Viewing Single Trivia
▲
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
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to post comments.
Related Games
Super Mario 64 DS
Cartoon Network Racing
Mega Man Star Force: Pegasus
Pokémon Diamond Version
Science Papa
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
LEGO Batman: The Videogame
Mega Man Star Force: Dragon
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
Nintendogs: Chihuahua & Friends
Professor Layton and the Last Specter
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time
Monster Rancher DS
Soma Bringer
Nintendogs: Dachshund & Friends
Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu
Elite Beat Agents
Adventure Time: Hey Ice King! Why'd You Steal Our Garbage?!
Cory in the House
Tomodachi Collection
LEGO Friends
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Sonic Classic Collection
Jetix Puzzle Buzzle
Spyro: Shadow Legacy
The Bee Game
My Stop Smoking Coach with Allen Carr
Nicktoons MLB
Pokémon HeartGold Version
Dementium: The Ward
Victorious: Taking the Lead
Tales of Hearts: Anime Movie Edition
Mega Man Star Force 3: Black Ace
Yoshi's Island DS
Halo DS
Thrillville: Off the Rails
Tales of Hearts: CG Movie Edition
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team
Heathcliff: Frantic Foto
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian
Keroro RPG: Kishi to Busha to Densetsu no Kaizoku
101-in-1 Party Megamix
Pac 'n Roll
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
Scribblenauts
LovePlus
WarioWare: Touched!
Rio
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All
Disgaea DS