Happy birthday to The Car, which was released on 21st October, 2022.
"We could very well still have made a loud guitar record after all. If the music had asked for it, I think I would have obediently followed. When we finished touring in 2019, everything pointed in that direction. Much louder than Tranquility Hotel, in any case. But that started to shift towards a different direction and that's why we took a break from it at the time. I was afraid I would start forcing things. And sometimes you just have to accept the fact you can't go back to the riffs from ten years ago. At the end of the tour I knew what kind of songs I wanted to do, with the lights of the stage still in my eyes and the thundering roars of the audience in my ears.Ā Big, loud guitarsĀ should have been part of that. That's what I'm gonna do! I even put on my motorcycle boots to get a hold of that mood. But that didn't feel right in the end, as said. You're not that person anymore, your music wants to go in a different direction. Then I can only follow that. The only reason we now canĀ notĀ make a loud guitar record in all peace and comfort, is because we're still Arctic Monkeys. Everyone has grown up, the essence of the band has grown with us. The faces are a bit more round, the boys call their children instead of their parents, but the feeling remains the same. Life itself happened ā and not in an unpleasant way. It's all good, everything."
We know this is a little overdue, but now that all entries for the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024 have officially been posted we just wanted to take a moment to say the biggest THANK YOU to everyone who got involved - whether that was through art, writing, or general cheerleading. Sharing in the joy of creativity is what fandom is all about, and it has truly been so special to get to witness all of your incredible collaborations coming together and friendships being forged āØ
We hope you all enjoyed the Shadowmonkeys Big Bang 2024 as much as we enjoyed hosting it! To all of you involved, you should be so unbelievably proud of yourselves and your amazing work š
Weāve compiled a list of all the entries below for easy access. Happy reading! š
'What if we're soulmates and get to meet in every universe this way or another?'
Or when Alex's friend rents out her flat he is yet to know that there's a hurrikane waiting to sweep him off his feet.
Maybe Romance Is A PlaceĀ byĀ GloriousBlackout / @glorious-blackout (tumblr post)
In a desperate bid to glean inspiration for their overdue third album, Miles and Alex return to France with James Ford in tow and set up home in the very studio in which they first fell in love many summers ago. What initially promises to be a painful exercise in bittersweet nostalgia soon blossoms into a whirlwind of inspiration and rekindled romance as old wounds are healed and a new musical adventure is forged.
Such sweet perfection cannot last, however, as a chance encounter with a stranger on his first night in Noyant-la-GravoyĆØre leaves Miles stuck in a desperate race against time; caught under the influence of a curse which could result in him losing Alex foreverā¦
While We Were Talking On The Moon, You Stole My HeartĀ byĀ Cheese_Danish_42 / @cheese-danish-42 (tumblr post)
āIām behind you, Alex.ā
At that sentence, Alexās heart stopped.
He remained completely still.
A shiver of terror ran through him, freezing his bones. He could barely breathe.
Miles was there, with Alex, in the same room. It had happened before, of course, but Miles didnāt know that Alex was thereāor rather, he didnāt know what Alex looked like, so he couldnāt recognize him in the crowd.
Now, however, he recognized Alex; he was no longer a stranger.
Or: A call between Miles and Alex, aka Mark, in the Tranquility Base Hotel And Casino can change their life completely.
'Heās hit a wall now. The sheets of half finished song lyrics scattered all over the floor are like traps he has laid out to trip himself up. Itās beginning to feel like there is no where else to go.ā
Alone at home in LA, Alex reflects on his life as he struggles against writerās block. He works through memories of: the breakdown of his relationship with Miles, his struggles to socialise, mental health, his closest friendships and the progression of his career. Alex begins to unfurl and wonders if he is truly ruined before a glimmer of hope, in the form of Miles, lifts him back up out of his misery.
