thats a good start
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 16:44 (eight years ago) link
getting the mistakes out the way early, good planning tbh
― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 16:47 (eight years ago) link
also...11 albums voted for a band with this little output is p hilarious
― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 16:48 (eight years ago) link
Can a mod fix that link?
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 16:50 (eight years ago) link
80 ballots that's a lot! should be great this.
― piscesx, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:05 (eight years ago) link
80 ballots is crazy. is that the highest ever?
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:08 (eight years ago) link
my dad used to play Strangeways a lot when I was a very young child and I used to love the "UUUUURRRRRRRGGGHHHHHRRRush and a push and the land" bit from the opening track, but I had no idea who they were, then I decided to check out the Smiths as a teenager after reading about them and was delighted to realise that they were the same band
― soref, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:20 (eight years ago) link
the "ET CETERA ET CETERA ET CETERA ET CETERA" refrain from 'Sweet and Tender Hooligan' is the other part of their oeuvre that I remember really appealing to me as a small child
― soref, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:23 (eight years ago) link
The Smiths released 4 albums.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:29 (eight years ago) link
bowie got 80 ballots too.
― new noise, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:31 (eight years ago) link
I voted for them in reverse chronological order. I pull out Sound of the Smiths 2CD now if I want a compilation, but my copy of Louder Than Bombs has been played more than any other Smiths release.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:32 (eight years ago) link
i wonder if some version of the Erica Garner ad ran throughout the South, for starters (i imagine it must've?)
― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:39 (eight years ago) link
oops, sorry
"London" would've been high on my tracks ballot
QiD #1 album i think
― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 17:40 (eight years ago) link
4. THE SMITHS (studio album, 1984)1228 points | 39 votes | 4 first place votes
http://i.imgur.com/KRsdwCP.jpg
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:00 (eight years ago) link
^^ best album
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:00 (eight years ago) link
This is going really well.
THE SMITHS is #4, not LOUDER THAN BOMBS
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:02 (eight years ago) link
^^^ worst album
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:04 (eight years ago) link
I don't want to derail on what's an album and what's a compilation, but c'mon people, this is a compilation, not an album.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:07 (eight years ago) link
I kind of like its wiry, bristling quality, but all its songs (except "This Charming Man") are better served by the Hatful versions.
― one way street, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:09 (eight years ago) link
At one point The Smiths was my favourite album of theirs but I've cooled on it a lot in the last few years. I find his vocals on Miserable Lie a little grating, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle doesn't really go anywhere and What Difference Does It Makes is one of the few of their bigger hits that I don't really need to hear again (along with How Soon Is Now).
― Kitchen Person, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:10 (eight years ago) link
Look, if no-one mentions the image it can be fixed behind the scenes and posterity will know no better.
― Noel Emits, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:14 (eight years ago) link
Too low! Louder Than Bombs is their best.
― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:15 (eight years ago) link
How would I do that? xp
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:17 (eight years ago) link
With the aid of a kindly mod?
― Noel Emits, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:19 (eight years ago) link
If any kindly mod could change the url to one I give them that would be great
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:22 (eight years ago) link
had a feeling both HOH and LTB would place in a top 5 at the expense of the one of the studio albums. pleased that that is not the case.
― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:26 (eight years ago) link
The debut was my favourite for a while too, I had it at #2 in the end though.
― Gavin, Leeds, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:27 (eight years ago) link
It would have been 81 ballots if I hadn't been too preoccupied to submit a ballot. Damn, we could have broken the record!
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:29 (eight years ago) link
― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, March 2, 2016 1:26 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Isn't this premature pleasure? There are three spots left and I thought fandom was generally down on Meat Is Murder as an album
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:29 (eight years ago) link
fandom was generally down on Meat Is Murder as an album
now that is crazytalk. Every song on MiM is a gem, save for the title track, and that one at least has cow mooing sounds.
― sarahell, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:32 (eight years ago) link
When I was listening back over their discography the other week, I found myself pleasantly surprised by Meat Is Murder. At one point it was my least favourite of all their studio albums, but now I'd probably rank it second behind The Queen Is Dead.
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:35 (eight years ago) link
Same. I was disappointed by it at the time, but I dug it all when relistening last week (except the title track).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:40 (eight years ago) link
Even stranger for me, is that when I listened to 'How Soon Is Now' with fresh ears, it regained a power for me that I thought was lost years ago. I honest-to-god thought at this stage that I was thoroughly fucking sick of it - at least, that's how I felt about it for years. But no, turns out I'm not. Amazing how some tracks can regain a potency after a lengthy break from hearing them.
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 18:54 (eight years ago) link
Dan i haven't encountered that myself, i hope that's not the case. it's my #1.
