Arctic Monkeys’ most original 30 seconds of music, according to Alex Turner
The Arctic Monkeys are now true stalwarts of the modern British music scene, having electrified the whole idea of indie sleaze and having consistently hammered out tunes for the best part of the last quarter of a century. While admittedly, not every song or album has always hit the mark, frontman Alex Turner has never shied away from trying something new, whether it be in collaborations, lyrics, or even overall sound.
To that end, the song in which he claimed the band produced their most original 30 seconds of music very much follows in that suit, fostering his experimental spirit while leaning on a fresh – if also quite famous – set of eyes. It hails from their critically acclaimed fifth studio effort, 2013’s AM, on which the song ‘Knee Socks’ shines as a standout.
However, the tune also features a very special guest, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, who sings vocals and is also responsible for breathing new life into the Arctic Monkeys machine. Reflecting back on the recording process, Turner said: “He [Homme] came down and sort of got us out of a little rut,” before enthusing that, “His contribution to our record is really exciting, it’s probably my favourite. The 30 seconds that he’s in there is just, I dunno, it’s like something that I’ve never heard before.”
In general, ‘Knee Socks’ follows the Arctic Monkeys’ classic winning indie formula of Turner’s baritone drawls to a point before it takes a turn into a uniform falsetto section overlayed with desperate Bowie-esque wails. The band’s frontman credits Homme with the idea, having explained to NME at the time that: “He heard it and then he said, ‘I’ve got this really great idea for a counter-melody background thing,’ and he went and did that, and it suddenly became this whole other thing that you never [expected] it to be.”
Turner also admitted that: “I think he sounds a bit like Bowie. It’s my favourite bit of the record, that breakdown; that 30 seconds where it all goes weird,” before going on to explain, “What’s most interesting about it is how accidental it was – I’d sung on the new Queens record a few weeks previous [‘If I Had a Tail’ from … Like Clockwork], and we were kind of in a rut a little bit, in [these] dark rooms.”
Evidently returning the favour and then some more, Homme contributed to the track and took it to new heights with his guttural wails, according to Turner. “I think it kind of makes the tune,” he confessed. “Suddenly, we were out of the rut and re-energised – Josh saved the day!”. As it turns out, however, this was not the first time Homme had swooped in – he features on another AM track, ‘One for the Road’, as well as having produced the band’s 2009 album, Humbug.
It shows that having a mate with a strong musical intuition plays dividends when you’re an international rockstar who’s hit the wall. Basically, what Turner’s discreetly saying is that AM may not have propelled the Arctic Monkeys to whole new heights if it weren’t for Homme’s guiding force – so you can bet he’ll be happy to oblige to Queens of the Stone Age’s every beck and call from now on to return the favour.
