one time an old band i was in did a bunch of smiths covers for a cover band contest.
was really interesting learning their material....gave us such an appreciation for them as musicians...marr's parts are incredibly odd and difficult to learn, such a personal style of playing guitar (and frankly or guitarist had to just get it "close" esp on the more picky stuff)...
another thing that really sticks out when you sit down and learn the parts is how amazing rourke and joyce are as a rhythm section....rourke's bass lines are so melodic and invenetive, even if he's not really "showy" in a classic musicianly way....
another weird thing, is that sometimes the parts weren't the "right" number of measures...like in general in rock it will be okay well four bars of this, then sixteen bars of that, then eight bars of the chorus, etc etc...def EVEN numbers
sometimes with the smiths it would be well four bars, then eight, then FIVE, then twelve or something...it was usually apparent that they were conforming the songwriting to whatever lyrics morrissey had and not vice versa...
― underrated joe perry project albums i have sold (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 1 November 2010 16:25 (thirteen years ago) link
My favourite memory was Andy Rourke's remark on Marr singing a melody line along with Morrissey during a session, saying they sounded like Peters and Lee.
(check the harmonies on Electronic's "Get the message")
― Mark G, Monday, 1 November 2010 16:32 (thirteen years ago) link
ah, this stuff sounds great thus far ... deep smiths immersion begins NOW.
― tylerw, Monday, 1 November 2010 16:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Why I am still so geeked to hear this? I should have grown out of this by now.
― romoing my damn eyes (Nicole), Monday, 1 November 2010 16:51 (thirteen years ago) link
drums sound way bigger on this reel around the fountain.
― underrated joe perry project albums i have sold (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, 1 November 2010 17:06 (thirteen years ago) link
what was Brixton Ace i wonder? never heard of it before.
I think it's the Fridge now.
― a fucking stove just fell on my foot. (Colonel Poo), Monday, 1 November 2010 17:11 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, all those troy tate mixes are pretty sweet.
― tylerw, Monday, 1 November 2010 17:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Cannot wait to get home tonight to dl these! Figures that the week I quit obsessively checking the blog every day it would finally launch.
― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Monday, 1 November 2010 18:11 (thirteen years ago) link
never heard the Tate bootleg sound so good as on Accept Yourself here.
― piscesx, Monday, 1 November 2010 18:37 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i actually compared my copy of the tate sessions to the tracks they've posted and it's a huge improvement.
― tylerw, Monday, 1 November 2010 18:39 (thirteen years ago) link
Figures that the week I quit obsessively checking the blog every day it would finally launch.
In 2010 people aren't using RSS feeds?
Google Reader please.
― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB), Tuesday, 2 November 2010 00:24 (thirteen years ago) link
this is from an eno interview i read yesterday...don't know if it had been suggested prior or whether 'pop in 85' really did mean 'them, the smiths', automatically
...What do you think of modern pop music?I rather like them, The Smiths. I think they're a good band. I think Morrissey is an extraordinarily arrogant person, especially considering that he's probably the most successful tone-deaf singer the world has ever knows. But that being said, I like his singing quite a lot, and I like their records. I could live without some of his studied miserableness, I suppose.But I don't listen to records much.
I rather like them, The Smiths. I think they're a good band. I think Morrissey is an extraordinarily arrogant person, especially considering that he's probably the most successful tone-deaf singer the world has ever knows. But that being said, I like his singing quite a lot, and I like their records. I could live without some of his studied miserableness, I suppose.
But I don't listen to records much.
― Terminal Boredoms (nakhchivan), Tuesday, 2 November 2010 00:31 (thirteen years ago) link
These all sound so much better than the Tate sessions I already had...they're almost unbelievably good.