― Roberto Spiralli, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:03 (eight years ago) link
Ha, me too. The first Smiths I ever heard was Hatful of Hollow. Each song was "this is good...THIS is good..." and then, with "How Soon Is Now," "THIS IS AMAZING." Listening again recently, yep, same feeling.
xp
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:05 (eight years ago) link
When I was listening back over their discography the other week, I found myself pleasantly surprised by Meat Is Murder.
yeah i had the same experience. everything kinda rules except the title track. i do have a lot of affection for the s/t though, despite some kinda bad songs and vocals and production. strangeways is still weirdly my favorite
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:16 (eight years ago) link
I didn't come to MIM until a few years ago because in my youth it sounded like dog shit on cassette and couldn't get past a few of the vocals. I've now had the bass line of "Barbarism Begins at Home" stuck in my head for 72 hours.
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:23 (eight years ago) link
I saw a couple shows by a Smiths covers band eons ago (the Nguyens) and was always disappointed that Barbarism was the one song they confessed they couldn't do
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:25 (eight years ago) link
(also to-date that is the only Smiths bassline I've ever learned how to play lol)
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:26 (eight years ago) link
I've said it before, but I think the debut album is a mostly wonderful collection of material, although far from their best produced and recorded. Also, a bit baffling to put 'Reel Around The Fountain' as an opening track, although at the same time it's difficult to figure out where else it could have gone without making the album feel ballad-heavy. It just strikes me as an odd way to open a debut album, really.
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:34 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, 'Barbarism Begins At Home' is fantastic, one of Rourke's best basslines easily. 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.
As a slab of white funk I'd take it over anything and everything released by Level fuckin' 42, without a doubt.
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:38 (eight years ago) link
bassline has kind of a Bernie Edwards' feel to it, a bit of that disco stair-stepping 8th note thing
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:45 (eight years ago) link
altho now that I think about it none of it is 8th notes is it? lol
That Barbarism live video and the The The vs. The World live video of Giant, also featuring Johnny Marr dancing across the stage, are probably my two favorite Marr moments.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:49 (eight years ago) link
Also, a bit baffling to put 'Reel Around The Fountain' as an opening track
nah this is my favorite thing about it
― HYPERLINK TO RAP GENIUS (BradNelson), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:49 (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, 2 March 2016 19:50 (eight years ago) link
You guys/gals all failed if Reel Around the Fountain doesn't take this thing.
― simmel, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:52 (eight years ago) link
3. LOUDER THAN BOMBS (compilation album, 1987)1398 points | 40 votes | 11 first place votes
― nate woolls, Wednesday, 2 March 2016 19:58 (eight years ago) link
I like 'Reel Around The Fountain', but it's my least favourite opening track of theirs. You'd think that they'd open their debut with something with a little more power to it, like they would later do with 'The Headmaster Ritual' and particularly 'The Queen Is Dead' ...
― The Dave Grohl of ILX (Turrican), Wednesday, 2 March 2016 20:01 (eight years ago) link
"Panic" is still a ton of fun to sing but growing up with the rise of hip-hop and then learning more about the origins of techno combined with the "turn" his lyrics and public persona took makes it really, really hard for me (especially as an African-American) to not hear that song as a racist lynching anthem.
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Monday, 7 March 2016 16:41 (eight years ago) link
TRACKS:
There Is A Light That Never Goes OutThat Joke Isn't Funny AnymoreHow Soon Is Now?What Difference Does It Make?Bigmouth Strikes AgainThe Boy with the Thorn in His SideWilliam, It Was Really NothingThis Night Has Opened My EyesThe Headmaster RitualThis Charming ManHeaven Knows I’m Miserable NowShakespeare's SisterSheila Take A BowPlease, Please, Please Let Me Get What I WantYou Just Haven't Earned It Yet, BabyAsleepHalf A PersonPretty Girls Make GravesRubber RingPanic
ALBUMS:
SinglesLouder Than BombsMeat Is MurderThe Queen Is DeadThe Smiths
― micro brewbio (crüt), Monday, 7 March 2016 16:52 (eight years ago) link
1. You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby2. London3. I Started Something That I Couldn't Finish4. There is a Light That Never Goes Out5. This Charming Man6. Sweet and Tender Hooligan7. Ask8. Some Girls Are Bigger...9. Cemetery Gates10. Barbarism Begins at Home11. The Queen is Dead12. I Won't Share You13. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before14. Bigmouth Strikes Again15. Half a Person16. Is It Really So Strange?17. Back to the Old House18. Panic19. I Know It's Over20. What Difference Does It Make?
