1001 Songs Challenge #950: I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (2005)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenge of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post every day (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be… legendary!

 

Arctic Monkeys – I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor (2005)

 

 

We’re leaving Argentina today, dear reader, and making our way across the Atlantic Ocean and back to the UK. We find ourselves in the north of England and in Sheffield which is perilously close to where I live in Yorkshire. Formed in 2002 Arctic Monkeys gained early prestige via the Internet. When we join them in 2005 they are working on their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not, but prior to that they released their first single which features today, I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. 

I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor is a testament to young love and what sounds like our teenage years. The narrator seems hung up on one girl in particular and his mind is all a haze trying to figure her out and establish whether there is mutual feeling between them. The chorus takes the song’s title as the narrator imagines what this girl might look like on a night out, all dressed up and hitting the dancefloor to some really evocative music. There are no resolutions here. This is purely one person’s thoughts, insecurities and daydreaming about another individual. 

Arctic Monkeys are another group I have been familiar with since they burst onto the scene in 2005 but I am not intimate with a lot of their music. I have nothing against the group, I just haven’t explored their discography which is the case with many artists and something I intend to change going forward. I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor is a well-crafted and catchy song and proved hugely popular upon release, reaching #1 in the UK charts. The group’s debut album would be the fastest selling in history and they have continued to go from strength to strength since.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)

Radiohead – Paranoid Android (1997)

Snow Patrol – Run