2002
ARCTIC MONKEYS
Discography:
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Domino, 2006.
By distilling the sounds of Franz Ferdinand, the Clash, the Strokes, and the Libertines into a hybrid of swaggering indie rock and danceable neo-punk, the Arctic Monkeys became one of the U.K.'s biggest bands of the new millennium. Their meteoric rise began in 2005, when the teenaged bandmates fielded offers from major labels and drew a sold-out crowd to the London Astoria, using little more than a self-released EP as bait. Several months later, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not became the fastest-selling debut album in British history, entrenching the Arctic Monkeys in the same circle as multi-platinum acts like Oasis and Blur.
Frontman Alex Turner and guitarist Jamie Cook began their music careers in 2001, when the friends both received guitars for Christmas. Two years later, they began performing shows around their native Sheffield with drummer Matt Helders and bassist Andy Nicholson, two fellow students at Stocksbridge High School. A series of demo recordings followed, and the Arctic Monkeys' audience swelled as fans circulated those recordings via the Internet. The musicians soon found themselves at the center of a growing media circus, with such outlets as BBC Radio examining the band's music and mounting hype.
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By distributing their homemade material on the Internet, the Arctic Monkeys were able to build a rabid fan base without the help of a record label, effectively circumventing the usual road to superstardom. They continued to buck tradition by signing with Domino Records in 2005, eschewing a major label's help for Domino's D.I.Y. mentality and hip roster (which also included Franz Ferdinand, a touchstone for the band's sound). The smart moves paid off as the Arctic Monkeys' first two singles -- "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and "When the Sun Goes Down" -- both topped the U.K. charts. Critical reception was similarly favorable, but few could have predicted the whirlwind success of the band's debut album, which ousted Oasis' Definitely Maybe as the fastest-selling debut in British history (a record that was lost one year later to Leona Lewis' Spirit). Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not sold 363,735 copies during its first week alone, transforming the Arctic Monkeys from underground stars into mainstream figures.
The Arctic Monkeys' debut sold approximately 300,000 total copies in America -- enough to warrant more media coverage, but notably less than the album's British sales during its first week alone. Nevertheless, the band's success continued as they released a spring EP, Who the F**k Are Arctic Monkeys, and prepared for a stateside tour. Temporary bassist Nick O'Malley was brought aboard for the band's American shows, while a fatigued Nicholson stayed at home. Nicholson then announced his official departure when the band returned home in June 2006, and O'Malley remained with the Arctic Monkeys as a permanent member. That fall, the musicians received the 2006 Mercury Prize and donated the accompanying money to an undisclosed charity. Additional accolades included Best British Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards and Best New Band at the NME Awards. NME also made a bold assertion by deeming the band's debut one of the Top Five British albums ever released.
Released in April 2007, Favourite Worst Nightmare updated the the Arctic Monkeys' sound with louder instruments and faster tempos. The bandmates had recorded the sophomore album quickly, wishing to return to the road as soon as possible, and the speedy turnaround between records only helped solidify the band's popularity at home. Favourite Worst Nightmare sold 85,000 copies during its first day of release, while all 12 tracks entered the Top 200 of the U.K. singles charts. As Alex Turner briefly turned his attention to a side project, the Last Shadow Puppets, the Arctic Monkeys received another Mercury Prize nomination and took home two titles at the 2008 Brit Awards.
Recording sessions for a third album commenced in early 2008 and lasted throughout the year. Meanwhile, the band released a concert album entitled Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo -- with accompanying video footage captured on 35mm film -- to maintain their prolific pace. ~ All Music Guide
Source: Andrew Leahey
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TALKING HEADS
Jerry Harrison (Jeremiah Griffin Harrison) was born in Milwaukee in 1949. He was one of the original members of The Modern Lovers and was both guitarist and keyboardist for the new wave group Talking Heads formed in 1974.
While Harrison was an architectural student at Harvard University, he worked with Jonathan Richman in The Modern Lovers. He was introduced to Richman by his friend and journalist Danny Fields. Joining in the beginning of 1971 and recording their first album in 1972 but the album was released only in 1976. He left in 1974, gave up architecture and joined Talking Heads.
Solo albums of Harrison include ‘The Red and the Black’ (1981), ‘Casual Gods' (1987) and ‘Walk on Water' (1990). His string of singles includes ‘Five Minutes’ (1984), ‘Rev it Up’ (1988) and ‘Flying Under Radar’ (1990). Talking Heads disbanded in 1991 and as a result Harrison moved onto producing and worked with numerous artists including The Von Bondies, General Public, Violent Femmes, No Doubt, Crash Test Dummies, Of A Revolution and Black 47. Recently he worked with The Black and White Years, Bamboo Shoots and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.
Group formed in New York City in 1974; original lineup included David Byrne (vocals and guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards and guitar); Byrne and Harrison have also appeared and recorded as solo artists since 1981; Frantz and Weymouth additionally formed, appeared, and recorded with group Tom Tom Club, 1981—.
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Addresses: Office—c/o Sire Records, 3300 Warner Blvd., Burbank CA 91510. David Byrne—Indey Music, c/o Overland, 1775 Broadway, New York NY 10019.
The movie "True Stories" was released in 1986. It was directed, scored, and partially scripted by Byrne with music performed by Talking Heads and a variety of ethnic groups. Time called "True Stories" the "most joyous and inventive rock movie-musical since the Beatles scrambled through Help." By this time, the group had come full circle. They had started out with a message that disparaged a culture driven by television and the mediocrity of news weeklies; then, ten years later, they were celebrating the ordinariness and banality of the American way.
"True Stories" takes place in an imaginary town populated by characters whose stories are drawn from tabloid headlines. Stereo Review carried this description: "In the film Byrne narrates slices of the lives of peculiar Texas townsfolk with names like Lying Woman and Computer Guy. They wear tacky outfits and tacky hairstyles and live in a tacky but friendly environment, a panorama of shopping malls and other consumer monuments separated by vast empty landscapes."
The soundtrack album features the original Talking Heads quartet playing pop songs based on a range of American music styles. New Republic observed that "instead of synthesizing Western and non-Western elements, the band moved in wholesale appropriations of American popular music . . . " and that "Byrne's voice had been purged of its trademark anxiety; instead of his controlled hysteria, he was actually crooning his lyrics." But Talking Heads refused to stand still or limit the direction or their music. By 1988 they had been to Paris and recorded Naked with a host of African musicians.
Talking Heads found their own unique voice amid the screams of the new wave rock revolution. Their sound has evolved to one with great appeal to listeners in search of inventive music. As Rolling Stone observed: "If the essence of rock & roll is white kids trying to be as cool a black kids, then Talking Heads effected the most rarefied cultural synthesis of the Seventies, a fusion of git-down street rhythms and collegiate sensibilities heady enough to spawn a generation of imitators on both sides of the Atlantic."
Albums:
Talking Heads, 1977.
More Songs about Music and Food, 1978.
Fear of Music, 1979.
Remain in Light, 1980.
The Name of This Band is Talking Heads, 1982.
Speaking in Tongues, 1983.
Stop Making Sense, 1984.
Little Creatures, 1985.
True Stories, 1986.
Source: Tim LaBorie
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