Souvenirs In AugustĀ byĀ CosmicZombie / @uhbasicallyjustmilex (tumblr post)
On a whim, Miles packs an old camera for two weeks in France that will change his life.
goodnight, my night after night (incomplete) by Anonymous / @catatonicsx (tumblr post)
Alex and Miles' relationship shifts in the dry Californian heat of their second album. In the dead of an already cataclysmic night, a supernatural encounter will ensure that nothing between them is ever the same again.
jamie & alex's relationship over the years + jamie's importance to the band
unknown / hillsborough park sheffield 2023 / mojo december 2022 / alex's signature vs jamie doing alex's signature for him / studio brussel interview / on:off by tom oldham / birmingham 2018 / nme may 2018 / am watching interpolās set at trnsmt / mojo june 2018 / acl fest 2018 / xfm interview / my propeller ep official cover / gigwise april 2014 / artist polaroids from lollapalooza 2011 / x / nottingham 2011 / highly evolved interview / reading festival 2014 / radio x / q magazine 2009 / plugged magazine 2013 / x / nme october 2022 / rio de janeiro 2014 / jakarta 2023 / bbc radio 2 / kings theatre 2022 (my screenshot) / sculptures of anything goes credits
itās actually so crazy this is a real song you can listen to that was even performed live and sung by alex turner himself when it feels like a hallucination of a raw and cutting glimpse into that manās psyche. like i shouldnāt be allowed to hear all that
Hypothesis - Alexās behaviour is wilder in TLSP when he is wearing a vest. Iāve had reason to believe this is the case for a while. So, I did what any good student (and insane person) would do, and set out on a fact finding mission with help from @sophaeros ās wonderful outfit guide (it made things so much easier, thank you so much š)
There are more sources than images, due to Tumblr limits.
Studio Coast, Tokyo
Here we have whatever this chair thing is, crawling around showing off, a photo Iām fairly sure did the rounds on a soft porn website, and of course - the licking game
1 2 3 4 1 gif and master post
Olympia, Dublin
Here we have a very normal amount of staring, crawling between Milesās legs, whatever that is with the mic stand, and of course, the bandana squat in Calm Like You - bonus lyric change āI was young, in the frost, no regard for the cost of sharing my feelingsā
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Radio Oneās Big Weekend
Here we have rolling around on the floor, doing bicycle kicks, ninja kicks - things he would blatantly lie about not doing years later to Annie Mac, when she witnessed it with her own eyes. Not to mention the ridiculous flirting in the post show interview.
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Europavox Festival, Clermont Ferrand
Here we have diving on top of Miles, pressing the mic into his chest and angling for a kiss, forehead nuzzling and of course, the infamous tie pull.
1 2 3 4 5 master post
Primavera Sound
Here we have the notorious nuzzle and lean, unspecified wiggling and of course, bowing down to Milesās greatness (as he should)
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Bristol Summer Series
Here he just looks like an absolute menace to be honest, jacket on or off, but link 3 is the squatting Dracula Teeth performanceā¦ (too big to embed sadly)
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Ferrara Sotto le Stelle
Here we have another photo Iām pretty sure did the rounds on soft porn websites - speaks for itself - wiggling around during Moonage Daydream, moaning during Bad Habits and looking like an absolute life ruiner (though that could speak for every show though, letās be honestā¦)
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Cleveland
Hereā¦. We all know what happened here. But apart from thatā¦ giving an impromptu performance outside and carrying Miles away (presumably for a long nap, to rest after an exhausting showā¦)
1 2 3 4 5 (master post)
Fillmore, Detroit
Here we have the infamous (I seem to be saying that a lot) āIāll give you the D - I wish you wouldā¦ā, straddling Miles playing guitar, and the Miracle Aligner secret verse
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So, what conclusion did I draw, if any? Without doing a blind study against a random selection of shows where he wasnāt wearing a vest, Iām not sure that this is a fair test. But, it did seem there was a higher instance of wild behaviour when Alex was wearing a vest. In fact, what prompted me to investigate this was that most of the insane moments that instantly came to mind, he was indeed wearing a vest. Whether this was due to body confidence and feeling himself, or simply being later on in the show (feeling the heat and needing to remove jackets etc, possibly with more alcohol consumed) we may never know. But I feel that there is sufficient evidence for my hypothesis to stand.
Bonus: Yellow Suit
Apparently Alex only wore the yellow suit twice (it felt like a lot more to me, but I am biased, itās one of my all time favourite outfits). So I didnāt feel like I had enough data to try and prove or disprove, but just for fun:
Rock Werchter
Here we have whatever on earth that is, suggestive singing to Miles and of course wearing his jacket on his head because reasons?
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Coachella
Hereā¦ Again, we all know what happened here. But apart from that, attention seeking twirl, a very dramatic clinch during The Dream Synopsis and one of my all time favourite photos, again of him looking like an absolute menace.
1 2 3 4 1.5
Should I have spent my time doing literally anything else other than this? Undoubtedly yes, but I am nothing if not a conscientious student and lover of science.
