The many cinematic references in Arctic Monkeys songs
After playing a series of gigs and self-releasing music, Arctic Monkeys were signed to Domino Records, subsequently releasing ‘I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor’ in 2005. With its quintessentially British sound and lyrical content, the single was a hit, shooting the band to instant success.
Following the release of their number-one single, they found the same fate with their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Becoming the fastest-selling debut album Britain had ever seen, Arctic Monkeys cemented themselves as the most vital band of their generation.
Since then, the band have released six more albums, all of which have been incredibly popular. Lead vocalist Alex Turner is frequently praised for his evocative lyricism, much of which takes inspiration from movies and pop culture.
The title of the band’s debut is taken from a line in the kitchen sink drama Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, directed by Karel Reisz in 1960. Turner has referred to movies such as Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets and classic westerns like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid within his lyrics. While this is not a definitive list of his movie references, here are the most prominent cinematic nods in Arctic Monkeys’ music.
Arctic Monkeys’ cinematic references:
‘Arabella’ – Barbarella (Roger Vadim, 1968)
The band’s fifth album, AM, contains some of their most successful singles to date, with hits such as ‘R U Mine?’, ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ and ‘Arabella’. The latter describes Turner’s infatuation with a woman who wears a “cheetah print coat” and drinks “Mexican Coke”. Turner uses cosmic imagery to emphasise Arabella’s otherworldly beauty and simultaneous sense of mystery.
Among allusions to “interstellar gator-skin boots” and lips like “the galaxy’s edge”, the singer also references Roger Vadim’s Barbarella – a 1968 sci-fi movie starring Jane Fonda. Turner sings, “She’s got a Barbarella silver swimsuit,” referring to Fonda’s iconic costume, which helped establish her as a sex symbol. Thus, Turner presents his love interest akin to the star of a notoriously sexy retro B-movie.
‘Knee Socks’ – Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)
AM features several contributions from Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, most prominently, ‘Knee Socks’. The track, which appears as the penultimate cut, draws influence from Martin Scorsese’s breakthrough film, Mean Streets. The hip-hop-inspired song features a bridge sung by Turner and Homme, who deliver the lines, “You and me could have been a team/ Each had a half of a king and queen seat/ Like the beginning of Mean Streets/ You could be my baby (Could be my baby).”
Scorsese’s 1973 movie starring Harvey Keitel established the director as one of New Hollywood’s most promising names. The opening sequence is soundtracked by ‘Be My Baby’ by The Ronettes, which ‘Knee Socks’ alludes to. Turner’s reference to Mean Streets paints the song with the same moody, late-night atmosphere that defines the film.
‘Black Treacle’ – Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)
In several interviews, the band discussed the influence of the western genre over their fourth album, Suck It and See. Instrumentally, the record has a distinctively American feel, although Turner’s lyrical musings are still innately British. Within several songs, Turner directly references watching “cowboy films” (‘Library Pictures’) or casually alludes to movies such as High Noon (‘All My Own Stunts’).
However, the most obvious reference comes in ‘Black Treacle’, a track that appears to explore a relationship with a woman dependent on heroin. Turner finds himself “out of place” and “not getting any wiser,” adding, “I feel like the Sundance Kid behind a synthesizer.” In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the 1968 film by George Roy Hill, the latter is an outlaw. Thus, Turner emphasises his ill ease by comparing himself to someone lacking a sense of security.
‘Old Yellow Bricks’ – The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
Returning to Arctic Monkeys’ second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, Turner’s appreciation for the classic movie The Wizard of Oz is fully displayed in ‘Old Yellow Bricks’. The track sees Turner describe the subject’s quest for escape from her hometown, calling her “quite the little escapologist”. He refers to the yellow brick road, which, within the film, leads to the magical Emerald City.
The track ends with an allusion to Dorothy’s iconic line, “There’s no place like home.”
Turner sings: “I know I said, ‘Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up?’/ But Dorothy was right, though.” The Wizard of Oz remains one of the most influential movies ever made, so it is unsurprising that it has inspired Turner, who is clearly quite the cinephile.
‘Star Treatment’ – Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
For Arctic Monkeys’ long-awaited sixth album, the band leaned into retro and non-rock influences, much to the dismay of many fans. Tranquillity Base Hotel and Casino is a concept album of sorts, with Turner approaching his lyrics with a distinctively cinematic feel. Drawing from old sci-fi movies and film scores to carve out a singular world, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino is one of the band’s most accomplished yet divisive works.
On opener ‘Star Treatment’, Turner humorously quips, “What do you mean you’ve never seen Blade Runner?” The seminal Ridley Scott-directed movie depicts a dystopian world, with much of the film’s imagery infiltrating Turner’s lyrical themes and iconography. Additionally, he sings “2019”, referring to the year that Blade Runner is set. Scott’s bleak film is watched enthusiastically by Turner, suggesting that he is at a point in his life where such material doesn’t even phase him, for better or for worse.
