Arctic Monkeys: viral tweet pokes fun at the age of the rock band’s fans after release of seventh album The Car

A university lecturer’s tongue-in-cheek tweet about the age of Arctic Monkeys’ fans has gone viral on Twitter

A university lecturer has gone viral on social media after sharing a comment he overheard a student make about the age of Arctic Monkeys fans.

Matt Farr, who teaches philosophy of science at the pretigious University of Cambridge, took to Twitter describing the passage of time as “cruel” after one of his pupils made a reference to listening to Arctic Monkeys when they were “little”.

The band, founded in Sheffield in 2002, grew to fame with the release of their debut studio album in 2006.

Posting on Twitter, Matt wrote: “Overheard a university student say “Arctic Monkeys were my dad’s favourite band when I was little.” The passage of time is relentless, unfathomable, cruel, and unforgiving.”

The Arctic Monkeys four-piece attended the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles in 2015. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)placeholder image
The Arctic Monkeys four-piece attended the 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles in 2015. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The tweet racked up over 345,600 likes and a stream of replies from users sharing similar anecdotes of a time where they realised their age based on music.

One commented: “I went to a wedding the other day, bride is in her 30s, the Dj played Mr Brightside by the Killers [a 2004 song] and nobody, but me and him, knew it“.

Another added: “At a wedding reception recently and a drunk 20 y/o says ‘I was obsessed with this song when I was a little kid!’ when Firework by Katy Perry [a 2010 song] came on. I just had to check and it was released 12 years ago. time just keeps accelerating.”

Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner wrote all ten songs for the band’s latest album, The Car. (Credit Getty Images) placeholder image
Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner wrote all ten songs for the band’s latest album, The Car. (Credit Getty Images) | Getty Images

Many other tweets referred to a viral photo of a note written by a girl called Lucy, who said she was listening to 1989’s Wave of Mutilation by the Pixies because “they remind me of when I was little because my grandparents always used to play them.”

University lecturer, Matt, who “thinks time is directionless” according to his Twitter bio, apologised to fellow Arctic Monkeys fans who were “harmed” by the age-shaming tweet.

He wrote: “Apologies to those irrevocably harmed by this tweet. But hey, embrace mid-life; make plans for what’s left of it.”

Alongside an 2023 tour, Arctic Monkeys are also rumoured to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023. (Credit Zackery Michael) placeholder image
Alongside an 2023 tour, Arctic Monkeys are also rumoured to headline the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023. (Credit Zackery Michael)

Arctic Monkeys is made up of lead vocalist Alex Turner, 36, guitarist Jamie Cook, 37, guitarist Nick O’Malley, 37, and drummer Matt Helders, 36.

Two weeks ago they released their seventh studio album, The Car, and are now getting geared up for a worldwide tour including two dates at Sheffields’ Hillsborough Stadium.

No matter how “relentless” the “passage of time” is, it doesn’t look like Arctic Monkeys are going under the radar anytime soon.

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1887
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice