Scottish children, beware: buying the new album by the Arctic Monkeys is a risk to your health. Well, so says one Dr Laurence Gruer of NHS Trust Scotland.
Basically, Dr Gruer is a wee bit upset by the album's cover - a picture of a mate with a fag in his mouth. To you or I, there's little wrong with that, but to a doctor, well...
"Although the band is from Sheffield, thousands of youngsters in Scotland will buy it because it is good music. It is the fastest-selling album in British history, but it gives out the wrong image. With a blatant image of a guy smoking, it will be seen by many as a cool thing to do."
Dr Gruer said the above to the Glasgow Herald. The band's manager, Johnny Bradshaw, disagreed though:
"You can see from the image smoking is not doing him the world of good. We have not had any complaints from supermarkets or places where the album has been stocked."
In REAL LIFE TRUTH news: smoking does make you die. Like, for real. Stay in school, kids.
it's less about the album cover though
and more about smoking in the mass media, surely?
...
well at least those sheffieldian scallywags will be relieved to hear that Dr Gruer is into the tunes.
He looks
a bit like Guy Garvey.
it is a shit cover
compared to the photography in the booklet and on the previous two singles.
meh
they are probably already smoking neway cos its the chavthing to do.
I'm not sure why you think this is so stupid?
I think it was ridiculously irresponsible to put that image on the cover when it's going to be bought by many impressionable teens.
There is nothing about the picture that DOESN'T glorify smoking, and there is plenty about it that DOES... i.e. the total look of satisfaction on his face.
he does look
sweaty. and bad skinned. and a bit chubby.
Ah yes!
All the things teenagers will DEFINATELY spot in their quick WHOA ARCTIC MUNKEYS!!!!!!! glance at the cover.......
Domino wouldn't
have used these images if they didn't think they were cool and 'contraversial' - of course Dr Gruer has played straight into this, generating yet another round of high profile publicity. Whoever at Domino thought using this image (and the one on the CD itself, a close-up menage of fag butts) was appropriate is presumably a chain-smoking scenester but it's a rare lapse of judgement as so far the AMs genuinely seem to care about their fans.
basically
Dr Gruer is saying we should all download the album without paying for it so we don't have to see the cover.
Amen
Yes, clearly
The kids north of the border should just stick to heroin.
Much safer.
Deep fat fried
heroin thankyouverymuch.
F**k Smack
Deep fried Mars bars and bundles of offal are where it's at, Scot-pickers.
My Dad
always goes on about too much smoking in the media... I kind of agree. If it wasn't shown on films and the like to be a cool thing to do I don't think so many people would be skanky addicts.
As I am aware it is bad for your elf. I sadly do not have an elf but I don't like the smell of smoke so I'm not starting despite the arctic monkeys scally man wanting me to.
pull the album
get it of sale and get the beeb and nme to stop shoving this cock down the throats of people, never make it accesable to anyone ever, fucking ahte this band with all my face!
<father ted voice>
mmm, lovely fags.
</father ted voice>
surely
the worst thing this album will do is make other garage rock bands think that they should write 'wry' observations on city life, ignoring the fact that Pulp and Suede did this 10 years ago and the backing music was actually good. i can name Bernard Butler and Richard Hawley as musicians aside from Cocker and Anderson. fuck knows who else is in Arctic Monkeys aside from Turner.
Anybody who takes up smoking because of an Artic Monkeys cover, deserve to get Cancer and are no loss...
haha
amen, brother. amen
Jordan*
but
Hawley only played in Pulp for "We Love Life", which is about their fifth-best album, and least observation of city-lifeish. Yah boo sucks to you. When Pulp were big, he was in the Longpigs. Times change, eh?
i think
they are pathetic
i bet if u ask them why they decided to go with that picture, they will not have an answer, they are just trying to be 'rock n roll'
grow up.
Will you SHUT UP
about the 'trying to be rock n roll'?
Go away!
man
i liked the Longpigs. although my point wasn't about naming Pulp members during their "city life"-era, more that the 'backing music' for the lyrics was made by people I actually know about, rather than no-names. replace Hawley with Russell Senior and Mark Webber if you want to validate my point.
ok
consider it validated.
to be honest, anyway
if people look at the cover, and from that deduce smoking is cool, then surely that's just further evidence that darwin was right.
"or places where the album has been stocked"
what like record stores??
smoking unfortunately
Does not make them immediately infertile. Darwin is actually only right if the 'unfittest' don't reproduce.
true
i was oversimplifying it, but it's not like i was making a serious point anyway.
I wasn't trying to be pedantic
I was more pointing out that *unfortunately* it doesn't apply at all, and the smokers will end up with kids who are more likely to smoke. Sad.
maybe
they should make it illegal to have children if you smoke. Enforced Darwinism. New plan. Lynn for PM. Vote Lynn all your wildest dreams will come true (you have to do that in the voice).
Yeah
cos no-one wants to shag people who aren't fit. Darwin was pretty clever, ay.
I think the crux of the matter
Is that this cover just helps normalise people to smoking and it is an endorsement to say it's ok, it's a hard sentiment to take back.
