i'm not sure if you guys are sick of me making these threads, but....are there any other 'Smiths or Morrissey fans here? (there is a 'Smiths reference on this board...can you find it?).

i didn't really like them at first. my first experience with them was with the 'singles' collection, and i couldn't get into them. i still listened to it occasionally, and i liked a couple songs. then a month ago, i found 'louder than bombs' and 'rank' on cassette at Goodwill....now i am obsessed, and i've got all The Smiths' albums now, and 5 Smiths/Morrissey t-shirts : )

i admit i'm not a big fan of Morrissey's solo work. i have 'Vauxhill Hall & I' and 'The Best Of Morrissey' so far. i actually like 'Vauxhill' better than the collection of all his "best" songs.



and i'm i the only one that think Morrissey is SO dreamy....even at his age now?

80's (or 90's...not sure)
http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/images/mozpeep03.jpg

2000's
http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/images/1999-01.jpg

i'm not sure if you guys are sick of me making these threads


Just as long as you don't flood the boards with with back to back topics on a daily basis, it's ok :)



I like The Smiths and Morrissey, but to be honest, I get bored listening to them real fast.  Of all their work though, I thought Morrissey's "Viva Hate" was the best.  I love 'Suedehead' and 'Everyday is Like Sunday'

I liked Johnny Marr the best as one half of the duo Electronic.  The three albums they produced were just excellent!  He also was a brief member of The The on some of their greatest tracks, most notably 'The Beat(en) Generation)' in 1989.  He also appears on one of my all-time favourite album tracks:  'Up Against It' by Pet Shop Boys

http://psb-atdeadofnight.net/spoluprace/electronic.jpg

They're OK. I like "Panic", "Ask", "How Soon Is Now", and "Girlfriend In A Coma".

As for Morrissey, only familiar with "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (or similar title).

Hello xSiouXBoIx,

To answer some of your questions:

The Smiths are excellent!!  Morrissey IS still dreamy and the Smiths are found on this board under "General Penguin Related Stuff" as Ask Me, Ask Me, Ask Me.  (A great tune)  :)

They're OK. I like "Panic", "Ask", "How Soon Is Now", and "Girlfriend In A Coma".

As for Morrissey, only familiar with "Everyday Is Like Sunday" (or similar title).


do you live in the U.K.? because only fans of the band (or of indie music in general) in the U.S. would know any of their songs  ???....

Hello xSiouXBoIx,

To answer some of your questions:

The Smiths are excellent!!  Morrissey IS still dreamy and the Smiths are found on this board under "General Penguin Related Stuff" as Ask Me, Ask Me, Ask Me.  (A great tune)  :)


so glad you agree  :).

i think Morrissey is much better looking than Brad Pitt, Mel Gibson, George Clooney, Jude Law, Antonio Banderas or any of those Hollywood types.

I have always loved the Smiths, Morrissey to a lesser extent.

I listened to the Smiths the first time around back in the 80's, first album was "The Queen Is Dead" in '85. Quite frankly (Mr. Shankley) the first time I listened to it, I fell right asleep. Didn't impress me much.

But thereafter, the melodies, and arrangements stuck in to my subconsious (guess while I was sleeping) and on subseqent listenings I started to pay more attention to the lyrics and the music and the band enveloped me. There really wasn't any other band that sounded like them at the time.
We really need to give Mr. Marr a lot more due to the success of the Smiths, no offense to the Mozz, but Marr is a brilliant songwriter without exception.

That being said, I was a DIEHARD Smiths fan, understand that I was one of the only kids in my high school listening to the Smiths (not to mention one of the few black guys that could relate to Morrissey's lyrics), and well, lets say the music got me through a difficult time in my life to say the least.

I collected all of those 12" singles, even though I rarely had a working turntable those days. I even had a giant 7foot tall poster of "Shoplifters of the World Unite", bright pink boarder with Elvis on it and all. I still can't imagine what was going through my parents head when I put that up over my bed at 17.  ::)

Whats odd now, is that time and period of my life is gone now, and its VERY difficult for me to listen to the Smiths nowadays, too many good and bad memories there...

i think most people perfer The Smiths over Morrissey. My brother actually likes Morrissey better, but he's kind of weird.....he likes David Bowie's 90's albums the best.

i always wondered why there doesn't seem to be alot of black people who listen to alternative music.

