Try as I might I cannot get my head around what made The Smiths so great in many people's eyes.I'm aware that they're meant to be social satirists,ironic,heartbreaking etc but the miserable images that they invoke,NHS specs,glum as the gass works lyrics and Mozza's early image of gladiola's and hearing-aids
I'm beginning to think the best thing about them was Johnny Marr's guitar sound that made the band what they were.

Musically they were solid. Great pop tunes. But it was the wacky lyrics that sets them apart. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, funny stuff, witty too.

I like "How Soon Is Now" and the already-mentioned "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" but to me there was such a sameness to their thin melodies that I've always had a hard time getting through more than two or three songs at a time.

I liked them in the 80s. I like them now. Lots of great singalong nuggets. Unmistakable, dependable sound. There is a fair bit of 'woe is me' to the lyrics that probably spoke to me loudly as a teenager and got me hooked.

'Please Let Me Get What I Want' is an absolutely beautiful, affecting pop song... but I now find it incredibly selfish unless I put the narrative on someone else who actually deserves to be singing the words (which is what I do). Does that make sense?

I tried them out in the early '90s with that comp, but after a few plays I still felt the songs were too much alike, so I sold it. I respect them for what they've done, though, they spoke to a lot of young people in the '80s. Stone Roses is another highly rated '80s act that I don't get.

Like John, I find the lyrics so mopey that they make me laugh. "Girlfriend in a coma...I know...I know it's serious."

Morrissey, the British Michael Stipe.

Now, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Probably.

WhenI was going to university in the 80s, people who liked the Smiths (and they were considered a "college radio" act in Nashville, TN) tended to either be into mopey Morrissey and his sad lyrics, or into the great Johnny Marr. For a while, their fans were so annoying that I didn't care about the music. The band clicked for me when I heard "How Soon Is Now?" in a club. I swooned and have loved them ever since, though I'd have trouble quoting any lyrics, or even remembering song titles, for that matter. I'd be curious to hear someone's take on them who was now hearing them for the first time and didn't have a pre-existing case of Morrissey ennui.

The British Michael Stipe... That could be a whole thread unto itself.

It genuinely astonishes me how many people seem to buy into the Smiths-as-glum-miserablists image, and completely miss the deadpan humour which underpins so much of that side of the band. There are a few pieces of over-the-top heartache in their catalogue, but the vast majority of their most suicidally-grim lyrics are clearly, unmistakably meant to be taken with tongue firmly in cheek.

Perhaps it's a Northern thing.

Part of the appeal was context, the '80s Thatcherite England vibe... I like the "British Michael Stipe" comparison, too, in its own way, even down to the pansexual appeal. And Jamie is spot on with his comments about the deadpan humor that consistently runs throughout the back catalog.

"How Soon Is Now?" sure seems to be universally loved, even by people who wouldn't know any other Smiths songs.

I love the Smiths:

"Some girls are bigger than others. Some girls' mothers are bigger than other girls' mothers."

"As the flames rose to her Roman nose and her Walkman started to melt."

Plus I love Johnny's guitar!

Mike Nelson did a mean Morrissey imitation on MST3K.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R88T3ZHbvDM[/youtube]

That MST3K clip pretty much sums up everything about Morrissey that I've ever thought.

I really don't see how you guys see humour in the bouncy "Girlfriend in a Coma" or "Shoplifters of the World Unite" or lines like "if a double-decker bus crashes into us, to die by your side is a heavenly way to die" or "hang the D.J."...

I still maintain, however, that there was plenty for this angsty teenager to grab ahold of in "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" or "William, It Was Really Nothing" or "Please Please...".

Don't dislike them, but don't like them either.

That's exactly how I feel about The Smiths.

Some interesting comments.I grew up in the 80s and remember them being popular back then.They seemed back then (and maybe still do) to have a collection of fans who thought that liking The Smiths was an indication they were more intellectual than the straight rock or pop fan,as it took some degree of intelligence to see through those deliberately miserable songs,and the irony or deadpan humour within.ie students. The band also seemed to attract those people who felt they were outsiders (or wanted to be seen to be that way) as it was cool.Then of course there was the "northernness" of the band also attracted others in in Thatcher's class-divided Britain of the 80s.

I'm surprised that this band travels well to the States,as their songs are culturally rooted in a certain Britain,that was the 80s,working class,northern etc.The same might apply to The Beatles in another era,but they had tunes ! That's the thing,even though I grew up during this time and hardly recall one song apart from "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now".I think that's the enduring image of the band in the eyes of many.They do still have many fans though,and two Radio presenters I admire greatly, Stewart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe have regularly passed comment in their opinions on how great and influential the band were ??

There are other bands in a similar vein I get on very well with ie. The Go-Betweens,but The Smiths it's yet to happen.

Although "How Soon Is Now?" failed to chart in the US, it was a big club/new wave hit. And that memorable riff was copped in whole for "Hippychick" by 90s one-hit wonder Soho (reached #14 in Billboard).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rh6Uaqpm5sg[/youtube]

My sister played them day after day when I was a kid.

Hated them then and hate The Smiths still today.

Depressing and uninspiring.

This.