Yay for another decade list of albums that influenced my growing up as a teenager. This list probably means jack-shit in the grand scheme of things, but regardless here are my top 40 records that I think owned. Just a note that one a band has had an album already appear, no more will come up, just to share it around.

Also, try not to hate the list to much…at least try.

30. Editors – The Back Room (2005)

UK’s, second to king, brit-pop hit Editors have had a stellar second half decade. Well, at least until In This Light And On This Evening was released. So let’s pretend it’s just over a month ago and that record hasn’t been released yet. Editors have sawed to #2 on the UK charts ahead of 2007’s An End Has A Start. But before that there was their more-so fantastic debut, which I found a defining point in my teenage-hood. Lead singer Tom Smith, once a man of few words, did himself a favour back then by not speaking up. Writing songs like “Munich” that had about 3 or 4 different lines in it, that just focused on the instrumental writing abilities, and it paid off. They knew what they were good at it, and they stuck to it; for a time.

29. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)

Favourite Worst Nightmare took the unique and refreshing sounds of Arctic Monkeys gold star winning (in fastest selling record) Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not and refined them. Taken to the point of developing an often darker atmosphere, the songs had been given a bit more of a polish and work than older material. Melodically, the album is brilliant. The guitar hooks and the manner in which they’re layered leaves interesting nuances in the songs, yet it doesn’t detract from the overall quality. The pacing of the songs is held together by great drumming, that’s used rhythmically in most songs to a good effect, more often than not creating an interesting and intense feeling.

28. Cold War Kids – Robbers & Cowards (2006)

It’s no secret that Cold War Kids debut LP, Robbers & Cowards, doesn’t scream “I’m fucking amazing”, though subtly it has its own uniqueness to it. “Hospital Beds”, with it’s simple piano riff, rolling drums, and smooth fretless bass is the highest point of the record, and front man Nathan Willett writes great lyrics when he wants to, but fantastic melodies always; “Tell me the story of how you ended up here, I heard you were born in a hospital“, or “Tell Me In The Morning” with “I’m shouting questions like a fist fight“. Considering how many Californian bands I think aren’t really any good, Cold War Kids lead the pack, still, after the release of Loyalty To Loyalty didn’t hail to great, along with an epic amount of EP releases.

27. Elliott Smith – Figure 8 (2000)

Born Steven Paul Smith, died a more famous Elliott Smith, and 34 just seemed too young. And around the same time of his death there was an online explosion of his work. This all just before the release of From A Basement On A Hill. And then there’s those who say, if only he’d held on he would have been famous. Regardless of what may or may not have happened to Smith, Figure 8 is still one of the spectacular records of the decade, and it would be on this album that he have the hits with “Son Of Sam” and “Happiness”, after his move from Portland to Los Angeles. Always the quiet, withdrawn, and nervous wreck on stage, and Smith’s music was always going to back this up. Singing of melancholic self-doubt, and hopelessness, was always backed by a single acoustic guitar live.

26. The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike (2004)

The single greatest indie hiphop record to come out of this century had to be The Go! Team’s Thunder, Lightning, Strike. Its lack of lyrics play key to what makes the album so great. With its awesome crashing cymbals and thumping drums beats, backed by clean electric guitars, and the occasional recorder, featured in “Get It Together” equate to brilliance. Key tracks include the fantastic chorus melody and rhythm in “Ladyflash”, and fast-pace singing among thunderes (I may have just made up a word?) drums in “The Power Is On”. Samples from other artists appear every so often, like The Jackson 5 style in “Bottle Rocket” with “2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 2, 4, 6, 8, 20 2!“

25. Sufjan Stevens – Come On Feel The Illinoise! (2005)

The positioning of Come On Feel The Illinoise! may insure people forget about this list altogether, considering its accomplishments and dominating of 2005, I’m pretty sure ranking higher than any other album overall. And so it should. This album is more than excellent. Full of beautiful arrangements, across a vast range of instruments, while all this accompanies Sufjan Stevens lightly stunning voice, attributing the great state of Illinois. Featuring “Chicago” (seek The Avalanche for multiple alternative arrangements), “The Seer’s Tower”, the public holiday “Casimir Pulaski Day”, and a serial killer from the state, “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”. What is truly amazing about this album is Stevens’ personal experiences with all these things, and his amazing lyrical ability to put forth his ideas.

24. Fuck Buttons – Tarot Sport (2009)

If anything, all this entry is, is a preview of what’s expected for my “best albums of 2009 list”. Yet Fuck Buttons have come a long way from Street Horrrsing to Tarot Sport. Beginning with lead single “Surf Solar”, DJ/Remixer Andrew Weatherall’s production is pasted all throughout Tarot Sport. Early 90s sounding beats remain the core of the album through finally giving Fuck Buttons new direction. At no point does the music ever back down. Lighter moments are simply replaced by heavy, bass undertones. Even the records own personal encore is applauded on closing track “Flight Of The Feathered Serpent”, at a point where you have no idea when this record will end, or if it ever will? Multiple distorted riffs and synth combination’s play in conjunction with processed beats, over the top of real ones, it becomes hard to tell them apart. It seems it’s the distorted riffs that are the true uplifting beauty behind Tarot Sport.

23. Eels – Blinking Lights And Other Revelations (2005)

Mark Oliver Everett has always been fantastic by me, but he really hit the nail on the head with Blinking Lights And Other Revelations, a 33-track, 2 disk phenomenon. It was described by Everett as an album about “God and all the questions related to the subject of God. It’s also about hanging on to my remaining shreds of sanity and the blue sky that comes the day after a terrible storm, and it’s a love letter to life itself, in all its beautiful, horrible glory.”. Everett’s melancholic pain has always shown in his work, and Blinking Lights And Other Revelations was no exception in, “Trouble With Dreams”, “Suicide Life”, “Railroad Man”, and “Last Days Of My Bitter Heart”. But it’s the way Everett had finally turned his perception around to produce pop styled music. This record was easily the soundtrack to my 2005.

22. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (2008)

It’s not often that a debut album is “the shit”, but Seattle based 5-piece, Fleet Foxes deserved all the praise they received. To my delight I bought Fleet Foxes on vinyl and found their Sun Giant EP as well. Featuring an un-dying  amount of folk-rock at its finest, Fleet Foxes crafted their porch-strumming, summer record to perfection, all based on the foundations of a single, usually nylon stringed, acoustic guitar backed by drums and bass more often than not. And it’s even Robin Pecknold’s voice that carries the songs so much. Like on mis-titled closing track, “Oliver James”, should be titled “Robin Pecknold” as he is the only thing you’ll here. But Fleet Foxes finer moments come from its melodic folk-pop brilliance in “Ragged Wood” and “He Doesn’t Know Why” that will strike the best notes in your brain.

21. Death Cab For Cutie – Plans (2005)

In 2005 the indie giant Death Cab For Cutie made their jump to major label’s Atlantic and Warner Bros. and a huge fan population sharpened their knives, ready to dismember Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla. But after close listen, the indie giants stuck to their strong point, not changing a thing about who they are and what they are here to create. Admittedly, I may have positioned this record in the wrong place looking back now but it’s too late to place it back a bit, still, Plans is the indie pop/rock Death Cab at its simplest. A lack of guitars (but still existent) shifted a new direction for Death Cab, claiming “more drums”. They simply got rid of their ensemble of guitars and stuck to one. It’s the range that is hard to find in Plans but is there, from “Soul Meets Body”’s up beat tempo, to “Summer Skin”’s brilliant bass rif and Gibbard’s vocals, to the beautiful “Brothers On A Hotel Bed” which I think isn’t recognized enough, and the single acoustic guitar wonder, that still has every teenage girl singing “I’ll follow you into the dark.“.

The first thought I had when I stepped out of Arctic Monkeys’ concert at Liverpool Echo Arena on the 13/11/09 was, “They didn’t play ‘Fake Tales of  San Francisco’ and ‘Mardy Bum’.” I comforted myself by saying a) I got a great seat, b) I had fun, c) they might play a different set in Sheffield.

24 hours after Liverpool, I was at Sheffield Arena watching an identical show. How heart breaking. The consolations were my two awesome and dashing dates,  and Alex and co. played a wee bit of ‘Mardy Bum’ in the middle of ‘Fluorescent Adolescent.’ No extra songs or banters or even love for the Sheffield fans a.k.a. the home crowd.  No ‘Fake Tales’, and by then I realised they didn’t play another favourite song of mine, ‘A Certain Romance’ .

Pretty obvious that I’m a fan of their debut album, isn’t it? Anyway, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy their shows, or I’m jumping off the fanwagon now.  I just feel that both shows lack punch, or whatever fun I saw in the ‘Live at Apollo’ DVD (in which they played all the missing songs).  Yes, yes, I know, they only had two albums when they made that DVD and now they have three, they obviously need to kick out some old songs to fit in new ones, but playing 3/4 of Humbug wasn’t the best solution.

I’m not giving up on Arctic Monkeys just yet. As of the third album Alex still writes great lyrics, the band still makes good music and as seen at both concerts, drummer Matt is indeed an agile beast. After all, I did see them twice, didn’t I?  And I might just have to catch as many shows as I can until I get to see my favourite songs performed live, or maybe until they can get the setlist balanced up right.

Liverpool and Sheffield set list:  Dance Little Liar, Brainstorm, This House is a Circus, Still Take You Home,  I Bet You Look on the Dancefloor, Sketchead, My Propeller, Crying Lightning, Dangerous Animals, The View from the Afternoon, Cornerstone, If You were There, Beware, Pretty Visitors, The Jeweller’s Hands, Do Me a Favour, When the Sun Goes Down, Secret Door, Fluorescent Adolescent, Mardy Bum*, 505.

*only for Sheffield.

]]> http://desbloqueiomental.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/arctic-monkeys-e-a-melhor-musica-de-2009-2/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:46:18 +0000 feliperene http://desbloqueiomental.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/arctic-monkeys-e-a-melhor-musica-de-2009-2/ http://ciaranjones.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/album-of-the-decade-the-birth-of-arctic-monkeys/ Sun, 29 Nov 2009 14:02:01 +0000 Ciaran http://ciaranjones.wordpress.com/2009/11/29/album-of-the-decade-the-birth-of-arctic-monkeys/

In a change to the advertised schedule, today’s post is going to be music-related as I’m joining the debate on the album of the noughties.  Following the success of the sportsman of the decade blogs (Tom Victor’s post links out to all of them), we at CJS are now going to pour forth on the greatest contributions to the world music scene in the last 10 years…  Follow the debate by using this Twitter hashtag: #albumofthedecade, and vote on it here.

Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

The album's mildly controversial artwork

“Anticipation has the habit to set you up / For disappointment…”  Has an album ever had a more portentous opening line?  Its bathos and casual self-deprecation show that Alex Turner and the gang knew they were under pressure to perform when they finally brought an LP to the table, but there is an arrogance to it too: they knew they’d just made the best album of the decade, and they wanted to have a bit of a laugh about it.

When Arctic Monkeys released their debut on Monday January 23, 2006, the atmosphere was incendiary.  They had been catapulted into the limelight since giving away free CDs at their early gigs which had then hit the internet at the tail end of 2004.

Fascination was rife with Alex’s grotty evocation of life as a young man in Sheffield: the grimy bars of Rotherham in ‘Fake Tales of San Francisco’ are delightfully juxtaposed with the romance of New York, and the multivalent “lines” of the performers effortlessly debase the trendy image of musicians taking cocaine.

It all started, really, with ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’.  When it was released as a single in October 2005 and shot straight to the top of the charts the band became more than an internet phenomenon; they became a national obsession.  Young people could identify with their tales of boozy nights out and minor run-ins with bouncers (as in ‘From the Ritz to the Rubble’, about the legendary – and now defunct – Sheffield nightclub Kingdom).

The perspective of the lyricist is disconnected from his position; Turner is a young man about town but he shuns the boorish behaviour of those he sees “squaring up proper shouting” in ‘Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured’.  He chooses here to laugh at it but later, in closing track ‘A Certain Romance’, he adopts a weary acceptance: “They’ll never listen / Because their minds are made up”.

Arctic Monkeys on stage at Old Trafford County Cricket Ground, July 28, 2007

The realism of the album allied with Turner’s vernacular was perhaps what most piqued the public’s consciousness; “int”s and “summat”s pepper the album, but obviously ‘Mardy Bum’ made the most of this.  That track in particular shows how well they can do pathos as well as humour; the words resonate with that poignant desperation of a man at the end of his tether in his relationship.

