Teddy Picker

"Teddy Picker" is a song by the Arctic Monkeys and the third single from their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare. It was released on December 3, 2007 in the United Kingdom. The song entered the UK singles chart at number 20. It remained only one week in the top 40 staying in this position, making it the lowest charting single for the band so far.

Meaning

The song refers to the popularity of celebrities. A 'teddy picker' is British slang for a crane machine, a popular machine at carnivals where prizes, particularly stuffed animals, are picked by a mechanical crane. The song equates a person getting noticed as a celebrity with a prize being picked up by a crane-a result of luck. The song expresses annoyance with people who are so desperate to be famous that they do over-the-top things to get attention, such as participate in reality shows. Such occurrences of reality show 'stars' being treated as real celebrities are especially prevalent in the UK, the home of Arctic Monkeys, where the show Big Brother has spawned such national icons as Jade Goody. The line "don't be surprised when you get bent over" refers to the amount of celebrities or media darlings that are tricked or persuaded by the industry to continue their attention seeking by promises of fame or money.

The song also contains the band's second reference to Duran Duran, with the line "I don't want your prayers, save it for the morning after". The first reference is in the song I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor, with the line "Her name isn't Rio but I don't care for sand".

Music video

The video was directed by Roman Coppola, who has previously worked with The Strokes and Daft Punk. The whole video was completed in one day and features the band performing the song live in the studio and walking to a local pub. It also won them Best Video at the 2008 NME Awards.

Track listing

• 7" RUG279-7"
• "Teddy Picker" - 2:43 (Words by Alex Turner; music by Arctic Monkeys)
• "Bad Woman" – 2:18 (Patrick Sickafus)
• Richard Hawley performs lead vocals; originally performed by Pat Farrell and The Believers;

• 10" RUG279-10"
• Side A "Teddy Picker" - 2:43 (Words by Alex Turner; music by Arctic Monkeys)
• Side A "Bad Woman" – 2:18 (Patrick Sickafus)
• Side B "The Death Ramps" – 3:19 (Death Ramps)
• Side B "Nettles" – 1:45 (Words by Alex Turner; music by Death Ramps)

• CD RUG279-CD,
• "Teddy Picker" - 2:43 (Words by Alex Turner; music by Arctic Monkeys)
• "Bad Woman" – 2:18 (Patrick Sickafus)
• "The Death Ramps" – 3:19 (Death Ramps)
• "Nettles" – 1:45 (Words by Alex Turner; music by Death Ramps)

Chart Performance

Chart (2007)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	20

References