It is part of a culture and I'm not sure to what degree this is a concious bigging up of smoking, and more just something which seems normal to them.
Even still, someone probably questioned this before it was used, or if they didnt, they're kicking themselves now.
LMAO.
I think smoking in public should be banned completely. There should be underground, out of sight smoking booths, so no innocent children can be influenced by these demonic wrong-doers.
Surely
it would be better to just point out that it's a shit cover, than the smoking.
Honestly, artists don't put enough effort into their artowrk anymore.
Gasp
The world is about to collapse! A man has been seen smoking in a rock\indie band. This is a Phenomenon rarely seen. Kids are not goin 2 be made to smoke by an album cover.... they will smoke due 2 peer pressure
Why
do you sporadically replace 'to' with '2' whilst utilising the former in the same sentence anyway?
The answer: you listen to the Arctic Monkeys and have no idea what you are doing.
You are an idiot
And you cannot use the english language properly. And you fail to understand how making something seem acceptable DOES make people do something.
Twat.
nonetheless
his point is this: IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANYONE OTHER THAN THE PARENTS TO PROPERLY REAR THEIR CHILDREN. IF THEY DO NOT DO SO, DO NOT BLAME EVERYONE BECAUSE THEY ARE ENGAGING IN DANGEROUS/AT RISK BEHAVIOR.
& the stupid motherfucker should realize that he created more hype about smoking by commenting on it than if he had just kept his silly ass quiet.
& about smoking: yes it's a filthy habit. yes it can kill (don't even fucking come at me with "IT KILLS EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES" nonsense). however, it also serves a purpose. though the most statistically addictive chemical known to man, it happens to medicate much in the same way that small doses of amphetamines do for hyperactive kids.
& the bottom line: if you don't like a behavior, DON"T FUCKING DO IT. & be quiet about it too.
nonetheless
Well flippin said.
Those F***in Monkeys
For me the music is about where it comes from aswell and not just the way it sounds.These little boys just come along and learn guitar for a fuckin year and think they know everything abou rock'n'roll. PLEASE people open your eyes and ears there are many better bands out there these lads are shit!!!
Like who?
please tell me... Have you seen the monkeys play live?
The guy on the cover
Lives with my mateand that is by far the ugliest I have ever seen him.
He is already sick of people recognising him too.
Kinda like being the kid off the cover of Nevermind, except actually recognisable to randoms.
Don't!
Don't step off the kerb, kids. Look both ways when crossing the road. Tie your shoe laces, don't smoke, don't eat fatty foods, don't drink to excess, live a quiet life and don't be naughty, do as your told, don't listen to this nasty loud rock music, don't rock the boat, just accept that we know best for you, just go to work and earn your keep, don't ever do anything even slightly rebellious in your life, never have experience even the slightest thrill of knowing that you did somehting someone else disapproves of. Put the guitar down, keep your head down and your mouth shut.
...
that seems a bit over the top.
don't! smoke
ho ho yeah smoking is a political act, sticking it to the man...
unless the man is from phillip morris
i thought this thread was about artic monkeys being rent boys or something
disappointment
What if...
you grew your own tobacco in an anarchosyndaclist commune? What about that, eh?
Plus...
I hope you didn't create that user name just to answer my post. That would be odd.
Well..
I suppose that founding an anarchro-syndicalist commune and producing my own tobacco would be somewhat of a political action, but that’s beside the point. The point is that Dr Gruer's comments aren't about trying to oppress young people so that they won't 'rebel against the system.’ And anyway, if you really wanted to keep people down, it would be better to go out of your way to get them addicted to cigarettes, not to preach good health. That way, they are poorer and in worse health, while the government and the multinationals are much richer.
Entirely true.
My point, if I had one, was not really aimed at the good doctor - he's just an old square. I was having a bad morning and people banging on about what's good for you and what should be allowed and what shouldn't when it comes to something that should be a person's own decision got my libertarian goat. Anyone with a head knows smoking is bad for you and as addictive as a crack lollipop but lots of them do it anyway, for all kinds of reasons. Maybe some are hopeless addicts in thrall to the pusher man at B&H but hopefully no one is really sad enough to start because some bloke who lives with Scarfo's mate puffs a fag on an album cover. Fancy a smoke?
who gives a shi*?
let people smoke if they want to. there are worse things in the world.
this thread is a waste of everyone's time.
worse things
exactly
Can't We All Just Get Along?!
I saw the album cover and started smoking, then i bought never mind and through my baby into a swimming pool!!
Whats the world coming to?
If you do not like the Arctic Monkeys music then why make a point of it? It doesn't matter, everyone has different tastes!
I love arctic monkeys yet agree its a shite cover, but i just took the record out, put it in my record player and havent dwelled on it!
PS i've been playing guitar for 5 years and i still know fuck all about rock n roll!
LOVE YOU ALL!!
Sorry
I meant threw not through, I apologise!
This doctor is not to be trusted...
""thousands of youngsters in Scotland will buy it because it is good music"