I like many of the Smiths' songs, and I like two of Morrissey's solo hits: "Every Day Is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead."

i always wondered why there doesn't seem to be alot of black people who listen to alternative music.

Hm, good point, although I don't completely agree with your observation, yet its partially true. At least in the '80's.

Back then, I think radio programming was a fault. In the UK, the music we in the states considered "alternative" wasn't so, it was just played as regular pop on the radio. Everything mixed in pop, rap, electronic whatever.

But in the states, black people, well at least from my own narrow observation, we had black and urban r&b stations, thats it. Thats all I listened to until '81 and just got bored and started to look for new sounds. Odd too, cause if you think about it, there were/are no such thing as underground r&b, funk or disco acts back then like there were for rock venues. That shows you how tight the labels controlled the genre. In as far a urban/black, r&b/soul music at the time, if you didn't hear it on the radio (with the exception of the emerging rap scene) it didn't exist.

Now I don't think thats still the case now, I think color and race has a lot less to do with listening choices than it did even just 20 years ago, and I'd be hard pressed to define "alternative" as a separating line nowadays either.

BTW I've always hated the term, "alternative" to what? Describe the succinct qualities or specific musical differences that an alternative band has, from a "non" alternative one? In my day both the Cure, R.E.M and the Smiths were called "Alternative", now just what do these bands share musically with each other that they'd be called "alternative"?. Rant over, sorry.

Whats really odd, after saying that, is that at least in Southern Cali, there is a huge following of Latino fans of Morrissey and the Smiths, even more so than I'd say the typical or traditional audience that they had in their heyday in the US or the UK. There are even cover bands that sing Smiths songs in Spanish and Spanglish. So go figure. ???

The Smiths were second only to Joy Division in themes I related to in my teens...and later as well.

The fact that Morrissey's lyrics were gay themes, mostly they were general enough to apply to all manner of angst and alienation. 

All Smiths releases were excellent, except a few duds from "Strangeways, Here We Come." 

Morrissey solo is 50/50.  The three earliest are great, in order of greatness
Viva Hate
Your Arsenal
Kill Uncle

Vauxhall and I
and
Maladjusted
are boring.

Southpaw Grammar
is somewhat interesting for its longer song forms.

You Are the Quarry
is just as good as Viva Hate

I have not yet listened to
Ringleader of the Tormentors

All compilations have some great tracks, some decent, and som poor.

Back then, I think radio programming was a fault. In the UK, the music we in the states considered "alternative" wasn't so, it was just played as regular pop on the radio. Everything mixed in pop, rap, electronic whatever.

i know  :-\\. i can't believe what gets played on the radio in the U.K. (Sex Pistols, Smiths, Roxy Music, 70's punk and 80's goth....), and i mean that in the best way possible. most of us in the U.S. seem to only listen to the most commercial music.

but Morrissey actually said that music in the U.K. is made for "children"  ???.

here, it seems like teenagers rule the charts.

TW I've always hated the term, "alternative" to what? Describe the succinct qualities or specific musical differences that an alternative band has, from a "non" alternative one? In my day both the Cure, R.E.M and the Smiths were called "Alternative", now just what do these bands share musically with each other that they'd be called "alternative"?. Rant over, sorry.

alternative to what is most popular, i guess. what you can listen to instead of what's being played on the radio.....?  :(

hats really odd, after saying that, is that at least in Southern Cali, there is a huge following of Latino fans of Morrissey and the Smiths, even more so than I'd say the typical or traditional audience that they had in their heyday in the US or the UK. There are even cover bands that sing Smiths songs in Spanish and Spanglish. So go figure.

i heard about that. i'm so jealous that they get to be acknowledged as being big fans on them........

i'm not sure if you guys are sick of me making these threads, but....are there any other 'Smiths or Morrissey fans here? (there is a 'Smiths reference on this board...can you find it?).

i didn't really like them at first. my first experience with them was with the 'singles' collection, and i couldn't get into them. i still listened to it occasionally, and i liked a couple songs. then a month ago, i found 'louder than bombs' and 'rank' on cassette at Goodwill....now i am obsessed, and i've got all The Smiths' albums now, and 5 Smiths/Morrissey t-shirts : )

i admit i'm not a big fan of Morrissey's solo work. i have 'Vauxhill Hall & I' and 'The Best Of Morrissey' so far. i actually like 'Vauxhill' better than the collection of all his "best" songs.



and i'm i the only one that think Morrissey is SO dreamy....even at his age now?

