Sensationalism Sells

God Save the Queen. Recently I had read on some AOL music blog that a band called The Artic Monkeys were better than the Beatles. Of course, this made me dislike this band, originating from Yorkshire, that I had never even heard of. So I did what lurkers of the internet do -- pulled up their myspace page. Their headline read "don't believe the hype" and their bio exclaimed about their recent releases called "'WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THATS WHAT IM NOT" and "WHo the fuck are the arctic monkeys?" But none of their songs worked. So I was made my way to the Domino Records Website, the same record company supporting Franz Ferdinand and some band with a hot singer called The Kills... But besides a bio exclaiming that the arctic monkeys have been popular by word of mouth for years, and therefore did not need to be picked up by a label to be "Successful".. there was not much, still no audio I could get to play. So I fired up the ole' limewire, paused my Sims downloads so it wouldn't take as long, and typed in ARCTIC MONKEYS. After judging a book by the cover I decided to give the song "fake tales of san francisco" a go, as the English would say and see what took place to these boys from Sheffield on the West Coast. Singer Alex Turner, with instances of that accent I do love, sounds like a mix of the Strokes vocalist, Jake White, and that Wino on the cornerseat of every bar missing the ash tray and eventually crying along with elvis on the juke box every night at last call. That's right, I was mistaken. Oy Vey, It is charming. I'm not saying the album isn't worth listening to, but Another Fab Four on our hands? Can they even compare to the beatles? I am right up with the next person in hoping that we can find another band this day in age that is credible & talented enough to take on task. But until further notice, I think it's safe to say that American Girls are alright missing their birth control pill the day that the Arctic Monkeys come to their town... but then again most American girls are a sucker for British mop tops and slang, I would probably know. So I decided, Why would AOL say that? Well, according to a poll of the "best british albums ever" conducted by UK music weekly NME [New music Express], the beatles came in NINTH place with their 1966 album 'revolver'. While the Arctic Monkeys album, released just a few months ago came, in fifth. Now this made me realize it was not a personal attack on my loves, but merely another advertising propaganda. A weasel word here, a glittering generality there and before too long I had downloaded songs, read every Arctic Monkeys fan site I could find, checked tour dates and ordered their EP to find out what all the rage was about across the pond -- which is exactly what the headline was hoping I would do. I am still not sure why exactly they are ranked so high... maybe the youth of the UK are just too eager to be pleased now a days, but one thing is for sure Corporate America is still doing what they do best -- auctioning off yet another fine foursome of British Meat. Now, I am off to find some party favors for 4/20... If you don't hear from me still assume that I remembered to shut my stove off. http://www.myspace.com/arcticmonkeyshttp://www.arcticmonkeys.com1. THE STONE ROSES - THE STONE ROSES2. THE SMITHS - THE QUEEN IS DEAD3. OASIS - DEFINITELY MAYBE4. SEX PISTOLS - NEVER MIND THE B**LOCKS5. ARCTIC MONKEYS - WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM, THAT'S WHAT I'M NOT6. BLUR - MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH7. PULP - DIFFERENT CLASS8. THE CLASH - LONDON CALLING9. THE BEATLES - REVOLVER10. THE LIBERTINES - UP THE BRACKET. This leaves a person even with ADHD to ponder for several hours two things -- Why were the arctic monkeys the only current group on that list & what is "B**locks"?