Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino [2018]
In 2075, Poppodium Boerderij will be 100 years old. Who will present The Story Behind the Album Cover then? (I'll undoubtedly be buried by then.) Which artist will be featured? Perhaps Arctic Monkeys singer Alex Turner. Turner will turn 89 by then, so with a bit of luck, he'll still be intelligible.
The presentation could easily be done by one of our youngest stage managers at Poppodium Boerderij. She's a big Arctic Monkeys fan. She'll be 75 by then, so that should be fine.
She'll most likely discuss the cover of “Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino”. The cover isn't as iconic as Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" yet, but in 50 years, it very well could be. It's beautiful and has a great story to tell. And a bonus: the music is equally fantastic. The cover features a model of a lunar hotel, created by Alex Turner himself. The LP is a so-called concept album and revolves around a fictional luxury hotel and casino on the moon, located at Tranquility Base, the site where Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969. Turner recorded the first demos in a spare room studio in Los Angeles, which he jokingly called ‘the lunar surface’—a name inspired by the conspiracy theory that the moon landing was staged in a studio.
Turner liked the idea of a hexagonal shape, as it was Arctic Monkeys' sixth album, and taped the spinning device to the top of a Revox tape recorder. He initially made a mess of it—he had become obsessed with cardboard—but was ultimately satisfied. As he once said in an interview: ‘In the past, I've created album covers that I don't think represent what's on the record, and I certainly don't feel that way with this one.’ Turner described the album as a place you ‘can go and stay for a while’ inspired by science fiction, film, and literature, including Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Perhaps it could also serve as inspiration for the design of the new music venue, Boerderij, that is being built. The plans are definitely moving forward. The new Boerderij is scheduled to be completed by 2030. This also means it will be 45 years old in 2075. That's what you call transience, right?
One thing is certain. Music endures. Even in 2075 and beyond. Music doesn't worry about outdated buildings. Music often draws its inspiration from uncertain times, heartbreak, or peak experiences. It offers comfort and can move people. Tears streaming down your cheeks when you hear a piece of music. Whether it's at a funeral or a wedding. Or simply at home on the couch with a good movie, with the music as a tearjerker.
Ah, the doorbell rings. A package of prog rock. Good music, a beautiful record cover, and an insert with ten pages of background information... this is going to be a great Christmas treat.
Gerrit-Jan Vrielink
Translator: Alex Driessen