The Miracle of the Smiths

I always used to think there are male vocalists and there is Morrissey

I get proto-Morrissey vibes from Billy Fury:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_ogriURVk

Yeah he loves Billy Fury

starting in on Fletcher's "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"

I see Morrissey is due to appear on a documentary about cups of tea, interviewed by Victoria Wood.

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.

That'd explain how "Call me when you try to wake her up" fits into 4 beats..

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.

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?

Morrissey
9 April 2013

the new smiths book is fantastic, loving it so far

funny how the original 'outraged' interview quote is more OTM and less insane than his sober, considered quote!

tho tbh even most of that quote isn't really wrong, except for 'unseen in british history' and 'syria, china.'

the new smiths book is fantastic, loving it so far

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)

You guys are talking about A Light That Never Goes Out right? What about the book called Songs That Saved Your Life?

yes, the former. I dunno that latter.

Still gotta read my copy of that guy's All Hopped Up And Ready To Go.

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!

first gig was the same night as a WS Burroughs reading at the Hacienda etc

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.

OK, guess I gotta start reading before you guys post any more spoilers.

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

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)

complete 1985 Madrid show taped for spanish TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQXJ8isLCx4

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

Morrissey's Wolverhampton 88 show has leaked in glorious soundboard quality. Check it out on Morrissey-Solo.

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.

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.

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.

kind of astonishing how fast everything went for them once marr and morrissey partnered up.

yeah the speed of it is crazy

also realizing that the legendary "manchester scene" was soooo small really

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.

The writer comes across as a misogynist cretin.

Anyway, like any good adolescent boy, I wanted in her skinny jeans so damn bad.

'any'

pretty much every sentence of that article is horribly worded, it reads like a fake piece by that onion guy.

i have read much worse reviews, the guy dos not follow the cult of the smiths and tries to explain why. his arguments are not very convincing but still.

How the Guardian covered the Smiths in the early 80s

With a terrible review (in both senses) from Mary Harron and an interview that misspells Morrissey's name …

The interview is terrific. Morrisey a prick in a good way. I tried to read it imagining I had never heard The Smiths. What would the music this man makes be like? Something like Savages.

Just realised that the Mary Harron who wrote the "nurd" review is the director of American Psycho (and ex-girlfriend of Tony Blair)

and ex-girlfriend of Tony Blair

Uhhhhhhhh, what?!?!?!?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/when-tony-met-mary-met-chris-467061.html

wow, small world.

she also went out with Chris Huhne, an Oxford contemporary of Blair, who last week was tipped in the polls as the most likely contender to take over from Charles Kennedy as Liberal Democrat leader.

LOLz

just plowed through the fletcher bio in a couple of days - a really great read as stated above by others. i'm a little surprised at absolutely no mention of the byrds among marr's influences/interests.

I read the book last week and it has quite re-invigorated my love for the music, and watching YouTube videos of their early gigs at the Hacienda really helps underscore the notion that they seemed to emerge fully formed. Lyrically and musically, some of their earliest songs are still amongst their strongest and most affecting, imo. But reading of how they pretty much hit the ground running made me wonder if they don't dispel Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule (ie the amount of time required practicing something before you can master it). I mean, yeah, Marr played in other bands before the Smiths, and there's Morrissey's fevered letter-writing activities, but it doesn't seem to be the equivalent of, say, the Beatles slog through the Hamburg and Cavern years. I dunno.

If I've read The Severed Alliance, should I pick up this Fletcher Bio?

xp yeah The Smiths are the all time great example of where the Outliers theory doesn't work. Marr says they never even rehearsed.

according to the book they rehearsed plenty. also they specifically played small out-of-the-spotlight venues to hone the songs.

yeah, and there's that tape of them rehearsing!
http://www.slicingupeyeballs.com/2013/03/19/smiths-rehearsal-tape-may-1983/
[maybe he meant they didn't rehearse much]

they rehearsed mostly daily early on, and did so to get better between their first appearance and subsequent gigs.

Also Gladwell's theory is bullshit.

http://thischarmingcharlie.tumblr.com/

TRENDING: Peanuts strips w/Smiths-Moz lyrics. The Lucy ones are all great, but this one is perfection:

http://31.media.tumblr.com/f040e379045b0b13cce55fae6873d98d/tumblr_mr8zesWAZu1seji43o1_500.png

ha ha just posted that here

Morrissey's Smiths Lyrics: Are they 'in character', or from his own viewpoint?

so much to love!