The 5 Arctic Monkeys tunes you HAVE to hear

We're pretty darn excited for the Arctic Monkeys show next Tuesday so we've all contributed a few anecdotes about our favourite AM songs. SEE YOU THERE NEXT WEEK!

1. Fluorescent Adolescent was the first Arctic Monkeys song I adored. I'd been a casual listener for a long while, but never really fell in love until last year some time, when I sat in on rehearsals for a band a few of my friends had formed - creatively named "Red Lamp" after a red lamp that lived in their practice space. Thankfully caged within my mate James's garage, the pathetic four piece - composed of three capable musicians and my easily distracted friend Jack on drums - played only covers, each member somehow playing in a different style to the next. Needless to say, most of the value of that band lay in their comedy - which brings me to their hilariously clunky yet somehow super funky version of Fluorescent Adolescent. The vocals weren't nearly British enough, they never seemed to be quite in time, and, much to James's frustration, Jack somehow managed to play the drums wrong every single time - but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Grooving along with those boys while they played that song is one of my fondest memories - and it wasn't until then that I realised just how much fun was packed into all of the Arctic Monkeys songs. That infectious bass line and major hand clapping potential still gets us dancing every single time, screaming along together and remembering all those fun times in that little garage. I can never thank the Monkeys enough for those moments. - Maddy Abbott

2. Cornerstone was the first Arctic Monkeys song that I got into. The first thing that ever drew me to it was seeing the video on Rage one morning. As far as minimalist videos go, this is about as minimal as they come. I feel like everyone at some point in their life have pretended to make a music video in the mirror, akin to the video for Cornerstone. Once I was over the initial thrill of the video, I discovered that the song itself was a great slow-burner. It wantonly builds over several minutes enjoyably just jamming along. The lyrics are amazingly ambiguous, so that you can easily understand that he is squeaming over seeing *their* imaging in other people, but it never actually gives direct facts to make it personalised. This allows for the song to be interpreted however the listener wants. It is the kind of song that I feel comfortable listening to a dozen times on repeat and don’t slightly get tired of. - Matt Turner

3. When you’ve been searching for something for years, it’s difficult to describe the feelings experienced when you finally come across it again. It was 2007. I was 11 years old. I was sitting in my room listening to 2Dayfm on my old analogue radio. They had a segment every night where they would pit two newly released songs against each other and listeners would call in to vote for the song they wanted to see carried through to the next round. That night it was Arctic Monkeys vs. Ashlee Simpson. Arctic Monkey’s song played, and it lost. But holy shit I loved it. There was something about the lyrics, the singer’s accent, and that bridge. Those chords stirred something inside me that I had never experienced before – a taste for music other than The Veronicas and Brittney Spears. I didn’t catch the name of the song, so the next day I went around to my friends, desperately asking if any of them had been listening last night and could tell me, but none of them did. I scoured Youtube, still to no avail. I was forced to give up my search, defeated. It was three or four years later when a friend mentioned that she was really into this band called Arctic Monkeys. I told her that I knew them, but only one song, so she insisted that I listen to their albums. She gave me Favourite Worst Nightmare. I loaded it on to my iPod and the next morning on the train I sat looking through the song titles, wondering if any of them could be the one I had been searching for. I chose one at random. Teddy Picker. It didn't seem familiar at first, but then it hit that bridge. I’m pretty sure I wanted to scream or cry with joy. I’d found my song at last. That overwhelming nostalgia, relief and happiness is probably one of the best feelings in the world. Teddy Picker is not my favourite Arctic Monkey’s song because of its musical or artistic merit. It’s definitely not as dark or complex as any of the tracks from Humbug, or as refined as recent material from albums Suck It and See and AM. It is my favourite because it the song that introduced me to one of the greatest bands of this generation, and in all its irony, helped to open my eyes and ears to the incredible music that exists beyond commercial radio stations and top 40 playlists. - Claudia Skinner

4. ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ exemplifies the early sound of the Arctic Monkeys, one of post-teenage indie punk. This aroma of punk is one which caused the hundreds of thousands of AM fans to initially crave the band. The initial lyrical intellect of Alex Turner, as well as his capability to display internal perspectives on society illustrates the menacing tale of the pimp, prostitute and client. The song highlights two popular aspects of the Arctic Monkeys; that of delicate solo sections with evocative lyrics and the venomous harshness of the bands early sound in which fans yearned. Written in the lovely period of long-haired Alex, ‘When The Sun Goes Down’ is one of the Arctic Monkeys most cherished songs with its anthem-like introduction and punk recklessness. - Ben Xerri

5. When people ask me my favourite Arctic Monkey’s song I always scream at them for making me answer such a difficult question. You’d think it’d get easier each time I get asked, alas it does not but it’s not surprising I go back to the same song. Humbug is the album I hold closest to my heart so of course I’d have to pick Pretty Visitors. From the organ to the pounding drums and stumbling through Turner’s intriguing and confusing lyrics, I think I’ll always question “what came first the chicken or the dickhead”. I think it’s actually impossible for me to listen without air drumming like an idiot or screaming the lyrics out in the best Alex Turner impression I can do. To me Pretty Visitors feels like home, when I haven’t listened to Arctic Monkeys for a while (probably like a week at most) i’m always crawling back to you (it). I don’t think it will never not be my favourite Arctic Monkeys song, or even favourite song of all time. - Serina Molnar

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