How on earth is "I Want a Boy for my Birthday" ahead of anything when it wasn't officially released?
And Golden Lights ahead of Miserable Lie... or Wonderful Woman.... or Jeane.... or Handsome Devil... or I Keep Mine Hidden is making me quite cross.
"Miserable Lie" is the only Smiths song I downright hate. An absolute tuneless racket (which I'm not opposed to … but not in this case).
"Sweet and Tender Hooligan" should be way higher. Great track terrific riff and sound with really fun lyrics.
I had a friend who would almost reflexively say when he saw a news story about an elderly person being murdered, "That's okay, s/he was old and would have died anyway."
Morrissey as a pensioner constantly looking over his shoulder is not far away.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
Rubber Ring needs to be higher on this list. The entire band shines on that track from Johnny's skittering guitar to Andy's melodic bass to Mike's hazy, late night drumming to Morrissey's maudlin (yet heartfelt) plea to his fans to not forget him when they've grown up and stopped being miserable. The 12-inch pairing with Asleep where one song fades into the other is maybe one of their greatest moments.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble
You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby is also too low. This track is magnificent, with some of Johnny's best guitar work: he plays a highlife inspired rhythm, countered with a bouncy, melodic lead. This is one of the Smiths tracks he played live when I saw him in concert and it was still breathtaking. They truly were a band who called it quits at the peak of their powers.
"They don't think it be like it is, but it do." - Oscar Gamble
These Things Take Time (49)
I Want the One I Can't Have (37)
The Queen is Dead (6)
Half a Person (31)
Paint a Vulgar Picture (39)
My biggest complaint here is TTTT barely scraping the top 50
The only 4 I could live without are the 3 instrumentals and Golden Lights (which is still acceptable - I don't skip it if I'm playing Louder than Bombs - but it wouldn't bother me if I never heard it again.)
Ranking the other 68 would be near impossible.
Putting a little stick about. Putting the frighteners on flash little twerps
Suffer Little Children (60), The Hand That Rocks The Cradle (56), Stretch Out and Wait (53), This Night Has Opened My Eyes (52), These Things Take Time (49), Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (45), Paint a Vulgar Picture (39), Frankly Mr Shankly (34), The Headmaster Ritual (33), Half A Person (31).
And overrated:
I Started Something I Couldn't Finish (8!), Rusholme Ruffians (9), Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (16), What Difference Does It Make (18), Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (21), What She Said (26), Never Had No One Ever (28), Nowhere Fast (29), Shiela Take a Bow (30).
Who's read Morrissey's Autobiography? Is it worth my time, even as a hate-read?
I love it... every other page had something that made me laugh out loud - usually, it was the bitterness and venom with which he described people (judges, teachers, politicians, royalty etc.)
I can see how some don't like it... detailed obsessing about "that" court case, no chapters, lots of alliteration, weird phrasing... so it's probably not for everyone but if you'll know pretty soon (probably within the first page) whether you'll finish it or not.
Putting a little stick about. Putting the frighteners on flash little twerps
Who's read Morrissey's Autobiography? Is it worth my time, even as a hate-read?
I love it... every other page had something that made me laugh out loud - usually, it was the bitterness and venom with which he described people (judges, teachers, politicians, royalty etc.)
I can see how some don't like it... detailed obsessing about "that" court case, no chapters, lots of alliteration, weird phrasing... so it's probably not for everyone but if you'll know pretty soon (probably within the first page) whether you'll finish it or not.
Okay, thanks. I'll bump it up to my next bedtime book.
"Ain't no party like an S Club party!'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
