The Smiths

From The Smiths to The Strokes: The 10 greatest albums released by Rough Trade

Far Out Magazine - By Joe Taysom

Salient part:

The Smiths – The Queen Is Dead

The Queen Is Dead set the stall for what an album should be and, ever since, few have made a guitar album that can even be mentioned in the same sentence as this iconic effort. The Smiths were on their third record and at the absolute peak of their powers.

The album is The Smiths’ finest work out of the four records they made during their time together and encapsulates everything great about them as an entity. Morrissey’s dark lyricism was juxtaposed alongside Johnny Marr’s sunny guitars that would be the perfect soundtrack to the 1980s. Every single track on the album is a bonafide classic. It simply wasn’t fair on other bands that The Smiths could cram tracks like ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’, ‘Cemetry Gates’ and ‘I Know It’s Over’ all on one album, which confirmed their voice of a...

"Shoplifters Of The World" is released today in theaters and on-demand


1987. Denver, Co. One crazy night in the life of four friends reeling from the sudden demise of iconic British band The Smiths, while the local airwaves are hijacked at gunpoint by an impassioned Smiths fan.

New reviews/media:

• Shoplifters of the World Director Stephen Kijak Celebrates The Smiths & Their Fans - cbr.com
• Shoplifters Of The World Star Helena Howard On The Smiths And Relating To The '80s - Exclusive Interview - Looper
• Joe Manganiello on Smiths film 'Shoplifters of the World' - New York...

5. ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by The Smiths​

At the peak of their powers, The Smiths were churning out indie hits at such a productive rate that when ‘William, It Was Really Nothing’ was released as a single in 1984, it was backed by both ‘How Soon Is Now’ and ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’.

In 2007 Johnny Marr told Uncut that he thought ‘How Soon is Now?’ was “possibly [the Smiths’] most enduring record. It’s most people’s favourite, I think,” he declared.

He may well be the right; the track’s post-night-out sadness has graced a million kitchens in its swooning hue of blue. Marr’s trademark tremolo is in full effect, and Morrisey’s miserable wordplay saunters over the top, swinging a wilting bouquet. Perhaps the record’s most remarkable feat is that it escapes insular oblivion behind the song and has somehow managed to worm its way...

Regards,
FWD.

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Related item:

• Youtuber Professor Of Rock - How Morrissey and Marr of The Smiths Created a Classic - September 3, 2020

Hailing from the unrelenting streets of 1980s Manchester, The Smiths have become one of the most well-remembered and influential British bands of their era.

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Update:
February 5, 2021.
The trailer now features on Morrissey Central:
"NOW TODAY TOMORROW AND ALWAYS"

An anonymous person sends the link:



Excerpt:

Post by Fredrik Strage:

Jag intervjuade just rockjournalisten Nick Kent för DN. Han är aktuell med sin första roman "The Unstable Boys". Jag frågade också om hans relation till Morrissey och han gav mig väldigt utförliga svar. Eftersom jag bara fick med ett par korta citat i den färdiga texten tänkte jag bjussa er Moz-fans på resten. (Det här är inte korrat eller redigerat, bara utskriven intervju.)

Another big "what if" in rock history is what would have happened if you had agreed to publish the stuff that Morrissey sent you when you were a section editor at the NME? Maybe he would have become a rock journalist instead?
I never turned him down. I just didn't get back to him. He wasn't very good. But the main thing is that Morrissey was 14 years old. He was obsessed with the New York Dolls and I had spent enough time around the New York Dolls to know first hand that people who hang...