Tag Archives: The Smiths

Song Association.

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The thing about music that always amazes me is the ability it has to change a person’s mood so quickly to how it can bring people together- just by bonding over song. It is probably one of the most powerful forces, in an entertainment sense.

A piece of music can send you back to a certain time, sometimes a time that you wish you could forget. Or sometimes, it just takes you to that place where nothing and no one can touch you. A certain song can make you feel so unbelievably invincible, that you can take on anything.

If I hear White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane I am immediately taken back to being a baby in my mum’s arms being rocked to sleep. Me and sleep have always had a bad relationship. Bad because most of the time, I find it impossible to sleep. When I hear White Rabbit I don’t hear Grace Slick’s haunting voice, I hear my mum mimicking creepy voices to get me to sleep. Now, for most that wouldn’t send them to sleep- with me, it did. Go figure. Ever the oddball I suppose.

Most probably use this song to get stoned to, as someone who’s never gone near drugs- White Rabbit is associated with my childhood. A precious memory that nobody can ever take from me.

However there are songs and artists that I can associate with shit times. Times that I wish never happened, but they did. They had to happen in order to make me who I am now. Some don’t like who I am now, but I do- and that’s what counts. If I listen to certain songs by Ladyhawke I am instantly think of a person who used to make me happy a few years ago, there was a time where I just couldn’t listen to certain songs by her. Now I can, because they are just memories and it is just a song.

Sometimes you hear a song that you and a friend or whatever, change the words to, and make it your own. You change the words to provide a comical take on it, it becomes your song.

I’ve heard couples go on about “this is our song!” and usually, it’s the wankiest song ever. They pick the stereotypical songs. If it was me, I’d probably pick something by Zola Jesus or The Jesus And Mary Chain. A darker take on it, I don’t know why- it’s just more intense and means more. Maybe I’d choose Billie Holiday by Warpaint. Actually no, I don’t think I could. Warpaint are my lifeline, and if it was to go tits up- the song would be ruined.

See, you have to be extremely careful with choosing what song you associate with someone you are close to. There will come a time where you cannot stand that person anymore, I think it’s called marriage? If you pick a song that you love to associate with them- what happens when it goes wrong? You dislike a person AND a song. It’s not worth it. Or is it?

The flipside is, when you hear that certain song you think of the person you love/like straight away. Every single part of you just lights up, you feel alive and superhuman. You have to take the good with the bad. Sometimes a song can sum up how you feel better than you can. Personally, I’m a bit shit with telling someone how I feel about anything or anyone. I can easily write things like this, that I have no issue with. I can pour out my heart and soul into an article and leave myself vulnerable or whatever- but make me tell someone how I feel about them? No thanks, I’ll just tell you to listen to a certain song- much easier. I’d say less effort on my part, but that’s not the case. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find that one song that just says it all? Bloody difficult!

I’ve always said I will never ever associate anything by Morrissey or Florence & The Machine with anyone, in a romantic sense. When I hear Everyday Is Like Sunday by Moz, I think of being at home straight away or I’m in York with my mum watching him sing it- good memories, of course. If I hear Between Two Lungs by Florence, I’m at a Florence gig with my best friend singing as if our lives depend on it. These memories don’t hurt. They just make me want them all the time.

Music can trigger off anything in your brain and cause your heart to instantly jolt, that’s how powerful it is.

There’s one song that no matter what will always make me stop everything and probably cry. The Smiths- Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want is my life, always has been, always will be. I’ve cried to this song and I’ve loathed life and myself to this song. There’s something about Morrissey’s voice that just breaks you in this song, as does Marr’s guitar. It just breaks you. I Know It’s Over comes close to this to. When I saw it live, I’m pretty sure I cried like a baby. When you hear the songs that saved your life live, it does that to you.

There’s a difference between associating a song with a person and a situation. When a song is associated with a person, you can carry bad vibes towards the person and song. When it’s towards a situation, it is easier to let it go. You cannot help a situation but you can be entirely cautious of who you get close to.

