Funky Monkey
Artic Monkeys front man Alex Turner’s eagerly anticipated solo project ‘The Last Shadow Puppets: The Age of the Understatement’ is out this week, reminding me of where it all began for the young Mr. Turner.
It has already received positive reviews as a welcome change from the humdrum indie noise but however many James Bond-esque 1970’s big instrumentals that are thrown in the mix you can’t stop thinking of the Artic Monkeys as you listen.
Who could forget how the Sheffield Four piece rose to fame in the first place, the first success of the digital download generation.
Their debut single ‘I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ stormed to number one and they have sat there proudly ever since.
Their success was controversial due to the use of technology for marketing and for offering their single for free, by-passing the traditional strategy of going to record labels cap in hand for a deal.
Since then the explosion of social networking sites, blogging and webcams has made it even more accessible for bands to promote themselves and enjoy more control over their own destiny, fan base and performances.
Yet an interesting counter argument to this appeared in the ‘Guardian’ claiming that record labels are more savvy to the use of technology and it is the media and press that were caught napping by the trends.
It also tries to break some of the myths about the marketing that the band had in the early days and reveals that just the buzz words of ‘MySpace’ and ‘Internet’ was enough to sell to the consumer and media.
Whether this is true or not, nothing could ever replace the Artic Monkeys raw talent. Without that, millions of aspiring artists may copy the Monkeys model but will not emulate their success.
Indeed, few have made such a phenomenal impact as the Sheffield band since.
Sceptics would suggest that lead singer Alex Turner’s desire to pursue his solo project ‘The Last Shadow Puppets’ is an indication that the longevity of the Artic Monkeys may be in question.
Whether this is true remains open to conjecture but their legacy on the downloadable music market is not.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20051024_musicweekpoll.shtml
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/12/yourmoney/music13.php
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article722745.ece
http://arts.guardian.co.uk/netmusic/story/0,,1782621,00.html
General:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Monkeys
One Response to “Funky Monkey”
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It was also interesting to note the speed in which Radio One took interest in the Artic Monkeys after their intitial success was attributed to MySpace.
Their (Radio One’s) flooding of the airwaves with a oparticular bands song is key in that bands success and therefore gives the station a certain power.
With the influx in bands using social networking sites to gain noteriety and fame more music is becoming available and more varied bands can gain success without Radio One.
aaronj2 - September 10, 2008 at 7:50 am