A LITTLE BIT OF MONKEY MAGIC

*BIG DRUM ROLL & TRUMPETS ET AL.*

And why is that I hear you ask?

Well it's only because Turner & co are on the cusp of releasing

the hugely anticipated and phenomenal concoction 'AM'.

We've less than 24 hours to go until physical and digital copies of what could quite

possibly be the defining album of the decade  (big statement there), according to this week's NME,

which as a mega Monkeys fan I dutifully bought, as expected.

With streams of the album already online, it's safe to say a large chunk of

Britain and the rest of the world have 'got the goods' now, as Turner put it in the sublime 

'Do I Wanna Know'. So we can't exactly act surprised when we finally enlighten our lives with

some rather fookin' (they all say it in Sheffield) amazing tunes from a band that can never seem to put a foot wrong.

Even those of us who have resisted giving in to sneak previews of other album tracks,

for example the rather oddly named 'Knee Socks' or on the converse, the rather beautifully named

'Arabella' (a dedication to Arielle Vandenberg perhaps?), have still heard a good quarter of the

songs, with 'R U Mine', 'Do I Wanna Know' & 'Why'd Do You Only Call Me When You're High' (what a mouthful!) all having being released already.

Of course some of us, probably just me, have even restricted ourselves further.

It was only yesterday I gave in to the temptation of listening to 'Why'd You.....' after almost

a month's abstaining from it, which was quite painstaking as I had gone out and bought the single

the day of its release and had to turn down the radio every single time it was on.

That then involved subsequently forgetting to turn the radio back up, surely running up

huge electricity bills for my mother- a nice surprise for the end of the month when the bills come in.

I can only say I did it because I'm getting my copy of 'AM' at the start of this week,

and I will probably know all the words to all the songs by the end of the week.

And by the end of the month I will be completely and utterly satisfied.

By the time I see the Monkeys LIVE IN CONCERT AT SHEFFIELD in November ( I still can't believe

my luck, I really can't), I will be on the biggest high known to humanity.

But by January 2014, I will want more, like the greedy little madam I am.

So I need to drag out and relish 'AM' for as long as humanly possible, because we probably

won't be getting anything else till at least autumn 2015.

But that's okay, because judging by the raving 5 out of 5, 10 out of 10, reviews, we should be on track to be still be raving about 'AM' when we're all old pensioners in the nursing home way over in 2063.

So normally, I would  recommend you go buy this album,

but I'm not going to recommend it because I hope you've already got it on pre-order and are sitting at your letterbox waiting like the good little fans I know you are.

You don't need my word to know that 'AM' is truly one of the best things you will EVER HEAR,

and one of the best things you could ever spend 10 quid of your hard earned cash on.

So go, go on into the big wide world and get that Monkey Magic in your life!

STREAM IT HERE:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/id62820413

WATCH THE MONKEYS AT ITUNES AT 7:45PM HERE:

http://po.st/iTunesFestivalAM

DO I WANNA KNOW

WHY'D YOU ONLY CALL ME WHEN YOU'RE HIGH

BUY IT:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AM-Arctic-Monkeys/dp/B00DKY4LBW

ARCTIC MONKEYS EPIC GLASTO SET & TOUR 2013

Wow. Wow. Wow. What. A. Corker. Of. A. Headline.

That set was truly out of this world.

Twelve hours later and I'm still on a high, an Arctic Monkeys induced haze, because how could we,

as Arctic Monkeys fans, have asked for anything better than what they gave us last night?

Hit after hit after hit, truly phenomenal showmanship from Alex (did you like those dramatic hair combs eh?), electrifying atmosphere, Helders' intense, pulsing drumming, Nick and Jamie's scorching guitar slides and riffs.... This was a coming of age show alright.

Before the Monkeys walked on stage my heart was pounding with excitement.

The red record light on my Sky Plus box was flashing, my foot was tapping away, my mother was zonked out on the sofa. And then... they walked onstage, and the last two year wait meant nothing as feelings of excitement, love and inner celebratory screaming took over.