80's (or 90's...not sure)
http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/images/mozpeep03.jpg

2000's
http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/images/1999-01.jpg


My firend made me awareof Morissey and I was lucky to have a tape rolling when he was on KROQ playing accoustic and on his way to Capitol records with Richard Blade interviewing...very rare tape I believe..maybe someone else in LA heard it live? or bootlegged?

alternative to what is most popular, i guess. what you can listen to instead of what's being played on the radio.....?  :(



I know what you're saying, but the "check" to that is "alternative" by the mid/late 80's was THE popular sound. By the late 80's there were plenty of pirate and independent radio stations all along on the east coast (WHFS, in D.C. and DX in NYC), all over the Midwest (91X in Detroit/Windsor) and solidly set on the dial on the west coast (KROQ in LA) playing "alternative" bands, and we're talking large listening audiences here.
Bands like R.E.M. were charting top 40 (Shiny Happy People, ugh hate that song), so were the Cure and the 'Furs by '87.

So again, "alternative" bands were the "alternative" to what?
It was all "pop"ular by that time, so the label of "alternative" had no real defining point and only hampers someones understanding of the era with no background of the true special sounds these bands gave us back then...

Again, ranting, I worked many a record (or better yet CD) store from the late 80's to late 90's from the east to the west coast. The most irritating thing was to have a teen something come in and ask "where is you're alternative section, y'know, Cure, Smiths, Ministry, etc." i.e. the "cool people music".
Couldn't roll my eyes fast enough for these people.
Now, I have no problem with what you want to listen to as long as its what you actually like, and not some poser prop to what you want to be seen as listening to...
"Alternative" music was a word thrown around by those wannabes who wanted to listen to what the cool people thought was cool (or the X-gen media that had no idea of how to categorize it), without any recognition of the music itself or the true talent in the bands they lumped into that category.

Please don't put the Smiths and a lot of other bands that didn't make it to the big time from that era in the same mash in that category, just because they didn't get the airplay or label contracts they deserved in the early 80's, they were too good for that.
End rant.

Again, ranting, I worked many a record (or better yet CD) store from the late 80's to late 90's from the east to the west coast. The most irritating thing was to have a teen something come in and ask "where is you're alternative section, y'know, Cure, Smiths, Ministry, etc." i.e. the "cool people music".
Couldn't roll my eyes fast enough for these people.
Now, I have no problem with what you want to listen to as long as its what you actually like, and not some poser prop to what you want to be seen as listening to...

i know what you're saying. there are people at my school that were Smiths, Sex Pistols, Ramones and Clash shirts (usually with skinny jeans and a messy hair-do), and i can't help but get the feeling they're just trying to "look cool". but maybe they really do like those bands.....how are people soppoused to know? how do people know i really like all this "alternative" music? i wear smiths, morrissey, joy division, siouxsie & the banshee shirts all the time, and i don't want people to think i'm trying to present an image.....

I know what you're saying, but the "check" to that is "alternative" by the mid/late 80's was THE popular sound. By the late 80's there were plenty of pirate and independent radio stations all along on the east coast (WHFS, in D.C. and DX in NYC), all over the Midwest (91X in Detroit/Windsor) and solidly set on the dial on the west coast (KROQ in LA) playing "alternative" bands, and we're talking large listening audiences here.
Bands like R.E.M. were charting top 40 (Shiny Happy People, ugh hate that song), so were the Cure and the 'Furs by '87.

