‘Brianstorm’ – Arctic Monkeys, 2007
The Guardian recently had a free supplement on a great songwriter each day for a week, and Alex Turner, lead singer of Arctic Monkeys, was featured on the final day. No doubt this was greeted with howls of derision, but I think he’s a great lyricist. He does slice-of-young-English-life vignettes better than anyone since Paul Weller, and has a great ear for a melody.
‘Brianstorm’ was the first single off of Favourite Worst Nightmare, the Monkeys’ “difficult” second album. It starts off hot and heavy (the drummer took boxing training to build the upper-body strength), with a guitar riff not a million miles removed from the Pulp Fiction theme.
The lyrics poke fun at a ‘pick-up artist’ who gets the girls going and gets the lads fuming (“Some want to kiss, some want to kick you”), and who’s got a whole schtick that’s based on fashion (“t-shirt and ties combination”) and technique (“your renditions and jokes”). We all know one.
The drums let off in parts, but only to build up to the next climax. It’s an exciting listen, and a refreshing change from the usual indie single in that it’s not afraid to be loud and ballsy. Here’s the video – if you like the Arctic Monkeys, check out their first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Personal fave tunes include ‘A Certain Romance’, ‘Red Light Indicates Doors are Secure’, and ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’. But none of them beats ‘Brianstorm’.
