Song · Arctic Monkeys
“Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys
From the album Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
“Fluorescent Adolescent” by Arctic Monkeys appears on 19 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 2007 and 2025. It was first released in 2007 on the album Favourite Worst Nightmare. Its best result is #11 on The End Top 107 Songs of 2007. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #65 alternative song of 2007 and #1,896 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Domino Recording Co.). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Fluorescent Adolescent" was the second single from Arctic Monkeys' second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, out in the UK in July 2007, and it's their sweetest, saddest bit of indie pop. Alex Turner wrote the lyric with Johanna Bennett, then his girlfriend, holed up in a hotel before the album sessions, and it's a wry ballad about sex, getting older and missing your youth: a woman dreaming of her wild days while her love life has gone dull.
Jamie Cook, Matt Helders and Nick O'Malley share the music credit, and the tune skips along brightly enough to hide the melancholy. James Ellis Ford and Mike Crossey produced, Alan Moulder mixed. It peaked at number five in the UK, became one of the band's most loved songs and a regular set closer, and it's forever tied to The Inbetweeners, which leaned on it all through the first series.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 49 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2007 | 100 |
| 2007 | 11 | 107.7 The End Seattle, WA | The End Top 107 Songs of 2007 | 107 |
| 2007 | 12 | CD101 Columbus, OH | CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2007 | 101 |
| 2007 | 32 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2007 | 103 |
| 2007 | 59 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2007 | 60 |
| 2007 | 49 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2007 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 900 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2008 | 727 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 667 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 607 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 542 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 487 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 449 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2022 | 329 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2023 | 547 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
| 2024 | 764 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 747 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 333 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 624 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
Also listed as: Flourescent Adolescent.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Arctic Monkeys.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.