ALBUMS
LOUDER THAN BOMBSTHE QUEEN IS DEADMEAT IS MURDERSTRANGEWAYS HERE WE COMETHE SINGLES
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:14 (eight years ago) link
"Hatful of Hollow" really seems like the great divider--somebody upthread posted a ballot with literally nothing from that record;I would struggle to find more than half a dozen songs I care about that AREN'T on it...
― Swag Heathen (theStalePrince), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:22 (eight years ago) link
Yeah my basic conception of The Smiths is Hatful/Bombs/TQID
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:24 (eight years ago) link
I've never heard Hatful of Hollow
― micro brewbio (crüt), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:25 (eight years ago) link
A Rush and a Push and the Land Is OursStill Ill [Hatful of Hollow version]Please Please Please Let Me Get What I WantThere Is a Light That Never Goes OutI Know It's OverLondonOscillate WildlyAsleepGirlfriend in a ComaJeaneUnloveableReel Around the Fountain [Hatful of Hollow version]The Boy with a Thorn in his SideSweet and Tender HooliganYou Just Haven't Earned It Yet, BabyI Want the One I Can't HaveVicar in a TutuUnhappy BirthdayCemetry GatesThis Charming Man
albumsLouder Than BombsThe Queen Is DeadHatful of HollowStrangeways, Here We ComeThe Smiths
― droit au butt (Euler), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:29 (eight years ago) link
Hatful of Hollow was the last Smiths' album I bought, so I had already heard all the songs on it except for Handsome Devil and Accept Yourself. Some of the versions are different, but it still never meant too much to me.
― sacral intercourse conducive to vegetal luxuriance (askance johnson), Monday, 7 March 2016 17:54 (eight years ago) link
"Panic" is still a ton of fun to sing but growing up with the rise of hip-hop and then learning more about the origins of techno combined with the "turn" his lyrics and public persona took makes it really, really hard for me (especially as an African-American) to not hear that song as a racist lynching anthem.― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Monday, 7 March 2016 16:41 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Monday, 7 March 2016 16:41 (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
if it helps, the song that prompted this was Wham's "I'm your man", so it would be that sort of thing..
― Mark G, Monday, 7 March 2016 18:09 (eight years ago) link
and I thought they got on so well after their TV interview too
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:11 (eight years ago) link
It was because BBC Radio One DJ Steve Wright played "I'm Your Man" straight after a news report about Chernobyl.
― // 58,000 W A N K E R S // LOVE (Turrican), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:24 (eight years ago) link
Instead of playing the Smiths.
― Thomas of Britain (Tom D.), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:25 (eight years ago) link
Ha! Yeah, possibly... but mostly because Moz/Marr felt it was so inappropriate. Kinda like playing a U2 song after coming out of a story about some fuckin' dog dying.
― // 58,000 W A N K E R S // LOVE (Turrican), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:29 (eight years ago) link
Pure indie snobbishness however you slice it though.
― Thomas of Britain (Tom D.), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:32 (eight years ago) link
morrissey always hated the greeks
― Roberto Spiralli, Monday, 7 March 2016 18:35 (eight years ago) link
"Rembetika is vile"
― Thomas of Britain (Tom D.), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:37 (eight years ago) link
these guys are from England and who gives a shithttp://i.imgur.com/ByCnnyr.jpg
― micro brewbio (crüt), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:44 (eight years ago) link
See, when you come out of those nuclear goddamn disaster stories, man, it's impossible to make those transitions.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:46 (eight years ago) link
Diddly shit! Diddly shit!
― // 58,000 W A N K E R S // LOVE (Turrican), Monday, 7 March 2016 18:47 (eight years ago) link
Moz sings like a person who has never seen and has no interest in mammary glands.― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)people who were bottle fed sing differently?― sarahell
― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)
people who were bottle fed sing differently?
― sarahell
LOLOLOL
― Maximum big surprise! (Nag! Nag! Nag!), Monday, 7 March 2016 19:08 (eight years ago) link
Imagine how things might have turned out had the band been called Smiths!
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 March 2016 19:09 (eight years ago) link
Could totally imagine Moz in a "Choose Life" shirt, though.
xxp he's interested in protecting the mammary glands of cattle from mechanized human molestation
― micro brewbio (crüt), Monday, 7 March 2016 19:10 (eight years ago) link
I say I say I say
― i like to trump and i am crazy (DJP), Monday, 7 March 2016 19:11 (eight years ago) link
Would love if the song were actually about milking a cow.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 March 2016 19:13 (eight years ago) link
http://i2.wp.com/contentdope.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/vegetarian-thanksgiving.jpg"Let me get my paddles on your wobbly waddles ..."
