Arctic Monkeys: 10 Hidden Song Meanings
9. A Touching Tribute To Lou Reed
An album track in their fifth album, AM, "Mad Sounds" has developed accidental symbolism over the years; it has become a chilling tribute to Lou Reed.
"You know when you listen to Transformer by Lou Reed, and you feel like you need to have a shower after it? I wanted a bit of that quality in there." Alex Turner, Under the Radar (2013)
Alex Turner had explained in an interview with Under the Radar that he wanted the song to have the feel of Transformer, Reed's second solo album. And then just over a month after the worldwide release of AM, Lou Reed passed away.
"Mad Sounds", which Turner would describe as a "song about songs", has become a haunting ode to the great song-writer and Velvet Underground front-man.
The slow melancholy guitar and backing harmonies wouldn't feel out of place in a Lou Reed record. Lou Reed himself was collaborating until his untimely death in 2013, guesting on Gorillaz and the Killers' albums later in life. We can only dream about how amazing a true collaboration with Alex Turner could have been like.
You got those mad sounds in your ears to make you get up and dance.