Song · Arctic Monkeys
“Fake Tales of San Francisco” by Arctic Monkeys
From the album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2005)
“Fake Tales of San Francisco” by Arctic Monkeys appears on 6 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2006 and 2023. It was first released in 2005 on the album Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. Its best result is #42 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 2006. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #123 alternative song of 2006.
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"Fake Tales of San Francisco" first turned up on Arctic Monkeys' debut EP, Five Minutes with Arctic Monkeys, in May 2005, and later took its place on Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Alex Turner wrote the words and the whole band shares the music credit, with Jim Abbiss producing for Domino. In America it went out as a radio-only single.
The song is a sneer from the bar stool at the Sheffield scene the band came up in: local gigs, local rivals, and bands pretending to be something they're not. Turner sounds older and wearier than his years, dry and sorrowful even when he's taking the mickey, and he twists a familiar phrase into something new.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 42 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 2006 | 91 |
| 2006 | 89 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2006 | 107 |
| 2006 | 78 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON | CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2006 | 102 |
| 2006 | 96 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006 | 103 |
| 2006 | 49 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 634 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
Also listed as: Fake Tales Of San Francisco.
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