Sunday, May 1, 2016

Teenage Angst And A Nice Tune



How Soon Is Now? by The Smiths.

Probably one of the biggest bands of the early 80's, The Smiths were formed in Manchester, England in 1982. Their debut album (titled The Smiths.....how original) was released in 1984. They released a new album every year after that until 1987 when the band broke up over creative differences (in the years since, we've all realized the breakup was really because Morrisey was weird). That's 4 studio albums in 4 years. 3 of those albums reached #2 on the UK album charts and the 4th reached #1. So it makes little sense why there has been 10 different "greatest hits" collections.

Their songs had a darkness and complexity to them that spoke of the angst of teenagers. While no generation of teenagers is immune to this angst, few generations had a band like this as a soundtrack to their version of angst....and for that, its their loss.

How Soon Is Now? was a single from the Meat Is Murder sessions but did not appear on that album. But if you had a radio in 1985 you probably heard this song......a lot. The lyrics speak of the sadness of being unloved....or at least thinking you're unloved. Morrisey is bringing the whole room down but he's reminding us that its part of growing up. "I am human and I need to be loved / just like everybody else does"......deep. Add in the rising and falling wave of the guitar and you can feel like you're lost on an ocean of despair. But lets let the song remind us of the times that make us stronger for living through them.

So enjoy How Soon Is Now? and enjoy the better place your life is in.


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