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 7 March 2016 19:15 (eight years ago) link
Re-listening to 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' again, I love it how Morrissey begins singing on the second chord in the chord progression, as opposed to the first chord where you'd expect the singing to start.
― // 166,000 W A N K E R S // LOVE (Turrican), Monday, 7 March 2016 20:47 (eight years ago) link
wasn't able to participate in this but thanks for organizing! I'm on tracks 77-75 and they are already awesome.
― skip, Monday, 7 March 2016 20:58 (eight years ago) link
Tracks 50-48 I mean
― skip, Monday, 7 March 2016 20:59 (eight years ago) link
ugh
i missed this
never got used to the fact that how soon is now is so loved, likewise with ask
son list would like thusly
20 miserable lie (peel sessions)last night i dreamtthis nightwhat difference (hatful)this charming man (hatful)barbarismboy with the thornheadmasterstop merusholmenowhere fasthandsome devil (hatful)londonrubber ringsome girlsstill ill (hatful)bigmouthi know it's overasleep1 there is a light
and out of the albums/comps
hatful of hollow is probably my fave, followed by queen is dead and meat is murder
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 9 March 2016 01:01 (eight years ago) link
song*/look*
― F♯ A♯ (∞), Wednesday, 9 March 2016 01:02 (eight years ago) link
Just noticed that the Smiths' Complete, which I bought as mp3s and assumed was... complete, doesn't include a few songs! I just heard "Wonderful Woman" for the first time and it's a very pretty song. Maybe not top 20, but certainly top 50
― Vinnie, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 04:29 (eight years ago) link
Here is my very consenus-y ballot.
This Charming ManAskWilliam, It Was Really NothingPanicThe Boy With a Thorn In His SidePlease Please Please Let Me Get What I WantReel Around the FountainBigmouth Strikes AgainHand in GloveThere Is A Light That Never Goes OutHeaven Knows I'm Miserable NowIs It Really So StrangeHow Soon is Now?Cemetry GatesWhat Difference Does It Make?Girlfriend in a ComaSome Girls Are Bigger Than OthersGirl AfraidFrankly Mr. ShanklyStop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
― thom yorke state of mind (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 9 March 2016 14:15 (eight years ago) link
While waiting for the kettle to boil earlier I realised the main riff from What Difference Does It Make is the theme tune from HOW with the beat on a different place in bar.
― suffeeciant attreebution (aldo), Wednesday, 9 March 2016 15:10 (eight years ago) link
What is HOW?
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 16:17 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XK0RImTvh0
Now soon, is HOW!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 16:20 (eight years ago) link
Oh wait, it's come back to me now! Haven't thought about that programme for 30+ years!
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 16:23 (eight years ago) link
Fred Dineage is our local news report presenter, so I get to think about HOW! fairly often.
― Mark G, Wednesday, 9 March 2016 16:27 (eight years ago) link
I missed this. People don't like Strangeways nearly enough - I'm with Morrissey and Marr in thinking Last Night I Dreamt is their best song - but god bless Euler for putting A Rush and a Push at #1.
― impossible raver (Re-Make/Re-Model), Monday, 14 March 2016 18:21 (eight years ago) link
1. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others2. I Know It’s Over3. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out4. Rubber Rin5. Asleep6. Shoplifters Of The World Unite7. Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want8. Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Know9. This Charming Man10. How Soon Is Now11. Panic12. Ask13. Bigmouth Strikes Again14. A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours15. The Queen Is Dead16. William, It Was Really Nothing17. Girlfriend In A Coma18. Nowhere Fast19. Oscillate Wildly20. London
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 18 March 2016 09:07 (eight years ago) link
Can anyone recommend some good Smiths live shows from the MiM and QiD tours? Also, were they known as a particularly good live act? Never saw them although I was a fan at the time, regret it now.
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 22:44 (eight years ago) link
Nevermind, I got it (Thank Your Lucky Stars, LA 1986; Madrid, 1985)
― Iago Galdston, Tuesday, 22 March 2016 23:42 (eight years ago) link
I think there's a proshot video of that Madrid show on YouTube.
― brotherlovesdub, Wednesday, 23 March 2016 02:37 (eight years ago) link
Thanks, brother
― Iago Galdston, Wednesday, 23 March 2016 03:19 (eight years ago) link
I have been listening to the Spotify playlist constantly at work since this countdown and think it's driving me a little batty :)
― skip, Saturday, 16 April 2016 00:06 (eight years ago) link
Coyness is nice!
― The Silky Veils of Alfred (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 15 September 2018 02:29 (five years ago) link
And do you think you've made the right decision this time?
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 9 August 2019 00:49 (four years ago) link