Teddy Picker

"Teddy Picker"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album Favourite Worst Nightmare
B-side	"Bad Woman" "The Death Ramps" "Nettles"
Released	3 December 2007 (UK)
Format	7", 10", CD
Recorded	December 2006 at Miloco Studios, London
Genre	Garage rock, post-punk revival, indie rock
Length	2:43
Label	Domino
Writer(s)	Alex Turner
Producer	James Ford, Mike Crossey
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"Fluorescent Adolescent" (2007) "Teddy Picker" (2007) "Crying Lightning" (2009)
Favourite Worst Nightmare track listing "Brianstorm" "Teddy Picker" "D Is for Dangerous" "Balaclava" "Fluorescent Adolescent" "Only Ones Who Know" "Do Me a Favour" "This House Is a Circus" "If You Were There, Beware" "The Bad Thing" "Old Yellow Bricks" "505"

"Teddy Picker" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, released as the third single from their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare. It was released on 3 December 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 20.

Meaning

The song refers to the popularity of celebrities. A 'teddy picker' is Northern slang for a crane machine, a popular machine at carnivals where prizes, particularly stuffed animals, are picked by a mechanical crane. The song equates a person getting noticed as a celebrity with a prize being picked up by a crane-a result of luck. The song expresses annoyance with people who are so desperate to be famous that they do over-the-top things to get attention, such as participate in reality shows. Such occurrences of reality show 'stars' being treated as real celebrities are especially prevalent in the UK, the home of Arctic Monkeys, where the show Big Brother has spawned such national icons as Jade Goody. The line "don't be surprised when you get bent over" refers to the number of celebrities or media darlings that are tricked or persuaded by the industry to continue their attention seeking by promises of fame or money.

The song also contains the band's second reference to Duran Duran, with the line "I don't want your prayers, save it for the morning after". The first reference is in the song "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", with the line "Your name isn't Rio but I don't care for sand".

Music video

The video was directed by Roman Coppola, who has previously worked with The Strokes, Daft Punk and Phoenix. The whole video was completed in one day and features the band performing the song live in the studio and walking to a local pub. It also won them Best Video at the 2008 NME Awards.

Track listing

CD, 10"
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Teddy Picker"	Alex Turner	Arctic Monkeys	2:43
2.	"Bad Woman" (featuring Richard Hawley)	Patrick Sickafus	Arctic Monkeys	2:18
3.	"The Death Ramps"	Death Ramps	Death Ramps	3:19
4.	"Nettles"	Alex Turner	Death Ramps	1:45

7"
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Teddy Picker"	Alex Turner	Arctic Monkeys	2:43
2.	"Bad Woman" (featuring Richard Hawley)	Patrick Sickafus	Arctic Monkeys	2:18

Charts

Charts (2007)	Peak position
French Singles Chart	99
Irish Singles Chart	32
Italian Singles Chart	35
Netherlands Singles Chart	98
Polish Singles Chart	49
UK Indie Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	20