― romoing my damn eyes (Nicole), Tuesday, 2 November 2010 02:23 (thirteen years ago) link
The most thorough examination of all the various different Tate sessions/ demos i've come across is here. I'm glad somebody went to the trouble of working all this out.http://tinyurl.com/322arwp
― piscesx, Tuesday, 2 November 2010 04:13 (thirteen years ago) link
This isn't being updated fast enough! ;)
― Can you keep up? (Cheetah), Tuesday, 2 November 2010 23:29 (thirteen years ago) link
I agree. I thought the concern was with it being taken down quickly. Bizarre to post two in a row then nothing for going on 2 days.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 00:30 (thirteen years ago) link
really enjoying the first two singles. finally had a chance to listen to them both in full. hope they end up releasing all of the Troy Tate sessions with this fantastic mastering. Sounds great.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 03:37 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh my, two days, lawdy.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 09:24 (thirteen years ago) link
The gap between my general indifference towards the Smiths and my love for "Panic" is huge. I actually find "Panic" weirdly moving. Not for any specific sentiment expressed. It's more like being moved by somebody making a perfect, once-in-a-lifetime statement in a two-minute song.
― clemenza, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 13:45 (thirteen years ago) link
panic is music that says something about me and my life. i don't know what though.
― alex in mainhattan, Wednesday, 3 November 2010 17:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Haha, I do use this, but for some reason I've had trouble with blogs I've added in the last 6 months not updating. Think I've fixed it now though.
― "I am a fairly respected poster." (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 3 November 2010 17:10 (thirteen years ago) link
.. throw me a frickin bone here
― piscesx, Saturday, 6 November 2010 03:45 (thirteen years ago) link
was hoping for an update this weekend. not all the interesting in This Charming Man but they may have something interesting. Really interested in Barbarism.
― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 6 November 2010 04:00 (thirteen years ago) link
It'll be Charming, plus all the remixes...
(there's been a few unreleased ones)
― Mark G, Saturday, 6 November 2010 16:37 (thirteen years ago) link
well in the meantime.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9588NWjagT8&feature=related
― piscesx, Tuesday, 30 November 2010 06:06 (thirteen years ago) link
morrissey is the str8est looking dude in that freezeframe
― i'm assuming that it's tity boi, host of the mixtape (sic), Tuesday, 30 November 2010 06:35 (thirteen years ago) link
A miracle!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sitAQkQFCBU
― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 8 December 2010 17:40 (thirteen years ago) link
british parliament looks like an amazing thing
― steendriver DUMB BIG, his HOOS got HOOS (dayo), Wednesday, 8 December 2010 23:47 (thirteen years ago) link
OTM
― EveningStar (Sund4r), Thursday, 9 December 2010 00:43 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2010/dec/15/smiths-queen-is-dead
― piscesx, Wednesday, 15 December 2010 14:11 (thirteen years ago) link
just turned up on emusic. was their full discography on itunes before? in any event, it appears to be now. if it's new on itunes, also, that's -- to me -- 100X more significant than the beatles arriving on itunes.
― Daniel, Esq., Friday, 17 December 2010 22:09 (thirteen years ago) link
http://smithsrecycle.blogspot.com/
Update of sorts.
― piscesx, Monday, 20 December 2010 16:55 (thirteen years ago) link
That thing that that update is about is a real revelation.
― Badmotorfinger Debate Club (MFB), Tuesday, 21 December 2010 13:15 (thirteen years ago) link
about this Smiths Recycle site: I've downloaded the first two sets of songs. Nice to have one or two things I didn't have digitally - a Troy Tate track, 'hand in glove' live. But not sure I yet get the point of it as a whole. The main 'hand in glove' for instance seems the same as the one on Louder Than Bombs.
can anyone enlighten?
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 10:26 (thirteen years ago) link
It's supposed to be "Superiorly mastered" versions of the singles' main tracks, from best sources. Plus bonus tracks as apposite.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 10:30 (thirteen years ago) link
wow, that new update.. never thought we'd ever get to hear Heavy Track and the early run through of There Is A Light.. and suchlike. been waiting for these to leak since i first read Simon Goddard's book in 2002.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:25 (thirteen years ago) link
Well, that's a matter of opinion.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:35 (thirteen years ago) link
pretty sure it's a statement.
