I'd've agreed with it, once
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 17:06 (eleven years ago) link
maybe Bono, wrt Ian Mac
― Mark G, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 18:28 (eleven years ago) link
I don't really get what people think they'd see or experience that's more than the sum of Morrissey singing Smiths songs (as he's done over the past decade or more), plus Johnny Marr playing the songs in his sleep, looking up and smiling every few songs. Crowd cheers as if it's a moment. The whole live Smiths thing once relied on the nervous energy of those two secretly digging each other musically and stylistically, pleased to be friends...
Then again, I feel that way about all reunions. Pixies the worst example. I find the whole authenticity thing for audiences - *these* are the people in the flesh that once made this music - a bit depressing vis a vis people (young or old) that really want to be on stage together, making new music, liking each other, having fun, no heavy history hanging over it all...
― paulhw, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:42 (eleven years ago) link
Amen.
― Alba, Tuesday, 2 October 2012 23:59 (eleven years ago) link
Not happening, apparently.
Craig Gannon switches his mobile phone alert back to "silent"
― Elvis Telecom, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 00:08 (eleven years ago) link
Craig Cannon rues paying £10 top-up mobile phone credit.
― Don't Go Home With Your Hadron Collider (King Boy Pato), Wednesday, 3 October 2012 09:59 (eleven years ago) link
If anyone is actually interested, this is what Craig Gannon's up to nowadays.
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 10:06 (eleven years ago) link
http://oticons.com/roster/92-craig-gannon
― koogs, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 10:08 (eleven years ago) link
he was known as 'the 5th Smith'
Selling himself a bit short there!
Also, he looks like Luis Suarez.
― Ismael Klata, Wednesday, 3 October 2012 10:43 (eleven years ago) link
New Smiths demo tape unearthed and online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qb3Q5mTmk&feature=youtu.be
― the pinefox, Monday, 18 March 2013 19:23 (eleven years ago) link
i have had major smiths fever the last few weeks, brought upon by snagging nice copies of the S/T and Louder Than Bombs LPs. looking forward to going back through this thread and understanding the miracle a little better.
― ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (Z S), Monday, 18 March 2013 19:27 (eleven years ago) link
oh man, a vintage nabisco OTM within one post of the OP, this is great
(I should have said 'rehearsal tape', not demo, I think)
― the pinefox, Monday, 18 March 2013 19:29 (eleven years ago) link
did you post a link there, pinefox? i can't see it, maybe because i'm in germany where 90% of music on youtube is blocked?
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 18 March 2013 21:04 (eleven years ago) link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=39qb3Q5mTmk
― Eyeball Kicks, Monday, 18 March 2013 21:10 (eleven years ago) link
i have had major smiths fever the last few weeks, brought upon by snagging nice copies of the S/T and Louder Than Bombs LPs
this pretty much describes my week as well!
― sleeve, Monday, 18 March 2013 21:34 (eleven years ago) link
thanks, nice rehearsal tape which beams me back almost 30 years. i think i heard them first in 1986. this sounds pretty mellow compared to the hatful of hollow versions. in may 1983 i had just started my military service. does morrissey sing reel around the mountain there? that's a very nice version of it, lovely guitar.
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 18 March 2013 21:56 (eleven years ago) link
I think what made The Smiths so unique more than anything, was Morrissey's voice, how he had such a melodramatic way of singing and at times almost sounded like an opera singer which was pretty unusual in mid 80s Indie. That, and his unique style of lyric writing.
That said, Johnny Marr was a top guitarist. Maybe not the most original, as mentioned he wasn't the first to do that whole jangly style, but he still wrote some pretty damn memorable riffs, and some which are very intricate. There's a video somewhere of James Dean Bradfield from the Manics, a very skilled guitarist himself, attempting to play This Charming Man and getting frustrated over constantly fucking it up.
― Slash N Burn, Monday, 18 March 2013 22:42 (eleven years ago) link
at times almost sounded like an opera singer
lol, what operatic tradition is this?
― Heyman (crüt), Monday, 18 March 2013 22:44 (eleven years ago) link
<I>lol, what operatic tradition is this?</I>
When I first heard The Smiths at the age of thirteen the first thought that came to mind was that "this guy sounds like an opera singer." I dunno, maybe it's something that's stuck with me since.
That said, when I heard the singer's name was Morrissey I first thought that it was Neil Morrissey of Bob The Builder and Men Behaving Badly fame.
― Slash N Burn, Monday, 18 March 2013 22:49 (eleven years ago) link
on the rehearsal tape he is less of an opera singer, less histrionic than on the albums i find but he uses his falsetto a lot.
― it's the distortion, stupid! (alex in mainhattan), Monday, 18 March 2013 22:58 (eleven years ago) link
C'mon he's Rocky from Boon
― OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 01:18 (eleven years ago) link
has morrissey ever talked about the singers who influenced him? i can't think of a single male vocalist who really sounds much like him.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 01:29 (eleven years ago) link
I always used to think there are male vocalists and there is Morrissey
― OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 01:36 (eleven years ago) link
I get proto-Morrissey vibes from Billy Fury:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_ogriURVk
― Heyman (crüt), Tuesday, 19 March 2013 01:41 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah he loves Billy Fury
― OutdoorFish, Tuesday, 19 March 2013 01:44 (eleven years ago) link
starting in on Fletcher's "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"
― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 1 April 2013 17:37 (eleven years ago) link
I see Morrissey is due to appear on a documentary about cups of tea, interviewed by Victoria Wood.