When I hear The Model by Kraftwerk, I remember being a baby in the living room dancing to this. The same applies to Groove Is In The Heart by Dee-Lite.

When I hear anything by Aaliyah I have a ridiculous amount of mixed feelings that I just cannot put into words, I just can’t.

Certain songs remind me of train trips and road trips. When I hear anything by The Long Blondes, Gossip or The Horrors’ first album- I’m back at my first year of university. The Long Blondes first album was played to death by me during my first year of university.

We create so many memories in our lifetime, some are hard to remember and some re hard to let go of- that’s why music is such a fascinating and overwhelming force.

Whenever I hear Now That We’ve Found Love by Heavy D & The Boys, I instantly remember being in a car with my family driving to Italy for the first time (that I can remember.) I loved that song SO much; pretty sure I used to rap along to it and dance like they did in the video. My mum and I used to sing it to each other in car, probably pissing everyone else off. I must have destroyed the tape of it during that trip. I was about 4 or 5; I was obsessed with that song so badly. If I hear that song now, I have to text my mum to tell her.

I’ve not really had a point with writing any of this, I never really do. I suppose I just had to write it down. However, my conclusion is this- I’d rather have a person break my heart than them ruin a song or band I love for me. I can handle having my heart broken, just don’t ruin a song I love- that I cannot deal with.

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.

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There is always one specific song you hold so close to you. There’s that one song you cling onto with all you have, even when you think everything and everyone has drained you of all you have and all you are. This one song is your absolute life-line. It is your crutch, it has saved your life. Without this song, you have no idea where you would be. Or maybe you do, but you don’t want to think about it. Because if you think about it….well, who knows. This song means the world to you, and more. It is part of you. Maybe it defines you. Whatever it does to you, nothing and no one else ever will.

For me, the song is Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths. I’ve never heard a song so bloody apt. It seems this song, is my constant crutch. And currently, well let’s just say it means more to me than it ever has done before.

Attempting to put into words what this song actually means to me is probably impossible. Ask any genuine fan of The Smiths or Morrissey (I mean the ones who know there is more to them than This Charming Man, First of the Gang to Die and How Soon Is Now) and they will have the one song by The Smiths or Morrissey that is their utter life line. Some may choose I Know It’s Over, which to me, is on a par with Please Please…”Oh Mother I can feel the soil falling over my head.” Have you ever heard a line so fragile? “It’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate. It takes strength to be gentle and kind.” Never a truer word spoken, When you feel so low, being kind and gentle is so exhausting. Being good to people who aren’t worth it takes so much from you. So, let them go. Always let them go.

Lyrics have always been a huge thing for me. When you read the lyrics to anything Morrissey has written, you can read it as poetry. He is quite possibly one of, if not the greatest songwriter of all time. What fucks me off a lot is when people dismiss him and just call him grumpy or a depressive twit. He did suffer from depression in his early years, that is obvious in some of his work. However, listen to songs such as Bigmouth Strikes Again and you will hear humour in his words. He’s so bloody intelligent and witty- if you overlook this, you lack intelligence. Harsh? Possibly,but still true.

“So for once in my life, let me get what I want. Lord knows it would be the first time.” Anyone who cannot relate to these words is quite possibly a robot. However, I think the person with the coldest and hardest of hearts can really feel these words, this song. Everyone at some point in their life has felt, “Just give me a fucking break.” I feel it most days, probably far more than I should. I dislike how honest I’ve been writing this, but no one ever reads what I write so it’s okay. I’ve never seen this live. Seeing I Know It’s Over broke my heart in June and August this year. I just never thought I’d witness it, but I did. It’s something I hold so very dear to me.

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want means more than the world to me. The sadness that comes out of Johnny Marr’s guitar is heartbreaking, the way Morrissey emphasises certain words just pierces your soul. It crushes and comforts you all at the same time. Listening to The Smiths and Morrissey can, at times, be like an emotional rollercoaster. With others, it’s never worth it- but it is with them. Always.

