Suck It And See (song)
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"Suck It and See" is a song by English band
Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...
. It was released on 31 October 2011 by
Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company, or simply Domino, is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called ...
as the third
single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
and title track of their fourth studio album ''
Suck It and See ''Suck It and See'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 6 June 2011 by Domino Recording Company. The album's songs were written by frontman Alex Turner in 2010 on an acoustic guitar in his, at the time, ...
.'' Produced by James Ford and written by
Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. Turner is known for his Songwriter, lyricism ranging from kitchen sink realism to surrealism, surreal ...
it was recorded at Sound City, Los Angeles in early 2011. The song was released via MP3 digital download and 7" vinyl with the song "Evil Twin" appearing as a B-side. It is one of the rare instances that a B-side for a single has charted higher than the single itself on release due to downloads, with "Suck It and See" reaching number 149 and "Evil Twin" reaching number 114 on the UK Singles Chart.


Background

Turner started writing the song, while working on the recording of the ''
Submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
'' soundtrack. Turner described the melody and the chorus as "quite Beach Boys-y" which he was listening to a lot at the time. They chose it as the title track towards the end of the recording. The song contains a reference to the English beverage
Dandelion and burdock Dandelion and burdock is a beverage originating and commonly consumed in the British Isles since the Middle Ages. It was originally a type of light mead but over the years has evolved into the carbonated soft drink commercially available today. ...
. Of the reference, Turner said, "Something I like the idea of is putting colloquialisms where they feel strange – especially in some of the other tunes like the fuzzy, heavier ones, it feels quite funny when you can drop in something very British next to ‘
Raw Power ''Raw Power'' is the third studio album by American rock band the Stooges (credited as Iggy and the Stooges), released on February 7, 1973 by Columbia Records. The album departed from the "groove-ridden, feel-based songs" of the band's first two ...
’ guitars." For a while the band thought of calling the track "I'm a Fool for You".


Live performances

"Suck It and See" was first played live at an acoustic set for 102.1 the Edge in Toronto on 22 May 2011, and performed for a full audience a day later, at their concert in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
, Canada. The song was performed throughout their 2011–2012 tour, generally towards the end of the setlist. It was also played during the '' AM Tour''. After an eight-year absence, "Suck It and See" was brought back for ''
The Car Tour The Car Tour was the seventh headlining concert tour by English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, launched in support of their seventh studio album, '' The Car'' (2022). The tour began on 9 August 2022 in Istanbul at Zorlu PSM, and concluded on 19 ...
'' on 24 April 2023, at their concert in TipsArena Linz, Austria. B-side "Evil Twin", had its live debut at their show on 4 October 2011, at
The Pageant The Pageant (also called The Pageant Concert Nightclub) is a popular American nightclub in St. Louis, Missouri. Built as a dedicated nightclub, The Pageant first opened its doors on October 19, 2000. It was named for a "long-gone Pageant movi ...
in St. Louis. The song was played numerous times throughout 2011–2012 and the '' AM Tour''. During their show at
The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...
in London, on 29 October 2012, Alex Turner introduced the song by dedicating it to friend and fellow
Last Shadow Puppets The Last Shadow Puppets are an English supergroup consisting of Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys), Miles Kane ( the Little Flames, the Rascals), James Ford (Simian, Simian Mobile Disco), and Zach Dawes (Mini Mansions). The Last Shadow Puppets wer ...
' band member
Miles Kane Miles Peter Kane (born 17 March 1986) is an English singer and musician, best known as a solo artist and the co-frontman of the Last Shadow Puppets. He was also the former frontman of the Rascals, before the band announced their break-up in Au ...
. He did the same three months later, at their concert in Melbourne's Festival Hall where he said: "Wanna play this new song its called "Evil Twin", dedicated to Mr. Miles Kane, cause he's mine."


Music video

The music video for the single premiered on 16 September 2011 and for "Evil Twin" premiered on 27 October 2011 on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Both videos were directed by Focus Creeps, and are the first, and second parts of a trilogy that ends with " Black Treacle." The video for "Suck It and See" tells a narrative story of a biker (drummer
Matt Helders Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter, who is the drummer and occasional singer of the rock band Arctic Monkeys. He has also released a studio album and collaborated with artists such as Dean Fertita, ...
) and his relationship with a lover, portrayed by American model Breana McDow. The video is set in California and mocks the macho nature of American biker culture. It has also been suggested that the video is a
tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
response to criticism that the band's sound has become too "Americanised". Alex Turner briefly appears in a cameo. The video for Evil Twin, features more scenes of the characters in the desert, interspersed with footage of McDow and Helders on vacation. The shot of the single cover can be seen during the video. Aaron Brown of Focus Creeps said the video was inspired by a documentary on the life of musician Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister. In it, Lemmy tells the story of his first true love, a girl he dated when he was seventeen, who later died of a
heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a let ...
. Based on this story, they created the storyline around what would have happened if the girl never died, and they actually became "outlaw lovers, riding motorcycles, and you know, breaking the law and stuff."


Track listing


Charts


Certifications


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suck It And See 2011 singles 2011 songs Arctic Monkeys songs Domino Recording Company singles Songs written by Jamie Cook Songs written by Matt Helders Songs written by Nick O'Malley Songs written by Alex Turner (musician) Song recordings produced by James Ford (musician)