October 19 2005 at 11:26 AM No score for this post
(Login FuriousWank) TopBoy from IP address 195.152.54.10
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I never listen to the radio, don't buy NME and rarely watch tv, so someone tell me.. how much hype and promotion have the Monkeys had? All i know about them is what i read on here.
I first got into them when Mayer started a "10 great new bands" thread and someone posted a link to the Sheriff's website with the free mp3s. I burnt them all onto cds for mates and ended up getting about 5 people to really like them. You've probably all done the same. So they've got a lot of word of mouth promotion that way, a lot of hype here, but how about in the real world?
Lots of radio play for Bet You Look Good..? videos on MTV all the time? Or have they pretty much taken the average music fan by surprise?
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a fair bit since reading/leeds. but not as much as shite like franz, kaisers and razorlight did when their albums came out. though alot more hype than those bands had after releasing one single. nobody gave a fuck about franz when darts of pleasure came out.
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theyve been in nme a bit lately, i think. other than that mainly hype me thinks. have u seen wot their tickets have been goin on ebay for!!!! I paid 25 for mine, which is bad enough but mite be the last chance i get to see them in a smallish gig
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Its wierd because they seem to be getting all the hype they got in 'underground' circles such as these again, but this time in the mainstream. They could be number 1 on sunday, which is virtually unprecedented for an indie band with their first proper single. Their played in every indie club across the land. They've been mentioned in the Daily Star. Their all over the radio. Their song is apparantly being used on an advert for some tv programs. Their going cataclysmic.
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yes. FF had a very good first EP which got them good word of mouth and they followed it up with Take Me Out and Matinee. it doesn't get much better - no wonder that they are the biggest indie-band in europe. the songs matter in the end and Take Me Out is a classic which will be played in ten years time. me love Darts Of pleasure and Matinee more but as I saw people going crazy in clubs when Take Me Out came out last year I knew there is no way of stopping them. i fuckin distaste the new single Do You Want To, by the way.
I think Arctic Monkeys are the first band that got its break through the internet and therefore they are - no matter what you think about the songs - a significant band, historically.
I like the songs, A Certain Romance is bloody great, Fake Tales good so I look forward to the album but they don't touch my heart like The Strokes or The Libertines did, but that is a personal thing. I wish them to get as big as it gets and when they have a number one single next sunday, fine with me.
all the monkeys hype started when they were already big in some way. so they are by definition the very oppposite of a media-hype cause the media came second.
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Oh fuck me, a actual discussion that hasn't decended into name calling and bad language. I have to say im pleased. its been a long time since i read a thread till the end with out sacking it off. its no fun to read 95% of the sfuff posted here anymore.
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There has been a load of simple word-of-mouth, I reckon in terms of NME and the other plugging it helped signing to Domino who masterminded Franz' shooting to fame.
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The crowd in the tent they played at Reading was phenomenal. I had no idea they had already got such a huge fanbase. I couldn't even get inside it was so packed! I reckon a lot of the hype has been generated in places like this by fans and word of mouth. They aren't yet a well known band but the indie scene is quick to pick up on rising stars.
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deffinaltly just the word of mouth thing at the start i was the same as you furious i downloaded the songs start oh the year and i loved them all straight away but the time the came to scotland they were already so big that i couldnt get tickets, and they hadnt got more of maybe a byline in the NME, it was just people loving the band and wanting to share on there already faveorite bands website, and now the rest of britain is catching up.
very little promotion outside what any small band could do themself, and that is really encouraging for the future.
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but it is not a hype if they were already in some quarters that big. and they haven't sold out, Fake Tales was in no way smoother than the demo version and so on. it is just bitching around.
I quite like them and I'll be seeing them for the first time in the first week of november then I can decide if they are great or just good.
and me, I like it when bands with good songs are on number one instead of having crap music there. no problem with me, I loved FF (Franz Ferdinand. not Fuck Forever ;-) ) too.
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Another thing about hype is how potentially damaging it can be.. If, before you've heard a Monkeys track, you're told "They're the best band in the country!" (they're not, IMO) then that's setting you up for disappointment. I reckon that can put off a lot of potential fans who might have actually liked them.
You get a load of short-term fans though, stratospheric success, but for how long?