The below clip is one of the best things I have seen Morrissey do. He breaks down, which just makes the song that much more hard-hitting and personal. You feel it even more because you see him feel it. When his voice trembles a bit and he kneels on the ground, you just want to hug him and say, “I know….I know.” Watching this performance is highly emotional.

Everyone has a band that changed their life. A band that found them when every part of them as lost- The Smiths are my band. Morrissey’s lyrics made me feel less daft for being sensitive. At worst a coward, at best just unsure.

The Smiths- There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.

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When I was about 14/15 years old, The Smiths saved my life. I had always been aware of their music, but when I hit that disgusting period of desperation and self-loathing, I found The Smiths properly. Or maybe they found me. I’ve always said I’d be dead without The Smiths/Morrissey. His words have time and time again pulled me through life. I feel most days his words just drag me through.

There is something about the way he words disappointment, sadness and the like that no other has- or ever will

I’d much rather cling onto a song or band than a person for those times I feel like shit. And yes, it is ALWAYS Morrissey that I turn to. I have tried a few times to explain what his words have done to me, but it is for the most part, impossible. It’s like, when you are in love with someone- you cannot explain why you love them. You love everything about them, things you just cannot explain- the things that make them who they are, are the reasons why you love them. That’s how I feel about Morrissey. I love the way he pronounces certain words (November Spawned A Monster, when he sings the word “discussing” is beautiful.)

Some things in life will always remain unexplainable.

There is one song by The Smiths that just sums up everything. Stereotypically it is There Is A Light That Never Goes Out. I constantly have this song playing around in my head. I’ve got an awful attention span and I usually have a vacant gaze upon my face with this song playing round my head. For me, it’s not an issue. For those trying to talk to me, it’s a bit of a pain.

I cannot remember the first time I heard this song, but I know I still get the same feeling now as I did when I first heard it. It’s like a state of euphoria mixed with a hug. I listen to it and it’s like I’m being hugged by Morrissey. It feels like reassurance. As soon as the song starts and Moz sings, “Take me out tonight” it’s like everything that caused you to feel bad just no longer matters.

I’ve never felt at home with anything or anyone. I’m not sure if I do too well with anything permanent, but I do wish to one day feel a sense of belonging. I’m nearly 25; you’d think I’d have felt it by now. But I haven’t, and I doubt I ever will.

Anyway.

There is no doubt that this song is the greatest song ever written. I know it’s not the best song by The Smiths (I Know It’s Over probably is) but there is something about There Is A Light That Never Goes Out that gives you hope. I think the first time I heard it, I just broke down. Sometimes now it still does that. Sometimes out of sadness, sometimes out of happiness. It’s a song I go to for everything. Everything I learnt about life has been from a Morrissey lyric (or nagging from my beautiful mum.)

I have sat in the passenger seats of cars with this song whirling around my head, just never wanting to go back home. Just wanting to stay away for longer than I have to. Four walls aren’t comforting. Company is.

I have laid in the dark playing it over and over taking in ever part of the song. The bass, the guitar, the drums, the lyrics, the vocals- and every time, I notice something else. It constantly leaves me in awe.

If I was to compile a list of songs that saved me, this would easily be my number one. It will always be my number one. The older I get, the less I seem to be less sure of everything. I have no idea if I ever had a sense of innocence when I was younger. I’m fully are I’ve always been a cynic, that won’t ever change. I’ve never relied on a person to get me through things; I don’t want to be let down more times than one should. A piece of music is much more stable. A piece of music is always there.

Maybe this makes me sound like a pathetic fool, but There Is A Light That Never Goes Out will always be my tiny bit of hope in a world so harsh.

Far Too Honest.

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As much as I love music, and as much as I hate writing personal shit down…I feel I need to let this out. NOW. Before I go to bed and not being able to sleep because this won’t go away. I will probably delete this later on. But I just need to let this out.

