My 10 Favorite Summertime Albums

I can’t lie—I’ve been accused of wallowing in depressing music more than is probably healthy for a (moderately) well-adjusted person.  I consider myself both happy and positive (when I’m not reviewing a terrible movie), but my thirst for drama in music is often sated by tortured romanticism, sepulchral synths, self-paralyzing lyrics, the works. But it’s…

Arctic Monkeys: Same Skill, Different Day

Suck It and See: 4 stars (out of 5) One of these days, Alex Turner and the Arctic Monkeys will release a bad album. At least, that’s what history and convention would tell us.  One might have predicted that the mediocrity would have come with Favourite Worst Nightmare, the follow-up to their debut monster Whatever…

Arctic Monkeys: From the Rubble to the Ritz

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) – 4.5 stars Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007) – 4 stars Humbug (2009) – 4 stars Years before Radiohead invited yet another wave of critical fawning by offering an album for free download, the Arctic Monkeys cultivated a rabid following by giving away demos of early…