Thursday, March 22, 2007

The Smiths, Or Why Does A Fey Man From Manchester Know More About Your Life Than You Do?

Before this post begins, I have a confession: The Smiths are my favorite band in the world and for a while they were the only band that mattered. There, its out in the open and you can disregard the rest of this as the rantings of a biased, Smiths obsessive.

Formed in 1982, The Smiths cultivated a fanbase that, while smaller than many other bands, had more passion for the music and members of the Smiths than any other musical group. Though they only existed for 5 years, they left a legacy that continues to reach new fans all the time.

Their first album, 1984's The Smiths helped quench the thirst of an ever growing fanbase. Many fan-favorites come from this album, including "Hand in Glove." Their followup album, 1985's Meat is Murder continued to show off new influences including rockabilly and funk. The album is memorable for its cover art, showing an edited still shot of a Vietnam soldier from the film In The Year of The Pig.

The next recorded work from The Smith's is the album many fans and critics cite as their best, The Queen Is Dead. The album contained Morrissey's trademark black humor coupled with interesting arrangements. The recording of the album had increased tensions in the band which came to a head in 1987. The band released one last album, Strangeways Here We Come which was another fine addition to the Smiths catalogue. The album contains one of my personal top 10 Smiths songs ever, "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me."

I first came across The Smiths when I was 12. I heard "How Soon Is Now" in a movie and had to find out who sang that song. I then bought the Singles album and from there my life changed. Prior to this I'd been listening to mostly hip-hop and metal but here was a band that sang about things that actually went on in my life. Hip-hop spoke to me too but not in the same way. I'd had experiences with drug dealers and violence but it wasn't a part of my life. The Smiths weren't singing about having sex. Quite the opposite was true as it seemed Morrissey detested sex. As I grew up The Smiths went with me. When my first serious releationship ended, it felt as though Morrissey was there to comfort me. At first I felt depressed listening to The Smiths, but after a while I would feel happy because no matter what it felt like Morrissey understood. The Smiths opened me up to so many new bands also. I read about the Mozzer's (Morrissey) love for The New York Dolls and from there it was a hop, skip, and a jump into the world of punk rock. I discovered The Ramones, Black Flag, and eventually Rites of Spring and the other early "emo" bands, but through it all The Smiths remained my favorite band. When I meet someone who hasn't heard The Smiths, its hard to not go crazy and make them borrow every Smiths album at once. At first I thought the devoted Morrissey fans were a little crazy but I realize now that there's a good reason why these people devote their lives to obsessing over this fey man. He knows exactly what's happening in your life and he's there to take you in and comfort you. He won't judge you and, even though he's reclusive, he loves you and always knows how to make you feel better.

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