliberately instead of songwriter or whatever because he writes stories - this one about watching a scummy man pick up a prostitute. But it's not that simple - there are conflicting emotions at play in the song and the characters become much more than kitchen sink drama cut outs. Heavy stuff for a pop song which is the craft Turner is engaged in. His unique vocal style matches the subject matter and the razorblade slash of the AM guitars is distinctive as well. And the true test of a pop single: it sounds great LOUD!!!! Hidden gems: Neither Stickin... nor 7 are from the parent album (their debut - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not). Good value then on this CD single. Both are short blasts of AM magic.
