Music The Smiths

[JohnLocke]

From another music thread recently:

Top 10 The Smiths Tunes.

I didn't put any in my other top 10.

1 - there is a light that never goes out

2 - still ill

3 - I won't share you

4 - Asleep

5 - what difference does it make?

6 - Girl Afraid

7 - cemetary gates

8 - handsome devil

9 - how soon is now?

10 - stretch out and wait

I think I could actually do 20 pretty easily, but I'm a fanboy

Some of my favourite The Smiths lyrics (in no particular order):

-But then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask

- I could have been wild and I could have been free, but nature played this trick on me

- If you must go to work tomorrow, well if I were you I wouldn't bother, for there are brighter sides to life and I should know because I've seen them, but not often

- Amid concrete and clay, and general decay, nature must still find a way

- What she said " I smoke cause I'm hoping for an early death...and I need to cling to something"

- She said " I know you and you cannot sing", I said "that's nothing you should hear me play piano"

- And when you're dancing and laughing and finally living, hear my voice in your head and think of me kindly

 

[Odorous_One]

I've seen Morrissey in concert twice within the past 12 months or so. No hyperbole, he sings better now than he ever has in his professional career.

 

[Nickosaur]

No idea why, but since the weekend, all I've been able to listen to is The Smiths. I'm 23, and the first time I listened to them was when I was around 17/18. I liked a fair few of their tracks, but kinda wondered what all the fuss was about. Now, I'm utterly in love with them. Couldn't pick a favourite album, it's changed every day so far this week. Currently listening to The Queen Is Dead. Wish I'd had the chance to see them live.

 

[nemanja nemagic]

No idea why, but since the weekend, all I've been able to listen to is The Smiths. I'm 23, and the first time I listened to them was when I was around 17/18. I liked a fair few of their tracks, but kinda wondered what all the fuss was about. Now, I'm utterly in love with them. Couldn't pick a favourite album, it's changed every day so far this week. Currently listening to The Queen Is Dead. Wish I'd had the chance to see them live.

I'm 22 and they've been my favourite band for some distance for about 3 years now. One of the only acts I listen to which I would refuse to pick favourite tracks/albums for as it is simply impossible. Saw Johnny Marr at Glasto, his solo stuff is pretty meh but I was only there for the Smiths' covers he did. When either Morrissey or Marr perform the tracks separately it is tragic, as they really do lack something without the other. They won't ever (and I don't think they should) reform though, too much bad blood. The 2/3 minute outro on there is a light, with that guitar and a whole tent singing the chorus though...emotional.

One thing that really strikes me about the Smiths' fan demographic is the strong male following. You'll see the burliest meatheads crying after shaking Morrissey's hand, it really is mad.

 

[Pink Moon]

The rain falls hard on a humdrum town, this town has dragged you down. Brilliant. Comfortably my favourite band.

 

[Sally Cinnamon]

A sad fact widely known: the most impassionate song to a lonely soul is so easily outgrown

 

[DOTA]

I dislike their work more than any other art I have come across.

Largely irrationally, of course. It's the regard that others hold them in that is behind the excessive hate. This is because those that love them are generally people I have so much else in common with, musically and otherwise, and it's somewhat alienating to find their enjoyment of The Smiths so hard to understand.

I've just never 'got it', musically or lyrically.

To me, when people tell me they are their favourite band, it's like them saying Liam Miller is the best player that's ever kicked a football. Except I live in a world where many of the experts agree with them and Lionel Messi regularly expresses how influential Miller was on his playing style.

Anyway, do carry on. Apologies for inflicting such upon the thread. It's more of a rant about being unable to see the value of something that so many people expect you to, than it is about The Smiths, I suppose. Which, come to think of it, is probably an angst there's several Smiths songs about...

 

[Duffy]

Like The Smith a lot, more of a Stone Roses, Joy Division and James fan when it comes to Manchester bands but The Smiths are still excellent. Favourite lyric of theirs is easy -

There's a club if you'd like to go, you could meet somebody that really loves you. So you go and you stand on your own and you leave on your own and you go home and your cry and you want to die.

 

[arthurka]

A sad fact widely known: the most impassionate song to a lonely soul is so easily outgrown

Rubber Ring is fantastic..

Sweet and tender hooligan and You just haven´t earned it yet baby are my fav at the moment..
But I still get chills listening to I know it´s over and I´ve been listening to it and The Smiths for 25 years!! Holy shit 25 years...

I dislike their work more than any other art I have come across.

Largely irrationally, of course. It's the regard that others hold them in that is behind the excessive hate. This is because those that love them are generally people I have so much else in common with, musically and otherwise, and it's somewhat alienating to find their enjoyment of The Smiths so hard to understand.

I've just never 'got it', musically or lyrically.

To me, when people tell me they are their favourite band, it's like them saying Liam Miller is the best player that's ever kicked a football. Except I live in a world where many of the experts agree with them and Lionel Messi regularly expresses how influential Miller was on his playing style.

Anyway, do carry on. Apologies for inflicting such upon the thread. It's more of a rant about being unable to see the value of something that so many people expect you to, than it is about The Smiths, I suppose. Which, come to think of it, is probably an angst there's several Smiths songs about...