They were finally there. And they were ready to blow our socks off.

We've been waiting for this set since March and all day yesterday was agonising as the clock edged nearer and nearer to 10:15pm. In all honesty, I was afraid that this set had been bigged up so much that it surely couldn't live up to expectation but I am so, so glad to say I was proved wrong. 

By song number two, 'Brianstorm', I was having an eargasm on the floor.

'Don't Sit Down...' had me doing karate moves at the TV screen.

'Brick By Brick' I was pummeling my fists and shaking my head like a possessed tribal warrior.

My mother, who by now had woken up, stared at me like I was a new breed of UFO and damn she was right. The Monkeys really were possessing me. 

The music was filling me up, taking over my body, zapping through my veins.

Life really could not get any better than it did last night.

Alex was the perfect showman, working the crowd who were literally in the palm of his hand.

He requested they sing a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' to his mum Penny, which they duly did, and I'm pretty sure if he asked them to pop down to ASDA and get him a roast chicken, they would have.

Even us sat watching him on the TV were entranced like little zombies, watching our leader and obeying his every command. In my last AM's article I mentioned how the Monkeys have matured and really come into their own, and this set demonstrated that perfectly.

Just watch it and you'll know exactly what I mean.

The Monkeys were having a whale of a time, the crowd was dying of epicness overload, the music had a life of it's own. Everything came together in those one and a half hours and the result was a set that will surely go down in Glasto history. I know I'll never forget it.

Oh and who could resist a strings version of 'Cornerstone' and  'Mardy Bum'?

If I was having an eargasm before, well right then I was having an ear attack because it was just perfection.

Guy Garvey certainly spun his magic into that one. 

Of course the addition of Miles Kane and his metal incased finger to perform the much adored riffs of 505, 

wrapped up the epic show in true Monkeys style and made sure every single person both at Glasto, or watching it from behind a screen, went to bed last night 100% satisfied in every way possible.

It was a magical night and of course today we have the Rolling Stones headlining and they'll be sure to crank the mightiness of Glastonbury up by more than a few notches.

Now if you're a Monkeys fan, maybe a slightly obsessed one like myself, you'll be aware of the following key dates: 5th July and 9th September. 

The first is the day UK tour tickets go on-sale and trust me, if you want to see the AM's live, you're gonna have to get in quick because those tickets are going to sell like hotcakes.

If they hadn't just done Glasto, I wouldn't be so worried, but with that platform, you will have your hardcore Monkey fans vying for tickets and your nostalgic Monkey fans who just want to see the old school hits like 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' or 'Fluorescent Adolescent' played live once again. 

You really need to get in there as fast as you can my friends.

Keep and eye out for pre-sale and if you miss that, 9am sharp be on the web, credit card in hand, ready to buy, because if Glasto is anything to go by, you really don't want to miss out on an opportunity to see the Monkeys live. As for the album 'AM', just head online to pre-order and you shouldn't have any problem with that whatsoever.

So that's all, hope you enjoyed the set as much as I did,

and lets hold our fists up to the UK's best band as of now. 

ALL HAIL THE MONKEYS OO-OOO-OOOO.

The setlist:

'Do I Wanna Know?'

'Brianstorm'
'Dancing Shoes'
'Don't Sit Down Cause I've Moved Your Chair'
'Teddy Picker'
'Crying Lightning'
'Brick By Brick'
'Fake Tales Of San Francisco'
'She's Thunderstorms'
'Old Yellow Bricks'
'Pretty Visitors'
'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'
'Do Me A Favour'
'R U Mine?'
'Mad Sounds'
'Fluorescent Adolescent'
'A Certain Romance'
'Cornerstone
'Mardy Bum'
'When The Sun Goes Down'
'505'
Pictures/info from: http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/71138#A1ZoV2BZil5TrpIj.99 

WEBSITE: http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/

Glasto: http://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej58q9

CORNERSTONE LIVE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuONLLVbbJI
MARDY BUM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwNTuPTXaJ0

NEW SONGS (& MAD SOUNDS) FROM ARCTIC MONKEYS

Okay so it's time for yet another Monkeys update!

