Day After Day #174: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (2005)

In the post-Napster era of the early 2000s, young bands were figuring out new ways to get noticed. The traditional method of getting a song on the radio or even MTV was no longer the only path to stardom. In the case of Arctic Monkeys, it was MySpace.

The band was formed in 2002 by friends Alex Turner (vocals/guitar), Matt Helders (drums) and Andy Nicholson (bass). They soon added Jamie Cook as a second guitarist. An early set of 18 garage-rocking demos (now known as Beneath the Boardwalk) was burned onto CDs to give away at gigs and fans uploaded them to file-sharing services. They started to get attention from BBC Radio and the tabloid press in the U.K.

It was actually a fan-created MySpace page that created the buzz for the band, especially in northern England, and the group was fine with the extra publicity. An EP called Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys was self-released as CDs and 7-inch records, but also as downloads on the iTunes Music Store, which had just opened in the U.K. in 2004. Soon the band was playing at the Reading and Leeds Festivals, and then they signed with Domino Records in 2005.

The Monkeys (named after a band that Helders' dad played in during the '70s) released their first single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" in October 2005 and it went straight to #1 on the U.K. Singles Chart, as did the second single "When the Sun Goes Down" in January 2006. The band's first album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, came out in January and became the fastest-selling debut album in U.K. history, selling 363,735 copies in the first week.

Meanwhile in the U.S., the Arctic Monkeys were getting attention on the many MP3 blogs that were posting new music. The band was credited with being one of the first to become famous totally via the internet. 

"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" is a great introduction to the band, an unpretentious bunch of lads in their early 20s. The Monkeys just explode right out of the gate.

"Stop making the eyes at me/I'll stop making the eyes at you/What it is that surprises me/Is that I don't really want you to/And your shoulders are frozen (cold as the night)/Oh, but you're an explosion (you're dynamite)/Your name isn't Rio, but I don't care for sand/And lighting the fuse might result in a bang/I bet that you look good on the dance floor/I don't know if you're looking for romance or/I don't know what you're looking for/I said, I bet that you look good on the dance floor/Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984/Well, from 1984."

Helders is a powerhouse on the drums, pounding away while Turner absolutely rips hot guitar solos and lyrically, captures the mindset of young Brits who were out clubbing and scoping out potential partners on the dance floor. 

"Oh, there ain't no love, no Montagues or Capulets/Just banging tunes and DJ sets/Dirty dance floors and dreams of naughtiness/Well, I bet that you look good on the dance floor."

The album wasn't just a hit in the U.K. It became the second-fastest selling independent debut album in the U.S. and went platinum. Nicholson left the band after the album came out, replaced by Nick O'Malley. I saw them play at Avalon in June 2006 and it was a killer show; sadly, it was the last time I've seen them.

The band's second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, came out in April 2007 and was a similarly huge success, going to #1 in the U.K. again. Their third and fourth albums were more successful in the U.K., but it was 2013's AM that was the Monkeys' big breakthrough, debuting at #6 on the Billboard 200. The group combined hip hop beats with heavy guitar and had big hits with "R U Mine?" and "Do I Wanna Know?"

After a five-year hiatus, the Arctic Monkeys returned with their sixth album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, which found the band moving away from the indie rock song that made them popular. It was an exploration into loungier sounds with more keyboards and varied instrumentation. The next album, 2022's The Car, followed a similar path. I have to admit I haven't really listened to these, so I have no official opinion on them as of yet. But the band received critical acclaim for both albums and their last tour was filling up arenas, so clearly they're doing something right.

What I didn't realize was the band has appealed to a much younger audience, as my daughter Lily informed me. Apparently, the Monkeys are big on TikTok and have built a new Gen Z audience that is filling these shows even as their older fans are checking out. They were kids when they started and now they're older but appealing to kids at the same time. I had no idea, but good for them.