Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Studio album by Arctic Monkeys
Released 23 January 2006
Recorded June – September 2005
Studio
Genre
Length 40:56
Label Domino
Producer
Arctic Monkeys chronology
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
(2006)		 Favourite Worst Nightmare
(2007)
Singles from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
  1. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"
    Released: 17 October 2005
  2. "When the Sun Goes Down"
    Released: 16 January 2006

Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not is the debut studio album by the English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 23 January 2006 by Domino. The album surpassed Elastica's self-titled album to become the fastest selling debut album in British music history, shifting over 360,000 copies in its first week,[3][4] and remains the fastest selling debut album by a band.[5][6] It has since gone quintuple platinum in the UK.

The album includes both tracks from the band's original EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, as well as their first two singles and UK number ones, "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down". It has since appeared in several critics' publications, and is often cited as one of the best rock albums of the decade.[7] It received the 2006 Mercury Prize for Best Album. It was ranked number 371 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2013 Rolling Stone ranked it the 30th greatest debut album of all time.[4] In October 2013, music magazine NME also ranked the album at number 19 in their poll of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[8]

Composition and content

The common thematic content of Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not has led to it being considered by some a concept album concerning "the lives of young Northern England clubbers".[9] All tracks record first-person narratives of observations made within this context. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", "Still Take You Home", "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me" and "Dancing Shoes" all examine human behaviour in nightclubs. Frontman Alex Turner describes "Dancing Shoes" as being about "people always looking to pull when they go out however much they mask it."[10] Other songs examine other aspects of nightlife; "From the Ritz to the Rubble" is an account of nightclub bouncers, "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured" tells the typical experiences and troubles of getting a taxicab after a night out, and "When the Sun Goes Down" was inspired by prostitutes in the locality of their practice room in the Neepsend district of Sheffield.[11] Other songs are themed on romantic relationships, such as "Mardy Bum", or youth subcultures, such as "Fake Tales of San Francisco" and "A Certain Romance". In NME's list of the top 100 tracks of the decade, "A Certain Romance" was described as "a strangely even-handed song which starts out scorning local townies then appears to absolve them at the end of the song."[12]

Album title and artwork

The album's title was taken from a line from the novel Saturday Night and Sunday Morning written by Alan Sillitoe. The name was chosen after Turner recognised similarities between the two works and the appropriateness of the title. He said that "it's good because the book is called Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and that's kind of what the album is, so there's a link there. And also, there's a lot of people saying a lot of things about us and you don't have control over it."[13] He also said that "songs including 'The View from the Afternoon', 'Dancing Shoes', 'Still Take You Home' and 'From the Ritz to the Rubble' all cover that bit of the weekend and feature the same character."[14]

Cover artwork of the album is a photo of Chris McClure—a close friend of the band, frontman of The Violet May and brother of Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers—taken in the early hours of the morning in Korova bar, Liverpool[13] after the band had given him, his cousin and his best friend "seventy quid to spend on a night out".[15] The image caused some controversy when the head of Scotland's NHS criticised the cover for "reinforcing the idea that smoking is okay".[16] The band's product manager denied the accusation, and in fact suggested the opposite: "You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good." Billboard advertisements for the album used a similar image to the cover picture, but without the cigarette.

Release and promotion

Prior to the release of the album, the tracks "Mardy Bum", "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", "Fake Tales of San Francisco", "Dancing Shoes", "Still Take You Home", "Riot Van", "When the Sun Goes Down" (then known as "Scummy" or "Scummy Man") and "A Certain Romance" had been released for free via the internet in late 2004 and consolidated on the unofficial Beneath the Boardwalk compilation.

The original release date was 30 January 2006, but was brought forward to 23 January 2006 due to "high demand". Although the same was done with Franz Ferdinand, it was speculated that the move was an attempt to counter the effects of the album's leak onto online file-sharing sites.[17] The re-recorded album versions had been leaked onto the internet by December 2005.

On the first day of its release, the album became the fastest-selling debut album in British history, selling just under 120,000 copies. By the end of the week, the album had sold 363,735 copies—more than the rest of the Top 20 combined and making it the overall fastest selling debut album in British history. Its release in the United States on 21 February 2006 saw it become the second fastest selling debut indie album in history,[18] turning over around 34,000 copies in its first week and achieving number 24 in the album charts. The album also went to number 1 in Australia and Ireland. UK sales as of September 2013 stood at 1,475,982 copies.[19] In February 2014, the album was certified 5× platinum, indicating sales of 1,500,000 copies.

