Every Arctic Monkeys Single Ranked Worst To Best
3. Cornerstone
Produced by Josh Homme, with a music video directed by Richard Ayoade, and the sum of all its parts firing at their very best, Cornerstone is the complete package and an Arctic Monkeys classic.
Everything about Cornerstone is solid. From the drum beat to the guitar line, bass and lyricism, each member of the band ties down the song into one incredible loop. Lyrically though, the song is as perfect as the band have ever been: Turner speaks about seeing the person he loves in every woman everywhere, melding humour with melancholy as he reflects on how nobody is quite like the real deal.
The song is written in the minor key and stands out as being the brighter sibling to the dark songs of Humbug, since its release Alex Turner has cited it as one of his all time favourite AM songs. Nothing booms on Cornerstone quite like the rest of the album, it’s just an incredible ballad.
It’s equal parts cheeky and touching, full of memorable one liners and expert turns of phrase. When you look at the career of Arctic Monkeys, their very best and most memorable songs are mostly super speedy or uber smooth rock ragers but Cornerstone is one heck of an exception to the rule.