I'm sorry as it's all I seem to be writing about lately but this is rather important stuff, so it's getting pride of place. Now I'm writing today because over this weekend, the Monkeys have debuted another new song, 'Mad Sounds', at their two Scandinavian festival dates and I really urge you to take a listen to it.

Although the song only exists through fan footage at the moment, the song still shines through and it's good enough quality for you to be able to reach a valid conclusion on the song itself.

When I read that the Monkeys had debuted another song, as I conducted my daily NME stalk at college this morning, I literally jumped up and down in my seat- and I was in the library too (gasp!). 

And when I saw it was called 'Mad Sounds', I was expecting some crazy ass tune like 'Brick by Brick' or something related to the brash, loud, catchy little numbers on 'Favourite Worst Nightmare'.

I was wrong. 

Contrary to what the title suggests, this new tune is ironically probably the furthest away from a mad sound you could get. I don't quite know what Mr Turner means when he says 'Mad Sounds', as fan footage makes it difficult to depict his lyrics. But he certainly doesn't mean the song itself.

'Mad Sounds' is a little but slower with links to 'Suck It And See' here and there although it's still keeping in line with the sound heard on 'Do I Wanna Know'. In all honesty, it sounds great.
I for one was very impressed and enthusiastically tapped my foot along whilst nodding my head in a very approving manner indeed.

The Monkeys have currently upgraded previous newbie 'Do I Wanna Know' to top of the bill whilst 'Mad Sounds' has been slotted between 'Suck It and See' and 'R U Mine'. The positioning of 'Mad Sounds' in the setlist seems to be deliberate as it does provide a perfect transition between the two songs.

When listening to 'Mad Songs' you can hear distinct elements from both songs, as I noted in particular some Suck It & See-esque riffs and sounds that seemed to have an 'R U Mine'-esque overlay. 

If this is the direction the AM's are choosing to head in then I can definitely agree that they've chosen a fabulous route to go down. It's just fantastic, it really is.

Their sound has evolved in the sense that it's more mature and as Alex and co. edge nearer their thirties, this was only inevitable. The relief is that like a good piece of cheese or wine, time is doing wonders for their sound, it really is. It's mellower, maturer and almost wiser, as if they are completely in control. 

It's self assured and we all know Alex is a fan of a good croon, especially as his covers tend to be of softer, richer, accoustic led records that clearly suit his versatile voice. 

But don't you worry, I'm pretty certain that album number five will have a couple of 'Brick by Brick' like bangers here and there. 

It is the Arctic Monkeys after all.

And finally as for the Arctic Monkeys timeline, I have to make a few amendments:

'Do I Wanna Know' now has an official video on You Tube and as of today can be bought
officially on iTunes! It's sounding absolutely fantastic and with the proper sound quality
you'll find you can appreciate the record a whole lot more.

So it seems that the Monkeys are taking advantage of the Glasto platform after all.

If anything, it will build up hype for the new album as Glasto is such a major festival both here in the UK and worldwide. Obviously 'Do I Wanna Know' and 'Mad Sounds' are going to be on the bill, and I would think another newbie or two will probably be added as well.

It's likely a major music magazine, probably NME, will do some sort of feature on Glasto and the Monkeys, within the next few weeks too so keep your eyes open!

From what I can tell, this album will probably be the one to propel the Monkeys to that last step of being the  best British band out there. They've practically there anyway, but I'm positive that this album will be the one to cement that status for definite. 

I ain't monkeying around.

(Bad pun, but I don't think you 'wanna know')

Ha.

MAD SOUNDS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dS6GtoJNks
OFFICIAL VIDEO FOR 'DO I WANNA KNOW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOSxM0rNPM
BUY THE SONG: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/do-i-wanna-know-single/id660331528?affId=1930871
OTHER ARCTIC MONKEYS INFO: http://teepotmusic.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/new-arctic-monkeys-tune-monkeys-are-back.html
WEBSITE: http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/
NME: http://www.nme.com/news/arctic-monkeys/70884