I understand you quite well, I hate Sting with all of my life without any logic or reason. Oh just the thought of him put me in a terrible mood! Feck off Sting!

 

[Liam147]

Gave The Queen Is Dead a proper listen through for the first time the other day. I Know It's Over is an unbelievable song. I've always found it hard to name a third-favourite Smiths song. Think that's got it nailed down.

"If you're so funny, then why are you on your own tonight?
And if you're so clever, then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very entertaining, then why are you on your own tonight?
If you're so very good looking, why do you sleep alone tonight?"

Absolutely brilliant.

 

[Dante]

Wibbs agreeing with himself 3 years later.

 

[Wibble]

What she asked of me at the end of the day. Caligula would have blushed

And now I know how Joan of Arc felt

I never found (or now find) The Smiths in any way depressing. I find them humorous in a rather dark and ironic way. Very Mancunian. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out isn't depressing at all - a great love song.

 

[Wibble]

Wibbs agreeing with himself 3 years later.

Bollocks, I was meaning to quote a post nect to that one. Although I do talk sense.

 

[Wibble]

Now I'll have to find it again - bugger

 

[Stobzilla]

Kitchen aromas aren't very homely.
It's not comforting, cheery or kind.

 

[The Mitcher]

I like them, but not as much as I used to.

 

[Crono]

I've just listened to a couple of their tunes in the first time for about a year. Jesus Christ.. what a fecking band they were.

Is Mozza's book any good?

 

[sullydnl]

I've just listened to a couple of their tunes in the first time for about a year. Jesus Christ.. what a fecking band they were.

Is Mozza's book any good?

It's entertaining, though he does get too bogged down in the court case. Could've done with being edited down a bit. Certainly worth reading if you're a fan though.

 

[gasmanc]

I read somewhere on this Internet thing that Morrisey started the Smiths simply to prove that he could make a band successful, something like that anyway. Can anyone shed any light on this as its intrigued me a while and some of the lyrics are rather jokey and seem to back up the claim a little.

 

[Wibble]

Most of the lyrics are jokey. That was part of what made them so great.

Morrisey may have said that he formed the Smiths for that reason (I don't know either way) but he says many things and mixes truth with fiction with piss take and irony so I wouldn't take that statement at face value.

 

[Wibble]

I've been listening to them again due to this thread and they are even better than I remember. What a great band.

 

[Buchan]

Unbelievable band. It may sound ridiculous to folk like us who adore them, but I think they are very underrated.

Marr was a genius with that guitar (he's rightly heralded as such, though, to be fair) and Morrisey wrote some very thought-provoking lyrics which are still relevant today.

What they had as a band doesn't come around very often.

 

[Still ill]

I've just listened to a couple of their tunes in the first time for about a year. Jesus Christ.. what a fecking band they were.

Is Mozza's book any good?

I'm a big Smiths fan and started it full of hope. The early part is majestic stuff, he writes like he talks, witty as feck. Loved the stuff about his early years in Manchester, going to gigs etc. The court case fecks it up though. Dreadful self-obsessed stuff, it's like he forgets he writing a book. I don't want to hear him assassinate Johnny and the others, and a the details sound petty and immature. Sure he clearly has a case but he forfits all sympathy. And I'm a fan.

He trys to get it back on track, some good passages, some sparkling humour but he'd lost me at that stage.

I'll still go see him whenever he's in Dublin, I still love the Smiths with a vengence but I sort of wish I had stayed away from it.

 

[sullydnl]

I'm a big Smiths fan and started it full of hope. The early part is majestic stuff, he writes like he talks, witty as feck. Loved the stuff about his early years in Manchester, going to gigs etc. The court case fecks it up though. Dreadful self-obsessed stuff, it's like he forgets he writing a book. I don't want to hear him assassinate Johnny and the others, and a the details sound petty and immature. Sure he clearly has a case but he forfits all sympathy. And I'm a fan.

He trys to get it back on track, some good passages, some sparkling humour but he'd lost me at that stage.

I'll still go see him whenever he's in Dublin, I still love the Smiths with a vengence but I sort of wish I had stayed away from it.

Pretty much. He's probably right to say he was screwed over by the court case but the way he goes through every detail of the judgement is irritating, he just comes across as bitter. Still think it's worth reading though, if only for the very witty insults. It did make me think that his writing style is best suited to song lyrics, where he's forced to be brief and concise. The book was too indulgent.

 

[Still ill]

Pretty much. He's probably right to say he was screwed over by the court case but the way he goes through every detail of the judgement is irritating, he just comes across as bitter. Still think it's worth reading though, if only for the very witty insults. It did make me think that his writing style is best suited to song lyrics, where he's forced to be brief and concise. The book was too indulgent.

Yeah, if it's a one word critique, indulgent is the word. Disappointing, as that's what most people probably expected of it. You would have liked to have been surprised. Poor old Moz..he doesn't sound like a man with much joy in his life.

