Album Review: Arctic Monkey's Favourite Worst Nightmare

Favourite Worst Nightmare was released by the Arctic Monkeys on April 18, 2007. Their second album after they released Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not just a year before, this album does not have a single miss. The album has a distinct sound, save a few outliers, that consists of Matt Helders’ insanely skilled drumming, addicting and fast paced guitar riffs from both Jamie Cook (electric) and Nick O’Malley (bass), brought together by Alex Turner’s violently (in a good way) British voice. A lot of the songs on the album don’t have much downtime, so I would definitely suggest listening if you love quick songs that you can jam to. There are a total of 12 songs on the album, giving it a runtime of 37 minutes and 21 seconds.

• Brianstorm

The album starts with the song “Brianstorm” which is about a guy named Brian. Loosely based on someone the band had met in real life, Brian is a loser. The lyrics take sarcastic jabs at Brian’s outfit, his humor, and his overall act. The song serves as a great introduction to the rest of the album because of how fast all the instruments are.

• Teddy Picker

The second track of the album is titled “Teddy Picker” which is basically British for a claw machine. The song's main point is to make fun of celebrity culture and the music industry. Lyrics like, “Well sorry, sunshine, it doesn't exist it wasn't in the Top 100 list” show how lots of people don’t acknowledge any music that isn’t in Billboard's “The Hot 100” list. Musically the song starts with a guitar riff that you won’t get out of your head after you listen to the song. It continues that riff the entire song, until the last about 10 seconds where the tempo picks up and it brings the whole song together to make it one of the most addicting tunes I know.

• D Is for Dangerous

The shortest song on the album is “D Is for Dangerous” at 2 minutes 15 seconds. This one is about a guy who is in a relationship with someone who drives him crazy but he stays with them because of the sex. The name of the album was taken from a lyric in this song: “I think you should know you’re his favourite worst nightmare”. This lyric also provides how he sees his partner; they are his worst nightmare, but in the best way possible. The bassline of this song is very catchy, and the way Turner sings the bridge is so satisfying.

• Balaclava

“Balaclava” is all about having an affair. Our protagonist is the person in the affair without another lover, and the person he’s seeing is cheating on her partner. He knows what he is doing is wrong and it could end badly for everyone involved, but according to him, “We’ll do it anyway because we love a bit of trouble.” Like a lot of the songs on the album, this one is very lyrical, but there is a special instrument in this song that isn’t used in the rest of the album: the cowbell. Not many songs use the cowbell ever, the only other time I recall hearing it is Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper”, and it makes a good addition to the song.

• Fluorescent Adolescent

“Fluorescent Adolescent” is about a woman who misses having a healthy sex life. She misses when things used to be fun but is shackled down by a long lasting relationship that she only took up because she thought it would guarantee her a life of contentment. She ends up being bored and reminisces about what it used to be like, and wishes for it again. This song is more catchy than “Teddy Picker”, you might be listening to it on repeat for days; when you’re not listening to it you’ll probably hear, “Oh, that boy’s a slag, the best you ever had, the best you ever had is just a memory” in your head.

• Only Ones Who Know

The sixth track on the album is one of the outliers I mentioned earlier. “Only Ones Who Know” is a very sad, somber track that is really helpful for a good cry when you need it. The song details an outside perspective of a couple. We see a man who thinks that he’s fallen in love with a woman, but he hasn’t really fallen in love with her, more with the idea of it. The woman also has this effect, because she’s throwing away her current relationships to focus on making memories with this guy. The outside perspective, which could be a friend of both of these people says that he “hopes they’re holding hands by New Year’s Eve”, showing how he wants them to be able to actually fall in love with each other. This is reinforced by the chorus, “And even if somehow they could have shown you the place you wanted well, I’m sure you could have made it that bit better on your own, you are the only ones who know.” Meaning that their lives could just be better if they went off on their own, but our narrator can’t be sure because they are the only ones who know if it would be better.