― Stay J0rdan Fresh (sic), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:47 (thirteen years ago) link
...easily the most mind-blowing was the discovery of a never-before-mentioned Morrissey/Marr song from 1982 called A Matter Of Opinion."Musically, it's very much in the same R 'n' B vein as What Difference Does It Make? while the lyrics are typical Morrissey and quite cynical."It's not yet known whether the track will be released.---Update: 05/25 00:48 GMT: An anonymous person adds details from the print NME:...while the lyrics are typical Morrissey and quite cynical. The opening line is - "Sit by the fire with your books and pretend that you're active"But they never played it live and there's just the one copy on a rehearsal tape. It's been kept quiet for nearly 20 years so from a fan's perspective this is sensational news."...Simon Goddard's The Smiths - Songs That Saved Your Life will be published in November by Reynolds & Hearn---
"Musically, it's very much in the same R 'n' B vein as What Difference Does It Make? while the lyrics are typical Morrissey and quite cynical."
It's not yet known whether the track will be released.---Update: 05/25 00:48 GMT: An anonymous person adds details from the print NME:...while the lyrics are typical Morrissey and quite cynical. The opening line is - "Sit by the fire with your books and pretend that you're active"
But they never played it live and there's just the one copy on a rehearsal tape. It's been kept quiet for nearly 20 years so from a fan's perspective this is sensational news."
...Simon Goddard's The Smiths - Songs That Saved Your Life will be published in November by Reynolds & Hearn---
― Mark G, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 13:49 (thirteen years ago) link
i dunno what's more baffling; these unreleased tracks not leaking years back or Marr and Mozza not putting a proper box set out sooner that had them all on. either way it's amazing to have them out at last.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:06 (thirteen years ago) link
Selling the music to a major label that's unbothered about legacy editions until US Rock radio do a legacy retrospective, can do that.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:08 (thirteen years ago) link
i dunno what's more baffling; these unreleased tracks not leaking years back or Marr and Mozza not putting a proper box set out sooner that had them all on.either way it's amazing to have them out at last.
I agree.
― THX THO... (Nicole), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:41 (thirteen years ago) link
i'm ecstatic with this version of the queen is dead, which i always wanted to be longer than it is.
can anyone explain me
"and so i broke into the palacewith a sponge and a rusty spanner"
why those two things?
― jed_, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:41 (thirteen years ago) link
spanner: clobber her over the head, sponge: to wipe up after. also because spanner reminds with 'piana'.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:48 (thirteen years ago) link
of course!
i was in London a few months back and i saw Morrissey on Brompton Road. my head was swimming with shock for about five minutes afterwards.
― jed_, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:49 (thirteen years ago) link
*rhymes with.
heck this new Smiths bootleg excitement has played havoc with my spelling.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:50 (thirteen years ago) link
does anyone need/want to hear the francois kervorkian remixes of "this charming man"? i have them here. vocal and dub.
― jed_, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 14:52 (thirteen years ago) link
"i broke into the palace with a sponge and a rusty spanner" is a reference to Michael Fagan whose encounter with the Queen was notable for its mundane elements.
― fit and working again, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 17:23 (thirteen years ago) link
From the sources i've read Sony are totally into getting the rare stuff out there, its Morrissey/Marr who can't get their acts together.
― reallysmoothmusic (Jamie_ATP), Wednesday, 22 December 2010 17:26 (thirteen years ago) link
I wrote to Johnny Rogan in 1992 and asked him about that verse.
He replied, in a fairly long handwritten letter, that the sponge and spanner were, he supposed, emblems of the proletariat.
― the pinefox, Wednesday, 22 December 2010 19:51 (thirteen years ago) link