Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others, by The Smiths, from the album The Queen Is Dead.
Rather nice guitar part, deeply inane words. I believe Johnny Marr (Smiths' guitarist) was rather bitter that he'd written what he considered a beautiful piece of music, and Morrissey had written such god-awful words for it.
Bah. Don't get me started. Been a big fan of The Smiths, and moderately enhusiastic about Morrissey's solo work. But Morrissey on Jonathan Ross last week was a bit of a shock: not just introverted and/or morose - just plain obnoxious.
Anyway, one of the beauties of the Smiths is the irony in the contrast between Marr's up-tempo music Morrissey's downbeat lyrics. Maybe it didn't work too well in "Some girls are bigger than others"[I'm not particularly fond of that song at all], but I'm prepared to put up with it for the sake of classics like "This Charming Man".
Actually - since you happened by and are clearly not a Smiths-afficionado, can you be another volunteer for a poll which grew out of a converation yesterday:
Can you name any songs by The Smiths ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ? Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Anyone else happening past this thread is invited to answer, too :)
Kill the DJ. um... There are more I would recognise, but my brain's gone blank. The one with the bunch of daffodils in his back pocket. (How to piss of Smiths afficionadoes in one easy go :)
Ooh. My mp3 collection has "How soon is now?" I didn't know that :)
Certainly, I don't know anything by Morissey without the Smiths (which I think is what your second question means). I know he's done stuff, and I think I've even heard it. But I have no idea what.
> Can you name any songs by The Smiths ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Yes, loads. This Charming Man is probably the most famous. Here's their chart info [which only includes stuff I own, but is probably all of them]:
date high weeks 12Nov83 25 12 This Charming Man 28Jan84 12 09 What Difference Does It Make? 2Jun84 10 08 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now 1Sep84 17 06 William, It Was Really Nothing 9Feb85 24 06 How Soon Is Now? 30Mar85 26 04 Shakespear's Sister 13Jul85 49 03 That Joke Isn't Funny Any More 5Oct85 23 05 The Boy With The Thorn In His Side 31May86 26 04 Bigmouth Strikes Again 2Aug86 11 08 Panic 1Nov86 14 05 Ask 7Feb87 12 04 Shoplifters Of The World Unite 25Apr87 10 05 Sheila Take A Bow 22Aug87 13 05 Gilfirend In A Coma 19Dec87 30 04 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me 15Aug92 08 05 This Charming Man (re-issue) 12Sep92 16 04 How Soon Is Now? (re-issue) 24Oct92 25 03 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out 18Feb95 62 01 Ask (re-issue)
> Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Far fewer. The most famous one would almost certainly be "Every Day Is Like Sunday".
Can you name any songs by The Smiths ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
No wonder you're bloody miserable now, you've been listening to Morrissey drone on for the last 3 minutes. Best Viz feature ever; "Morrissey; Pop Genius or Twat? You decide".
Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
No, though I've heard many, many, many.
I think my aversion to Morrissey came during the time I was going out with a girl called Katy in Sheffield. Apart from Nicholas Parsons, Morrissey was her idol. She had dozens and dozens of pictures and posters of him on her bedroom walls. I was kind of homeless at the time, so spent quite a lot of time in her room. Every morning I'd wake up to bastard Morrissey looking down at me with that self-satisfied, smug half-smile on his stupid head.
I remember once, on a lovely summer's day, as we were driving along Ecclesall Road, we were having a slight musical disagreement and she was offensivley playing Morrissey at me. We stopped at traffic lights, and just as they were changing back to green, I noticed a passing small boy. I pressed eject on the tape deck and handed him the vile artifact, to his surprise, and Katy's. Mine too if I'm honest. She had no choice but to drive on.
I ended up paying for it, not financially since it was a tape from a record rather than a bought one, but in the various complex ways that a girlfriend can demand when displeased.
Still, the rest of the journey was blissfully quiet.
There's probably some awfully screwed up kid who's been wondering for years why a couple of grown ups gave him this message from a depressive god. And (as we all know from novels and the movies) he'll turn up and read it here.
re: tracks what we remember - tonnes of the Smiths ones and I don't think any from Morissey. Most famous - prob, Charming man - most often pops into head - Heaven knows I'm miserable now (and no, I do not wish for counselling ;-)
I used to really hate Morissey/The Smiths, but Placebo did a cover of "Bigmouth Strikes Again" that improves on Morissey's terrible vocal performance to the extent that they made it sound like they actually gave a flying fuck how Joan of Arc felt, and that I might like to join them in their sentiment.
So now I have to concede that Morissey's contribution to popular music has not been entirely detrimental.
