July 23, 2011

The Sound Of The Smiths-ish

The post you're reading right now has been on my mind for quite some time, before irrelephant  was even a thought. However, writing about The Smiths is so extremely hard that I have put it off until now. And the reason is not because I have nothing to say about them, it's because such talented artists set the bar very high in relation to articles about their music. I have no words to describe how much I love this band. The illuminating fact is that they keep the first position in my lastfm top artists list.




We cannot deny that Mr. Morrisey and his buddies developed their own style and aesthetics during the more than five years together as a band. WTF ! They are still trendy and have penetrated deeply into the music scene, as many artists have a background reminiscent of the legendary Mancunians. While listening carefully to tons of outfits that might seem similar, tears came to my ears as I was reminded of hearing The Smiths for the first time. This is a list of those that come closest to them (IMO).



With regard to frontman Morrissey, a recent article on Pitchfork made clear how much he's bothered by the fact that the band he led for a while is casting a shadow on his current music career. 


In fact, when he has been asked about sharing again a stage with his former bandmates, he has vowed that he'd rather eat his own testicles than reform The Smiths. And that's saying something coming from a vegan!


Ok, I have made a collaborative list in Spotify for you to include all the bands that bear some resemblance to one of the greatest Brit rock outfits. C'mon, do your bit!


Added Bonus: If you want further information about The Smiths, a very brilliant blog in perfect chronological order is waiting for you. That's a real fan, huh?


7 comments:

Dorcik said...

I really love your list! I found some very interesting songs here.
The only song I find not-so-smthsish is 'Throw your arms around me'. I think they have their own style (maybe that's because I knew them earlier than The Smiths and still hear the 'ausieness' listening to them).
In spite of their beauty some of them ripp off Smiths' sound and the singers literally imitate Morrissey. I can't consider it as inventive.

Unknown said...

Wowowo!! I was expecting a comment like yours. Seriously, you've given a lot of insightful comments! Thank-you-very-much! ^_^

I've considered "Throw Your Arms Around Me" in isolation and you're absolutely rite. I can assure you that after listening to a pile of potential bands it's easy to lose some criteria.

Have you subscribed to the Spotify playlist? Surely you can add a song that I still don't know.

And yes! Blatant imitations of Morrisey!

Dorcik said...

I don't know many bands or songs having smiths-ish sound but I can recommend you a guy called Badly Drawn Boy and especially his track "I saw you walk away". Sounds pretty much like "There is a light...". I heard also that The Cranberries were inspired by Smiths, people often associate the both bands.

I discovered your blog yesterday (well, actually today night :D) and it seems very interesting to me. If I have a time, I'll surely destine it for discovering your music.
Cheers!

Unknown said...

Certainly, some strains of the song you recommended me are identical; but I can not find so much similarity in the melody as you say. Neither I think The Cranberries have a lot in common with The Smiths, hehe. There is nothing like the original ones, huh?

Sure, you're welcome to this blog whenever you want! Just out of curiosity, where are you from? :)

Dorcik said...

Well, yeah, you're completely right - The Smiths are the one and only, nothing compares to them :D
I'm from Poland. :)

Unknown said...

Mr. Morrisey, if by chance you ever read this... Ahem! Do you wanna marry me? ;)

Marinyn said...

No comenté esta entrada antes?
La estuve viendo durante mucho tiempo, de las que he visto de mis preferidas. ¡Tienes tantas!