▲
3
▼
In 2022, the English rock band Arctic Monkeys released a song titled "Sculptures of Anything Goes", featuring the following lyric in the last verse of the song:
This lyric became the subject of news articles when fans on the music lyrics website Genius initially determined that it was referencing the obscure Nintendo DS game City Life DS, which only released in France in 2008 and the United Kingdom in 2009, and did not sell as well as previous games in the City Life series. Fans theorized that the difficulty in finding a copy of the game referenced in the lyric stemmed from Nintendo eventually discontinuing the DS family of systems. They also cited the closure of the Nintendo 3DS/Wii U versions of the Nintendo eShop as another possibility, but this was unfounded as City Life DS was only officially released as a physical cartridge and not part of the Wii U Virtual Console's Nintendo DS library.
However, it was confirmed in an interview with the band's frontman Alex Turner by Rolling Stone Germany on the day the song released that the lyric was not about City Life DS. He attributed the lyric to the works of author David Foster Wallace, most likely as a reference to his book "Infinite Jest" where the characters consume entertainment in the form of cartridges, which could also be referring to Turner's growing struggle to appeal and relate to Arctic Monkeys' audience from their earlier years as their sound and image changed later on.
"The simulation cartridge for City Life '09 is pretty tricky to come by."
This lyric became the subject of news articles when fans on the music lyrics website Genius initially determined that it was referencing the obscure Nintendo DS game City Life DS, which only released in France in 2008 and the United Kingdom in 2009, and did not sell as well as previous games in the City Life series. Fans theorized that the difficulty in finding a copy of the game referenced in the lyric stemmed from Nintendo eventually discontinuing the DS family of systems. They also cited the closure of the Nintendo 3DS/Wii U versions of the Nintendo eShop as another possibility, but this was unfounded as City Life DS was only officially released as a physical cartridge and not part of the Wii U Virtual Console's Nintendo DS library.
However, it was confirmed in an interview with the band's frontman Alex Turner by Rolling Stone Germany on the day the song released that the lyric was not about City Life DS. He attributed the lyric to the works of author David Foster Wallace, most likely as a reference to his book "Infinite Jest" where the characters consume entertainment in the form of cartridges, which could also be referring to Turner's growing struggle to appeal and relate to Arctic Monkeys' audience from their earlier years as their sound and image changed later on.
Arctic Monkeys - Sculptures of Anything Goes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQsrIxyoJdE
City Life DS release dates:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180109182552/https://www.gamespot.com/city-life-ds/
Alex Turner Rolling Stone Germany interview:
https://www.rollingstone.de/arctic-monkeys-alex-turner-im-grossen-interview-zum-neuen-album-the-car-2508705/
Speculation news coverage:
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/arctic-monkeys-sneak-an-obscure-nintendo-reference-into-the-car-3333593
https://www.gamesradar.com/an-obscure-nintendo-city-builder-has-resurfaced-on-the-new-arctic-monkeys-album/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/10/random-arctic-monkeys-song-potentially-makes-obscure-ds-city-builder-reference
https://indigomusic.com/pop-cultures/arctic-monkeys-made-a-subtle-nintendo-reference-in-their-track-the-car?amp=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQsrIxyoJdE
City Life DS release dates:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180109182552/https://www.gamespot.com/city-life-ds/
Alex Turner Rolling Stone Germany interview:
https://www.rollingstone.de/arctic-monkeys-alex-turner-im-grossen-interview-zum-neuen-album-the-car-2508705/
Speculation news coverage:
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/arctic-monkeys-sneak-an-obscure-nintendo-reference-into-the-car-3333593
https://www.gamesradar.com/an-obscure-nintendo-city-builder-has-resurfaced-on-the-new-arctic-monkeys-album/
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2022/10/random-arctic-monkeys-song-potentially-makes-obscure-ds-city-builder-reference
https://indigomusic.com/pop-cultures/arctic-monkeys-made-a-subtle-nintendo-reference-in-their-track-the-car?amp=1
Related Games
Nanashi no Game
Drawn to Life
Monster Rancher DS
Mario Kart DS
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Mega Man Star Force: Dragon
One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 - New World
Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Silly Bandz
Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters
Nintendogs: Shiba & Friends
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All
Ōkamiden
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
The Bee Game
Ed, Edd n Eddy: Scam of the Century
Mass Effect: Corsair
Star Fox Command
Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia
Lunar Knights
Scribblenauts
Pokémon Conquest
Nintendogs: Best Friends
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard
Elf Bowling 1 & 2
Monsters vs. Aliens
Keroro RPG: Kishi to Busha to Densetsu no Kaizoku
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Radiant Historia
Hotel Transylvania
Trauma Center: Under the Knife
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Mario Party DS
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
Mega Man ZX Advent
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Rune Factory 2: A Fantasy Harvest Moon
Metroid Prime Hunters
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Sonic Rush
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Captain Tsubasa: New Kick Off
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Sonic Classic Collection
Crash Boom Bang!
Kirby: Squeak Squad