481 - The Smiths - The Smiths

[csberry]

The Smiths are one of those bands that I just don't get. I like several of their songs and will put their Best of... Volumes 1 and 2 on in the background sometimes. But I've never known how I'm supposed to perceive them. Are they ironic hipsters or pop balladeers? All I know for sure is that I never want to hear Morrissey's falsetto again. There are songs where his crooning conveys an emotional wreck of a man and others where he sounds bored. His voice is just as smooth and his tone just as full, but it seems as if he's bored in the sound booth. Sometimes this apathetic delivery seems a deliberate act in service of the lyrics but other times it's just odd to me.

Songs I knew I liked: "Reel Around the Fountain," "This Charming Man," and "What Difference Does It Make?"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Miserable Lie"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: anything featuring more than a tiny bit of Morrissey's falsetto.

Comments

[auronsgirl.livejournal.com]

I always liked Strangeways, Here We Come better.

[cosmosmariner.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like the Smiths...but I don't like any whole album of theirs. I probably like two or three songs per album and that's it. And then there's the singles, like "William, It Was Really Nothing" which is fantastic.

For the most part, their songs are brilliant and well done...when covered by other people. t.A.T.u. did a cover of "How Soon Is Now?" which is about as good a pop song as you can imagine, and Noel Gallagher did a terrific version of "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" which I like better than the original. But then again, I would, because it's freaking Noel Gallagher.

I think what I like about the Smiths (and by default, Morrissey) is that the music is so poppy and happy, and the delivery of the lyrics - and lyrics themselves - are so depressing and emo that you might just want to die. That type of dual nature is fascinating to me.