The track "Mardy Bum", while not released as a single, appeared on radio playlists throughout the UK in mid-2006, and is still played infrequently on BBC Radio 1 and some alternative rock stations such as Sirius XM's Sirius XMU. The track "A Certain Romance" was ranked number 90 in Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Tracks of 2006 and cited as the standout track.[20] NME also placed "A Certain Romance" at 10 in their list of 100 Tracks of the Decade.[21] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 140 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[22]

Singles

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" was released as the first single from the album, the song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in October 2005 for one week, knocking Sugababes' "Push the Button" off the top.

"When the Sun Goes Down" was released as the second single from the album in January 2006, also debuting at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their second consecutive UK number-one single. In the US, "Fake Tales of San Francisco" was released as the album's second single and peaked at number 30 on the Billboard charts.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[23]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[24]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[25]
The Guardian[11]
Los Angeles Times[26]
NME10/10[27]
Pitchfork Media7.4/10[28]
Q[29]
Rolling Stone[30]
SpinB+[31]
The Village VoiceA−[32]

Since its release the album has received universal acclaim with a Metacritic rating of 82.[23] It featured highly in many year-end lists and has been hailed as a modern classic.[33] Many critics and figures in the British media hyped the Arctic Monkeys and their rapid rise to acclaim through unconventional means[11][34][35] and some even cited the Arctic Monkeys as revolutionising the way people find music as they built a fanbase on the basis of a few demos shared by fans through the internet.[36]

NME declared the Arctic Monkeys "Our Generation's Most Important Band", and Alex Turner's lyrics and depiction of Sheffield, and the night lives of teenagers in particular, were praised, with him being labelled as a "master of observation"[27] and USA Today writing "you probably won't hear a better CD all year long", calling it "utterly infectious".[33] MusicOMH wrote that it was the sort of guitar rock that "makes you fall in love with music all over again" and along with many other critics cited "A Certain Romance" as the standout track and as being "a wonderfully articulate dissection of youth culture that belies Turner's tender years". It was, however, noted that some of the tracks which had previously been released on the internet as demos had lost some of their quality and "don't sound as good".[34]

Awards and accolades

In 2009 the album placed at number 9 in MTV's 'Greatest Album Ever' online poll.[47]

Track listing

All tracks written by Alex Turner, except where noted. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "The View from the Afternoon"    3:38
2. "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor"    2:53
3. "Fake Tales of San Francisco"    2:57
4. "Dancing Shoes"    2:21
5. "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights But You Were Staring Straight at Me"    2:10
6. "Still Take You Home"  Turner, Jamie Cook 2:53
7. "Riot Van"    2:14
8. "Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured"    2:23
9. "Mardy Bum"    2:55
10. "Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But..."    4:28
11. "When the Sun Goes Down"    3:20
12. "From the Ritz to the Rubble"    3:13
13. "A Certain Romance"    5:31
Total length:
 40:56

Personnel

Arctic Monkeys

Technical personnel[48]
  • Jim Abbiss – production, recording, mixing (track 9)
  • Ewan Davies – recording
  • Alan Smyth – production (track 9), additional recording (track 11)
  • Andreas Bayr – recording (track 9)
  • Simon 'Barny' Barnicott – mixing
  • "anonymous" -–mixing
  • Owen Skinner – mixing assistant
  • Henry – recording assistant
Additional personnel[48]
  • Juno Liverpool – design
  • Alexandra Wolkowicz – photography
  • Andy Brown – photography
  • James Ford - electric piano and organ (track 7)

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Charts (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[49] 1
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[50] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[51] 9
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[52] 22
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 46
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[53] 6
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[54] 8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[55] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[56] 17
German Albums Chart 20
Irish Albums (IRMA)[57] 1
Italian Albums 40
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 9
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[58] 5
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[59] 29
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[60] 38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[61] 16
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[62] 26
UK Albums (OCC)[63] 1
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[64] 1
US Billboard 200[65] 24
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[66] 1
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[67] 39

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[68] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[69] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[70] Gold 20,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[71] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[72] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[73] 5× Platinum 1,500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Sales
Region Sales
United States 305,000[74]

