What do you think of "I Ex-Love You"

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Oh god I absolutely *hated* Fatty and We Hate It when they were first released as singles, thought they were awful! Quite like them both now.

(I also remember telling friends at school that "The Boy With the Thorn In His Side" was incredibly lazy songwriting and marked a real drop-off in quality for The Smiths, the week it came out. Ah, the confidence of youth.)

well, I’m glad you’ve grown wiser with age, so few here have.

Btw, the only thing that bothers me about Thorn is a musical one. And I won’t point it out, because once you notice it, you’ll never be able to unhear it. Then again, it could just be me that has a problem with it. Lol.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Many of you mention Your Arsenal as a masterpiece. While it is a very good record, songs like Fatty and We hate it are just, as you said about I ex love you, b side material. The difference is that you were young in 1992.

Totally agree. Complete throwaways. And they make it entirely impossible for an album like YA to ever be considered a masterpiece. But I do think a song like Hate It has a bit more going for it than IXLY, lyrically.

 

[Erik]

Many of you mention Your Arsenal as a masterpiece. While it is a very good record, songs like Fatty and We hate it are just, as you said about I ex love you, b side material. The difference is that you were young in 1992.

Something squeezing ya?

 

[April Snow]

How much fun it is for me to read what songs you all love and hate as you have gone along your journey with his music in real time.

And here I am a newbie to his music (this year) and I have been gathering all of the Moz/Smiths records (I am a vinyl girl) and also the 12 inch singles and loving every one of them.

"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful" I love a lot - it is so clever and witty ............with that little bit of sarcasm thrown in.
I play it a lot. It makes me feel happy.

I like Fatty too - it has a good foot tapping romp to it ...........

Your Arsenal (Arse-and-all) so clever the title - I really enjoy but You Are The Quarry I rate higher.
I love Kill Uncle - particulary Side B as the arrangements are off the hook and sound phenomenal on my system.

I am listening to every song as it is all fresh and exciting to me ..............the only song I had ever heard of by Morrissey that I knew was "Everyday is Like Sunday"........and I knew zero Smiths songs. I am guessing in Australia not much air play????

I investigated The Smiths as I kept seeing TQID album being played a lot in my audiophile club (as we post photos of what we are spinning), but I had not heard it, so I decided to track down a copy on vinyl and as they say..............the rest is history..........I am hooked for life.

In for a penny and in for a pound as they say.

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

All I know is I've been singing, I ex-love you, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh...in my head for the past 2 days. Now that's what I call a pop song...

I have too!! It's been stuck in my head!

 

[SteveWS]

Ah, damn. I thought it was 'Eggs'.

 

[Pokey]

I keep trying to sing/hum it and end up singing/humming Handsome Devil

"Dear one, step right in
Sit down in your favourite chair
And let me get my hands, on your mammary glands"

 

[April Snow]

I keep trying to sing/hum it and end up singing/humming Handsome Devil

"Dear one, step right in
Sit down in your favourite chair
And let me get my hands, on your mammary glands"

I have had a crap day, but that made me laugh *thank you*

I do like the new song - it took a few listens and now I am loving it - especially as I can see Morrissey is getting into it more too now each performance.

 

[The Queen of Batons]

How much fun it is for me to read what songs you all love and hate as you have gone along your journey with his music in real time.

And here I am a newbie to his music (this year).

Most of the music is new to me as well, apart from a couple of Smiths songs that I didn't realise were by the Smiths. (For instance HSIN was played on many a night out). Last night I discovered "Girl least likely to". Odd in some ways, but enjoyable.

"I ex-love you" was playing in my head when I woke up yesterday - a good sign, I think.

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

Try again.

I will ex-do that.

 

[hallowed123]

I think it's great. I really enjoy it. People say the bassline and some of the guitar sound too much like This Charming Man but I don't think so. I think it's just got that really fun upbeat Motown underbelly like Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness. It's like Motown-jangle pop.

The lyrics are smart without being intellectual and the whole song has that great deadpan-with-a-wink thing that he does so well. It's funny and sarcastic and relatable. Great melody. Love the slight lyrical callback to I've Change My Plea To Guilty, too.

I adore it.

I think it's great. I really enjoy it. People say the bassline and some of the guitar sound too much like This Charming Man but I don't think so. I think it's just got that really fun upbeat Motown underbelly like Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness. It's like Motown-jangle pop.

