Artist Research – Arctic Monkeys

Hayley Roberts

Secondary Research

Dallas Observer Blogs (Oct 30th 2014) - http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/dc9/2014/10/arctic_monkeys_verizon_theatre_review.php

SummeryThis article is a summery from one of their gigs at the Verizon Theatre as one of the guitarists from the supporting act (Orwells) critisised their performance and the band itself and wasn’t impressed. The journalist H. Drew Blackburn goes through the songs in the order they were sang and gets a reaction from what Alex Turner thought of the criticism. It also expresses what the journalist thinks of The Arctic Monkeys and the performance they put on at the gig by saying they proved they are the best band on the planet from the performance they had given.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, Verizon Theatre, gig, Orwells, Matt O’Keefe, criticism, best, band, planet, AM, Alex Turner, Thank, God, hip, Backstreet Boys,

Quotes“They should have been out trying to get laid instead of watching us every night”Quote from Alex Turner. Article by H. Drew Blackburn (From the Dallas Observer Blogs on 30th Oct 2014)“So what if every show was the same? The Arctic Monkeys are the best rock band on the planet and they proved it last night at the Verizon Theatre” Quote from H. Drew Blackburn (From the Dallas Observer Blogs on 30 th Oct 2014)“Guitarist Matt O'Keefe called the band a “hip Backstreet Boys” and claimed that if you saw a show once, then that's fine, nothing ever changes. It's Groundhog Day up there.”Quote from H. Drew Blackburn (From the Dallas Observer Blogs on 30 th Oct 2014)

Further ResearchI could try and find the source where Matt O’Keefe from Orwells says his piece about The Arctic Monkeys and how he found the experience. This would help me broaden my research for this article by finding supporting articles/videos of him saying everything that was put into the article as this then backs up the research that I did.

Gigwise (Apr 16th 2014) –http://www.gigwise.com/news/90254/the-orwells-on-repetitive-arctic-monkeys-live-shows

SummeryThis article is to support my first article as it has more of an interview between the journalist and guitarist, Matt O’Keefe. He is explaining all the good and bad points from supporting The Arctic Monkeys but mainly goes into detail about how the shows were exactly the same and had the same production even in the bigger venues. Compared to the last article, this one gives more of Matt’s side to the story and there are a lot more quotes to support the article rather than the journalist explaining what had happened and what was said and is a lot more unbiased.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, gig, Orwells, Matt O’Keefe, Mario, Cuomo, band, production, unique, Luke Nirvana, boring, supporting act, venues

Further ResearchFor further research I could look at videos from several venues from one of their tours so I could get a sense of what Matt O’Keefe is saying and see if it’s true. I could also look at articles to get Alex Turner’s side of the story and how he feels the shows go and how the band mates feel the show is going as well with the production too.

Quotes"When you're playing arenas and everything, it's a huge production then the show has to become synchronised to work. Because you have all these people relying on these songs and this you're goin to do here.”Quote from Matt O’Keefe. Article by Edward Keeble and Andrew Trendell (From Gigwise on 16th Apr 2014)

"So every night no matter how he was feeling he'd go into that opening riff . It was the exact same ad-libs he was putting between the songs. So we were with them for about 50 dates, you saw them once and you'd pretty much seen every date that they'd played.”Quote from Matt O’Keefe. Article by Edward Keeble and Andrew Trendell (From Gigwise on 16th Apr 2014)

"You can reach that level without turning into that," he said. "Like Nirvana played bigger shit than that and I'm sure it wasn't like that and it's probably a different show every night. You don't have to take that route, you can get that level of success with those size venues, that sort of thing but still treat it as a spontaneous show at a small club.” Quote from Mario Cuomo. Article by Edward Keeble and Andrew Trendell (From Gigwise on 16th Apr 2014)

"So it all just depends on the band, what they're going for and what they feel comfortable with. Like I would feel super uncomfortable if I knew what I was going to say in between songs.”Quote from Mario Cuomo. Article by Edward Keeble and Andrew Trendell (From Gigwise on 16th Apr 2014)

Yankton Daily (Nov 3rd 2014) –http://www.yankton.net/woksape/article_618f55fc-6396-11e4-ba95-9f76cdc4c861.html

