Log #119 — Alex Turner To Play James Bond
I hope you don’t mind my click-bait title but he’d probably make a good one don’t you think? Here Arctic Monkeys front man Alex Turner stars in one of his side projects, with Miles Kane, The Last Shadow Puppets. For all intents and purposes, with Turner taking on the majority of vocals, and his ear for a catchy pop tune intact, I think it is pretty much an Arctic Monkeys album.
Wyclef Jean — The Ecleftic 2 Sides II A Book
Low — Double Negative
Brian Eno — Ambient 1
William Basinski — A Shadow In Time
The Last Shadow Puppets — The Age Of The Understatement
Stars Of The Lid — The Tired Sounds Of
I am surprised The Age Of The Understatement came out in 2008. It contains many of the elements of the Monkeys’ latest release, Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, with its atmospheric vibes and abundant strings courtesy of the London Metro Orchestra. Some tracks would have certainly enhanced that slightly lightweight album like the psychedelic sounding The Chamber:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zii0R0n0zXM
Yet, equally, there is plenty to keep the traditional AM fans happy too. Separate and Ever Deadly is old style Monkeys with fast riffing and biting lyrics:
When we walked the streets together
All the faces seemed to smile back
And now the pavements
Have nothing to offer
And all the faces seem to need a slap
Probably the most experimental track on this classy album is Only The Truth which has a galloping drum roll like Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and brass which, with the swirling strings, lends the track a James Bond theme like sound. In fact that’s not the only one thus justifying the title to my blogpost! The best track on the album with more masterful James Bond production is My Mistakes Were Made For You which would have made a superb Bond song:
About as subtle as an earthquake, I know
My mistakes were made for you
Who’s That Girl?
Well, the one pictured immediately above with Alex Turner is Lana Del Rey. The one on the cover of the album no one knows although she may have been called Gill. Apparently it was a genuine ‘60s shot taken by South African based art photographer Sam Haskins. But my sources (google) say the model was just a girl who had walked in off the street. Isn’t that wonderful.