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not has everything.  It draws on popular culture in much the same way as The Libertines did in their references to classic British comedies; the lines from ‘You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me’ which refer to Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (“So tense, never tenser / Could all go a bit Frank Spencer”) are not so esoteric as Doherty and Barat but are brilliantly humorous.

‘When The Sun Goes Down’ – which was probably even better in its original incarnation as ‘Scummy’ – is probably the most widely-known song from the album, and it still has revellers (particularly in Sheffield’s indie clubs, such as The Leadmill) bawling along in unison.  The snarling, grungey portrait of backstreet Sheffield cemented Turner’s position as one of the great social commentators of British music.

There are no weak spots, lyrically or musically, on this award-winning album.  Even Gordon Brown, when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer, tried to jump on the relentless bandwagon of Arctic Monkeys love, though later had to admit he couldn’t name a single song from them.

Since then, it’s all gone a bit Frank Spencer for him…

Foram eleitas a melhores músicas da década, e sinceramente esperava mais…

Eis a lista

1. Beyoncé – “Crazy in love”  – como diria o kanye west: “Single Ladies é a melhor música da década”
2. MGMT – “Time to pretend”
3. The Strokes – “Hard to explain”  – existem músicas deles que são melhores – Reptilia, Someday, Electricityscape…
4. MIA – “Paper planes”  – também existem música melhores dela – Pull up the people, 10 dollar, bucky done gun
5. Outkast – “Hey ya!”  – ainda lembro do estardalhaço com essa música, mas depois de eles deram uma bela sumida
6. The Rapture – “House of jealous lovers’
7. Klaxons – “Golden skans”
8. Blur – “Out of time”
9. Arcade Fire – “Rebellion (lies)”
10. Arctic Monkeys – “A certain romance”
11. The Libertines – “Can’t stand me now”
12. The Streets – “Dry your eyes”
13. The Walkmen – “The rat”
14. The White Stripes – “Seven nation army”
15. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Bang”
16. Rihanna – “Umbrella”
17. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Maps”
18. Outkast – “Ms Jackson”
19. Radiohead – “Reckoner”
20. Hot Chip – “Over and over”

Sobre o resto, não comentarei muito… A lista foi produzida pelo seminário inglês “NME”, o que esclarece o motivo de não haver outro tipo de música, ao não ser aquela relacionada com o idioma inglês… e também a maioria dos músicos serem ingleses…quero um dia poder ver uma lista que também envolva músicas com outros idiomas, existem músicas muito boas por aí e que não são cantadas em inglês.

. 

The NME got in on the act early. This Sunday the Observer Music Monthly publishes its top 50. So I thought I might as well have a go. I wanted to get mine done first and see how much common ground I’ve got with the OMM seeing as its my favourite music mag. It’s harder than you’d think to select just 50 albums that span 2000-2009. I’ve had to leave out some records I really like. But here we go… Please comment as you feel necessary!

50 – Daft Punk: Discovery.

49 – Bob Dylan: Modern Times.

48 – Camille: Le Fil.

47 – Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not.

46 – The Blue Nile: High.

45 – New Order: Get Ready.

44 – Mercury Rev: All Is Dream.

43 – R.E.M.: Accelerate.

42 – Fionn Regan: The End Of History.

41 – The Beatles: Love.

40 – The Avalanches: Since I Met You.

39 – Badly Drawn Boy: The Hour Of Bewilderbeast.

38 – Roots Manuva: Awfully Deep.

37 – Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever ago.

36 – Mark B & Blade: The Unknown.

35 – Coldplay: Parachutes.

34 – Malcolm Middleton: Into The Woods.

33 – Seafood: When Do We Start Fighting…

32 – Doves: The Last Broadcast.

31 – Duke Special: Songs From The Deep Forest.

30 – Morrissey: You Are The Quarry.

29 – Guillemots: Through The Windowpane.

28 – Bruce Springsteen: The Rising.

27 – The Gaslight Anthem: The ‘59 Sound.

26 – Billy Bragg & Wilco: Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

25 – Richard Hawley: Coles Corner.

24 – Fleet Foxes:  Fleet Foxes.

23 – Athlete: Vehicles & Animals.

22 – Spin Doctors: Nice Talking To Me.

21 – Sigur Ros: Takk…

20 – Goldfrapp: Felt Mountain.

19 – Maxïmo Park: A Certain Trigger.

18 – Delirious?: Glo.

17 – The Shins: Wincing The night Away.

16 – Ben Folds: Rockin’ The Suburbs.

15 – Green Day: American Idiot.

14 – Neil Young: Living With War.

13 – Ray Lamontagne: Til The Sun Turns Black.

12 – Death Cab For Cutie: Narrow Stairs.

11 – Idlewild: The Remote Part.

10 – Johnny Cash: American IV: The Man Comes Around

An extraordinary achievement for a man in his final year. Johnny Cash’s last ‘proper’ album has the power to bring me to the edge of tears. I bought it the week he died in 2003 and played it a lot. A mixture of originals and covers, Rick Rubin’s brilliant production means there’s pathos dripping from every track. ‘Hurt’ is one of the songs of the decade which couldn’t even be ruined by that dire Nike advert. When I first heard ‘I Hung My Head’ it stopped me dead in my tracks. Just like most of the rest of this awesome album.

9 - Interpol: Turn On The Bright Lights.

I think there’s a good case to be made for Interpol as the band of the decade. To my shame I’m yet to see them live but their three dark, brooding and melodic albums demand that I get round to it soon. I think their debut is the pick of the bunch. Starting with ‘Untitled’ which takes its cues from the shoegazing bands of the early 90’s, the album goes onto channel the best of My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division and classic Krautrock. I suppose it can be said about all the records in the list but I can’t listen to this album too many times. It sends me to sleep, it wakes me up and generally soundtracks my life.

8 – Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend.