SummeryThis article is basically summing up the AM album written by The Arctic Monkeys. The journalist goes into detail about the song order and what the journalist thinks is the best songs. He also goes into detail about the messages from a few of the bands songs (“Do I Wanna Know and R U Mine) and what he thinks The Arctic Monkeys are trying to get across. At first in the article, the journalist starts talking about some of the background of the AM album and when it was released and some of the awards it has won so that the audience reading the article get a sense of ‘how good’ this album is as this is what the journalist is trying to get across. It then ends by the journalist promoting the album by saying how “enjoyable” and “near perfect” the album is.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, AM, album, R U Mine, Do I Wanna Know, enjoyable, near perfect, best, awards, statistics, beautiful

Further ResearchFor further research I could look at different video reactions from some of the fans to see what they think of the album. I could then look at different peoples opinions who might not be as enthusiastic about the album just to get different views of different people. I could also look at more statistics about the album (to do with the awards it has won).

Quotes“AM is a beautiful response to critics claiming that Arctic Monkeys were washed up.”Quote from Jacob Selgestad. Article by Jacob Selgestad (From the Yankton Daily on 3 rd Nov 2014)“There are no bad songs on the album. However, aside from “R U Mine” and “Do I Wanna Know” the tracks “Arabella” and “Knee Socks” do stand out from the rest of the field.”Quote from Jacob Selgestad. Article by Jacob Selgestad (From the Yankton Daily on 3 rd Nov 2014)“AM is a near perfect album that has great listenability. It combines elements of pop and rock perfectly to make the album enjoyable for everyone.” Quote from Jacob Selgestad. Article by Jacob Selgestad (From the Yankton Daily on 3 rd Nov 2014)

GRAMMY.com (Aug 19th 2014) –http://www.grammy.com/news/arctic-monkeys-stormy-progression

SummeryThis article is part of an interview that the journalist had with Alex Turner from The Arctic Monkeys. He expresses how the band felt before the AM album was released and he also explained why they felt that way. The journalist gives some background knowledge on where the band was formed and how they got to where they are today. It also lists the albums they have released and the year they were released and the GRAMMY nominations they were up for. It also goes into detail about how far the album AM went when it was released and explains that the band are in the middle of an international tour.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, AM, Suck It And See, Humbug, alternative, music, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, Alex Turner, Nick O’Malley, Yorkshire, international tour, GRAMMY, No. 1, Favourite Worst Nightmare, nominations, 2003, Do I Wanna Know

Further ResearchFor some further research, I could try and find the full interview if there is one as this article only has one quote from Alex Turner and the whole article is based on an interview that he did. This would then give me more of an understanding as to what they were interviewing him on and what his answers were. I could also look into more statistics on the albums that they have released.

Quotes

“We were definitely jumping for joy before we put [AM] out"Quote from Alex Turner. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

"Not because we thought we were about to sell a s***load of records, but because it felt like we'd made a genuine progression from where we started out and to what I think is a more interesting musical landscape that we're occupying now."Quote from Alex Turner. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

“Formed in 2003 in Yorkshire, England, Arctic Monkeys feature Jamie Cook (guitar), Matt Helders (drums), Nick O'Malley (bass), and Turner.”Quote from GRAMMY.com. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

“After attracting a sizeable fan base by distributing their demos on the Internet, the band signed with indie label Domino Records.”Quote from GRAMMY.com. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

“In 2006 Arctic Monkeys released their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, which peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart and became the fastest-selling debut album by a band in UK history.”Quote from GRAMMY.com. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

“With the release of AM, Arctic Monkeys made history as the first independent group to score five consecutive UK No. 1 albums. AM peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, marking their highest-charting album in the U.S. to date.”Quote from GRAMMY.com. (From GRAMMY.com on 19th Aug 2014)

YouTube (Jul 21st 2014) –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APk4I0sNsn8

