yeah, yeah, sue me if i keep raving about (and wearing shirts with album covers by) The Smiths.
But there's really something in their unique collaboration, particularly Morrissey's lyricism and how his pained sense of imagery and la-la-las eeriely complement Johnny Marr's haunting, jangly guitars. something lost, i guess, when the band broke up and morrissey decided to go solo.
consider the lines in this one, from the album, Hatful of Hollow:
This Night Has Opened My Eyes
In a river the colour of lead
Immerse the baby's head
Wrap her up in the news of the world
Dump her on a doorstep, girl
This night has opened my eyes
And i will never sleep again
You kicked and cried like a bullied child
A grown man of twenty-five
Oh, he said he'd cure your ills
But he didn't and he never will
Oh, save your life
Because you've only got one
The dream has gone
But the baby is real
Oh, you did a good thing
She could have been a poet
Or, she could have been a fool
Oh, you did a bad thing
And i'm not happy
And i'm not sad
A shoeless child on a swing
Reminds you of your own again
She took away your troubles
Oh, but then again
She left pain
So, please save your life
Because you've only got one
The dream has gone
But the baby is real
Oh, you did a good thing
She could have been a poet
Or, she could have been a fool
Oh, you did a bad thing
And i'm not happy
And i'm not sad
And i'm not happy
And i'm not sad
---
this song was covered recently--and horribly, if i may add--by At The Drive-In. but The Smiths are really hard to cover; i've yet to listen to a good rendition of any of their songs that really captures that elusive Smiths' feel. i guess "not happy/not sad" is really the way to describe most of The Smiths' songs, the conflicted-ness between Morrissey's sad concerns and Marr's happy guitar riffs. a fine balance between craft and subject matter that happens very rarely in pop music.