The drums alone deserve some kind of award. Chris Tomson is, for my money, the best drummer in a rock band at the moment. But this isn’t Keith Moon fury, or John Bonham theatrics. He sees the drum kit as a melodic and harmonic instrument. The kit is a lead instrument here and when allied to fantastic songwriting, it’s a winning combination. The African influence if overstated (this isn’t even the noughties’ Graceland, let alone Fela Kuti or Ali Farka Touré). However, the hints of afrobeat are enough to make this stand out from the crowd. Walcott is a great track – but there aren’t any duds here.

7 – Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump.

This outstanding record is often compared favourably with ‘OK Computer’. Well, I’ll put my cards on the table. There’s only one winner; and it isn’t Radiohead. Grandaddy are impossible to categorise, but this record combines the best bits of alt-country, electronica and post-rock. The audacity of a 9 minute opening track has been matched by many bands. The difference is they’ve not made a song as arresting as ‘He’s Simple, He’s Dumb, He’s The Pilot’. ‘The Crystal Lake’ is among the best songs of the decade while ‘Undreneath The Weeping Willow’ showcases a brilliant knack for melancholy. Released at the start of the decade, very few records have got anywhere near matching Grandaddy’s Magnum Opus.

6 – The Hold Steady: Boys And Girls in America.

‘Best bar band in the world blah… blah… blah’ said the music press. Talk about damning with faint praise. The Hold Steady are one of the greatest bands of the 21st Century, full stop. And though their earlier albums are packed with gems, this breakthrough album sees their manifesto fulfilled. How many bands could start a record quoting Jack Kerouac but never fail to be fun? The sound was compared to classic E Street Band and that’s probably as close as you can get to describing this joyous racket. Craig Finn’s lyrics are always interesting and frequently brilliant. So looking at our checklist we’ve got superb music, superb lyrics and some guys that seem delighted just to be playing rock and roll. It’ll do for me.

5 – Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid.

I suppose too much has already been written about this album. It’d be easy to include ‘Asleep In The Back’ to prove I’ve liked Elbow since I used to play them on student radio in 2000. But that would miss the point: for once, the awards committees, journalists and hype-merchants got it right. This is an amazing album. There’s not an average track in sight in an hour’s running time. Picking highlights almost seems crazy, but ‘Grounds For Divorce’ and ‘On A Day Like This’ have deservedly grabbed the headlines and soundtracked a million daytime DIY programmes. But some of the less well know tracks contain stunning music and lyrics. When Guy Garvey croons ”We kiss like we invented it” on ‘Mirrorball’ it’s enough to melt your heart.  We await their next move with eager anticipation.

4 - Midlake: The Trials of Van Occupanther.

Take a moderately successful Texan indie band and give them a copy of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Rumours’. Stand well back and light the blue touch-paper. Doesn’t sound promising does it? How wrong could we be??? This was THE album of 2006. Inventive harmonies, layered synths and lyrics pining for the antebellum South came together to produce a stunning record. The guitar solo that comes halfway through ‘Head Home’ is one of my favourite musical moments of the decade, but this album contains several contenders for that title. The real genius of ‘…Van Occupanther’ is its ability to keep you on your toes. Just when you think it may slip into mid 70’s FM rock pastiche, the band pulls out a track like ‘Young Bride’ which forces you to admit this is a record which is far more than the sum of its considerable parts.

3 – Damien Rice: O.

David Gray is a perfectly decent singer songwriter. The same can’t be said for the likes of James Morrison and James Blunt. But how any of them came to be spoken of in the same breath as Damien Rice is beyond me. The irishman deserves to be in far better company (Jeff Buckley for example). This debut album was a slow-burning word-of-mouth behemoth that managed to retain artistic dignity while being offered on 2-for-1 deals in Tesco. Its strengths have been repeated endlessly, but any blogger who can’t find room for Lisa Hannigan’s beautiful vocals, the stunning string arrangements or the strange re-working of Silent Night is a fool. If this album has a flaw, I’m yet to find it. I can’t pick one track as a highlight because the others simply look at me reproachfully and say ‘actually we’re all rather lovely’. And they truly are.

2 – My Morning Jacket: It Still Moves.

This album sounds like the best party you’ve ever been to. If you want to label it I suppose it’s alt-country. But what on earth does that matter when the music is as much fun as this? Don’t get the idea this is some kind of comedy record though. Howling vocals, squealing guitars and pounding drums fuse together to create a brilliant racket. ‘One Big Holiday’ has a guitar hook to die for, but this isn’t an album of simple pleasures. The genius of the songs reveals itself slowly. The first time you hear it, it sounds like these are well crafted and edited jams. But like Led Zep at their peak, the tracks are more cunningly moulded than that. Crazy Horse are another reference point and when talking about a rock and roll band there are fewer bigger compliments than that. It’s a long record (71 minutes) but unusually for an album of that length, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. Superb.

1 – Stephen Fretwell: Magpie.

I’m annoyed I couldn’t find a decent picture of this album without the parental advisory sticker on it. Ok, maybe it doesn’t make an ideal present for a toddler, but any parent who’s doing their job properly should be investing in this if their child shows any kind of serious interest in music. It’s as close to a perfect record as its possible to get. At the start of the decade, Scunthorpe’s Stephen Fretwell found himself in Manchester as a promising singer-songwriter. A little while later, he was in a recording studio creating some of the most beautiful music that great city has ever produced. By 2004 it was ready for release. In reality, the Manchester thing is a bit of a red herring. Fretwell owes little to the genius of the Smiths and Joy Division or the more prosaic talents of Oasis. He’s just a good old-fashioned acoustic troubadour. So who are the key influences here? I’d guess Neil Young, Bob Dylan et al. But that doesn’t tell you much about this record’s greatest strength. Fretwell’s gift for melody is astounding. Songs like ‘Emily’, ‘New York’ and ‘Rose’ are beautifully crafted and sung. But there isn’t a track here which leaves you cold. You may know ’Run’ as the Theme of ‘Gavin and Stacey’ but don’t stop there. Investigate it immediately. Buy it and love it. There’s only one album of the decade after all; whatever the Observer says!

Essa é a música da semana do blog, que pode aparecer a qualquer momento da semana no blog. A música da semana é uma das mais novas da banda inglesa de rock Arctic Monkeys, que é um dos maiores sucessos do mundo e já se apresentou no Brasil.