Just look at The Vines (remember them)? "The next Nirvana..", celebrity endorsements (James Dean Bradfield), shitloads of hype, some Top 20 hits.. where are they now? The fans caught up in the hype have moved onto the next big thing.
Could see it happening this way for AM. Is it better to start slow and build a solid fanbase (like, say, Super Furry Animals) or get hyped up and grab what you can, while you can?
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Agree with that last comment but hey, lets jus see how it goes man and after listening to some interviews wit them they are shittin it a bit that theyve become too big too soon so maybe theyll cool off for a bit themselves!
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Personally, as long as they keep it together and keep putting out good music, i'll stick with 'em. Just had another listen to Fake Tales.. on my cig break and it still sounds as good as ever. I must've heard that song close to 100 times, so i can't see myself getting sick of the music through overexposure.
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I think you've got a point there too. I just can't imagine them going for ten years at this rate and still be around a la SFA, Supergrass and the like.
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The thing with Arctic Monkeys though is that they really built their fan base primarily through word of mouth - and by the Sheriff hosting those demo mp3s for so long. The media in this case are the real bandwagon jumpers. They'll (the media) will probably go way too far with hype though, so hopefully it won't backsplash onto the band, since there's nothing they can do about that sort of thing.
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I suppose it's too early to tell how many fans love the music and how many are there just because they're the next big thing.
The signs are good though: at the Ritz in Manchester on Sunday, the moshpit stretched from the stage all the way back to the soundbooth at the back, with everyone singing every word. It wasn't just fuill of bored people with an "impress me" attitude (like so many Manchester gigs).
Have they become this big with fans who all appreciate the music? Could be...
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Either way the Arctic Monkeys were going to be massive lets face it. But the speed they have done is undoubtably down to word of mouth and the sharing of the demos on the internet. Jo I think you were at that first London gig werent you at flook? The place was sold out and everyone was singing the words back to them they looked absolutely stunned and genuinely humbled by it that was purely down to Mark hosting the demo on his website I reckon.
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Arctic Monkeys are on track to debut in the number one position with their first commercial single release, I Bet That You Look Good On The Dancefloor, as retailers report a substantial lead for track ahead of Sugababes, Push The Button.
The track will be the second number one for Domino in three weeks, following Franz Ferdinand’s album debut last week. McFly have also attracted strong sales for new single, I Wanna Hold You which looks set to enter the top five, while label mates Love Bites are expected to enter the Top 10 with You Broke My Heart.
On the albums front, Prodigy are benefiting from a slew of TV advertising with their singles set, Their Law, which is comfortably outselling Sugababes' Taller In More Ways. Depeche Mode are making a strong comeback with Playing the Angel with retailers reporting enough sales to enter the top five ahead of Simply Red’s new set, Simplified.
Starsailor are also vying for a Top 10 position, while Stevie Wonder (A Time To Love), Michael Ball (Music) and Michael Bolton (The Very Best Of) could all enter into this weekend's Top 20.
NEW 1 I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR (11k) ARCTIC MONKEYS
1 2 PUSH THE BUTTON SUGABABES (8.6k - 80 copies in front )
NEW 3 I WANNA HOLD YOU MCFLY (8.5k)
2 4 TRIPPING ROBBIE WILLIAMS
3 5 DON'T CHA PUSSYCAT DOLLS FT BUSTA RHYMES
7 6 GOLD DIGGER KANYE WEST FT JAMIE FOXX
NEW 7 YOU BROKE MY HEART LOVE BITES
5 8 BABY GOODBYE FRIDAY HILL
6 9 WE BE BURNIN' SEAN PAUL
8 10 BAD DAY DANIEL POWTER
Nos.11-40
11 PERFECTION DANNII MINOGUE & SOUL SEEKERZ
15 THEIR WAY LITTLANS FT PETER DOHERTY
20 SOFA SONG KOOKS
24 SORRY PADDINGTONS
27 MODEL LIFE CHOCOLATE MONDAY
37 WE DON'T HAVE TO TAKE OUR CLOTHES OFF DA PLAYAZ VS CLEA
Wow 11k!!!!!
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The Vines had two pitch perfect first singles (Factory and Highly Evolved) but it was all downhill from there on. the album was disappointing: i never bought into those psychedelicpseudobeatles bullshit songs.
I saw them once live and it was the worst gig I ever attented. pretentious wanker, Craig Nicholls.
and the second album was a complete mess: it was the first one without the decent tunes and the singles. so they deserved nothing better but the attention in the first months was ok because they had two great singles out.
