Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I Am Not

Unless your definition of success rests on how many private yachts you can afford, Arctic Monkeys were already massive way before they inked a deal with Domino in June 2005. People obsessing over the songs? Sold-out gigs full of stage-diving nutcases? Hardcore fans pressed up against venue windows, just hoping to catch a glimpse? Such checkpoints have all been ticked. So, here we are, standing at the precipice of something possibly really big, but it all almost doesn't matter because their debut album is so damn good. The reference points are wide and varied. Musically, there's musical bits of The Stone Roses, What's The Story Morning Glory and Nevermind. As catchy as those reference points are, it's the lyrics that won the Arctic Monkeys such fiercely dedicated fans so quickly: a mix of the observational storytelling of Davies and Weller crossed with the harsher documentary eye of Mike Skinner of The Streets and Ghost Town-era Specials.  Alex Turner’s reputation as a phrase-maker ha