Informação da música:

Nome: Crying Lightning

Artista: Arctic Monkeys

Álbum: Humbug

Ano: 2009

Gravadora: Domino

Vídeo e letra:

Outside the cafe by the cracker factory
You were practicing a magic trick
And my thoughts got rude
As you talked and chewed
On the last of your pick and mix

Said: “You mistaken if you`re thinking that I haven’t been caught cold before”
As you bit into your strawberry lace
And then a flip in your attention in the form of a
gobstopper
Is all you have left and it was going to waste

Your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and arranged
And I love that little game you had called
Crying lightning
And how you like to aggravate the ice-cream man on
rainy afternoons

The next time that I caught my own reflection
It was on it’s way to meet you
Thinking of excuses to postpone
You never look like yourself from the side
But your profile did not hide
The fact you knew I was approaching your throne

With folded arms you occupy the bench like toothache
Saw them, puff your chest out like you never lost a war
And though I try so not to suffer the indignity of a reaction
There was no cracks to grasp or gaps to claw

And your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and arranged
And I hate that little game you had called
Crying lightning
And how you like to aggravate the icky man on rainy
afternoons

Uninviting
But not else is impossible as everyone assumes you
are
Crying lightning

Your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and arranged
And I hate that little game you had called
Crying lightning
Crying lightning
Crying lightning
Crying lightning

Your past-times, consisted of the strange
And twisted and arranged
And I hate that little game you had called
Crying

Tracklist:
01. Crying Lightning
02. I Haven’t Got My Strange
03. Red Right Hand

Download:
http://www.multiupload.com/HUMXLUHWLS
*Front Cover inclusa.

Opinião:
Primeiro single do novo álbum dos macacos. Não precisa nem dizer que o som deles esta totalmente diferente, mais encorpado, bem diferente dos dois primeiros álbuns. A influência de Josh Homme(Queens Of Stone Age) é clara em Crying Lightning. I Haven’t Got My Strange não passa de 1min30, não sei por quê foi deixada de fora do álbum. Red Right Hand é um cover acelerado de Nick Cave and The Bad Seed. Bom single no geral!

U2 are looking more and more like aging Irish Porn Stars

PREVIEW: LISTEN to U2’s “No Line on the Horizon”

Just when you thought aging, self-absorbed rock stars couldn’t be more agonizingly full of themselves as displayed in the upcoming TV special of the 25^th Annual Rock Hall of Fame Awards/concerts — U2 strikes again in destroying everything that’s halfway decent about popular Rock music by headlining England’s Glastonbury 2010 Music Festival.

Despite the poor sales of this once-great band’s most recent album No Line on the Horizon, U2 still don’t know when to quit. Since playing on top of buildings in London and causing a carefully orchestrated and televised stir earlier this year didn’t work, perhaps Bono figures that their spanking new songs will resonate with an audience whose only relation to the band is that their parents had Joshua Tree playing in the background during their conception.

In the past few decades Glastonbury has had many classic and relatively younger bands headline at the main, “Pyramid” stage. The honor to perform such a slot is one which hot bands like Radiohead and Coldplay to Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon have thrived on. Aged and classic acts have played as well, but not as the focus of attention. Thanks to this usual past setup, it is clear that music festivals are for the young people and their newer music — a tradition that can be traced back to Monterey and Woodstock.

One would imagine that having a stage that looks like an alien weapon from the Halo video games might have suggested Bono and company were joining their outer space brethren after their current tour; however, to many a-one’s dismay they are headed to Glasto-organizer, Michael Eavis’ Worthy Farm. Either way, perhaps this is Bono and The Edge’s final attempt to communicate with aliens through crop-circles — or perhaps just a belated reference to the remake of the crap miniseries V.

– Charlie Weeks

asta numai şi numai ca să fac dreptate acestui cântec, pe care l-am cam neglijat atunci când am făcut recenzia albumului “humbug” pe nowavefanzine, acordându-i doar epitetul de “interesting” (se înţelege, eram mult prea obsedată de “crying lightning”).

deci, ladies and gentlemen, de pe albumul “humbug”, lansat de arctic monkeys în anul de graţie 2009 *răpăit de tobe*

Arctic Monkeys feat. Allison Mosshart – Fire and the Thud

you showed me my tomorrow
beside a box of matches
a welcome threatening stir
my hopes of being stolen
might just ring true
depends who you prefer

and the jostling crowd
you’re not allowed to tell the truth
and the photo booth’s a liar
and the sharpened explanations
but there’s no screaming reason to enquire
i’d like to poke them in their prying eyes
with things they’d never see if it smacks them in their temples

*lyrics & music by arctic monkeys, photo courtesy of wikipedia*

Apesar das dimensões geográficas, o Brasil enfrenta uma série de problemas, um desses problemas envolve a indústria fonográfica. O número de pessoas que hoje em dia se utilizam de sites de compartilhamento para baixarem música grátis e ilegal é enorme, e só aumenta dia após dia. E não é por menos, os sites de de download de mp3 e vídeo legais no Brasil são completamente complicados e caros, chegando a ser um tanto abusivo o preço cobrado por download, sem contar que o iTunes não está presente por essas bandas do globo também. Para complicar a situação, os sites além de cobrarem uma furtuna por download ainda possuem uma biblioteca bem limitada, geralmente não contendo grandes novidades e musicas mais alternativas que ficam abandonadas a própria sorte em sites P2P. E quando se pensa que o problema se refere apenas a musica baixada se descobre que existe um enorme engano, as lojas de cds físicos estão atualmente desmoronando. As lojas de discos hoje em dia pecam em inúmeros detalhes, já não bastava os preços abusivos por cds aqui no Brasil ainda temos que enfrentar o famoso “não temos”. Das lojas que vistei por exemplo a maioria dos discos é catálogo, está certo que as coisas boas nunca envelhecem né, mas uma renovadinha de vez em quando não fazia mal. No caso dos cds nacionais uma ligeira decepção, a maioria dos álbuns eram de nomes consagrados, poucos artistas novatos e sendo a maioria dos discos coletâneas e álbuns de trilha sonora das novelas. Dos cds internacionais a decepção é total, na sua maioria são catálogos, coletâneas autorizadas (ou não) e pouquíssimos artistas novos. Até aí até que é aceitável, nada como 2 ou 3 meses para o lançamento da sua banda favorita pintar por lá, mas a situação se mostra revoltante nos sites de venda on-line, o meu álbum do Arctic Monkeys demorou nada mais nada menos que 15 dias para chegar em minha casa, um disco do U2 que eu havia comprado dois dias antes chegou em apenas 2 dias, isso mostra que as gravadoras não se interessam e investir no mercado brasileiro já que o público brasileiro também não se interessa em comprar cds originais, a desculpa pra demora é de que teria de ser verificado com o fornecedor e fazer o pedido, ou seja, não tinha em estoque. Além de enfrentar os preços altos, dificuldades técnicas (lojas) ainda temos que enfrentar a falta de cds no mercado brasileiro, a extinção das lojas de cds no Brasil parece inevitável. Para dar um exemplo mais prático peguemos o disco de estréia da britânica Adele. Adele nada mais nada menos é que a vencedora do prêmio de ‘Best New Artist‘ do Grammy, a maior premiação da musica, e de vários outros prêmios, mas quem disse que por isto encontraremos o disco ‘19′ nas prateleiras das lojas? Não, ele não está, ele nem foi lançado por lá apesar de alguns hits de Adele terem pipocado na tv na época do Grammy. As gravadoras não se interessam mais no Brasil, e o publico brasileiro não se interessa mais em comprar originais, é a única verdade do Brasil. Agora que nem Arctic Monkeys está tão fácil de encontrar por aqui o jeito é importar, mesmo que isso saia super caro, ou então esperar as musicas legais entrarem pra trilha da novela das 8, que obviamente teremos os cds até nas calçadas das lojas. Isso sem contar o descaso das rádios que só tocam hoje em dia na base do famoso jabá. Trágico.

