Way before Dua Lipa threw a rave on a spaceship for Future Nostalgia, she let the blue light of BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge anchor her into the acoustics of Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Do I Wanna Know?.’ Long gone were those pop synths and electro altercations that splintered through a disco ball’s flecks. She isn’t the only one, either. Upon searching for Arctic Monkeys covers on YouTube, you’d also find Miley Cyrus’s take on ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High.’ There are Bailey Spinn’s ‘505’ and Sofia Karlberg’s ‘I Wanna Be Yours.’ So it’s in that moment where you realize it’s not just your typical Arctic Monkeys Twitter stan (presumably sporting an Alex Turner selfie as their icon) that helped them join Spotify’s Billions Club. It’s also their peers!
Now, don’t get us wrong. There are plenty of reasons why all four of those Arctic Monkeys songs racked up over a billion Spotify streams. The fact that most of them are from their 2013 AM album speaks volumes there, too. However, other songs in their catalog deserve the same listening treatment! So, we’re listing our top five considerations to do our part so they don’t get turned away from strutting into the club’s meeting place where other hits mingle.
‘Arabella’
She’s got a Barbarella silver swimsuit
And when she needs to shelter from reality
She takes a dip in my daydreams…
‘Arabella’ starts with a typical Arctic Monkeys drumbeat. Then, the track collides with the drums around this interstellar twist. We’re not just using that spaceship keyword as it appears in the opening line, “Arabella’s got some interstellar-gator skin boots,” which describes the out-of-this-world girl Alex daydreams about. The lyrics and the title also compare to the 1968 sci-fi flick Barbarella, starring Jane Fonda. Alex’s vocals are so precise on this track that his pronunciation plays a tango with the production.
‘She’s Thunderstorms’
In an unusual place, when you’re feeling far away
She does what the night does to the day…
Go back in time to before you even heard the electrifying uproar of the guitar intro and simply saw the title. ‘She’s Thunderstorms’ is kind of already so vivid, no? Written in his New York apartment while thunder knocked at the window, a girl is once again Alex’s inspiration. This time, he makes it a point not simply to refer her to a drizzle but to multiple storms—where the lights go off and the streets drown. While in ‘Arabella,’ his vocals sounded crisp, this one more so goes into this sweeping tangle of notes.
‘Body Paint’
And I’m keeping on my costume
And calling it a writing tool
And if you’re thinking of me
I’m probably thinking of you…
Spotify also usually comes with visuals to help the artist tell a story, as is the case for ‘Body Paint.’ No, there are no colorful blotches in sight, rather, we’re in a blended space of black and dull yellows. Alex’s shadow takes up the majority of the vertical frame as he walks back and forth, clicking his feet underneath a stage light. Notice how there’s no plural ‘lights’ in that sentence? That’s because there’s simply darkness ribboning at the edges, which ties into the couplet: “For a master of deception and subterfuge / You’ve made yourself quite the bed to lie in.” When there are no more lights on, you can’t see everything around you.
Some fans have theorized that the track outlines his grievances because he knows his girlfriend is cheating. However, the lyrical play on her role as a model makes the track interesting. It takes the duties of a model, such as beds for photoshoots, using a tanning booth, and even the title, ‘Body Paint,’ to hint at her manipulation.
‘Stop The World I Wanna Get Off With You’
Well, I know that getting you alone isn’t easy to do
With the exception of you, I dislike everyone in the room…
Some phrases in the Arctic Monkeys’ discography are so legendary that, upon hearing them, you know exactly which song they belong to. “Open Sesame” is one of them, scribbled down for ‘Stop the World I Wanna Get Off With You.’ And if you didn’t copy their high-pitched “We’ve places to go” in your own echoing vocal call, you should probably hit the rewind button. The melody is as blasé as Alex would be with his muse if his desire came true and everything else except them faded away.
‘Fluorescent Adolescent’
Remember when the boys were all electric?
Now when she’s told she’s gonna get it
I’m guessing that she’d rather just forget it
Y2K fashion isn’t the only time traveler to the early 2000s (though this song turns into a runway show immediately with “You used to get it in your fishnets / Now you only get it in your night dress”). It’s also this song that arrived on the scene in 2007. Behind the indie-rock essence is the story of a woman recounting her youth. She used to be spicey, probably one for flickering through the pages of Cosmo. Now, maturity has grabbed at her, molding her into one for niceties and being in bed by seven o’clock.
What other Arctic Monkeys songs belong in Spotify’s Billions Club? Do they live on the AM album, with the cover art looks like funky soundwave glasses? Maybe something with more cityscape vibes like Favorite Worst Nightmare? And what better place than their North American Tour to enlist people to help with streams? You already know Alex Turner’s acoustics are coming out of their AirPods, so switching their song choice to yours would only be a minor debate. The tour’s next stopover is in Clarkston, MI, and then wraps up in Los Angeles, CA, on October 1. And if you’re an international fan? No worries, that’s what our Twitter is for. Tweet us your selection, and maybe through a like, you’ll know someone is shouldering the streaming work with you.
Arctic Monkeys is not the only band to make the Spotify Billions list, as 5 Seconds of Summer is another with the coming-of-age, heartbreak groove ‘Youngblood.’ As for other artists? We’re sure you’ll find them on our Instagram and Facebook pages. Take a scroll and see how many you can rack up!
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