― djh, Sunday, 7 April 2013 18:07 (eleven years ago) link
from a great post by dr. c 12 years ago:
By all accounts Morrissey's words would often appear in different places in the arrangement to where Marr had expected (verses became middle 8's, or Moz would sing across a transition...etc). This may account for the way that many Smiths songs don't have a normal structure or easily identifiable chorus, especially the earlier material. This lack of concern for (or lack of knowledge of..) conventional forms (on the part of Morrissey) helped a great deal to set them apart from the rest.
if i'm not mistaken this is very similar to how things worked, and/or didn't work, between michael stipe and peter buck.
― fact checking cuz, Sunday, 7 April 2013 19:43 (eleven years ago) link
That'd explain how "Call me when you try to wake her up" fits into 4 beats..
― Mark G, Tuesday, 9 April 2013 09:38 (eleven years ago) link
I must confess I was disappointed by his Thatcher quote. He must have spent half a life time preparing for that moment and it just wasn't as powerful as it needed to be.
― djh, Tuesday, 9 April 2013 20:46 (eleven years ago) link
The widely reported quote was apparently cobbled together by the press from a recent interview. Here is his actual statement (djh's point still stands):
The difficulty with giving a comment on Margaret Thatcher's death to the British tabloids is that, no matter how calmly and measuredly you speak, the comment must be reported as an "outburst" or an "explosive attack" if your view is not pro-establishment. If you reference "the Malvinas", it will be switched to "the Falklands", and your "Thatcher" will be softened to a "Maggie." This is generally how things are structured in a non-democratic society. Thatcher's name must be protected not because of all the wrong that she had done, but because the people around her allowed her to do it, and therefore any criticism of Thatcher throws a dangerously absurd light on the entire machinery of British politics. Thatcher was not a strong or formidable leader. She simply did not give a shit about people, and this coarseness has been neatly transformed into bravery by the British press who are attempting to re-write history in order to protect patriotism. As a result, any opposing view is stifled or ridiculed, whereas we must all endure the obligatory praise for Thatcher from David Cameron without any suggestion from the BBC that his praise just might be an outburst of pro-Thatcher extremism from someone whose praise might possibly protect his own current interests. The fact that Thatcher ignited the British public into street-riots, violent demonstrations and a social disorder previously unseen in British history is completely ignored by David Cameron in 2013. In truth, of course, no British politician has ever been more despised by the British people than Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher's funeral on Wednesday will be heavily policed for fear that the British tax-payer will want to finally express their view of Thatcher. They are certain to be tear-gassed out of sight by the police.
United Kingdom? Syria? China? What's the difference?
Morrissey9 April 2013
― Eyeball Kicks, Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:22 (eleven years ago) link
the new smiths book is fantastic, loving it so far
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:26 (eleven years ago) link
funny how the original 'outraged' interview quote is more OTM and less insane than his sober, considered quote!
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:28 (eleven years ago) link
tho tbh even most of that quote isn't really wrong, except for 'unseen in british history' and 'syria, china.'
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:29 (eleven years ago) link
yeah I'm digging it, it has made me notice all sorts of details in the songs that I had previously glossed over or never bothered to dissect (ie, anything referencing Manchester geography lol)
― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:37 (eleven years ago) link
You guys are talking about A Light That Never Goes Out right? What about the book called Songs That Saved Your Life?
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:53 (eleven years ago) link
yes, the former. I dunno that latter.
― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:57 (eleven years ago) link
Still gotta read my copy of that guy's All Hopped Up And Ready To Go.
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:59 (eleven years ago) link
yeah light that never goes out!
so many cool details in the early days, johnny marr liked tom petty and rory gallagher! the smiths 4th gig was opening for richard hell & the voidoids!
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 23:10 (eleven years ago) link
first gig was the same night as a WS Burroughs reading at the Hacienda etc
― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 23:12 (eleven years ago) link
songs that saved your life is the one that's modeled on ian macdonald's beatles book, right? would love to read something like that about the smiths.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 23:21 (eleven years ago) link
OK, guess I gotta start reading before you guys post any more spoilers.
― What About The Half That's Never Been POLLed (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 10 April 2013 00:28 (eleven years ago) link
tho tbh even most of that quote isn't really wrong, except for 'unseen in british history' and 'syria, china.'― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:29 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 9 April 2013 22:29 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Yes,
also:
Thatcher's name must be protected not because of all the wrong that she had done, but because the people around her allowed her to do it, and therefore any criticism of Thatcher throws a dangerously absurd light on the entire machinery of British politics.
is very otm indeed. And, of course, will remain unremarked upon. (in favour of the syria/etc quote, and somthing added on about animal welfare or some such)
― Mark G, Wednesday, 10 April 2013 09:33 (eleven years ago) link
complete 1985 Madrid show taped for spanish TV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXJ8isLCx4
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 12 April 2013 14:58 (eleven years ago) link
rockpalast show in germany, a bit more low end on the sound here vox a little low but not bad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iuNMObFnwk
― ums (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 12 April 2013 15:04 (eleven years ago) link
Morrissey's Wolverhampton 88 show has leaked in glorious soundboard quality. Check it out on Morrissey-Solo.
― brotherlovesdub, Friday, 12 April 2013 16:50 (eleven years ago) link
thanks for the heads up re the 88 gig; very interesting recording! band sound way tighter than i'd have thought for their first gig. well ONLY gig i suppose with that line up.
― piscesx, Saturday, 13 April 2013 04:12 (eleven years ago) link
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2013/why-i-still-hate-the-smiths-and-myself/ This is one of the worst pieces of music writing I have come across.
― "bath salts" should have been my username (Pat Finn), Saturday, 13 April 2013 05:44 (eleven years ago) link
got the light that never goes out book at the library -- really a great rock bio so far. i'm not even a smiths die-hard (i think they're awesome, don't get me wrong), but it's just packed with good stuff.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 24 April 2013 15:36 (eleven years ago) link