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Are ARCTIC MONKEYS Big In America?

Middle 8 | March 13, 2025



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#arcticmonkeys #middle8

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You probably know the Arctic Monkeys from tracks like:

“Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?” or “R U Mine?” and of course “Do I Wanna Know?”

And that’s understandable, their album AM is what finally brought them into the mainstream. It debuted at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and sold more copies than their last 3 did combined.

Yet at home in the UK, the Arctic Monkeys are nearly a household name, where all 5 of their albums have debuted at number one and where their first album still reigns as the fastest selling debut album – by a band – in the UK. (363,735 copies sold in its first week!)

They’ve headlined the largest festival in the UK. Twice. They’ve changed the way record labels distribute music today and they’re one of the only bands to win Best British Group and Best British Album on three separate occasions.

So what was it about AM that finally helped them break into worldwide markets? Let’s look back at their journey and find out who the f*** are Arctic Monkeys?

This music video essay is on the English rock band Arctic Monkeys, from their local beginnings to their rise to the world stage. I talk about their 18-song demo, Beneath the Boardwalk which helped thrust them into popularity after it was uploaded to the internet. Their debut record Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not is still the top selling album by a band in the UK. Their sophomore Favourite Worst Nightmare came back with even more energy. They worked with Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme for their third album Humbug introducing a new desert rock sound. They then diverted for their fourth album Suck It and See before finally releasing AM, the album that gained them worldwide attraction. Let’s dive into what audiences loved so much about AM. The grooves recalling their R&B roots, falsettos, their new personas and more.

Will the Arctic Monkeys’ new album Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino continue the band’s streak of success? We’ll just have to wait and see.

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Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the videos or music used in this video. They are used for education and discussion purposes.

Written by Middle 8

Comments

This post currently has 44 comments.

  1. @28hipster

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    Always funny listening to Americans talk as if Arctic monkeys didn't make it big until AM when in the UK they were already literally biggest band in the world for a good while before that

  2. @april6214

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    I love AM, but sadly I do have a least favorite album. Tranquility Base Hotel. I got to see them on tour for this album, and I underwhelmed with that too. Star Treatment, One Point Perspective, and Four Out Five are my favorites but I can play their first two albums from beginning to end, no skips.

    I got to see them again last year on tour for The Car. It’s a lovely album, but definitely not something to bang your head to. I still love the band and will probably continue to listen to their works as they create them. I just wished I could hop in a time machine and enjoy a show for one of their early days.

  3. @ballerinaonamusicbox

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    in america, ur lucky if you find another person who knows more then their mainstream songs. went to their concert a little while back and most people there only knew 505, whyd you only call me when youre high, do i wanna know and i wanna be yours.

  4. @JReyes624

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    I've been along for the ride since 2006 and I absolutely love every one of their albums… except Tranquility Base. I just couldn't get into it at all. Thankfully they bounced back very strong with The Car.

  5. @ElaBlu3

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    I live in Canada and was obsessed with the Arctic Monkeys when I first heard So you think you look good on the dance floor and just loved their first 2 albums. No one around me know who they were. I had moved on from them a bit after the 3rd album but them absolutely loved AM and I hate to say that AM became my favourite AM album.

  6. @tbam73

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    This video is the perfect explanation of why Rock bands are hard to stick in there if they were formed in the 2000's until now. Fans are two quick to dismiss new bands and just fickle as hell

  7. @pallasathena1555

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    In 2012/13 when I was in uni I met these 16 yo kids who were friends of my house mate, all guitar driven music students. I was like “what kind of music do you like?” And they said “arctic monkeys”. I knew the monkeys first 2 albums but these kids had no idea about sun goes down, florescent adolescent or Mardy bum, they were into crying lightning and r u mine. AM came out just after that and every time I hear that album it makes me think about those kids and that sound they were into.

  8. @reduxmod9178

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    They used to be. I see them as a bunch of tax dodging wankers who sacked their identity off as soon as it became financially more viable to be something else. Fuck those guys.

  9. @paulcypherD

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    i have huge respect for the artic monkeys, and even though i think their last 3 albums are BS or 'straight up wack' as the americans would say, i still think alex turner is one of the greatest songwriters of the last 30 years

  10. @andreajohnson6428

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    I live in the U.S. and I first heard the AM on limewire and I typed in "good music" and "When the suns goes down" came up and I went head first in their music. I'm pretty much a music snob and don't like much outside the 50's-early 70's but AM changed my view. I got Suck it and See when it came out and then they made it big finally with AM.

  11. @sentiasatransformasi

    March 13, 2025 at 12:07 am

    its very normal to see a very talented band or artist's long time fans mock them for releasing records that brought them to stardom. we see it with arctic monkeys n we see it with the weeknd, which can be very toxic. maroon 5 is a very different story though

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