Two Hearts In The Departure Lounge

Celebrating Alex Turner, born 6th January 1986.

 

It's quite frequent for me to admire a singer, songwriter or band and decide to write about them at short notice. This idea popped up twenty four hours ago when I was listening to an Arctic Monkeys song (Despair In The Departure Lounge, if you're asking) and then after a couple of online clicks, realised it was Alex's birthday today.

 

It's also quite frequent for me to assume that I have a reasonable amount of their music in my collection, only to discover that the opposite is true when it comes to planning a Dubhed selection. This is one of those times.

I heard the buzz about Arctic Monkeys but it was quite a while before I actually heard anything by them, very likely after the release of their debut album in January 2006. I can't swear to it, but it may even have been the remix of Fake Tales Of San Francisco by Team9 aka Neil Mason.

I do know that the first Alex Turner-starring album I bought wasn't by Arctic Monkeys at all, it was The Age Of The Understatement by The Last Shadow Puppets in 2008.

 

I love the album and I think Alex is an incredible songwriter with a distinct voice. Yet, I've yet to buy The Last Shadow Puppets' 2016 follow up Everything You've Come To Expect. Or, to date, a single album by Arctic Monkeys.

 

No rhyme or reason. Sometimes, the wish list is so long that certain artists or albums take ages (years!) to get to the top of the list. I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, but 2025 will be the year that I buy my first Arctic Monkeys album!

 

So, today's selection draws from a limited pool of The Last Shadow Puppets' first album and associated single releases, plus random Arctic Monkeys songs drawn from various EPs and compilations circa 2005-2009, plus the aforementioned Team9 remix and a stray song from 2013.

 

I couldn't narrow it down to a C90-friendly 45 minutes, so I've settled on 16 songs, starting with The Last Shadow Puppets, ending with Arctic Monkeys and alternating between the two throughout.

 

The two band's styles are different, but the thing that links them is Alex's songwriting and singing and I think it's a pretty cohesive set overall. 

 

The prospect of another album by The Last Shadow Puppets seems remote, but I will go back to Everything You've Come To Expect at some point. Arctic Monkeys' seventh album, The Car, was released in 2022, so I'm guessing that another may be along before too long. 

 

Suggestions on where to start my Arctic Monkeys catch up would be very welcome. At the beginning? The end? Somewhere random in between? What do you think?

 

1) Two Hearts In Two Weeks: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

2) Catapult: Arctic Monkeys (2009)

3) The Age Of The Understatement (Album Version): The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

4) You Know I'm No Good (Radio 1's Live Lounge Version) (Cover of Amy Winehouse): Arctic Monkeys (2007)

5) Standing Next To Me (Acoustic): The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

6) Leave Before The Lights Come On: Arctic Monkeys (2006)

7) The Chamber: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

8) Bigger Boys And Stolen Sweethearts: Arctic Monkeys (2005)

9) Gas Dance: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

10) Fake Tales Of San Francisco (Team9 Kick Me Out Version 9): Arctic Monkeys (2006)

11) Sequels: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

12) When The Sun Goes Down: Arctic Monkeys (2005)

13) In The Heat Of The Morning (Cover of David Bowie): The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

14) You're So Dark: Arctic Monkeys (2013)

15) Time Has Come Again: The Last Shadow Puppets (2008)

16) Despair In The Departure Lounge: Arctic Monkeys (2006)

 

2005: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor EP: 8 

2005: When The Sun Goes Down EP: 12

2006: Fake Tales Of San Francisco (bootleg MP3): 10

2006: Leave Before The Lights Come On EP: 6 

2006: Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? EP: 16

2007: Radio 1's Live Lounge, Vol. 2: 4

2008: The Age Of The Understatement: 3, 7, 15

2008: The Age Of The Understatement EP: 1, 13

2008: My Mistakes Were Made For You EP: 5 

2008: Standing Next To Me EP: 9, 11

2009: Cornerstone EP: 2 

2013: One For The Road EP: 14

Two Hearts In The Departure Lounge (49:49) (KF) (Mega)