SummeryThis video is an interview in Toronto with Matt Schichter from MSN Entertainment about the band itself and how they create music. The interview involves talking about how hard it is to keep music simple and they talk about the single ‘Do I Wanna Know’ a lot and the lyrics in the song. They also talk about if new people want to start listening to the Arctic Monkeys then where should they start (what album they should listen to first) and they also talk about the album Humbug and how it was a turning point for the Arctic Monkeys. The whole interview is really relaxed as there is members of the public on the river who don’t know who they are and so they are just talking to them as if they were just normal people so it becomes really relaxed and the journalist has a laugh with Alex Turner too. A lot of the public are shouting for Alex and there is a lot of fans gathering around the river and it shows how popular they have got over the years. It becomes a really laid back interview and is informal as well and besides talking about the Arctic Monkeys themselves and their success they talk about things that they do generally (e.g. acting out romance novels and reads them out too). They then discuss about the song ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ and they discuss the lyrics for the song and how they came up with them and they discuss who taught Alex to start writing lyrics. At the end of the interview they do 5 quick questions which is about where they prefer to play and it just rounds the interview off in a simple way.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, Matt Schichter, Do I Wanna Know, MSN Entertainment, funny, relaxed, lyrics, interview, Humbug, jet ski, Toronto

Further ResearchTo look further into this, I could watch other videos that have been based on interviewing the Arctic Monkeys. In this interview Matt Schichter quoted from another interview that they were in so I could have a look at that video interview so I could get a better understanding of what Matt Schichter is trying to get that.

Quotes“The Beatles stuff is simple too but it’s just what works”Quote from Matt Schichter. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)“It’s harder to do that sometimes… keep it simple”Quote from Matt Helders. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)“At first it was a bit lumpy, but yeah, a year later it’s all, er, what has it done… it’s all melted into one goo”Quote from Alex Turner. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)“I suppose that’s essentially what the approach is from that lyric”Quote from Alex Turner. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)“If someone comes up to you and doesn’t know who you are, where would you want them to start?”Quote from Matt Schichter. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)“Humbug if your American”Quote from Matt Helders. (From YouTube – Jul 21st 2014)

Wikipedia (Last Modified) Nov 11th 2014 –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Monkeys

SummeryThis whole web page is about the background of the Arctic Monkeys and goes through all the events and albums they have done up to the year 2014. It goes into detail about who is in the band and when Andy Nicholson left the band early on and where they have progressed since then. It goes through the history of the band and how they started out and it talks about the early record deals and the early years of the Arctic Monkeys. It then goes through every album they have released and gone through the statistics on the albums and how well they have done. It goes into the band personnel, the awards they have won over the time and it goes into detail about their tours. It’s the source of all information about the Arctic Monkeys and explains everything.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Matt Helders, Nick O’Malley, Sheffield, 2002, Indie Rock, Wikipedia, Humbug, AM, Suck It And See, Favourite Worst Nightmare

Further ResearchI could look at the references at the bottom of the web page and this would then let me look at where the information came from and look more into the band itself and the facts of the band as this would help me explore it more.

Quotes“Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jamie Cook (lead guitar, backing vocals in the early days), Nick O’Malley (bass, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals).” Quote from Wikipedia. About the Arctic Monkeys (Nov 11 th 2014)“The band's music is known to fall under the umbrella of indie rock although they have changed their style of rock on each album, which is one of the band's key features. Musically the band have expanded and altered their sound with each of their five albums making it difficult to pin a description to their style.”Quote from Wikipedia. About the Arctic Monkeys (Nov 11 th 2014)“Perhaps the key part of their sound and one that translates across their whole discography is lead singer and front man Alex Turner's intricate and often rapidly delivered lyrics, sung in a distinctive strong Sheffield accent that their music became famed for in their early years.”Quote from Wikipedia. About the Arctic Monkeys (Nov 11 th 2014)

Arctic Monkeys Official Website –http://www.arcticmonkeys.com

SummeryThis is the Arctic Monkeys official website. It features all the news from the band (including upcoming tours and images from gigs). There is uploads of images from the year 2013 of the band itself and then they have the different places they have performed and the images from that gig. They have a members section so when people sign up for the website they can receive information about the band and they can also post comments on different topics linking to the Arctic Monkeys. You can buy tops, jumpers, singles, albums and DVDs from the website as well which are all to do with the Arctic Monkeys. It also displays all the albums and singles they have released and goes through everything they have released since they first started out. There is also a fans forum section so all the fans can get together and discuss topics to do with the Arctic Monkeys and this then lets fans get together.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, website, news, gigs, singles, albums, LPs, news, fans, forum, members, store, videos, photos, tours, AM, Twitter, Facebook, songs

Further ResearchI could look at articles that are based on the shows and gigs they have done and what people thought of them. I could look into the videos that they have of the different gigs that they have preformed at as well as this would then give me an insight as to where they have performed and what people have thought of it.