 

[Wibble]

No idea why, but since the weekend, all I've been able to listen to is The Smiths. I'm 23, and the first time I listened to them was when I was around 17/18. I liked a fair few of their tracks, but kinda wondered what all the fuss was about. Now, I'm utterly in love with them. Couldn't pick a favourite album, it's changed every day so far this week. Currently listening to The Queen Is Dead. Wish I'd had the chance to see them live.

The Queen Is Dead is their best.

 

[SteveJ]

Considering Morrissey's passions, interests & public persona, the style and content of his autobiography seems completely (tediously?) inevitable. And I'm not convinced that some of his 'bitter hatreds' are genuinely that - they make him appear more interesting, and are a kind of tribute act to various writers he admires, authors who revelled in very public feuds.

 

[.Rossi]

Barberism begins at home is severely underrated. How it hasn't been mentioned in this thread is beyond any sane thought.

Mozza is a dick though. Cancelling a gig because he could smell a BBQ

 

[Liam147]

Barberism begins at home is severely underrated. How it hasn't been mentioned in this thread is beyond any sane thought.

Mozza is a dick though. Cancelling a gig because he could smell a BBQ

Mentioned twice!

Headmaster Ritual and Barbarism Begins At Home are certainly two of my favourites, but one and two are reserved for This Charming Man and What Difference Does It Make for me. Johnny Marr really is one of my favourite guitarists.

 

[.Rossi]

Mentioned twice!

Well...Should be mentioned more often...cnuts

 

[Liam147]

Well...Should be mentioned more often...cnuts

True, but I also think my top three (This Charming Man, WDDIM? and I Know It's Over) also deserve more mention. I get the impression that TCM particularly is more revered by non-Smiths fans. A bit like When The Sun Goes Down and Dancefloor with Arctic Monkeys.

 

[.Rossi]

True, but I also think my top three (This Charming Man, WDDIM? and I Know It's Over) also deserve more mention. I get the impression that TCM particularly is more revered by non-Smiths fans. A bit like When The Sun Goes Down and Dancefloor with Arctic Monkeys.

It's commercial really. It's also more appealing to casuals as it's actually kinda cheerful sounding

 

[The Mitcher]

True, but I also think my top three (This Charming Man, WDDIM? and I Know It's Over) also deserve more mention. I get the impression that TCM particularly is more revered by non-Smiths fans. A bit like When The Sun Goes Down and Dancefloor with Arctic Monkeys.

I have a theory that the Arctic Monkeys ripped off WDDIM, but I've forgotten the song. Its on their first album though, if there's any overrated album THAT is one of them.

 

[Liam147]

I have a theory that the Arctic Monkeys ripped off WDDIM, but I've forgotten the song. Its on their first album though, if there's any overrated album THAT is one of them.

I've listened to that album time and time again and I can't say I've ever picked it out. Closest I could guess would be this:

Lyrically WPSIA is fantastic. Or at least it is compared to everything else around at the time. Perfectly encapsulated their time as 19/20 year olds in a nightclub scene. Singing about stuff that pretty much everyone of that age has done/gone through. It's quite simple when you listen to it alongside someone like The Smiths, but they made catchy, well-written songs. As strange as this will sound, I have The Smiths down as the best band ever. Lyrically and musically magnificent. But AM are my favourite band. There's just too many of The Smiths' songs that don't do much for me to say that they're my favourite band, whereas I like 95% of AM's songs including b-sides. It's an impressive hit rate, but I'd say that The Smiths were 'better'.

 

[The Mitcher]

I've listened to that album time and time again and I can't say I've ever picked it out. Closest I could guess would be this:

Lyrically WPSIA is fantastic. Or at least it is compared to everything else around at the time. Perfectly encapsulated their time as 19/20 year olds in a nightclub scene. Singing about stuff that pretty much everyone of that age has done/gone through. It's quite simple when you listen to it alongside someone like The Smiths, but they made catchy, well-written songs. As strange as this will sound, I have The Smiths down as the best band ever. Lyrically and musically magnificent. But AM are my favourite band. There's just too many of The Smiths' songs that don't do much for me to say that they're my favourite band, whereas I like 95% of AM's songs including b-sides. It's an impressive hit rate, but I'd say that The Smiths were 'better'.

THIS IS IT! Not you probably couldn't see me.

I don't know how Johnny Marr didn't open a can of whoop ass!

 

[Liam147]

Just don't hear it.

 

[nemanja nemagic]

Considering Morrissey's passions, interests & public persona, the style and content of his autobiography seems completely (tediously?) inevitable. And I'm not convinced that some of his 'bitter hatreds' are genuinely that - they make him appear more interesting, and are a kind of tribute act to various writers he admires, authors who revelled in very public feuds.

Very good

 

[Kag]

We have a fecking Smiths thread?!?! Yes. Favourite band ever. I'm only 21 but I've listened to them regularly for what feels like a scary amount of time.

Has Reel Around the Fountain been given a mention yet? Such a weird yet brilliant song.

 

[Lynk]

Hatful of Hollow is album I usually visit most.

 

[Still ill]

Hatful of Hollow is album I usually visit most.

Me too. Not a bum note.