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What, Arctic Monkeys becoming successful? I'm beginning to think that that's less to do with hype, and more to do with lots of people really, really liking their songs.
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they've got some great songs in their set, and they've played some great gigs, hence why everyone loves the mp3s, and is desperate to see them live. but the speed at which they've gone so big is staggering. 8 months from 200 to 2000 capacity gigs in london, while only selling 1500 copies of their first single/ep/whatever. i hope it lasts for them, i really do. they're never gonna get slated in the same way the kaiser chiefs do, because they've actually got some quality songs. a certain romance and sun goes down had number one written all over them even before this weeks midweek charts had been released.
but as to what all this massive hype is gonna do to them, and their songwriting, i dunno. incidentally, what was the last band you could really call 'indie' that got to number one with their 'official' debut single? id be interested to know.
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on the gig I was attending Craig Nicholls WAS a pretentious wanker. I don't care if he's mental but I do care when he play an utter shite gig and tries to be punk without knowing how. he was a pretentious wanker that night.
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i was there, in sheffield, me and jenny were ASTOUNDED. they blew my mind. the only reason why people seem to be wandering around going 'nah, they a'int all that' is because you've probably had the flippin' demos for like a year because a few of us ran around these parts screaming how good they were and mark hosted the mp3s on his site.
they are special. to sell out their first london gig without having released a single (even though there was a good bunch of us from sheffield that had come down) is something to write home about.
kids were travelling from like scotland to see them at gigs in random pubs in sheffield before the band ever got to london. they've captured the heart of so many people and it's because they are ace. well, alex definetly is. as a front man he's super and i love them and their songs and yes. they are ACES.
people went to a tom vek gig at the fez in sheffield to see arctic monkeys and left after they'd been on. when arctic monkeys were on maybe second on the bill, the bar used to fill up after they'd been on. people left their homes and paid good money to see them support some other band. i think that is definetly special.
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It takes a hell of a lot for a real indie band to get to number 1, especially since I'd imagine most people outside of indie fans still haven't heard of them.
It would still surprise me to see even The Killers or Kasabian to get to number 1, nevermind the Arctic Monkeys. This is a level of madness Max Carlish would be proud of.
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i second exactly what jo said. i couldn't count on my fingers and toes the number of times they were a support act to bigger bands at sheffield gigs and the venues emptied out after the monkeys played; the number of people i know who travel from far-flung ends of the country to see them after hearing about them on this here forum and downloading the demos. no one can argue that that's something special, to reach that many people on that level, no matter what you personally think of the music.
you can't say whether they deserve it yet or not, becasue it's never happened before that a band has gone from playing a local bands night in a 150 capacity pub (is that right jo, the harley?) in sheffield for free, to headlining the astoria in LESS than a year.. because they've not done the toilet circuit fifty times over doesn't mean they shouldn't have commercial success; the songs deserve to rank against established 'indie' bands in the top 20 because they're ace songs,and they're an ace band. people shouldn't resent them because they were discovered and pounced upon by record companies so quickly.
and it proves there are some A&R men about that know what sells- it's a shame they'vebeen thrust into the paul o'grady/daily star world when they don't need to have that kind of hype to sell records though. i hope it doesn't bring about a swift backlash a la the kaiser chiefs etc (granted their songs will stand up better, but that's not always the way the mainstream works), but i think it might have already started.
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14/1/05: a sad day in pop.
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i second exactly what jo said. i couldn't count on my fingers and toes the number of times they were a support act to bigger bands at sheffield gigs and the venues emptied out after the monkeys played; the number of people i know who travel from far-flung ends of the country to see them after hearing about them on this here forum and downloading the demos. no one can argue that that's something special, to reach that many people on that level, no matter what you personally think of the music.
you can't say whether they deserve it yet or not, becasue it's never happened before that a band has gone from playing a local bands night in a 150 capacity pub (is that right jo, the harley?) in sheffield for free, to headlining the astoria in LESS than a year.. because they've not done the toilet circuit fifty times over doesn't mean they shouldn't have commercial success; the songs deserve to rank against established 'indie' bands in the top 20 because they're ace songs,and they're an ace band. people shouldn't resent them because they were discovered and pounced upon by record companies so quickly.
and it proves there are some A&R men about that know what sells- it's a shame they'vebeen thrust into the paul o'grady/daily star world when they don't need to have that kind of hype to sell records though. i hope it doesn't bring about a swift backlash a la the kaiser chiefs etc (granted their songs will stand up better, but that's not always the way the mainstream works), but i think it might have already started.
