Arctic Monkeys – ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’
Another Arctic Monkeys release and another reason to set Twitter and other more literary schools alight. This time, though, it’s not the music but the video. We covered the song recently as our Track of the Day, but we thought the video deserved some more attention.
Alex Turner and co. have become known for their gritty and stylistically astute videos, be it ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ or ‘Scummy Man’. This one, however, has ditched the A-list actors and replaced them with a starring role for the band’s leading man.
Alex turns his hand to acting in this video, denoting a man in a state of sexual and chemical flux as he navigates his way home from a drug/drink-fuelled night out through the sordid streets of London.
Well, that’s how our protagonist sees it, as his drug-addled mind transforms the innocent into the sexually explicit (a young boy giving a taxi driver a horrifying tip is the worst).
It’s a different direction for the band as their usual realist take on music videos is transformed into a slick and polished mini-drama. The protagonist trips and falls his way through the mind-bending streets, encountering the usual angry, muscled wife-beaters and perving kebab men whilst communicating to his waiting lover, which is quite realistic, I suppose. But the video has a more Hollywood tone, and that’s seen in the Hollyoaks-esque bubble texts.
When Turner does finally arrive at the door of his mistress, he is reminiscent of half the population: confused, drunk and standing at the wrong door. This video and song hark back to the old days of Arctic Monkeys as they get in tune with the nation, but like their homes and hairstyles, it’s all become very LA.
Check out the track below.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.