The lyrics are smart without being intellectual and the whole song has that great deadpan-with-a-wink thing that he does so well. It's funny and sarcastic and relatable. Great melody. Love the slight lyrical callback to I've Change My Plea To Guilty, too.

I adore it.

I absolutely love this song. Wish there were more upbeat stuff

 

[No 27]

It's shite.

 

[SuedeMoz]

Totally agree. Complete throwaways. And they make it entirely impossible for an album like YA to ever be considered a masterpiece. But I do think a song like Hate It has a bit more going for it than IXLY, lyrically.

Yes, compared to IXLY. But come on. YA = 2 throw-away songs and the other 8 reside somewhere on the range of very good to absolutely amazing. I'd say it still qualifies as a masterpiece. The mistake was making those 2 the lead singles as it did not indicate how great the rest were. Just think if Tomorrow had been the lead single from YA...

 

[Andy W]

I keep trying to sing/hum it and end up singing/humming Handsome Devil

"Dear one, step right in
Sit down in your favourite chair
And let me get my hands, on your mammary glands"

Me too, just sounds too much like it. Trying to recapture the glory days I guess.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Yes, compared to IXLY. But come on. YA = 2 throw-away songs and the other 8 reside somewhere on the range of very good to absolutely amazing. I'd say it still qualifies as a masterpiece. The mistake was making those 2 the lead singles as it did not indicate how great the rest were. Just think if Tomorrow had been the lead single from YA...

I disagree. In order for an album to be called a ‘masterpiece’ in my book, every song needs to be great. Think Closer, Nebraska, Vauxhall, Only the Lonely, Disintegration et al. Your Arsenal is very good, one of his best albums as a solo artist, but I would never consider it a masterpiece.

 

[Thewlis]

Yes, compared to IXLY. But come on. YA = 2 throw-away songs and the other 8 reside somewhere on the range of very good to absolutely amazing. I'd say it still qualifies as a masterpiece. The mistake was making those 2 the lead singles as it did not indicate how great the rest were. Just think if Tomorrow had been the lead single from YA...

Er, Certain People I Know? Probably the weakest of the three singles to me.

I do agree that the other seven are really great. But it’s nowhere near Vauxhall or Viva Hate as they have really great singles too.

 

[SuedeMoz]

I disagree. In order for an album to be called a ‘masterpiece’ in my book, every song needs to be great. Think Closer, Nebraska, Vauxhall, Only the Lonely, Disintegration et al. Your Arsenal is very good, one of his best albums as a solo artist, but I would never consider it a masterpiece.

Closer, I will have to revisit. I consider Vauxhall and Distegration to be masterpieces and yet I don't consider them flawless albums. I'd have to dig very deep to find a "flawless" album - meaning not a single weak song.

Update: I'd consider Viva Hate just about flawless.

 

[SuedeMoz]

Er, Certain People I Know? Probably the weakest of the three singles to me.

I do agree that the other seven are really great. But it’s nowhere near Vauxhall or Viva Hate as they have really great singles too.

For sure, it would be #3 behind those albums. It just shows how opinions can differ. I like Certain People I know. It's a fun little romp.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Closer, I will have to revisit. I consider Vauxhall and Distegration to be masterpieces and yet I don't consider them flawless albums. I'd have to dig very deep to find a "flawless" album - meaning not a single weak song.

Update: I'd consider Viva Hate just about flawless.

Vauxhall has UTBEASB, which is nowhere near the other ten songs, and Disintegration has Lullaby and Lovesong - two songs that are completely worn to shreds and a bit too simple to really make sense on an album like Disintegration - but neither of these songs are weak per se. And they don’t stop me from calling the albums they represent masterpieces.

I consider both Closer and Nebraska to be completely flawless. Absolutely perfect albums. Those types of albums are rare.

 

[Thewlis]

Vauxhall has UTBEASB, which is nowhere near the other ten songs, and Disintegration has Lullaby and Lovesong - two songs that are completely worn to shreds and a bit too simple to really make sense on an album like Disintegration - but neither of these songs are weak per se. And they don’t stop me from calling the albums they represent masterpieces.

I consider both Closer and Nebraska to be completely flawless. Absolutely perfect albums. Those types of albums are rare.

The second half of Closer is flawless, the first half isn’t. But these things are personal of course.

To me The Queen is Dead is perfect despite Vicar in a Tutu. And so there are dozens of albums that are perfect in their own right, even if not all the songs are 10/10.