• Do Me a Favour

“Do Me a Favour” tells a story of a goodbye. The goodbye is between two former lovers who really do need to be done with each other. The relationship is over and both of them are crying as she boards a train. Despite what the lyrics might make it seem, the song is a huge jam. This is probably the most rock out song on the album, especially near the end where the music literally pulses in your ears.

• This House is a Circus

"This House is a Circus” is about what it’s like to become famous and then live extravagantly and party a lot of nights. Memories become whatever you can remember, attention gets to your head, and you aren’t even satisfied, but you don’t know why. This song follows the same sound as the rest of the album, with upbeat guitars and ear-worm inducing lyrics.

• If You Were There, Beware

“If You Were There, Beware” clocks in at track number 9, and deals with how bad the paparazzi are. The whole song the paparazzi, who are described as, “serpent soul pinchers”, follow around Alex and a girl of his. They badger the girl in specific to a point where she is driven to tears all while the snappy bassline plays in the background. This is the longest track on the album with four minutes and thirty four seconds being the runtime. What contributed to this was the really well played instrumental break that most of the other tracks lacked.

• The Bad Thing

“The Bad Thing” tells three different stories on three different nights of Alex’s life. The song starts with the chorus of “Do the bad thing/Take off your wedding ring”. This is referencing how when married people cheat and take off their rings in bars on a night out so they can get a date. Then we move into the first verse where Alex describes how a girl approached him telling him that her boyfriend wasn’t the “jealous type”, and he finds it awkward and wants to be done with the interaction. The chorus repeats and the second and third verse are just different nights where a similar occurrence happened.

• Old Yellow Bricks

Does the title sound reminiscent? It should, because it’s a Wizard of Oz reference! The movie is only referenced in the first and last line of the song, “Old yellow bricks" and "Dorothy was right though” respectively. What Dorothy was right about in this case, is when she said “There’s no place like home” in the movie. This is because the person we follow in the song is someone who thought moving away would be fun, but she figures out she would rather be at home. This is shown through how she felt trapped at home and when she was bored it would “lead to nights reading beer bottles.” The chorus asks, “Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up, blinded by nostalgia?” and is only answered at the end of the song when the woman says, “I want to sleep in a city that never wakes up, and revel in nostalgia.” I think the twist on New York City from the city that never sleeps to the city that never wakes up is really clever; it shows how New York has kind of just diluted itself to become this fantasy place of wonder and success, which is far from true.

• 505

“505” is my favorite song on the album. If you decide to give this song a listen, savor those four minutes and fourteen seconds because that will be your first time listening to “505” by the Arctic Monkeys and you will want to remember it. The song starts with a few low keyboard notes, which bring in the chorus, “I’m going back to 505, if it’s a seven hour flight or a forty five minute drive”. The only conclusion that I could find that made sense is that 505 is an apartment number. Alex wants to go back to that apartment because that’s where his former partner lives. The song then puts two verses back to back describing their past relations. For example, the second verse, "Not shy of a spark/The knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark/Frightened by the bite, though it's no harsher than the bark/The middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start” is all about there being something to salvage; there is a place where they can pick up which is the middle, since if he goes and sees her it won’t be the end. The song retreats with lyrics for an instrumental break. The break lasts about 40 seconds, and the music isn’t too loud, the song is dying down on purpose. Then Alex bursts out with the third verse with just so much emotion. His voice here is so full of humanity it gives me chills, genuinely. The lyrics clearly state how Alex still definitely loves her but she might now feel the same because she always “greets him with goodbye.”

Favourite Worst Nightmare had gone under the radar for me since I was only 3 when it was released. I first listened to the whole album (I had known a few of the songs before) in February, and I’ve been listening to the whole thing sometimes more than once a day. It’s rare that I find albums that have no bad songs on them, and I am so glad I gave this a listen. Alex Turner is a genius songwriter and each band member plays their instrument incredibly well. If you liked this album, I would suggest Pebble Brain by Lovejoy, as Lovejoy’s singer/songwriter was very inspired by the Arctic Monkeys.