I really prefer the cassette version of the album cover with the single image
http://eil.com/images/main/The+Smiths+Meat+Is+Murder+345583.jpg
― soref, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 21:46 (eight years ago) link
I never play Meat Is Murder as a complete album but I like most, if not all, of it as individual songs
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 21:48 (eight years ago) link
It's probably Rourke's best album in terms of his bass playing: 'Barbarism Begins At Home' has, of course, already been mentioned, but also 'Rusholme Ruffians' wouldn't be anywhere near the song it is without that nimble baseline that runs throughout the whole track... and to think they fired the guy at one point!
― // L E V E L 4 2 // LOVE (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 21:52 (eight years ago) link
As you listened to the catalog for this project, did any new favorite songs emerge? Did any particular album surprise you in any way?Since I've worked in the United States, in the last six or seven years, I've picked up on the fact that Meat is Murder was the record that was the introduction to the Smiths for a lot of people. Living in Portland meant that I would meet people who heard that record first. I know now that that record is more important to a lot of people than I realized. So I guess I kind of listened to it differently because a lot of my friends know that record best. I always have really liked "The Headmaster Ritual" off that record, and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore."
Since I've worked in the United States, in the last six or seven years, I've picked up on the fact that Meat is Murder was the record that was the introduction to the Smiths for a lot of people. Living in Portland meant that I would meet people who heard that record first. I know now that that record is more important to a lot of people than I realized. So I guess I kind of listened to it differently because a lot of my friends know that record best. I always have really liked "The Headmaster Ritual" off that record, and "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore."
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 21:54 (eight years ago) link
I'll be very disappointed if 'That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore' isn't up there in at least the Top 15. That one has never lost its potency for me.
― // L E V E L 4 2 // LOVE (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 21:59 (eight years ago) link
I still think Rourke was pretty great from the very first single onwards, but yeah, plenty of memorable bass on MIM. I actually get a bit impatient with the final 1/3 or so of MIM, and tend to underrate it when I'm not listening to it. But I think voted for at least 5 of 9 tracks.
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:02 (eight years ago) link
Nate seriously dragging out this painfully obvious #1 result here :P
― // L E V E L 4 2 // LOVE (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:32 (eight years ago) link
The Smiths s/t was my #1 pick. This might sound daft, but, for me, the very muddiness of the sound actually felt like an integral part of the band's whole aesthetic. I always remember my first experience of it - sat on a draughty train station platform, waiting for a delayed train home, and this gloomily pretty music bathed in murk coming out of my cassette Walkman speakers. It fit. Like watching an unremastered early '60s kitchen-sink drama on the telly; all grubby greys and thin sound. The CD-era sleekness of Strangeways, and the stadium-filling drums of TQiD, never appealed to me as much. It wasn't quite the Smiths I fell in love with.
― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:37 (eight years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/iVtbK8t.jpg
1. THE QUEEN IS DEAD (studio album, 1986)1821 points | 51 votes | 16 first place votes
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:38 (eight years ago) link
Meat is Murder is my favorite in terms of production, too. Gleaming, saphirric sound...
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:41 (eight years ago) link
queen has never been my favorite smiths record bc of its wacky sequencing and at least three songs i have no use for
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:43 (eight years ago) link
53 album ballots and 51 votes for TQiD - so who was the other person who didn't put it in their top 5?
― soref, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:43 (eight years ago) link
Non shocker #1 but still great album. MIM was mine with TQID second.
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:44 (eight years ago) link
It always surprises me that MIM appears to be their worst album in terms of critical reception. Guess the title track (which I really like) irritates a lot of people.
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:46 (eight years ago) link
QiD was pushed out of my ballot to make room for RANK - which I have a nostalgic soft-spot for that won't budge.
― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:47 (eight years ago) link
Struggling to comprehend how someone can pick a top 5 from a band that only has four studio albums, one of which is TQID, and not include that in their ballot.
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 22:58 (eight years ago) link
there's always the strategic vote
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:01 (eight years ago) link
Totally dig DavidM's description the debut. While I had Hatful at #1, there's not much in it. 1983-84 Smiths will likely always be the very best Smiths in my mind. (Even though I barely heard them until about the time they broke up!)
