“Sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said, I’d like to mash every tooth In your head.” – The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again
Where to begin. As far as I’m concerned, 1986’s The Queen Is Dead was the pinnacle of The Smiths‘ short lifespan. And I’m not alone: It regularly tops various ‘all time best’ charts with the likes of the Beatles, Elvis Presley or David Bowie. Everything the band is known and loved for – angst, humour, politics, wit – is best represented on this album. The first Smiths tape I ever heard in its entirety was Meat is Murder, which was given to me by Nick Allard in the parking lot of LPSS in 1987 (This was also the very first CD I ever bought) – but quickly transfixed by this strange Manchester outfit, I soon had all 4 of the proper albums and ‘The Queen’ strode to the front of the pack as my fast favorite.
Bigmouth Strikes Again is the first song on this album that will really grab you by the throat, but eventually I ended up preferring the title track. Still, Bigmouth is a great introduction to the band, and I don’t want Radio Pye to get too obscure. Truth be told, if I had to pick my favorite Smiths song, it would be a toss-up between The Headmaster Ritual and You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby. Truth be told, Morrissey would also probably prefer to grab you by the cock.
A was going to write a quick explication of the song, but surprisingly found a great one it’d be hard to top: A bombastic single with a powerful performance from Marr and a biting vocal. A speeded-up Morrissey occasionally accompanies the vocal proper, giving an eerie effect (this is credited to Ann Coates in the “The Queen Is Dead” sleeve, a pun on an area of Manchester). I’ve found that most people new to The Smiths initially pick this track as favourite, whereas later it tends to grate a little bit. Morrissey marries the old with the new in these lyrics, mentioning Joan of Arc’s Walkman, seeming to imply that the situation under discussion (i.e. the protagonist saying very much the wrong thing, like his thoughts of angered violence) has been going on forever and will go on forever. Of course, he is pointing out a similarity between him and Joan of Arc rather melodramatically, lending a quite comical tone to what could have been an empty vessel. Painting Joan of Arc’s talk of God’s communications as something that “just slipped out” is in stark contrast to his harsh sentence upon himself “I’ve got no right to take my place with the Human race”. The sleeve lyrics to this song provide one example of Morrissey’s Wildean propensity to capitalise nouns such as Human and Love.
If that wordy and pretentious take made any sense to you whatsoever, you desperately need to spend some time with the Smiths. If not – I think Motley Crue is coming back to the Worcester Centrum in November.
Pye, do you remember a band called The Housemartins? They didn’t register with me during the 80s; however, about three years ago a friend of mine introduced me to them and it was well worth it. I liken their sound to The Smiths on Prozac – much the same musically but far more cheerful. London 0 Hull 4 is an amazing album and I couldn’t recommend it enough (the song “Anxious” is one of my all time favorities and would make a good addition to Radio Pye). Plus, like Morrissey, the Housemartins’ singer “prefers the company of men.” But who doesn’t?
Yeah – I had a heavy Housemartins phase at Guelph. The posse used to get schnitty and then sing ‘Caravan of Love’ to eachother. ‘The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death’ is my favorite HM song.
Um. The Crue will actually be in Japan in Novemeber. I owe an apology to The Centrum Centre Box Office, and my co-workers. No one has heard that many uses for the word fuck in quite some time.
Wait, I thought Tommy Lee was attending a Midwestern college this semester?
The Smiths was your first album? You are gay aren’t you…
I said my first CD, Einstein. My first album was actually Culture Club. So you see, I’m not gay at all.
I remember in high school, Lance stole my Housemartins CD and wouldn’t give it back because it reminded him of a fond memory with a certain Susan….I don’t have such memories tied to it, but I remember his.
Are you implying that The Mozz favors men? Erroneous!
Personally, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out; I could listen to over and over.
Finally, you give the Smiths the ink they deserve. My first CD was El Debarge (“to the beat of the rhythm of the night” … remember that one) but Culture Club quickly followed.
Funny because I was just sitting in a relatively new bar, the Mission, on Mission Hill, yesterday and they were playing some Smiths and wit launched a hole debate over which album is best. I’m labelled a popularist for prefferring the more heavily produced sounds of Louder Than Bombs, but thay may be just because I like to oscillate wildly when provoked. Plus I think “London” their most kickass tune ever. Call me morbid.
Dance until the morning light, Alexa. Dance until the morning light.
Nick also got me into the Smiths. I remember making a sweet remix using the first 4 seconds of a bunch of their songs on my dual tape Ghetto-blaster.
The first vinyl I ever bought was the great Headpins album “Turn it Loud” – and I did. The first CD I bought was The Cult “Love”.
The first tape I ever bought was Run-DMC at Sight and Sounds in Roslindale Square in 1984. I think it cost like $5. They also sold NY laces.
(my sister already owned Culture Club of course).
The first record I ever had was a Double AA Vinyl Prince single, with 1999 on one side and Little Red Covette on the other. My first tape/ album I ever brought was GnR, Appetite for Destruction. First CD was Nirvana – Nevermind.
As iTunes has (virtually) no Smiths songs, anywhere you recommend to download them? So many of my CDs are scratched… so depressing.
I will always love Nick for that, JB. And those awesome slanty stripey haircuts he always had. How in the feck did we get so old?
Dave, Oh yeah, Sweet do’s he had, he also got me into wearing those green tappered work pants from Marks Work Warehouse. True Canadian style.
JB – Lest we forget ‘MountainGear’?
How I long to get a six pack of Canadian cans, sneak through the hole in the fence behind the strip mall, walk down the tracks and do shotguns down at the pit.
I forgot about mountaingear. sweet. Yeah good old pit -I don’t think it is there anymore. Pretty sure they have houses right up to the tracks now. Brutal -where are the farking 15 year olds supposed to drink now!
Trust me, those 15 year olds will find a place to drink – or do meth, whatever kids these days do.