A Certain Romance (2006) – Arctic Monkeys

Kicking things off today are British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, founded in Sheffield, England in 2002 by three 16-year-old friends: Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar), Andy Nicholson (bass) and Matt Helders (drums, backing vocals), together with Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards). After starting out as an instrumental band, Turner became their lead singer and frontman. Arctic Monkeys are regarded as one of the first bands who effectively used social media to boost their popularity. They also hold the distinction to have released the fastest-selling debut album in UK chart history, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Off that January 2006 album, here’s the great closer A Certain Romance, credited to all members of the band.
– Chris & Max Pick …songs from 2006 – Christian’s Music Musings

A Certain Romance is a fun and brash alternative song with elements of punk and grunge. I first heard it at blogger friend Christian’s Music Musings web site. The song contains some cool wordplay and language-craftings as it starts out scorning local townies then appears to absolve them at the end of the song. At first he is scornful, though he eventually feels sympathy and sorrow for them, and accepts that “there isn’t no romance around there.” A Certain Romance is akin to music one might expect to hear on a This is England or Billy Elliot soundtrack. Also front man Alex Turner’s voice reminds me of an English version of American Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong. What’s not to like about it? – so eclectic and versatile in its sound and production. A Certain Romance was not released as a standalone single.

According to Wikipedia the song was conceived by Turner in his teens, and follows his observation of the activities and romance—and lack thereof—among youth. A Certain Romance was acclaimed by music critics, who praised its composition, lyrics, and themes. It is considered the standout track of the album and one of the band’s best songs. In an interview with NME, Alex Turner said that when the song was first recorded, “we were all like, “Woah, woah, woah…” What have we done here?’ Pushing the music that far out from what we’d done before initially felt contentious, to say the least.” He later described the song as a showcase of the band having ambitions “beyond what we once thought we were capable of”.

[Intro]
(Shall I keep rolling?)

[Verse 1]
Well, oh, they might wear classic Reeboks
Or knackered Converse, or tracky bottoms tucked in socks
But all of that’s what the point is not
The point’s that there in’t no romance around there
And there’s the truth that they can’t see
They’d probably like to throw a punch at me
And if you could only see ’em then you would agree
Agree that there in’t no romance around there

[Chorus]
You know? Oh, it’s a funny thing, you know
We’ll tell ’em if you like, we’ll tell ’em all tonight
They’ll never listen, because their minds are made up
And course it’s all okay to carry on that way

[Verse 2]
‘Cause over there there’s broken bones
There’s only music so that there’s new ringtones
And it don’t take no Sherlock Holmes
To see it’s a little different around here
Don’t get me wrong though, there’s boys in bands
And kids who like to scrap with pool cues in their hands
And just ’cause he’s had a couple of cans
He thinks it’s all right to act like a dickhead

[Chorus]

[Bridge]
But I said no, oh no
Well, you won’t get me to go
Not anywhere, not anywhere
No, I won’t go, oh, no, no

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
But over there, there’s friends of mine
What can I say? I’ve known ’em for a long long time
And they might overstep the line
But you just cannot get angry in the same way
No, not in the same way
Said, not in the same way
Oh no, oh no, no

[Instrumental Outro]

Reference:
1. A Certain Romance – Wikipedia