I hate the way that I am stupidly shy. If I could, I’d make a CD with every song that sums up how I feel and hand it to a person. This person doesn’t know. In fact, this person will never know because I freeze/don’t talk. If they saw this, they wouldn’t know that this was about them. Maybe it’s not about a person..it’s about the idea of them. Regardless of what it is, it’s actually getting to me in a way that I don’t want it to. So, these songs will sum it up because I don’t have it in me to admit this. Someone else can hah.

Alphabeat-Hole In My Heart. Recently I’ve paid attention to the lyrics and it just sums everything up. Every tiny and large detail. Seriously. I don’t like it, but I love this song. Buggerings!

The Drums- I Felt Stupid. If they do this live in 2 weeks time I think I will have a bit of a cry. It’s just beautiful.

Florence + The Machine- Drumming Song. No words really. I swear the Lungs album sums up my life most of the time.

The Smiths- I Want The One I Can’t Have. I stand by the fact that Morrissey has written a song to describe every feeling that exists. This song shows this.

Morrissey- I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris. It’s so true. Every word sang here is utter truth. Fall for a country rather than a person. A place will not disappoint. People can. But only if you let them.

Morrissey- Let Me Kiss You. Again, shows why Morrissey is my hero. Thanks Moz!

Ellie Goulding- The Writer. I have no idea why…well I do, I just love Ellie. But…I have no idea. I don’t know. The words I guess.

La Roux- Quicksand. The whole album means a lot to me..for reasons I don’t ever wish to talk about, I cannot do it. I was going to put Cover My Eyes on here, but that’d mean listening to it for a few seconds and putting the link up. I cannot listen to that song, it kills me a wee bit. Quicksand though….blaaaaaaaady ‘ell.

Mystery Jets & Laura Marling- Young Love. So beautiful.

Mystery Jets- Two Doors Down. So apt…apart from being two doors down hah.

The Horrors- Mirrors Image. The “crippling shyness” line gets me every single time. Seriously.

Right I’m gonna leave it at that. I need to go to bed because apparently I’ve got shit to do tomorrow. I hope it doesn’t rain so I can go for a walk.

x

The Smiths.

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The Smiths

 

 

Pick your favourite song by The Smiths. Now, pick your favourite lyric by them. By the time you’ve read this piece, I bet you’ll have changed your mind.

Everyone knows the haunting sound and powerful words to ‘How Soon Is Now.’ Personally, not a favourite song by The Smiths. It’ll always be, for me- ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.’ I adore that song. Everything about it. I just love that song to pieces.

It’s the specific one-liners that make this band the best group to have ever come out of the UK. It’s one-liners such as : “I would go out tonight but I haven’t got a stitch to wear” or “Why do I give valuable time to people who don’t care if I live or die.” I could go on about how lyrically, The Smiths are the best band to have ever existed.

Marr is fanstastic, as are Rourke and Joyce. But people, stop calling Morrissey “arrogant.” His clever lyrics influenced cheap imitations that bum ‘The Queen Is Dead.’

‘This town will drag you down’- every time I come back to the Isle of Man during uni holidays, that lyric seems to be stuck in my brain. I feel that this line was written for me, and anyone who is from a desolate place that oozes negativity.

Some may say, to appreciate The Smiths you had to have been there. I was born in 1986(the golden era of hip hop!) So, I guess I was late! But, I found The Smiths when I was lost. There are a handful of bands that have influenced my life and maybe changed it. I’m not the only one who feels this way about The Smiths.

I don’t want them to reform, as much as I love them- I just don’t want them to. I’m unsure of my reasons, I suppose they are odd. Maybe you feel the same, maybe you don’t.

I’ll leave you with this. If The Smiths stayed together- they may have burnt out and made “bad” records(I doubt it). Instead, they quit whilst ahead and Morrissey became a great solo artist and Marr gave us Modest Mouse.

So, before you become a small minded fool and label them as “depressing.” Then proceed to label Morrissey as “arrogant”- just remember, they said what you thought in such a charming and sarcastic manner- and also with great wit.