Arctic Monkeys on X Factor and beer bellies
THE world of rock music is a dreary place at the moment and one of the few likeable bands on the circuit are Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys. Whether you like their music or not, they seems to stand for something rather good. They’re defenders of the working classes without being boorish. They’ve always had half decent haircuts. They have fuzz pedals.
And in an interview on Newsnight, AM’s frontboy Alex Turner got onto pop music.
Turner defended the existence of X Factor:
“People get too angry about X Factor and talent shows. Just let them get on with it; you need that to kick against. People talk about how that’s ruined everything but there’s always been shitty pop music,whether it came from a television show or not.”
Of course, the inclusion of ‘shitty’ is a bit Indie Musician By Numbers, but as being realistic about TV talent shows, he’s done rather well for himself.
Asked about the new LP, ‘AM’, Turner replied:
“Hip hop has always been an influence on the lyrics, but I think that perhaps we’ve worn that influence a little bit more on our sleeves on this record. It’s only subtly borrowing some elements from that world, like the way the drums sound – there’s no rapping on there, not yet.”
Maybe that’s why Arctic Monkeys’ are so enjoyable to have around – they don’t listen to the rest of the rock dreck that is currently clogging up the world’s ears.
And what’s wrong with modern rock? Well, Turner touches on it when talking about rock’s golden period in the ’70s.
“Some times you just wish it was the 1970s where you can have a plane and a beer belly, but now you’ve got to go to the gym and stuff.”
To watch the full interview with Alex Turner on Newsnight, by clicking here.
Posted: 11th, September 2013 | In: Celebrities, TV & Radio Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