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:02 (eight years ago) link
i have to say, though, coming at the smiths catalog years after it all happened, i don't really see TQID as a slam dunk #1 (although it was #1 on my ballot). i can see reasonable arguments for all four. and if someone happened to like the other three a little better, and also wanted to throw in a vote for a live album or hatful or one of the other collections, i could see that too
― Karl Malone, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:03 (eight years ago) link
Yeah I agree about the sound of the first album - it fits the mood of the songs perfectly, it sounds like what I imagine rainy Manchester in the early '80s to feel like (xpost).
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:05 (eight years ago) link
Can we get the results without compilations? Compilations are not albums.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:06 (eight years ago) link
Yes they are. They cohere and play as units.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:09 (eight years ago) link
I feel like I short-changed the debut on my tracks ballot. The voting window was a rough time for me, and the listening time I allocated to it was stuck being a few days prior to revisiting the rest of the catalogue en masse (I've got the 'Complete' box and The Sound of... at hand)., so stuff was forgotten.
― Now I Know How Joan of Arcadia Felt (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:10 (eight years ago) link
It was impossible for me to hear Louder Than Bombs -- impossible now knowing all I know -- as anything except a unit.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:10 (eight years ago) link
There's only one comp in the list, isn't there? Just pretend it isn't there it it offends thee.
― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:13 (eight years ago) link
Ah, my mistake. I mistook the image of Louder Than Bombs and the entry for Louder than Bombs to be 2 different compilation entries. Still, you wouldn't call a Single and Album would you? Here are the actual album results, though it does appear that i'm the only person who cares, so i'll just let it go after this post.
4. Strangeways3. The Smiths2. Meat Is Murder1. The Queen Is Dead
Favorite Compilation: Louder Than Bombs
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:20 (eight years ago) link
STUDIO ALBUMS
1. THE QUEEN IS DEAD (studio album, 1986) 1821 points | 51 votes | 16 first place votes2. MEAT IS MURDER (studio album, 1985) 1485 points | 45 votes | 8 first place votes3. THE SMITHS (studio album, 1984) 1228 points | 39 votes | 4 first place votes4. STRANGEWAYS, HERE WE COME (studio album, 1987) 1109 points | 35 votes | 4 first place votes
COMPS
1. LOUDER THAN BOMBS (compilation album, 1987) 1398 points | 40 votes | 11 first place votes2. HATFUL OF HOLLOW (compilation album, 1984) 1009 points | 29 votes | 9 first place votes3. THE WORLD WON'T LISTEN (compilation album, 1987) 201 points | 6 votes | 0 first place votes4. SINGLES (compilation album, 1995) 104 points | 3 votes | 1 first place votes5. THE SOUND OF THE SMITHS (compilation album, 2008) 33 points | 1 votes | 0 first place votes6. ...BEST II (compilation album, 1992) 28 points | 1 votes | 0 first place votes
ALL ALBUMS
1. THE QUEEN IS DEAD (studio album, 1986) 1821 points | 51 votes | 16 first place votes2. MEAT IS MURDER (studio album, 1985) 1485 points | 45 votes | 8 first place votes3. LOUDER THAN BOMBS (compilation album, 1987) 1398 points | 40 votes | 11 first place votes4. THE SMITHS (studio album, 1984) 1228 points | 39 votes | 4 first place votes5. STRANGEWAYS, HERE WE COME (studio album, 1987) 1109 points | 35 votes | 4 first place votes6. HATFUL OF HOLLOW (compilation album, 1984) 1009 points | 29 votes | 9 first place votes7. THE WORLD WON'T LISTEN (compilation album, 1987) 201 points | 6 votes | 0 first place votes8. RANK (live album, 1988) 174 points | 6 votes | 0 first place votes9. SINGLES (compilation album, 1995) 104 points | 3 votes | 1 first place votes10. THE SOUND OF THE SMITHS (compilation album, 2008) 33 points | 1 votes | 0 first place votes11. ...BEST II (compilation album, 1992) 28 points | 1 votes | 0 first place votes
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:22 (eight years ago) link
Having an issue with comps placing seems a bit weird in the case of a band like The Smiths where a bunch of most essential material where non-lp singles and BBC sessions that make up most of their tracklistings.
― Now I Know How Joan of Arcadia Felt (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:24 (eight years ago) link
...and by "their" I mean Hatful and the two '87 sets.
― Now I Know How Joan of Arcadia Felt (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:25 (eight years ago) link
So, what's the planned schedule?
― simmel, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:26 (eight years ago) link
I was the lone voter for Best II - I'd already heard most of the first volume (my brother had it) but getting that one out of the local library in 1995 was what really got me into the band. I don't own a copy anymore but I put it as a sentimental #5. Also nine of its 14 songs are on my ballot.
