I don't have enough thoughts on this to make a real long post out of it, but I have to stop, like I have so many times in the past, and ask myself: What is the big screaming deal about the Arctic Monkeys? For a band to sell that many copies that quickly like they've done in England, I figured they must be one of those love-or-hate bands, a band that, even if you don't particularly care for them, elicits some sort of strong, gut-level reaction, like the Velvet Underground or Bjork.
So expecting something at least interesting (I know better than to expect to be blown away), what strikes me is how utterly average these guys are. They sound and look exactly like a thousand other bands that want nothing more than to have fun, and who put loads of time and effort into looking like they don't care. If you played an Arctic Monkeys song on a mix tape with Franz Ferdinand, Hot Hot Heat, and Kaiser Chiefs, I probably wouldn't be able to tell any of them apart.
And so it goes with most of the Great Big Hypes that come out of Great Britain. Arctic Monkeys are getting lots of comparisons to Oasis, another band that rose out of nowhere to become superstars at blinding speed, and another band who are completely average in every way. Not necessarily "bad," but not necessarily "good" either. If these bands existed in the United States, thousands of miles away from the star-making Midas Touch of the NME, they would gather a decent local following and toil in obscurity in local bars for a few years and then break up and commit to day jobs. In fact, they do exist in the United States, by the dozens, all over the country.
All of which is to say that I have no idea why the Arctic Monkeys are so huge. I'm not saying that the pop music scene in America is all that much better ("My Humps," anybody?), but I'm just completely mystified by the amount of press given to so many unremarkable bands like the Arctic Monkeys.
2 comments:
Dear Tom,
You know me. I'm into all these bands that come out and get all this hype and people are dying to see them and selling their organs to see r5 shows in church basements. i.e. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah...Arcade Fire.
So, with that said, I don't know anyone who is into this band, yet somehow they're being namedropped all over the place and their r5 show sold out in like five seconds. I keep listening to the album and trying to figure out what's going on there. It's a little interesting, but not that interesting. I'm not even sure what to think at all. It reminds me of like ... Saves the Day. Simple, fun music. Except Artic Monkeys are nowhere near as good as Saves the Day. Saves the Day is fun and sings about cutting out your blue eyes over a dance-your-butt-off bass line. Ah, I don't think you're going to feel me on that comparison, but whateva. The basic gist is that I'm totally with you on that one ... about the Artic Monkeys being quite the overhyped band despite their mediocrity.
Also, my friend, Dave, agrees. So that makes at LEAST three of us who just don't get it!
i agree with all of you, about arctic monkeys, and saves the day. so that is four. i don't understand arctic monkeys and i too have never met anyone who does.
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