Do I Wanna Know? is sexy. It’s every word and reverb-filled guitar strum are trying to seduce you.
Like an artful lover, it never loses control. The whole song is purposefully restrained – teasing, if you will. Rather than blow all their ideas in the first song, Do I Wanna Know is the sound of the Arctic Monkeys inviting you to explore the deeper, darker ideas further within AM. The brooding sound is even more frustrating when you know it’s followed by the powerhouse of rock that is R U Mine?
“Been wondering if your heart’s still open and if so what time it shuts,” Alex Turner crones after the first chorus. It’s the sound of an awkward young band from Sheffield grown up and matured. “Simmer down and pucker up…”
Don’t mistake the slang in the title as dumbing down ‘for the kids.’ They’re just feeling comfortable in their own skins. The song is practically seething sexuality, celebrating the early hours of the morning when anything can happen. Lyrics slip like half-formed thoughts or drunken comments from Alex Turner’s lips. Obsession seems to be a perfect muse for him.
Appropriately, the video for this song shows sound waves vibrating into a range of shapes including the form of beautiful women like the beginning of a Bond film. It finally changes into the letters ‘AM.’ They might as well have left their number and a note saying ‘Call me.’
Tune in Friday for #8 on the list.
The Music Court 
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