So again, "alternative" bands were the "alternative" to what?
It was all "pop"ular by that time, so the label of "alternative" had no real defining point and only hampers someones understanding of the era with no background of the true special sounds these bands gave us back then...

Again, ranting, I worked many a record (or better yet CD) store from the late 80's to late 90's from the east to the west coast. The most irritating thing was to have a teen something come in and ask "where is you're alternative section, y'know, Cure, Smiths, Ministry, etc." i.e. the "cool people music".
Couldn't roll my eyes fast enough for these people.
Now, I have no problem with what you want to listen to as long as its what you actually like, and not some poser prop to what you want to be seen as listening to...
"Alternative" music was a word thrown around by those wannabes who wanted to listen to what the cool people thought was cool (or the X-gen media that had no idea of how to categorize it), without any recognition of the music itself or the true talent in the bands they lumped into that category.

Please don't put the Smiths and a lot of other bands that didn't make it to the big time from that era in the same mash in that category, just because they didn't get the airplay or label contracts they deserved in the early 80's, they were too good for that.
End rant.

By 1988 the word "alternative" meant nothing.

The Cure and the Smiths became characterized by the personae of Robert Smith and Morrissey respectively.  They are the ancesters of the tripe now called "Emo."  What people don't do is clear away all the imagery and just listen to the songs.  Both bands were as great as anything that came out of the '60s, the era which rock critics lionize as the greatest.  I would love to be able to introduce people to the Cure and the Smiths without the prejudice that comes with their images...just the music. 

The Psychedelic Furs were one of my favorite bands of the early '80s.

the self-titled album and Talk Talk Talk were artsy post-punk.
Forever Now was moody progressive rock with Todd Rundgren and "Mirror Moves" was catchy synth-pop with Keith Forsey.
"Midnight to Midnight" (1986) brought them their American top 40 success, but ultimately destroyed the band.

The only Smiths song I'm familiar with is "How Soon Is Now". I've heard of Morrissey, but I've never listened to any of his music.

i just read an interview with Morrissey from 1985 where it's mentioned that he has three framed pictures of himself hanging on his walls. and Morrissey says that he thinks he's ugly!!  ::)

he can't possibly believe that  :P. he knows how handsome he is........

i just read an interview with Morrissey from 1985 where it's mentioned that he has three framed pictures of himself hanging on his walls. and Morrissey says that he thinks he's ugly!!  ::)

he can't possibly believe that  :P. he knows how handsome he is........


Yes, well Morrissey was infamous for doling out all sorts of misinformation and innuendo in interviews and to the press about himself. NME would pretty much write an disclaimer before each interview with him or Robert Smith back then due to the regular rotation of egocentric banter, misleading quotes/statements and flat out lies that were made.

Morrissey made illusion that he was a virgin, then not a virgin, then gay and not gay, had a boy/girlfriend, and/or celibate. And all the while gay men and young teen girlies were drooling over him (obviously he knew this). Was he or wasn't he? Back and forth. Then the comments to/about the PM (Margaret Thatcher) and government/political statements. Too much for me to get my head into at the time, I just wanted to find out about the music, the sound.
I gave up investing any more interest into his growing ego by the time "Strangeways" came out.
Reading an article about the Mozz was like trying to see how well you could decipher his references to 19th century poetry, or an old obscure movie or pop band reference from before my time in addition to verifying his sexual orientation at the time.

Sorry but I was never that "cool" and always wanted a truthful discussion of the real guy/person so I could get some insight into the music. No such luck.  No offense, but I began to see why Marr had such issue with the guy, he was suffering from serious "swelled head" disease.

Don't get me wrong, its not that I don't like the Smiths or Morrissey...its just that somewhere I think I matured a bit more than the person I was in '85. I'm not sure Morrissey ever did....

it sucks, because just about the #1 thing i can hate in a person is narcissism  :-\\.

and then i see him saying in interviews that he's "just telling the truth", and "why shouldn't he be".....

he also said in a couple of other interviews that he wanted to be a sex symbol. i think it was implied that he was being sarcastic, but i think he actually believes he should be.

I've only heard two songs myself, both I like.

How Soon Is Now and Sweet & Tender Hooligan.