A década está acabando e não param de surgir listas das melhores coisas destes últimos 10 anos, essa história já ta ficando um pouco chata. Mas a lista da vez é bem legal, novamente a revista britânica NME fez a votação, desta vez para escolha das 100 melhores músicas da década. Legal foi que os brasileiros do Cansei de Ser Sexy entraram na posição 91 da lista, com a música Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above. Ta certo que eu gostaria que algo mais Rock ficasse em primeiro lugar, mas não da pra negar que a Beyonce tocou muito nesses últimos anos e arrebatou uma porrada de prêmios, não faz a minha cabeça, mas a mina é foda. De qualquer forma, tem MUITA coisa boa na lista, escute TODAS!

Veja aqui o Top 10:

1 – Beyonce - Crazy In Love (2003)

2 – MGMT - Time To Pretend (2008)

3 – The Strokes - Hard To Explain (2001)

4 – MIA - Paper Planes (2008)

5 – Outkast - Hey Ya! (2003)

6 – The Rapture - House Of Jealous Lovers (2002)

7 – Klaxons - Golden Skans (2007)

8 – Blur - Out Of Time (2003)

9 – Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies) (2005)

10 – Arctic Monkeys - A Certain Romance (2006)

E a lista completa no link: http://www.nme.com/list/100-tracks-of-the-decade/158050/

Listas, listas, listas…

Oh, las listas, que absurdas son pero como mola hacerlas. Elegimos los 50 discos de la década, los 25 míos y los 25 de eldrsaleabailar (próximo miércoles). Ambos coincidimos en algunas referencias, pero sobre la mayoría estamos en radical desacuerdo, he aquí mis 25, con comentarios hirientes propios de eldrsaleabailar.

1. The Strokes – Is This It

Indiegnado: Indudablemente, el disco de la década. Once autenticos himnos que han inspirado tanto a músicos como a simples mortales durante los 9 años que esta maravilla lleva con nosotros.

Eldrsaleabailar: Indudablemente, unos pijos medianías de NY que tuvieron la suerte de vivir (artisticamente) en la década más medianía de la historia.

2. Arcade Fire – Funeral

Indiegnado: Con su instrumentación barroca, sus melodías completamente particulares y diferentes, hizo que, por primera vez, la palabra épica adquiriera un nuevo significado.

Eldrsaleabailar: Uno de los pocos descubrimientos de Pitchfork que me hicieron volver a creer en la música después de los 90

http://musicwebzine.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/morrissey-you-are-the-quarry/

3. Morrissey – You Are The Quarry

Indiegnado: Con este disco, Morrissey volvia tras siete años de silencio. Y lo hizo con el mejor disco que ha firmado en solitario.

Eldrsaleabailar: Grandísimo, guapísimo y con la mejor canción de la década. Un recuerdo para la organización del festival en el castillo de Sohail, espero que no hayan levantado cabeza desde aquel despropósito.

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell

Indiegnado: “Fever To Tell” es un disco de rock hecho en los 00, y cuando digo hecho en los 00 me refiero a que suena de esta decada, no es un revival, ni intenta copiar a nada anterior. Solo ellos consiguieron hacer un disco de rock, aportando algo más en estos ultimos 10 años.

Eldrsaleabailar: Vamos de sobrada en sobrada. Perdonadle, es joven.

5. The GO! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike.

Indiegnado: Ian Parton es el ideologo de esta autentica joya. Creando a partir del mash up sobre discos de los 70 y aportando voces y matices, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento y que en cada corte crea melodias perfectas. Tremendamente fresco.

Eldrsaleabailar: Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento, Thunder Lightnin Strike es un disco que no se repite en ningun momento” ¿QUÉ NO QUÉ?

6.Los Planetas – La Leyenda Del Espacio

Indiegnado: Siempre en progresión, siempre dando un paso más en su música, Los Planetas consiguen en “La Leyenda del Espacio” fusionar el flamenco con el rock, algo que nos intentaron colocar erroneamente con “Omega“. Ellos lo consiguen firmando algunas de las mejores canciones de todo su repertorio, desde “Ya no me asomo a la reja” hasta “Si me diste la espalda“.

Eldrsaleabailar:Lo único erróneo es tu animadversión a “Omega“, pieza clave de la historia musical patria.

7. Death Cab For Cutie – Transanlanticism

Indiegnado: Death Cab For Cutie son uno de los grupos que más vende en america, juegan en la liga numero uno del mainstream americano, algo que empezaron a conseguir tras su “Transantlanticism“, un disco de pop preciosista simplemente perfecto.

Eldrsaleabailar: Me aburren un poco. Para mainstream americano me quedo con Britney Spears.