References

  1. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys — Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not — Album Review". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  2. ↑ Nme.Com (2006-01-12). "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2016-05-15.
  3. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC News. 29 January 2006.
  4. 1 2 "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time. 30. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 28 October 2014
  5. ↑ Leona Lewis's 2007 album Spirit became the outright fastest selling debut album upon its release in November 2007.
  6. ↑ "Susan Boyle beats Leona Lewis, Arctic Monkeys to 'biggest first week sales for UK debut album' title.". NME. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'". Rolling Stone.
  8. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 100-1". IPC Media. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 21 February 2005.
  10. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys' debut album in their own words". NME.
  11. 1 2 3 Petridis, Alexis (13 January 2006). "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Review". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  12. ↑ "| #". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  13. 1 2 NME.COM - Arctic Monkeys - A Scummy Man and Mardy Bums: The ultimate Arctic Monkeys Album Guide Archived 18 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ "Monkeys explain album". Yahoo! News. 9 January 2006.
  15. ↑ Wichelow, Sam (9 February 2006). "Familiar face?". BBC News - South Yorkshire.
  16. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys defend album cover". BBC News. 3 February 2006.
  17. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys album rush released". NME. 5 January 2006.
  18. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys make chart history". BBC. 29 January 2006.
  19. ↑ "Official Charts Analysis: Arctic Monkeys' AM doubles predecessor's week-one sales".
  20. ↑ Pitchfork Feature: The Top 100 Tracks of 2006
  21. ↑ "100 Tracks of the Decade". Nme.Com. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  22. ↑ "150 Best Tracks Of The Past 15 Years". NME. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  23. 1 2 "Reviews for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not by Arctic Monkeys". Metacritic. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  24. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not – Arctic Monkeys". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  25. ↑ Browne, David (20 February 2006). "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  26. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (19 February 2006). "OK, Britannia, we surrender". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  27. 1 2 "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". NME. 12 January 2006. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  28. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (24 January 2006). "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  29. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Q (236): 102. March 2006.
  30. ↑ Walters, Barry (21 February 2006). "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
  31. ↑ Sylvester, Nick (March 2006). "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Spin. 22 (3): 93–94. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  32. ↑ Christgau, Robert (4 April 2006). "Consumer Guide: Radical Comfort". The Village Voice. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
  33. 1 2 Sanneh, Kelefa (30 January 2006). "Teen Spirit: Arctic Monkeys Observed in the Wild". The New York Times.
  34. 1 2 "Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not | album reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  35. ↑ Plagenhoef, Scott (24 January 2006). "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  36. ↑ Barton, Laura (25 October 2005). "The question: Have the Arctic Monkeys changed the music business?". The Guardian. London.
  37. ↑ "January 2006". NME.COM. 26 January 2006.
  38. ↑ October 2006
  39. ↑ Sunday, 17 Dec. 2006 (17 December 2006). "10 Best Albums". TIME. Retrieved 2011-10-15.
  40. ↑ Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  41. ↑ iPad iPhone Android TIME TV Populist The Page (2014-01-23). "Top 10 Everything 2006". TIME. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  42. ↑ Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  43. ↑ Archived 20 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  44. 1 2 "Entertainment | Arctic Monkeys scoop Brits double". BBC News. 2007-02-15. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  45. ↑ "100 Best Albums of the 2000s: Arctic Monkeys, 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-01-29.
  46. ↑ "The 100 Best Debut Albums of All Time: 'Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  47. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2009.
  48. 1 2 Information from the CD liner notes.
  49. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  50. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  51. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  52. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  53. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  54. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  55. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  56. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  57. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 5, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  58. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  59. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  60. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  61. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  62. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  63. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  64. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  65. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Arctic Monkeys. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  66. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Arctic Monkeys. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  67. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  68. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  69. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Music Canada. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  70. ↑ "Certificeringer Marts - Maj 2010" (in Danish). IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  71. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 23 February 2014. Select 2006年03月 on the drop-down menu
  72. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  73. ↑ "British album certifications – Arctic Monkeys – Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 February 2014. Enter Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  74. ↑ "Arctic Monkeys Win UK's Mercury Prize". indiehq.com. 5 September 2006. Archived from the original on 22 March 2007.
Preceded by
Stars of CCTV by Hard-Fi		 UK number one album
29 January 2006 – 25 February 2006 		Succeeded by
In Between Dreams by Jack Johnson
Preceded by
Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the Film Curious George
by Jack Johnson		 Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
27 February 2006 – 5 March 2006 		Succeeded by
Face to Face by Westlife
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