The music video for "Why'd you only call me when you're high" by Arctic Monkeys appears to target their core audience of mid-late teenagers and young adults. It draws viewers in through relatable settings, casual costumes, and a simple narrative that matches the song's lyrics about relationship struggles. While some may criticize that it promotes drug use, most in the target demographic will understand and prefer the intended interpretation of the dangers of intoxication hindering communication with loved ones.

1. How does the music video of ‘Why’d you only
call me when you’re high’ by the Arctic
Monkeys appear to its target audience?
By Alice Western

2. Background information
The Arctic Monkeys is an English indie rock band that was formed in 2002 and consists of 4
members - Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm/lead guitar), Matt Helders (drums, vocals), Jamie
Cook (lead/rhythm guitar) and Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals). Arctic Monkeys is first band
to come to public attention via the Internet, commentators saying they represent the change of
band promotion and marketing. ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not’ became the
fastest-selling debut album in British history, entrenching Arctic Monkeys in the same circle as
multi-platinum acts like Oasis and Blur. The band have won 7 Brit awards and headlined
Glastonbury festival twice – in 2007 and again in 2013.
‘Why’d you only call me when you’re high’ was released on the 11th august 2013 as the Arctic
Monkey’s third single from their fifth studio album, AM. Caleb Caldwell of Slant Magazine
reviewed the song positively, writing, "The heavy, molasses-slow rhythms, especially the late-
night beats of "Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High," draw on Dr. Dre's brand of West
Coast G-funk. On 18 August 2013, the song debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart
making it their first top 10 single since "Fluorescent Adolescent" in 2007.
In comparison to the other music videos from AM, ‘Why’d you call me when you’re high’ follows
anarrative more obviously shown than their other songs, as its content links well with the lyrics.
The music video follows the typical theme of an arctic monkeys song, which are normally based
around women.

3. Who is the target audience
for the music video?
• The demographic of the arctic Monkeys would be mid-late
teenagers/young adults (15-25). It can be assumed that they
would mostly be males because the Arctic Monkeys has no
female members and the genre of the band (alternative rock)
is male dominated. The audience profile of the band (found
on YouGov) desribed their target audience as being lovers of
sport and dedicating to supporting their favourite artists.
However, a large proportion of the demographic are females
and the gratifications theory can explain this. Stereotypically,
females enjoy listening to songs about relationships, love and
girls as they can become emotionally connected to the lyrics
through escapism.

4. How is the audience targeted?
• The constructed psychometric of ‘Why’d you only call me when you’re high’
would be ‘the struggler’ as the drinking and hallucinations suggest that Alex
Turner is living for the moment. In the music video we are unaware about the
background of the character he plays and whether he is a high achiever, yet the
body language of Stephanie at the end of the video when she checks her phone
relates to the title of the song. “Why’d you only call me when you're high” is
asked from Stephanie’s perspective to Alex, implying that he is careless and
been intoxicated like this before. Therefore, an audience that likes to party (a
struggler) may be attracted to this song.
• The costumes of the music video are similar to those in other songs by the
Arctic Monkeys (e.g. R U Mine?) – they’re casual, meaning that the band
targets an audience with a similar clothing style and encourages others to wear
what they like and feel confortable in.
• The use of a simple mobile phone makes the video more appealing to a younger
audience as they are more connected with modern devices than adults are.
• There are two settings in the music video – a pub and a sparsely populated
street. These are locations demographics come across all the time, making the
set in the video believable to the audience. (Another example: The Verve –
Bitter Sweet Symphony)
• The music video is narrative based and is not edited by complex techniques to
capture the distorted visions from Alex Turner’s view (point of view shot). This
helps the audience feel closer to the character and music video if they can
relate to the visuals. This is similar to the music video of Luv Deluxe by
Cinnamon Chasers – although it belongs to a different genre, it is filmed
through POV shots throughout.

5. What is the audience’s reaction to
the music video?
• Using Stuart Hall’s theory, the most potential reading
for the music video of ‘Why’d you only call me when
you’re high’ is preferred. The audience may be able to
read the narrative of the music video in the way the
producers expect them to. Through the limited amount
of editing, locations and characters, the narrative is
simple to follow and the song title provides a base to
this. Stephanie has not been replying to Alex’s texts so
he keeps hallucinating that she is busy having sex with
someone else. However, the audience may disagree
with the ideology and think that the video encourages
drug use, yet others may see it as spreading awareness
of the dangers of taking them, such as being less aware
you knock on the wrong person’s door.