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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

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Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut album by English indie rock[1][2] band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006. The album surpassed Elastica's self-titled album to become the fastest selling debut album in British music history, shifting over 360,000 copies in its first week,[3] and remains the fastest selling debut album by a band.[4][5] It has since gone quintuple platinum in the UK.

The album includes both tracks from the band's original EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, as well as their first two singles and UK number ones, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down". It has since appeared in several critics' publications, and is often cited as one of the best rock albums of the decade.[citation needed] It received the 2006 Mercury Prize for best album. It was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In October 2013, the UK music magazine NME ranked the album at number 19 in their poll of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[6]

Composition and content

The common thematic content of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not has led to it being considered by some a concept album concerning "the lives of young Northern England clubbers".[7] All tracks record first-person narratives of observations made within this context. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", "Still Take You Home", "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me" and "Dancing Shoes" all examine human behaviour in nightclubs. Alex Turner describes "Dancing Shoes" as being about "people always looking to pull when they go out however much they mask it."[8] Other songs examine other aspects of nightlife; "From the Ritz to the Rubble" is an account of nightclub bouncers, "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" tells the typical experiences and troubles of getting a taxicab after a night out, and "When the Sun Goes Down" was inspired by prostitutes in the locality of their practice room in the Neepsend district of Sheffield.[9] Other songs are themed on romantic relationships, such as "Mardy Bum", or youth subcultures, such as "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "A Certain Romance". In NME's list of top 100 tracks of the decade, "A Certain Romance" was described as "a strangely even-handed song which starts out scorning local townies then appears to absolve them at the end of the song."[10]

Album title and artwork

The album's title was taken from a line from the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning written by Alan Sillitoe. The name was chosen after Turner recognised similarities between the two works and the appropriateness of the title. He said that "it's good because the book is called Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and that's kind of what the album is, so there's a link there. And also, there's a lot of people saying a lot of things about us and you don't have control over it."[11] He also said that "songs including 'The View from the Afternoon', 'Dancing Shoes', 'Still Take You Home' and 'From the Ritz to the Rubble' all cover that bit of the weekend and feature the same character."[12]

Cover artwork of the album is a photo of Chris McClure — a tea boy friend of the band, frontman of The Violet May and brother of Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers — taken in the early hours of the morning in Korova bar, Liverpool[11] after the band had given him, his cousin and his best friend "seventy quid to spend on a night out".[13] The image caused some controversy when the head of Scotland's NHS criticised the cover for "reinforcing the idea that smoking is okay".[14] The band's product manager denied the accusation, and in fact suggested the opposite: "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good." In March 2006, McClure announced that he would be giving up smoking, due to lack of funds,[15] though it has been recently[when?] reported that his attempts to do so have failed. Billboard advertisements for the album used a similar image to the cover picture, but without the cigarette.

Release and promotion

Prior to the release of the album, the tracks "Mardy Bum", "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", "Fake Tales of San Francisco", "Dancing Shoes", "Still Take You Home", "Riot Van", "When the Sun Goes Down" (then known as "Scummy" or "Scummy Man") and "A Certain Romance" had been released for free via the internet in late 2004 and consolidated on the unofficial Beneath the Boardwalk compilation.

The original release date was 30 January 2006, but was brought forward to 23 January 2006 due to "high demand". Although the same was done with Franz Ferdinand, it was speculated that the move was an attempt to counter the effects of the album's leak onto online file-sharing sites.[16] The re-recorded album versions had been leaked onto the internet by December 2005.

On the first day of its release, the album became the fastest-selling debut album in British history, selling just under 120,000 copies. By the end of the week, the album had sold 363,735 copies - more than the rest of the Top 20 combined and making it the overall fastest selling debut album in British history. Its release in the United States on 21 February 2006 saw it become the second fastest selling debut indie album in history,[17] turning over around 34,000 copies in its first week and achieving #24 in the album charts. The album also went to #1 in Australia and Ireland. UK sales as of September 2013 standed on 1,475,982 copies.[18] In February 2014, the album was certified 5x Platinum, indicating sales of 1,500,000 copies.

The track "Mardy Bum", while not released as a single, appeared on radio playlists throughout the UK in mid-2006, and is still played infrequently on BBC Radio 1 and some alternative rock stations such as Sirius XM's Sirius XMU. The track "A Certain Romance" was ranked #90 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Tracks of 2006 and cited as the standout track.[19] NME also placed "A Certain Romance" at 10 in their list of 100 Tracks of the Decade.[20] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 140 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[21]

Singles

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" was released as the first single from the album, the song debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart in October 2005 for one week, knocking Sugababes' "Push The Button" off the top.

"When the Sun Goes Down" released as the second single from the album in January 2006, it also debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their 2nd UK number 1 single to date. In the US, "Fake Tales of San Francisco" was released as the album's 2nd single and peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Charts.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk89%[1]
Allmusic [23]
A.V. ClubB–[24]
The Guardian[9]
NME10/10[25]
Pitchfork Media7.4/10[26]
PopMatters8/10[27]
Robert ChristgauA−[28]
Rolling Stone[29]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[30]
Winnipeg Sun[31]