Quotes“Arctic Monkeys are included in War Child’s On:OFF photo project – a collection of music portraits capturing artists before they go on stage and immediately after they leave the stage.”Quote from Arctic Monkeys Website. About the photo project (Oct 24 th 2014)“We would like to respond to some of the misleading comments concerning our financial affairs that have circulated in the press over the past few weeks. Several years ago we were advised to make an investment that offered legitimate tax savings. However, we have received no tax saving from that investment, avoided no tax and we will receive no future tax benefit. We have always paid our taxes when due and on time and are therefore not required to repay any tax.”Quote from Arctic Monkeys Website. About the tax scandal (Aug 2nd 2014)“Arctic Monkeys collected 2 awards at last nights Brit Awards 2014. The band won Best British Group & Best Album for ‘AM’.”Quote from Arctic Monkeys Website. About the Brit Awards 2014 (Feb 20 th 2014)“Arctic Monkeys are pleased to announce that The Kills will support on the band’s two Italian dates in July 2014.”Quote from Arctic Monkeys Website. About Italy support act (Mar 13 th 2014)

Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? Music Video (Aug 10 th 2013) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6366dxFf-Os

SummeryThis is the music video for the song ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’. The music video is really easy to understand and isn’t really complex as it links to the song really well. Alex is in a pub with all his mates and is high off drugs and is drinking excessively and ‘Do I Wanna Know’ is playing in the background. He is then seen texting a girl called Stephanie and then goes to the toilet and he then starts to hallucinate by seeing double of himself in the mirror and the clock ‘melting’. The song then starts to play after he has taken multiple shots. He then stumbles outside to go somewhere but all the way home he is hallucinating and thinking he is seeing the girl Stephanie having sex with other men who are just normal men walking down the street. He then stumbles all the way through the song to end up knocking at a house and texting Stephanie to say he is outside her house. We then find out he is at the wrong house as hers is opposite and at the end of the video she is seen reading his texts and slamming her phone down and walking away.

TagsThe Arctic Monkeys, Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?, music video, YouTube, hallucinate, Stephanie, Alex Turner, Do I Wanna Know, texting, drugs, alcohol

Further ResearchFor further research I could look into more articles that look into the song itself. I could look at articles as to what people think about the song to see different opinions and I could also look to see what people think of the music video and if they think they have done it well and kept it linked to the song. I could also see if there is an interview that someone has done with them about the song itself to get an idea as to what was behind the song and if it was due to personal experience to them.

Quotes“Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind. Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply, Why'd you only call me when you're high?” Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"Quote from A-Z Lyrics. Lyrics from the song itself by Alex Turner.“And I can't see you here wonder where I might? Sort of feels like I'm running out of time. I haven't found what I was hoping to find. You said, "You gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night. And you're starting to bore me, baby. Why'd you only call me when you're high?”Quote from A-Z Lyrics. Lyrics from the song itself by Alex Turner.“The mirror's image, tells me it's home time. But I'm not finished, cause you're not by my side. And as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving. Carrying your shoes. Decided that once again I was just dreaming. Of bumping into you”Quote from A-Z Lyrics. Lyrics from the song itself by Alex Turner.

Primary Research

Primary Research Questions:

• What is your name?• What country are you from?• What is your age?• What is your favourite album and why?• Who is your favourite band member and why?• Out of all the songs from the AM album, what song stands out to you the most and why is this?• What is your opinion on the ‘Snap Out Of It’ music video? Do you think they could have explored it better?• What do you find most interesting about the band and why?• When did you discover their music and why did you become to like it so much?• Who would you like them to collaborate with and why?• What do you like about their style and do you feel they are a style icon?• What is your favourite song and why?• What is your favourite music video and why?• Do you think that you could critisise them in any way and if so, what would it be?• Why do you like them? • What attracts you to their music?• Do you find them inspirational?• What do you think was their most experimental song/music video?