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(Cultural gap, I suspect ;-)
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Rather nice guitar part, deeply inane words. I believe Johnny Marr (Smiths' guitarist) was rather bitter that he'd written what he considered a beautiful piece of music, and Morrissey had written such god-awful words for it.
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This is a well known FACT.
A FACT is like a fact, but more truerer.
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Anyway, one of the beauties of the Smiths is the irony in the contrast between Marr's up-tempo music Morrissey's downbeat lyrics. Maybe it didn't work too well in "Some girls are bigger than others"[I'm not particularly fond of that song at all], but I'm prepared to put up with it for the sake of classics like "This Charming Man".
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Can you name any songs by The Smiths ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Anyone else happening past this thread is invited to answer, too :)
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um... There are more I would recognise, but my brain's gone blank.
The one with the bunch of daffodils in his back pocket. (How to piss of Smiths afficionadoes in one easy go :)
Ooh. My mp3 collection has "How soon is now?" I didn't know that :)
Certainly, I don't know anything by Morissey without the Smiths (which I think is what your second question means). I know he's done stuff, and I think I've even heard it. But I have no idea what.
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Indeed, he's at number 3 in the charts at the moment :)
(And yes, I did mean Morrissey solo stuff.)
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Well. Shows what I know :)
Checking a discography reveals tracks I know I'd recognise:
This Charming Man
What Difference Does It Make ?
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Panic
And tracks I know the names of:
William, It Was Really Nothing
Shakespeare's Sister
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Sheila Take A Bow
Girlfriend In A Coma
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And... umm... 'Heaven Knows' is probably a Smiths track ?
I would remark that they all sound the same to me, but then
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Oooh. Well done. That's a tricky one, on account of the non-obvious title :)
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Yes, loads. This Charming Man is probably the most famous. Here's their chart info [which only includes stuff I own, but is probably all of them]:
date high weeks
12Nov83 25 12 This Charming Man
28Jan84 12 09 What Difference Does It Make?
2Jun84 10 08 Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
1Sep84 17 06 William, It Was Really Nothing
9Feb85 24 06 How Soon Is Now?
30Mar85 26 04 Shakespear's Sister
13Jul85 49 03 That Joke Isn't Funny Any More
5Oct85 23 05 The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
31May86 26 04 Bigmouth Strikes Again
2Aug86 11 08 Panic
1Nov86 14 05 Ask
7Feb87 12 04 Shoplifters Of The World Unite
25Apr87 10 05 Sheila Take A Bow
22Aug87 13 05 Gilfirend In A Coma
19Dec87 30 04 Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
15Aug92 08 05 This Charming Man (re-issue)
12Sep92 16 04 How Soon Is Now? (re-issue)
24Oct92 25 03 There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
18Feb95 62 01 Ask (re-issue)
> Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
Far fewer. The most famous one would almost certainly be "Every Day Is Like Sunday".
Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
The question is really attempting to discover what songs you might reasonably expect the average non-Smiths-fan-on-the-street to know.
Re: Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !
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No wonder you're bloody miserable now, you've been listening to Morrissey drone on for the last 3 minutes. Best Viz feature ever; "Morrissey; Pop Genius or Twat? You decide".
Can you name any songs by Morrissey ? If so, what do you regard as the most famous one ?
No, though I've heard many, many, many.
I think my aversion to Morrissey came during the time I was going out with a girl called Katy in Sheffield. Apart from Nicholas Parsons, Morrissey was her idol. She had dozens and dozens of pictures and posters of him on her bedroom walls. I was kind of homeless at the time, so spent quite a lot of time in her room. Every morning I'd wake up to bastard Morrissey looking down at me with that self-satisfied, smug half-smile on his stupid head.
I remember once, on a lovely summer's day, as we were driving along Ecclesall Road, we were having a slight musical disagreement and she was offensivley playing Morrissey at me. We stopped at traffic lights, and just as they were changing back to green, I noticed a passing small boy. I pressed eject on the tape deck and handed him the vile artifact, to his surprise, and Katy's. Mine too if I'm honest. She had no choice but to drive on.
I ended up paying for it, not financially since it was a tape from a record rather than a bought one, but in the various complex ways that a girlfriend can demand when displeased.
Still, the rest of the journey was blissfully quiet.
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re: tracks what we remember - tonnes of the Smiths ones and I don't think any from Morissey. Most famous - prob, Charming man - most often pops into head - Heaven knows I'm miserable now (and no, I do not wish for counselling ;-)
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So now I have to concede that Morissey's contribution to popular music has not been entirely detrimental.
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