Since its release the album has received universal acclaim with a Metacritic rating of 82.[22] It featured highly in many year-end lists and was hailed as a modern classic.[32] Many critics and figures in the British media hyped the Arctic Monkeys and their rapid rise to acclaim through unconventional means[9][33][34] and some even cited the Arctic Monkeys as revolutionising the way people find music as they built a fanbase on the basis of a few demos shared by fans through the internet.[35] NME declared them "Our Generation's Most Important Band", and Alex Turner's lyrics and depiction of Sheffield, and the night lives of teenagers in particular, were praised, with him being labelled as a "master of observation"[25] and USA Today claiming "you probably won't hear a better CD all year long", calling it "utterly infectious".[32] MusicOMH wrote that it was the sort of guitar rock that "makes you fall in love with music all over again" and along with many other critics cited "A Certain Romance" as the standout track and as being "a wonderfully articulate dissection of youth culture that belies Turner's tender years". It was, however, noted that some of the tracks which had previously been released on the internet as demos had lost some of their quality and "don't sound as good".[33]

Awards and accolades

In 2009 the album placed at number 9 in MTV's 'Greatest Album Ever' online poll.[45]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Alex Turner except stated [46]

No.TitleLength
1."The View from the Afternoon"3:38
2."I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"2:53
3."Fake Tales of San Francisco"2:57
4."Dancing Shoes"2:21
5."You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me"2:10
6."Still Take You Home" (Turner, Jamie Cook)2:53
7."Riot Van"2:14
8."Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured"2:23
9."Mardy Bum"2:55
10."Perhaps Vampires Is a Bit Strong But..."4:28
11."When the Sun Goes Down"3:20
12."From the Ritz to the Rubble"3:13
13."A Certain Romance"5:31

Personnel

Arctic Monkeys

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ^ a b c "Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. ^ "BBC - Seven Ages of Rock "What the World Is Waiting For"". Seven Ages of Rock. 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC News. 29 January 2006.
  4. ^ Leona Lewis's 2007 album Spirit became the outright fastest selling debut album upon its release in November 2007.
  5. ^ "Susan Boyle beats Leona Lewis, Arctic Monkeys to 'biggest first week sales for UK debut album' title". NME. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  6. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100-1". IPC Media. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  7. ^ "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 21 February 2005.
  8. ^ "Arctic Monkeys' debut album in their own words". NME. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ a b c Petridis, Alexis (13 January 2006). "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Review". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2009. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "| #". Nme.Com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  11. ^ a b NME.COM - Arctic Monkeys - A Scummy Man and Mardy Bums: The ultimate Arctic Monkeys Album Guide[dead link‍]
  12. ^ "Monkeys explain album". Yahoo! News. 9 January 2006.
  13. ^ Wichelow, Sam (9 February 2006). "Familiar face?". BBC News - South Yorkshire.
  14. ^ "Arctic Monkeys defend album cover". BBC News. 3 February 2006.
  15. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Cover Star Quits Smoking". Entertainmentwise. 29 March 2006.
  16. ^ "Arctic Monkeys album rush released". NME. 5 January 2006.
  17. ^ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC. 29 January 2006.
  18. ^ "Official Charts Analysis: Arctic Monkeys' AM doubles predecessor's week-one sales".
  19. ^ Pitchfork Feature: The Top 100 Tracks of 2006
  20. ^ "100 Tracks of the Decade". Nme.Com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  21. ^ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  22. ^ a b "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  23. ^ Erlewine, Stephen. "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Review - Allmusic". Allmusic. Allmusic. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  24. ^ Murray, Noel. "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Music - Music Review - The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  25. ^ a b "NME Album Reviews - Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Nme.Com. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  26. ^ Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | Album Reviews | Pitchfork
  27. ^ Braidwood, Stefan. "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  28. ^ "CG: Arctic Monkeys". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  29. ^ By Barry Walters (21 February 2006). "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  30. ^ Butler, Nick. "Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am... (staff review) | Sputnikmusic". Sputnikmusic. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  31. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  32. ^ a b Sanneh, Kelefa (30 January 2006). "Teen Spirit: Arctic Monkeys Observed in the Wild". The New York Times.
  33. ^ a b "Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  34. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott (24 January 2006). "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  35. ^ Barton, Laura (25 October 2005). "The question: Have the Arctic Monkeys changed the music business?". The Guardian. London.
  36. ^ January 2006
  37. ^ October 2006
  38. ^ Sunday, 17 Dec. 2006 (17 December 2006). "10 Best Albums". TIME. Retrieved 15 October 2011.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ [2][dead link‍]
  40. ^ iPad iPhone Android TIME TV Populist The Page (23 January 2014). "Top 10 Everything 2006". TIME. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  41. ^ [3][dead link‍]
  42. ^ [4][dead link‍]
  43. ^ a b "Entertainment | Arctic Monkeys scoop Brits double". BBC News. 15 February 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  44. ^ "100 Best Albums of the 2000s: Arctic Monkeys, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  45. ^ http://www.mtv.co.uk/entertainment/greatest-album-ever/competition/mtvs-greatest-album-ever
  46. ^ ASCAP Entry
  47. ^ a b Information from the CD liner notes.
  48. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  49. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  50. ^ "Ultratop.be – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  51. ^ "Ultratop.be – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  52. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  53. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  54. ^ "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  55. ^ "Lescharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  56. ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 5, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  57. ^ "Charts.nz – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  58. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  59. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  60. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  61. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  62. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  63. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  64. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  65. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  66. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  67. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  68. ^ "Certificeringer Marts - Maj 2010" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  69. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 23 February 2014. Select 2006年03月 on the drop-down menu
  70. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 23 February 2014.[dead link‍]
  71. ^ "British album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 February 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  72. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Win UK's Mercury Prize". indiehq.com. 5 September 2006.[dead link‍]
Preceded by UK number one album
29 January 2006 – 25 February 2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
27 February 2006 – 5 March 2006 		Succeeded by
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