8.Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion

Indiegnado: Animal Collective hacen la música que se deberia hacer en el siglo XXI, música actual que aporta algo nuevo y se olvida de esa estupidez estendida del “todo esta inventado” ellos demuestran que no, que aun se puede hacer algo nuevo que no suene mal, algo nuevo, que de hecho suena como nada más suena actualmente.

Eldrsaleabailar: Estoy de acuerdo, lo que no sé es si gracias a dios, nada más suena a ellos.

9. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare

Indiegnado: El debut de Arctic Monkeys fue un golpe de aire fresco en el panorama musical, y supuso un disco que llevo la musica a aquellos oidos que la relacionaban con horteradas varias sin sentido. Pero lo mejor llego con su segundo disco, un disco que no se centraba en el hit instantaneo, sino que buscaba nuevos matices y nuevos sonidos.

Eldrsaleabailar: Los caminos del myspace son inescrutables.

10.La Casa Azul – La Revolución Sexual

Indiegnado: “La Revolucion Sexual” es un disco perfecto, hit tras hit y estribillo coreable tras estribillo coreable, los intentos anteriores habian  dejado grandes canciones, pero no es hasta esta revolucion sexual cuando todo suena engranado y menos organico, pero a la vez, más profesional, un sonido que le va mucho mejor a La Casa Azul.

Eldrsaleabailar: Guille Milkyway es lo más importante que nos ha pasado, si señor.

11. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Indiegnado: Soplo de aire fresco. Los lideres del afroindie, con un debut mas que interesante lleno de cambios pero sonando siempre a ellos mismos. Increible.

Eldrsaleabailar:Increible, de inicio a fin, yo también caigo rendido y espero que el nuevo trabajo me siga hechizando

12. Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand

Indiegnado: Grandes. Su primer disco es una coleccion de hit tras hit, y con canciones tan míticas ya como “Take Me Out” o “Michael“.

Eldrsaleabailar: Grandes no, gigantes.

13. TV On The Radio – Dear Science

Indiegnado: “Dear Science” es el disco que mejor suena de Tv On The Radio, aunque muchos prefieran el anterior, en “Dear Science” alcanza una variedad de estilos, sonidos y matices que pocos han conseguido en estos 10 años.

Eldrsaleabailar: No me acaban de llegar, pero no se puede negar que no sean buenos

14. The XX – XX

Indiegnado: El debut de 2010. Ellos han demostrado que se puede tener 20 años, un par de guitarras y una caja de ritmos para crear un disco redondo y con un sonido exquisito, 11 canciones llenas de magia.

Eldrsaleabailar: Buff, empezó sin gustarme y ahora me empieza a encandilar, en mi lista no llegarían a tiempo.

15. Capitán Melao – Lágrima

Indiegnado: Si tengo que elegir un descubrimiento personal del underground mas underground me quedo con Capitán Melao. Un disco injustamente olvidado hasta por su creador, que desde entonces no ha vuelto a dar señales de vida al proyecto y con canciones tremendamente buenas.

Eldrsaleabailar: Si es tu disco fetiche nada tengo que objetar, para que no me taches de inmaduro

16. Astrud – Tú No Existes

Indiegnado: “Tú No Existes” es el disco mas pop de Astrud, esa música tremendamente recordable llena de arreglos electronicos y acompañadas de esas letras tan divertidas. Ni que decir que “Noam Chomsky” o “El Vertedero De Sao Paulo” son de lo mejor que astrud han firmado.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¡Increíble!, va el tío y escoge el menor de todos los discos de Astrud de la década, en fin…

17. Amy Winehouse – Back To Black

Indiegnado: La drogada mas mal vista del mundillo rosa, ¡canta! y ademas lo hace de una forma absolutamente espectacular. “Back To Black” es un disco imprescindible dentro del revival soul que se creo, en parte, gracias a ella.

Eldrsaleabailar: Me aburre

18. Triángulo De Amor Bizarro – Triángulo De Amor Bizarro

Indiegnado: El noise patrio, las ganas y la furia de los gallegos, todo eso esta contenido en el debut de TAB, un debut que pronto tendra su esperadisima continuacion. y dentro de ese debut una de las mejores canciones de la decada a nivel nacional, “El Fantasma De La Transición“.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¿Son tan buenos como para estar entre los 25 mejores?

Indiegnado: Rotundo sí.

19. Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Indiegnado: Coldplay son los nuevos U2, los herederos de los estadios, lo llenan todo, incluso un año antes, de locura. Pero esa euforia que se ha desatado en los ultimos años poco tiene que ver con el pop pianistico de los inicios, lo verdaderamente bueno de Coldplay

Eldrsaleabailar: ¡Viva La Vida! , ¡Afroditaaaaa! (Prefiero a dana internacional)

20. Ellos – Lo Tuyo No Tiene Nombre

Indiegnado: El primer disco de Ellos es el mas fresco, y punto. LLeno de himnos bailables y un aire muy divertido

Eldrsaleabailar: Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii, ¡por fin algo bueno!

21. Band Of Horses – Cease To Begin

Indiegnado: El primer disco fue un disco aclamado en todos los medios, pero no fue hasta el segundo “Cease To Begin” cuando Band Of Horses alcanzaron su exquisitez musical, canciones pop rock con un aire americano realmente exquisito.

Eldrsaleabailar: Apenas les conozco, será por algo.

22. El Guincho – Alegranza

Indiegnado: Si tuvieramos que el artista nacional con mas proyeccion y que mas fronteras ha conseguido romper, ese es sin duda, El Guincho, por primera vez, un artista nacional no es tratado como secundario, sino que se coloca en las privilegiadas primeras posiciones, y ademas con un discazo absoluto como es “Alegranza“.

Eldrsaleabailar: Absolutamente de acuerdo

23. The National – Boxer

Indiegnado: El post punk ha sido el estandarte mas copiado e irritante de la decada, que si interpoles, editores, y catpeoples insulsos todos, pues bien, The National escapan de esas connotaciones y colocan su “Boxer” como un disco lleno de matices y buenas canciones.

Eldrsaleabailar: Disco precioso, de verdad, para escuchar con alguno de M. Ward.

24. Ladytron – Velocifero

Indiegnado: Viva el electropop de los 00´s y claro, vivan Ladytron. Cuatro discazos en siete años, el mejor, el último, un disco impecable.

