Sometimes I use this blog to wax poetic about albums that hit me at a certain point in my life and will forever be tied to those memories. I’ve recently fallen down the Arctic Monkeys b-side rabbit hole (thanks, Spotify!). It brought me back to the band’s early EPs, many of which I hadn’t heard in ages but have vivid memories of the buzz they created back in early 2006.
Admittedly, I was a bit late to the Monkeys party. I only really got into the band when my friend Kat’s little sister Janine burned a copy of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not for me (and if anyone from the RIAA is reading this, I loved the album so much that I went out and bought a CD copy for myself!). I was in love immediately. The band was just about my age and with my beloved Libertines on hiatus, they filled that punk-inspired-guitar-pop-shaped hole in my heart.
My senior prom took place some time in May of 2006. I didn’t want to go, but my friends convinced me to join them. High school wasn’t a great time for me. Still trying to shake the awful bullying I had experienced in middle school (it was a 6th - 12th grade school), I had zero desire to attend any events with my classmates unless they were mandatory. My school also required that its seniors be “presented” at prom. For someone like me who attracted absolutely no interest from boys during those days, I didn’t want to suffer the humiliation. Still, I caved to my friends’ pleading and bought a dress, paid for a portion of the limo, and planned to go the prom. Naturally, I weaseled my way into the prom planning committee to hire my friends’ band. The day before the prom, I called their manager/DJ in a panic and asked if he’d stoop to being on my arm for senior presentation. He agreed. He was 26 and I was 17 but hey, whatever! He was purely doing me a favor.
So what the hell does this have to do with the Arctic Monkeys, you’re surely wondering? The afternoon spent getting ready for prom with my then-friends Joanna and Stefanie was soundtracked by Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. I remember blasting “I Bet You Look Good On the Dance Floor,” silently wishing I’d hear it at the prom. I didn’t, but I did get to hear the Smiths and Joy Division. Yeah, and I wonder why I wasn’t popular in high school...! Anyway, that song in particular struck a chord with me because it wasn’t that I hated dancing -- I loved dancing! -- but I wanted to dance to what I considered good music. Later in life, I’d discover indie dance nights and find my people.
That awkward summer between high school and college continued to be soundtracked by the Arctic Monkeys. I moved from Murfreesboro, Tennessee to Boston, Massachusetts in September 2006 to attend Emerson College. I’d never been away from home before. It was both terrifying and exciting. I got to meet new people, learn a new city, and start gaining the confidence that had been sucked out of me back in Tennessee. Most colleges have a strong indie scene, but Emerson’s was especially robust. Being surrounded by other people who listened to the Brian Jonestown Massacre and Pulp was amazing. I went from being a freak to fitting in almost immediately. And it only took me moving 1700 miles away to do so!
As wonderful as I found Emerson and Boston, I still got homesick. My parents flew me home for fall break only about a month after school started. I was elated to sleep in my own bed for a few nights, see my high school friends who were also on fall break, and drive my beloved ‘94 Toyota. I didn’t need a car in Boston, so the Toyota stayed in my parents’ driveway. I remember taking it out one night with no destination in mind; I just wanted to drive. What was in the CD player? Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. I sang along and drummed on the steering wheel.
That album is my 2006 in a nutshell. From graduating high school, to starting college. From living with my parents, to living in a dorm nearly two thousand miles away from home. That album reminds me of the time period that began shaping the rest of my life, turning me into the person that I am today.
Years later, I lived out in San Francisco. “Fake Tales of San Francisco” was a staple at the Britpop night that I attended regularly, Leisure. That song still brought me back to my late teens but also took on a life of its own, forming memories of the two years I spent in SF.
Bands like Suede took over my life. The Monkeys never reached that status for me, though obviously I really enjoy their music and listen to it regularly. But Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not? That’s a time capsule.
