Brianstorm

Release type:What's this?
single
First released:
Apr 1 2007

Overview Edit

"Brianstorm" (often mistaken as 'Brainstorm') is a song by Sheffield-based indie rock band Arctic Monkeys and is the opening track on their second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. The song was released as the first single from that album on 2 April 2007, debuting at #21 in the UK Singles Chart via downloads alone. The single was released in physical formats on 16 April, the week before the release of the album, and charted at #14 in the UK Singles Chart behind Beyoncé' and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar." It is the band's fourth single in the United Kingdom, following number ones "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", and "When the Sun Goes Down", as well as the non-album track "Leave Before the Lights Come On". The song was noticeably louder and heavier than previous efforts, marking the band's evolved sound. It is their highest charting single worldwide.

Prior to the single, there had been a great deal of media speculation questioning the band's ability to emulate their successes of 2006 and their debut album. The single marks a noticeable change in band's logo and cover art, with the "frenetic" cover art seeming to mirror the nature of the track. The track has no chorus, but features an "ascending guitar duel which sounds like a cross between Telstar, Mogwai and the Monkeys' own 'When the Sun Goes Down'." The music itself is harder and heavier than previous tracks, with Matt Helders' drumming being compared to that of Dave Grohl. A feature of Arctic Monkeys songs in the past, Alex Turner's Sheffield-accent is again a feature, "singing over rough, relentless bass and surprisingly appropriate guitar triplets."

When asked to say a little about the song's protagonist, Alex Turner replied, "I can't remember Brian now... I don't know if he were in my imagination or what... it's a blank spot in my brain... I think that's what he [Brian] wanted." He later explained in NME that Brian had been a guy that they had met backstage in the band's dressing room at a gig at Studio Coast "Ageha" in Tokyo Japan, and that "When he left the room, we were a bit in awe of his presence. So we did a brainstorm for what he was like, drew a little picture and wrote things about him," while guitarist Jamie Cook added "He was right smooth, very LA. He just appeared with like a business card and like a round neck T-shirt and a tie loosely around it, I'd never seen that before. It felt like he was trying to get inside your mind. We were checking out his attire; it inspired us."

This song was #62 on MTV Asia's list of Top 100 Hits of 2007. It was also used on The Colbert Report, The Daily Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien during the final weeks of the 07-08 Writers Guild strike, in which it is played during a showdown between the three.

The track is featured in the rhythm video game Guitar Hero 5, and is considered to be the hardest track on drums (next to Jeff Beck's "Scatterbrain", King Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man", and An Endless Sporadic's "From the Blue/Point of No Return/The Triangular Race Through Space") due to its sporadic tom-tom beats.

The Overview appearing in this section is attributed to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brianstorm. Portions of this Overview may be available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, version 3.0 or any later version, available at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Additional terms may apply. See Wikipedia Terms of Use for details.

This particular version Edit

Record label:
Catalog number:
PRO-CDR-102031
Release dates:
  • Apr 17 2007

Genres

Indie, Post-punk, Rock, Alternative Rock. Vote on Genres

What do Amazon.com customers think?

5 stars Something About This Band
Yes, Brianstorm rocks but Temptation Greets You Like... is also a gem. They have definitely taken a heavier path. Hope these guys stay around for a long time and continue evolving.

Also, seek out the B-Side to Bet You Look Good...: Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweathearts. Fantastic...
Written by Daniel M. Honeywell
3 stars I bought this as a gift
It only had four songs on it but since I bought it as a gift for my sister, it served its purpose.
Written by Margaret Grymes

Track listing Edit

  • CD

    format:
    number:
    title:
    number name artist hh:mm:ss
    1
    If You Found This It's Probably Too Late
    ?:??
    2
    Brianstorm
    ?:??
    3
    Temptation Greets You Like Your Naughty Friend
    ?:??
    4
    What If You Were Right The First Time?
    ?:??

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Other versions Edit

Brianstorm 4 tracks format: 1 x vinyl
catalog number: PRO-CDR-102031
release dates: Apr 17 2007
view details
Brianstorm 4 tracks format: 1 x CD
catalog number: PRO-CDR-102031
release dates: Apr 16 2007 in United Kingdom, Apr 17 2007
view details
Brianstorm 4 tracks format: 1 x digital
catalog number: RUG254D1
release dates: Apr 17 2007
view details
1 track format: 1 x digital
record label: Domino Records
catalog number: RUG254D
release dates: Apr 1 2007 in United Kingdom
view details
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