Why I really cant listen to the Arctic Monkeys

When someone asks me “what bands do you like?”, I rack off the list, the Arctic Monkeys have never made that bracket. That same person asks me “why they’re not included”. This reply always takes an absolute age to explain, so I’m officially going to publish it in writing so I won’t have to waste a good 10 minutes of someones valuable time to explain the reasons.

So. Enjoy.

Theres a fine line between naturally being good at something and trying too hard to be good at the same thing. There’s also a make up of specific attributes that really make a band great.

These two areas are where the Arctic Monkeys fall short, in terms of actually being really good. Alex Turner has a very unqiue voice, which is really not a bad thing at all, if anything it helps a band capture their own identity, but when you (a band) really force and focus all your music on the lead singers vocal attributes, that’s where the problem lies.
It’s just not necessary.

The rather irritating aspect of this specific problem is that when they released their first few songs and their first album, they just made a lot of noise and didn’t feel obligated to satisfy anyone.
It was actually not bad, their early stuff, I didn’t mind it just for the fact that they made a lot of noise.
The album AM is a prime example of how they’ve changed for the worse, in my opinion. Every song of this record demonstrates how obvious it is for a band to have a unique selling point and just tear it to shreds. (Im talking here about Turner’s vocals. Not the vocals themselves but the way he sings them. He really doesn’t need to go full Yorkshire all the time).

If you listen to it, the question you need to be asking is that “Can any other band do the same thing?” Or “Are the Arctic Monkeys actually unique?” The answer is Yes and No. Yes, any band could produce exactly the same material with a lead singer who hasn’t got such a Yorkshire accent. No because they actually don’t add anything new as a group and don’t really have a USP.

Listen to this:

How many “o’s” does Alex Turner have to really exaggerate before we understand what he’s saying? Its a slight irritant that has run throughout this group, especially for this album.
(The guitar rhythm is simple enough to create a good tune as well, it’s just wasted).

I think that took about 10 minutes.

Cheers.

IM BACK! – What is wrong with the music industry

*THE FOLLOWING POST IS TARGETED TOWARDS MY GENERATION*

Right, Im back! Its now been around a month and a half since I posted my last “article” on here. (Correct me if I’m wrong).

The reason? Uni work, uni work, and a bit more uni work. Oh… and because I didn’t want to devote my time writing about Blues Rock music. The main reason? The main reason being that ever so slowly, since Ive moulded together my own independent music taste and style, I have increasingly been giving up with the whole music industry.

(Before I really get into it, let me just say that obviously I still love music, I still love Blues Rock and I still have time to listen to my favourite artists  either on my own or with people.)

However, Im going to say that since I have built up my own personal opinion on music as an industry, I have started to come to the realisation that we (Western societies) are now getting to a point where music is becoming, mundane, repetitive, and just boring.

No-one has produced really anything innovative and fresh since the start of the 2010’s (arguably before that, but as I mentioned I wasn’t really paying attention at that time). Mainstream pop culture has dominated the  music culture in this country specifically, and whenever any artist really tries to produce and write something even a bit more interesting, it gets shot down by the public.

E.g. The Sleaford Mods, they have a rant about politicians, they are new, exciting, and different from any modern punk group. But what do we do? Shoot them down, call them sh*t, and write them off completely, just because they are a bit different.
Today alone, I’ve personally heard several comments about the Mods that were no way positive. Its stupid. If you don’t like them, then just respect them, and respect what they’re trying to achieve. But no-one does.

Why?

Because we have listened to so much of the same beat, the same tune, and the same sh*t for so long now that our brains, are so fixated on one style of music. This has now allowed record labels and music producers to create and feed the mass market what they want to hear; the same music all over again, year after year.

Strip away the lyrics, and you will start to hear an incredibly similar sound that has remained constant throughout the industry for years.
Take a band like One Direction, how many of their utterly sh*t records sound so much like rock hits from 30 or so years ago?

One Direction – Best song ever:

 

The Who – Baba O’riley:

THESE INTROS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME!

Another example:

One Direction – Midnight Memories

Def Leppard – Pour some sugar on me

(You can find more here)

Why? Theres no need what so ever. Can One Direction please, if there going to shove their sh*te down my throat, at least make it original sh*te that I can kind of respect. Not ripped of tunes from innovative bands like The Who.

Do a Nile Rodgers, create your own incredible, unique sound, and release great records.

Another example: Kanye West.

Putting my personal feelings of this compete kn*b to the side. How many times does he have to rip off artists to make a “decent” track? DO SOMETHING NEW! Stronger, gold digger, and even Black Skinhead sounds exactly like a Marilyn Manson track. Pick yourself which one.

Trust me, it doesn’t stop there. Pick any mainstream artist or band, strip the track of the lyrics, and you will have yourself the same beat, or tune, or rhythm that was probably introduced 20-30 years ago, or even since then.

More examples of artists/bands that sound the same:

David Guetta, Calvin Harris.

Avicii, Tiesto, Martin Garrix

Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, The Weeknd

The 1975, Peace, The wombats,

(The list goes on.)

Listen, and you’ll understand why I am getting to the point of where I’m just losing faith in modern music.

The worst thing about this though, the worst thing, is knowing that we, as a nation, let this happen. We constantly fall into the traps of the record labels, who obviously contribute more to a pop track than the actual artist anyway.

As well as that, I can’t even avoid it now with the progression of social media and going out on a Friday Night.

We can change the music industry, so please, lets get imaginative, lets broaden our horizons and sort this mess out.

So yeah, thats why I haven’t posted on here in while, Uni work and music. But I am going to keep promoting Blue Rock to music listeners. Its a bit different, so why not?

Cheers.