IF IT'S NOT LOVE THEN IT'S THE POLL THAT WILL BRING US TOGETHER - ILM Artist Poll #72 - THE SMITHS - RESULTS THREAD

But one them does feature "Girlfriend in a Coma".

in general, i cannot stand his falsetto. some songs are so good that they manage to distract from it, though

"Girlfriend in a Coma"

a fantastic single that would improve any album by its inclusion

Which, tellingly, has yet to place and still possibly may.

that off-pitch keening "I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVIIIIICE" blech

that is one of my favorite Smiths attributes

Yeah, I have a soft spot for Moz's falsetto shrieking and his yodeling. He kind of dropped them from his repertoire as time went on, and I missed them in a way.

after 7 years on ilx, i'm rarely surprised how much other posters' tastes differ from mine

I don't listen to the Smiths to hear someone sing on pitch. It was always fun playing the first album at my old record store - people always looked horrified when it got to that part of "Miserable Lie."

The nicest thing I can say about "Girlfriend in a Coma" is it makes "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" sound genius in comparison.

Thing is, I can't even pretend to be as dismissive of the late stuff as a whole bunch of you are about selected earlier songs. The magnitude of the disdain is truly unexpected.

what, did you not see the noms thread

http://i.imgur.com/GTqjr02.jpg

31. LONDON (B-side of 'Shoplifters Of The World Unite' 12")
450 points | 22 votes

I don't listen to the Smiths to hear someone sing on pitch

me neither, but i also don't listen to them in order to hear someone sing off-pitch, so i avoid Miserable Lie. i hear the "i need advice" part as by far the worst thing they ever did, and sometimes use it as shorthand for "this is awful"

the rest of the song is actually pretty sweet though

too low

absolutely nuts guitar on this

if we're talking about Smiths we dislike, I always thought that The Boy With The Thorn In His Side was one of the worst things they ever did and that the Bis cover is much better, I know this sounds like challops but I don't care

Is that the last one for today?

that off-pitch keening "I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVICE I NEED ADVIIIIICE" blech

Wah! That bit's brilliant!

"London" has become a firm favourite of mine over time. "Train, heave on to Euston." I've been on such a train, leaving the past behind, or attempting to, at various points in my life.

range of opinions here rivals XTC fandom

Yes that's it for tonight. Sleep well.

Good. I'm tired and I... I want to go to bed.

Oh God, "Miserable Lie" is so embarrassing.

"London" is a latter-day Smiths song I like a lot. Top 10 for me. Love the live version on Rank.

Catching up here... 'London' is great although I didn't vote for it - love the instrumental coda. Not a fan of 'Sweet and Tender Hooligan' at all, the lyrics are a bit Daily Mail and it's not a great tune. 'Well I Wonder' was #3 or 4 on my ballot, when I got around to hearing Meat Is Murder that was the real standout, just a beautiful song.

"London" is totally minor Smiths for me.

Backtracking a bit, "Well I Wonder" is so great. It's maybe the most melodramatic of the great Smiths tearjerkers--even all the soil-falling-over-my-head talk in "I Know It's Over" can't top "gasping, dying, but somehow still alive / this is the fierce last stand of all I am". But somehow following a line like that with a meek, modest "please keep me in mind" makes it work. And as cheap a trick as it is, I love when the rainfall comes in for the outro.

3. I was the other #1 vote for "These Things Take Time." "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" is better than this song?!?! I fucking think not.

― lingereffect (Kent Burt), Friday, March 4, 2016 2:54 PM

lol i thought the exact same thing

Really thought (or hoped) "Paint a Vulgar Picture" would be one of those surprise songs that vaulted into the top ten. There was a bit of enthusiasm for it in the noms thread. Was my #2, it's a remarkable song.

Both London and Handsome Devil are way too low

I wish there were 15 songs that sounded like "London."

OH SHIT... just realized due to clerical error "that joke isn't funny anymore" is not on the ballot I sent in. counting on y'all to bring it in top 10...

Hooligan nearly ruined for me by Moz singing "ex cetera" instead of "et". But not enough to keep it off my ballot.

"London" is totally minor Smiths for me.

Word. It may even be the only track that I can't immediately bring to mind without an auditory cue. The lyrics are quite good though. I feel like I've said that in relation to other tracks already. In general, Morrissey's lyrics probably didn't match the gentle decline in interestingness/consistency that Marr's tunes/production choices displayed. (Maybe. I should really subject this theory to more rigorous testing before typing it on the interwebs...)

Collaborative Spotify playlist here https://open.spotify.com/user/jona-uh/playlist/48hb3M4vKm8Ts2V23jOrAF

Reading the Goddard book and apparently Well I Wonder is the only song from their first three studio albums that they never played live.

Oh yeah I bought the Goddard book the other day, still haven't started reading it yet...

without that nimble baseline that runs throughout the whole track... and to think they fired the guy at one point!

can't believe they'd fire the nimble bassplayer for later being incapable of playing bass!

also thanks to whoever mentioned that live version of Giant, because dancing Johnny is adorable there

a friend had a beat up old VW Rabbit with blown-out speakers that played pure treble with Meat Is Murder stuck in the tape deck & as a result I think "Rusholme Ruffians" is the essence of the Smiths. I didn't vote for it.

Hooligan nearly ruined for me by Moz singing "ex cetera" instead of "et".

If it's mocking the person lazily dropping that line it could be in keeping with that. He's laughing at this bathetic half-assed gesture at profundity. Something like that.

^ way to kill a joke, Noel.

I do get the impression he read that as a quote and found it almost literally hysterical.

I finished the Goddard book yesterday. This is an excellent time to read it! It really is well done and researched, highly recommended. "A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths" by Tony Fletcher might be a better narrative read (I haven't read it yet), but this is perfect to read along with the poll -- either front to back or read the entry for each song as it comes up in the poll.

That sounds like a cue to start today's rundown.

http://i.imgur.com/RyYL6lw.jpg

30. ASLEEP (B-side of 'The Boy with the Thorn in His Side')
488 points | 23 votes

I'm going to go down to no. 16 today and finish it off tomorrow.

too low!

This was the last song I cut off my list. Happy to see it place.

Kicking myself for leaving "London" off. Should've been in my top 10.

I suspect the cries of "TOO LOW" are going to increase a fuckload from this point on.

http://i.imgur.com/YHYL8P3.jpg

29. GIRLFRIEND IN A COMA (Single A-side | Album track from Strangeways, Here We Come)
496 points | 25 votes