Rocktober '00s Song #11: "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Artic Monkeys (2007)

Sometimes bands don't live up to the hype, and sometimes they do.  I think it's safe to say, Arctic Monkeys lived up to the hype.  My second-favorite band from Sheffield, they formed in 2002 and built up a following both by playing gigs in northern England, but also by giving away burned CDs of demos at early shows.  Fans then ripped those and shared them on file-sharing sites, and the band became popular before they even put out an official album.

After releasing a self-produced EP in May 2005, they were signed to a record label and released their massive debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, in late January 2006.  It became the fastest-selling debut album in UK history, selling nearly 364,000 copies in the UK in the first week after it was released.  For comparison, in the UK, 300,000 album sales is considered platinum.  I bought the album not long after it was released, and I was immediately hooked.  It's certainly one of the best debut albums of the '00s, and I loved how the band combined a punk energy with lyrics basically about just being in your twenties.

Their follow-up album, 2007's Favourite Worst Nightmare, also topped the UK album chart.  You could tell they were starting to evolve as a band, and this album hits just as hard as the first album, while also highlighting lead singer Alex Turner's burgeoning songwriting abilities and pushing the rhythm section to its brink with some breakneck tempos.

My favorite Arctic Monkeys song is "Fluorescent Adolescent," which reached #5 on the UK pop charts and the Top 10 on the pop charts in Belgium, Denmark, and Scotland.  It's a catchy post-punk song co-written by Turner and his then-girlfriend Johanna Bennett.  The song is about longing for one's youth -- which we can all relate to -- and it's just a really good, catchy song. The first line to this song is great: "You used to get it in your fishnets / Now you only get it in your night dress." It's such a vivid, specific lyric that lets you know the song's point of view.  And only in British songs do you get such prominent use of the word "daft."

I've never seen the video before today, but as expected, it revolves around a rumble between circus clowns and bank robbers.  The lead clown is played by British actor Stephen Graham, aka Tommy from Snatch, among many other roles.