Alex Turner has expressed his worries at the change in the UK charts; he believes that the Arctic Monkeys may never be able to achieve another number one single again, as the charts have become “a different landscape” since the release of the critically acclaimed ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’. The single went straight to number one when it was released in 2005, and they followed up their success with a string of popular tracks.
Their latest attempts at chart success failed, as the current album Suck It and See entered the charts at a somewhat unimpressive 149. Turner has said the days where bands like the Arctic Monkeys can achieve number one singles has long gone. In his words, he stated how he has forgotten how to write a hit single and that no one truly knows what that is anymore.
Turner has recently turned to improving his voice, and explained that he never was a singer. In his opinion the band are getting there with the singing, but did feel much more comfortable with writing lyrics. Although they are “getting there”, could this be the end for a band who doesn’t seem to fit in to a chart in the current society?
2 Comments
I was never the biggest fan of the Arctic Monkeys, but with the dominance of dubstep / hip hop / RnB in popular culture, I can imagine similar fates for similar bands. For indie / rock bands to get a #1 single, it has to be VERY catchy and good. However, I wouldn’t see it as the end, as they are still extremely well known and have a great following.
I am the same, I was never the biggest fan of the band but I really loved the first album, and feel that it went down hill from there. The chart seems to go through stages, a couple of years ago indie/rock tracks dominated the charts, and now it seems the shape of the charts has changed. I believe in a few years to come it will probably change again and indie bands will start to appear more frequently. Personally, I don’t pay huge attention to the charts anyway, they do not give an accurate representation of the best tracks out there, only the best marketed tracks.