The Dispatch: "If You Get ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ You Get The Smiths" (May 18, 2024)

If You Get ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ You Get The Smiths

Excerpt:

"The Smiths are one of those rare bands that managed to build a remarkable, enduring legacy and sustain an ardent fan base despite having very little success on the singles charts. Since its debut album in 1983 and long after its break-up less than four years later, the Manchester-based guitar-pop band—comprising singer and lyricist Morrissey, guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke, and drummer Mike Joyce—has enjoyed critical acclaim and a cult following. In the early 2000s, Rolling Stone included four Smiths albums on its list of the 500 greatest in rock history. Their music has functioned as plot points in at least two films produced long after the group’s disbanding: (500) Days of Summer and The Killer... "

If You Get ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,’ You Get The Smiths

Forty years later, Caligula would still blush.

thedispatch.com

Read-counted gate removed:

https://archive.is/CSzsk

 

[Mayfly]

Have never been a big fan of that song. It's good, but not great. Especially compared to the 3 singles that came before it. Heaven Knows almost becomes self parody. It's like The Smiths doing an impersonation of The Smiths.

I agree. Compared to the previous 3 singles, this one signalled a new musical direction with a clean production. I really love JM’s guitar playing here and Morrissey’s high falcetto.. But it misses the raw energy of the previous 3 singles. That’s why I wouldn’t rate it among their very best or most memorable either.

I would suggest one lyrical change though: replace ‘job’ by ‘record label’ and it will reflect some of his current sentiment.

 

[Seymour Glass]

I think from a humor perspective, the author is right. You can separate the people who simply find them depressing from those that get how funny Moz can be with this song.

 

[Geoffrey Ingram]

I would never say The Smiths singles failed - only if you are measuring their position in the charts as the bar between failure and success.

Singles and albums are sold to a different market. Typically singles are bought by the Tenny boppers (traditionally girls) who will send Donny Osmand / David Cassady / Bay City Rollers / Bros etc etc to the top everytime.

Exceptions to the rule were bands like The Jam and The Specials although their typical fan base was late teens / early 20's and male - but they had 3 things that The Smiths didn't particularily have.
1. They were part of a scene
2. They received daytime radio airplay
3. They were promoted

That The Smiths had so many top 40 hits was a credit to the band and who knows what they could have achieved in the singles chart had they had a greater share of 2 and 3

 

[Guillaume]

Beaucoup de gens à droite sont des fans de Morrissey et des Smiths, vous allez juste devoir y faire face. Morrissey est de droite, il faut gérer ça aussi.

Si tout était aussi simple ! Morrissey est de droite et de gauche; la différence c'est lui et c'est pour ça que le l'aime..

 

[Leroy]

Bloody hell, all these decades later and people are still writing trite crap about The Smiths. Yes, they were amazing (best band of all time as far as I'm concerned) but it's time to move on. Dissecting Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (my least favourite song by them) is uninspired and inane, a faux-intellectual mind wank about, well, not really that much at all.
In a nutshell, it's naff.
People read too much into things sometimes.
It's 2024. Please save your lives because you've only got one.

 

[The Alchemist]

Bloody hell, all these decades later and people are still writing trite crap about The Smiths. Yes, they were amazing (best band of all time as far as I'm concerned) but it's time to move on. Dissecting Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now (my least favourite song by them) is uninspired and inane, a faux-intellectual mind wank about, well, not really that much at all.
In a nutshell, it's naff.
People read too much into things sometimes.
It's 2024. Please save your lives because you've only got one.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now was the first song I ever heard by The Smiths, about a year ago now. I loved it at first, "Wow what a unique and lovely voice, who are these guys? Oh, hmm, the Smiths?" Them and Morrissey's Solo stuff is 95% of the music I listen to still today. Was 100% for a while, but I've been slowly bringing my previous favorite artists back into my life. Anyway, this song spoke to me a lot at the time I heard it. It screamed something to me about my life. I hated my life so much at that point, especially hated my second shift job I had. That song made me feel just a bit better.. because it's comical, it made me smile about my situation. I still listen to it from time to time now, but not much anymore...

When your dancing and laughing and finally living... hear my voice in your head and think of me kindly!

...I always will think of you kindly, that HKIMN will always have a certain special place in my heart. 20 years from now it'll pop on my shuffle and I'll do a little jig to it, like I did before.


Hope everyone's well today.