Wikipedia

R U Mine?

"R U Mine?" is a song by the English indie rock band Arctic Monkeys. It features lyrics written by frontman Alex Turner, as well as music composed by the entire band. The song was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on 27 February 2012 and was released physically for the Record Store Day on 21 April 2012 on a limited edition double A-side purple 7" vinyl along with new song "Electricity". The vinyl was limited to a run of only 1,750 copies.

"R U Mine?"
Single by Arctic Monkeys
from the album AM
B-side"Electricity"
Released27 February 2012 (2012-02-27)
RecordedJanuary 2012 in Sheffield, England[1]
Genre
Length3:20
LabelDomino
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Alex Turner
Producer(s)Ross Orton
Arctic Monkeys singles chronology
"Black Treacle"
(2012) 		"R U Mine?"
(2012) 		"Do I Wanna Know?"
(2013)
Music video
"R U Mine?" on YouTube

"R U Mine?" debuted at number twenty-three on the UK Singles Chart; the band's highest charting single since "Crying Lightning" reached number twelve (12) in July 2009. Despite originally being released as a standalone single, the song was later included as the lead single of their fifth studio album, AM (2013), albeit slightly remixed. It was later certified platinum in the UK, making it one of the Arctic Monkeys' best-selling songs.

The song was also featured in the video games Forza Horizon[9] and Rocksmith 2014.[10] It was also featured in the video game Guitar Hero Live. It was released as a downloadable song for the rhythm game Rock Band 3 on January 13, 2015; one of the first three downloadable songs released for Rock Band 3 in almost two years.

Inspiration

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Alex Turner said that the band drew inspiration from recent relationships, saying "There's a few references for people to pick up on in there – 'Some Velvet Morning', Tracy Island. That particular bit is like the thing Lil Wayne and Drake do. [...] I like that thing they do where they talk about something backwards, so they talk about it but then say what it actually is on the next line. [...] So I say, 'I'm a puppet on a string', just before mentioning Tracy Island. That's what it's about – uncertainty."[11] Turner also described the track as "Kind of a lift from an Ashanti tune. We like the scales and the melodies on some of those records. The way the backing vocals might come right to the front and disappear again".[12]

The main riff of the song was written by bassist Nick O'Malley, while the band were recording the B-side "Evil Twin".[13]

Reception

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Music magazine NME ranked the song at number 49 among 100 greatest songs of 2010s.[14]

Music videos

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A music video to accompany the release of "R U Mine?" was first released onto YouTube on 27 February 2012 at a total length of three minutes and forty-four seconds and features radio DJ, musician and former Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones debuting the song on his show on American modern rock radio station KROQ-FM while Matt Helders, Alex Turner and Nick O'Malley lip-sync the song in a car.[15] In 2013, the video won the NME Award for Best Video.[16]

Drummer Matt Helders, who came up with the idea for the video, revealed it was directed by Focus Creeps, who 'gave [the band] a camera and told us to film'.[17]

A second video was released onto YouTube on 29 March 2012, following their live show in Mexico City one day earlier. The video depicts a live performance of the song and shots of the excited crowd. It ends with an image of Turner's microphone with two bras hanging from it.[18] Both videos feature Helders wearing a Sixpack France Lucifer jacket, a reference to Kenneth Anger's Lucifer Rising. The jacket also appears in the "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair" music video.[19][20]

Track listing

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All lyrics are written by Alex Turner; all music is composed by Arctic Monkeys[8]

Digital download
No.TitleLength
1."R U Mine?"3:20
7" (UK Record Store Day limited edition) and second digital download
No.TitleLength
1."R U Mine?"3:20
2."Electricity"3:01
2014 Brit Awards
No.TitleLength
1."R U Mine? (Live from the BRITs)"3:34

Personnel

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Arctic Monkeys
  • Alex Turner – lead vocals, lead guitar
  • Jamie Cook – rhythm guitar
  • Nick O'Malley – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Matt Helders – drums, backing vocals

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[35] Gold 45,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[36] Platinum 50,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[37] Platinum 60,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[38] 2× Platinum 40,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[39] 3× Platinum 1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[40] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format Label
United Kingdom[41] 27 February 2012 Digital download Domino
United States[42] 12 March 2012 Modern rock radio
United Kingdom[43] 21 April 2012 Double A-side 7" vinyl

References

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  1. ^ "40 Things We've Learned About Arctic Monkeys' 'AM' - Photo 22". NME. Retrieved 31 July 2013.[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Listen to a new Arctic Monkeys track". [V] Music. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Arctic Monkeys: 'R U Mine?'". Rolling Stone. 16 March 2012. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  4. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (17 September 2013). "The Arctic Monkeys Are Full of Late-Night Surprises on 'AM'". Yahoo!. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Arctic Monkeys - AM". Uncut. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  6. ^ Trendell, Andrew (3 September 2013). "Track by track review: Arctic Monkeys - AM". Gigwise. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  7. ^ Caldwell, Caleb (10 September 2013). "Review: Arctic Monkeys, AM". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b AM (liner notes). Arctic Monkeys . 2013.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ "Soundtrack - Forza Horizon Wiki Guide". IGN. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Rocksmith 2014 Song List & Downloadable Content (DLC)". Ubisoft. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner: 'R U Mine?' references Drake and Lil Wayne'". NME. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  12. ^ "How The Arctic Monkeys Saved Rock 'N' Roll". Esquire. 1 April 2014. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  13. ^ Examiner interview with Matt Helders (unable to link it)
  14. ^ "Best Songs of the Decade: The 2010s". NME. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  15. ^ Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine? on YouTube
  16. ^ "NME Awards 2013 – as it happened". NME. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  17. ^ "'R U Mine?' : Best Video NME Awards 2013" – via YouTube.
  18. ^ Arctic Monkeys - R U Mine? - Live in Mexico City on YouTube
  19. ^ "La Boca - Lucifer". La Boca UK. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  20. ^ "HOMMAGE À KENNETH ANGER, MAGE ROCK DU CINÉMA UNDERGROUND". Sound Of Brit. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  21. ^ The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 2 April 2012 (PDF) (Report). Australian Web Archive. 16 April 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  22. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  23. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  27. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  28. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  29. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  30. ^ "Arctic Monkeys Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
  31. ^ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  32. ^ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2015". Billboard. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  33. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  34. ^ "New Entries > Week Ending: May 5, 2012". Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  35. ^ "Danish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 10 July 2019. Scroll through the page-list below until year 2019 to obtain certification.
  36. ^ "Italian single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  37. ^ "Spanish single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?". El portal de Música. Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  38. ^ "Portuguese single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?" (PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  39. ^ "British single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  40. ^ "American single certifications – Arctic Monkeys – R U Mine?". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
  41. ^ "R U Mine?: Arctic Monkeys". Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  42. ^ "Alternative (Week Of: March 12, 2012)". Radio & Records. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  43. ^ "R U Mine? / Electricity (Rsd) [Vinyl Single] [Vinyl]: Arctic Monkeys". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
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