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:40 (eight years ago) link
(xxpost) Somewhat related: when I moderated at a user-built music database site there were constant arguments about whether Hatful should even be classed as a 'compilation', given that a slight majority (IIRC) of the tracks (the BBC ones) hadn't even had a previous commercial release. :)
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:40 (eight years ago) link
Hatful feels distinct from the other compilations in that all the songs are from the same period and none appear (in the same form) on any other album.
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 23:42 (eight years ago) link
surprised Hatful of Hollow didn't do better, I thought it was more loved than that. The only reason it wasn't my #1 is some of the live versions being inferior, but it's probably their best collection of songs (and best sequenced) though not their best collection of recordings.
― ufo, Thursday, 3 March 2016 00:05 (eight years ago) link
astonished this got 80 ballots and beat Steely Dan's 77 ballots.
i didn't even get a chance to vote despite listening to the Smiths catalog, real life got in the way.
― Bee OK, Thursday, 3 March 2016 02:39 (eight years ago) link
BTW, nate here is the link to the Moderator Request Forum, they can help you with your mistakes: http://www.ilxor.com/ILX/NewAnswersControllerServlet?boardid=56
― Bee OK, Thursday, 3 March 2016 02:41 (eight years ago) link
There's footage of them playing it at a gig in Germany on Youtube and when the track breaks down to just the bass and drums, Marr takes off his guitar and begins to shimmy around onstage, dancing with Moz.at 26:07https://youtu.be/2Y7YnL9SPjs― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, March 2, 2016 7:50 PM
at 26:07https://youtu.be/2Y7YnL9SPjs
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, March 2, 2016 7:50 PM
― groovypanda, Thursday, 3 March 2016 10:03 (eight years ago) link
There's footage of them playing it at a gig in Germany on Youtube and when the track breaks down to just the bass and drums, Marr takes off his guitar and begins to shimmy around onstage, dancing with Moz.
yeah, love that video. and the song. I wish there were more funky smiths tracks !
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 3 March 2016 11:16 (eight years ago) link
Most regrettable white man dancing I've seen in weeks
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 3 March 2016 11:38 (eight years ago) link
Interesting! I never thought to look up actual audio before now. (But probably old news for many.) Surviving demo from Marr/Rourke's pre-Smiths funk-oriented outfit:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s-vZtJ3SV8
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Thursday, 3 March 2016 11:42 (eight years ago) link
The Dorks ! I'm even surprised Moz accepted to sing on a funky music, really...
― AlXTC from Paris, Thursday, 3 March 2016 12:01 (eight years ago) link
Top 50 starting soon..
― nate woolls, Thursday, 3 March 2016 12:59 (eight years ago) link
Big big thanks to Johnny Fever for providing the graphics for the rundown. He's done a brilliant job, far better than I could've done - pivot tables and vlookups I'm good with, graphics and designs not so much.
― nate woolls, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:03 (eight years ago) link
Kicking off the top 50 rundown with a cheery little number..
― nate woolls, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:05 (eight years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/RFKA77Q.jpg
50. SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN (B-side of 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' | Album track from The Smiths)258 points | 13 votes
suffer adult listeners
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:08 (eight years ago) link
I kind of had the way that I hear this song upended earlier this week when I read a something that quotes this part:
But we will be, we will be, we will be, right by your sideUntil the day you dieThis is no easy rideWe will haunt you when you laughYes, you could say we're a teamYou might sleepYou might sleepYou might sleepBUT YOU WILL NEVER DREAM !
and the writer seemed to think that the 'you' here refers to Brady and Hindley, but ever since I first heard the song I always assumed that the 'you' was the parents of the missing children, that it was a reference back to the 'A woman said : "I know my son is dead' line, and it never occurred to me that it could read a different way. I'd be interested to know how other people had heard it
― soref, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:22 (eight years ago) link
always assumed brady/hindley
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:25 (eight years ago) link
i like this song but it is in about the right place imo. but then on going through i realized there are only maybe 10 songs in the catalogue i would say i don't like.
― Roberto Spiralli, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:27 (eight years ago) link
I'm starting to think I'm wrong and that Brady/Hindley is the 'correct' reading, but I always took it to be about this immeasurable grief of a bereaved parent rather than the murderers being plagued by guilt
― soref, Thursday, 3 March 2016 13:39 (eight years ago) link