Eldrsaleabailar: A mi no me ponen.

25. Sigur Rós – Takk…

Indiegnado: ¿y que seria de la decada sin la bizarrez extrema de Sigur Rós? Pues nada, lo suyo si que es autentica epica, sin el significado negativo.

Eldrsaleabailar: ¿sin?

On Sunday I went to Nottingham to see the Arctic Monkeys Live and they were fucking amazing!. I preferred the much up tempo songs such as “pretty visitors” and “View from the afternoon” as oppose to “Cornerstone” because the immense noise and power in their performance. The classics were met with Sweaty moshing and a collection of voices.  All though the best song by far in my opinion was “pretty visitors” so here it is in its raw form.

Volevano una svolta. Per questo gli Arctic Monkeys si sono lasciati alle spalle l’Inghilterra e hanno preso la strada verso il deserto americano. Ecco spiegata la scelta di affidare la produzione del loro terzo album Humbug a Josh Homme, leader dei Queens of the Stone Age e profeta dello Stoner rock. L’obiettivo era quello di adottare un sound vintage e psichedelico, in grado di dare al gruppo un’identità più matura rispetto all’Indie rock degli esordi.

Registrato tra il deserto del Mojave, Los Angeles e Brooklyn (dove ha contribuito al mixaggio anche l’altro produttore James Ford) il nuovo disco delle Scimmie è quindi un passo avanti coraggioso, ma forse troppo radicale. Alla lunga infatti si fa fatica a fare proprie le nuove canzoni, perché il punto di forza di Humbug è paradossalmente proprio la sua debolezza. Questo suono più duro, che ricorda i Black Sabbath e gli stessi Queens of the Stone Age, con il passare delle tracce dimostra tutti i suoi limiti. Non mancano alcuni brani ben riusciti: il singolo Crying lightning, l’apertura di My propeller e la piratesca Pretty visitors su tutte.

Ma è l’album nel suo complesso a non convincere: mancano i ritornelli, mancano le melodie che hanno fatto la fortuna degli Arctic Monkeys. Non bastano un paio di discrete ballate – Secret door e Cornerstone – a rompere la monotonia psichedelica quasi forzata che Alex Turner e soci cercano ossessivamente in ogni pezzo. Brani come Potion approaching o Fire and the thud si fanno apprezzare più per le atmosfere che evocano che per la loro effettiva qualità.

Stesso discorso per i testi: l’eloquenza di Turner, capace di creare quelle piccole ma efficaci storie di provincia come nell’esordio di Whatever people say, è sparita nel nulla. Insomma ai fan degli Arctic Monkeys è rimasta solo la polvere del deserto. Ma forse sentono già la mancanza della cara e vecchia pioggia inglese.

Voto: 6,3

Devo admitir que 25% do meu gosto musical é calcado no indie*. Uma das bandas que não saíam da lista era o Arctic Monkeys. Dançante,  descompromissado e, ao mesmo tempo, cheio de melodias com muita qualidade.

A lista balançou com o Humbug, mais recente trabalho de Alex Turner e cia. Não é um álbum como os outros. A banda exala amadurecimento musical. O que, para quem era acostumado com o roquinho deles poderia achar estranho. Eu achei. Sentia falta daquela rebeldia adolescente sonora. E de tão aclamado pela mídia, entrei na missão de entender aqueles críticos. Achei que era birra de idade. Na quinta audição do álbum, pelo amor, coisa linda.  O que prova que meus ouvindos ainda possuem muito o que ouvir e aprender.

* fonte não confiável. meramente ilustrativa hehe

Ó, recomendo:

I’ve made a new playing list. Do you have a special music list at your iPod/MP3/etc?

1. Lykke Li – Possibility
2. M.I.A – Paper Planes
3. Oh Laura – Release Me
4. Tori Amos – Winter
5. Antsy Pants – Vampire
6. Muse – Time is running out
7. Muse – Starlight
8. Muse – New Born

9. Katie Melua – If the Lights go Out
10. R.E.M – the Great Beyond
11. Velvet Underground – I’m sticking with you
12. Kimya Dawson – Tire Swing

13. Arctic Monkeys – Mardy Bum
14. Bloc Party – Two More Years
15. Bloc Party – This Modern Love
16. The Cranberries – Zombie
17. The Cranberries – Salvation

I am kinda into that alternative music sound these days. Not that these artists are too alternative. But still, they make really great music.

Kan het een keer afgelopen zijn met die eeuwige verheerlijking van dat Engelse prutbandje? Laten we het taboe eens doorbreken. Want eigenlijk is het gewoon T-Y-F-U-S-muziek.

Zo, dat lucht op.

En nee, het nieuwste album (Humbug) is ook niet leuk. Hoe je het ook wendt of keert, het blijft Arctic Monkeys, een clubje met zeer beperkte muzikale vermogens. Bands die slechte muziek produceren kan ik prima mee leven. Maar als er dan vervolgens een hele schare slaafse fans achteraan gaat hobbelen kan ik niet lijdzaam blijven toezien.

Steekwoorden: eentonig, ongeïnspireerd, dertien-in-een-dozijn, emotieloos. Voor de nuance: Mardy Bum is zo’n beetje het enige luisterbare nummer dat deze club ooit heeft voortgebracht.

Conclusie: breek al je Arctic Monkeys-albums door midden en stop met verafgoden. Ga muziek luisteren ofzo!

Seeing the Arctic Monkeys live at the MEN last night, was one of the best nights ever and lots of people looked really ‘cool’.

The arena was full of flowery prints, sequins, denim, colours and printed t-shirts. Suprisingly, even the lads were dressed for the occasion – it was like an Alex Turner look-a-like competition. They were in skinny jeans, trench coats, polo tops, blazers – the stereotypical Arctic Monkey fan.

Everyone seemed to be in that group, the indie, rockers kind of group. There were so many different types of the same style and its clear to see where peoples inspiration comes from.

On the whole, the night was brilliant and everyone came out of the gig with a memory they’ll never forget.

If any of you are heading to see the Arctic Monkeys, or any other band, this month, here are a few ideas on what to wear.

£22 – Topshop £28 – Topshop £20 – Miss Selfridge £16 – Dorothy Perkins