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14/1/05: a sad day in pop.
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it's almost like people are equating popularity with greatness. since when do we care if a band plays infront of 150 or 2000 people? who cares if it's remarkable how quickly and with what methods they reached this popularity? okay, it may be 'interesting' to discuss but at the end of the day it's such a non issue. we dont work for record companies. all it does is that it looks good in magazine articles. how other people feel for a band I love means nothing to me that's why I hate when people try to explain the greatness of a band by saying "look at how passionate and dedicated their fans are" blah blah blah. fair enough if you think the arctic monkeys are the best thing since the libertines. i have no problem with that.
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"fair enough if you think the arctic monkeys are the best thing since the libertines. i have no problem with that."
what's that got to do with anything?
"who cares if it's remarkable how quickly and with what methods they reached this popularity? okay, it may be 'interesting' to discuss but at the end of the day it's such a non issue."
i was responding to the people who've been saying they don't deserve the popularity they've gained so quickly; i don't think it's fair to say, because it's never happened before. and it is remarkable.
i know popularity doesn't equate greatness, but i think it's a valid point that the fact their fans are so dedicated,and have been from day one, shows they are something special. people don't drive down from fife to see an unsigned band play sheffield forum on a day-to-day basis: the fact they inspire that much passion in people is a testament to how fantastic a band they are. don't you think?
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14/1/05: a sad day in pop.
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no, I dont because alot of shit bands inspire people just as much. I can only judge a band based on how they affect me and my feelings.
I wish the arctic monkeys all the success they have but it's just sad(and I dont know if I'm being a hypocrite now...) that whenever an indie band becomes succesfull it's always the most conventional and regressive of the bunch like franz, kaisers, libertines, ac etc
there are better bands in fife hehe
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yeah, i see what you mean - but that's always going to be the way isn't it? of all the 'conventional and regressive' bands i saw last year, i'm glad it's the monkeys that have got somewhere and not begun fading into oblivion already.
chris, please don't say those words to me i might vomit. i've not quite got over it yet.
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14/1/05: a sad day in pop.
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If anything the Monkeys should be an example to people that songs dont need to be wrapped up in a glitzy box with months of promotion to make them worthwhile.
In years to come people will laugh at how amazed the average indie kid of 2005 was that a band could be so popular with just the use of a home computer. The internet is a great balancer of power. Their speedy increase in popularity is relative to the use. Basically, they are to the major labels what email was to the Royal Mail - a pain in the arse. Except Domino, of course, which is where the Monkeys team comes in on the question of longevity...
Anyone who knows or has worked with them will tell you that they are down to earth. Geoff held out for a very long time getting what he thought was the best deal. It looks like he'll be proven right on Sunday tea time. As for the band, clever lads. Al isn't on the ball, he IS the ball. Way back in March he was already 2 steps ahead of what people think of A Certain Romance. Its famed for Chav references, sung out now by 1000+ "indie kids" who probably hate "chavs" and "moshers" and "rappers" etc... but if you spin it on its head then they're as bad as all the others.
Thats my take on it anyway. They're with a very healthy label and its theirs to fuck up really. Overnight fans will move on to a new band regardless, thats how it works. If the music is good then they'll remain for a long time.
Now, a shit!
Gaz x
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"Al isn't on the ball, he IS the ball. Way back in March he was already 2 steps ahead of what people think of A Certain Romance. Its famed for Chav references, sung out now by 1000+ "indie kids" who probably hate "chavs" and "moshers" and "rappers" etc... but if you spin it on its head then they're as bad as all the others."
eh could you make this a bit clearer. how do you interpret A Certain Romance?
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"Al isn't on the ball, he IS the ball. Way back in March he was already 2 steps ahead of what people think of A Certain Romance. Its famed for Chav references, sung out now by 1000+ "indie kids" who probably hate "chavs" and "moshers" and "rappers" etc... but if you spin it on its head then they're as bad as all the others."
eh could you make this a bit clearer. how do you interpret A Certain Romance?
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