U
Uncleskinny
Guest
How do.
In the NME today they had a supplement to celebrate their 3000th edition (or a sponsorship with iTunes if you’re a cynic) – it’s called Essentials – 75 songs that defined rock and roll. The very first one in the booklet is How Soon Is Now, followed some Moz quotes. Later on, there’s Suedehead. And several pictures that you’ve probably seen before.
How Soon Is Now – The Smiths
It must be tough being Steven Patrick Morrissey. Think back to the time when wanted to go out but didn’t have a stitch to wear, or when he got sore lips from too much dodgy smooching under the iron bridge. Heaven knows he’s miserable now? Well, it’s understandable isn’t it? “How Soon Is Now?” though, is the epitome of Mozza gloom. The heart rending tale of going out to a club, looking for a shag – or maybe even just a cuddle – and getting diddly squat. Apart from a large dose of melancholy and self-loathing.
Starting life as a mere B-side on the 12” of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” and “William It Was Really Nothing” (sic – Sk.), How Soon Is Now? Is a shy-boy anthem that has touched and connected people across the world through its universal feelings of loneliness, longing and rejection. But it’s not just genius because of what it’s about, it’s genius because of the way it sounds. Seymour Stein, the renowned boss of Sire Records, described it as: “The ‘Stairway To Heaven’ of the ‘80s”. It’s a bombastic, epic number that lets Johnny Marr’s obsession with Bo Diddley-style tremolo guitar shine through, while creating a sound that was distinctly different to anything The Smiths had ever created before, but came to be representative of the group. The track was actually crafted in a hung-over, hash-fuelled smog by Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce while Morrissey was putting his feet up in his Kensington flat – probably mulling over how he couldn’t get laid. Morrissey popped down to the Jam Studios a few days later and did the vocal in two takes, with lyrics nabbed from his stash of notebooks and works-in-progress.
The song wet on to top Peel’s Festive 50, and has a special place in the hearts of all self-respecting indie fans. But the less said of Soho’s dire 1991 top 10 hit ‘Hippychick’, which sampled the track, the better. Russian faux-school dykes TaTu did a far better job with the song, giving it a quirky millennial twist by mispronouncing most of the words amid ear-bashing sonic production.
If the Tate Gallery had an aural hall of fame, ‘How Soon Is Now?’ would definitely take pride of place. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, a masterpiece, and proof that being miserable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can be amazing.
And now, the quotes, from the June 8th, 1985 edition of the NME.
The Further Thoughts Of Chairman Mo
The hills are alive with celibate cries and hat Pope Of Pop, Morrissey, is still walking on water. Has cherub Danny Kelly met his match in the misery stakes? Let the revelation begin.
He is somewhat shorter than the six feet claimed in the tour programme, and sports those national health specs, and an old-fashioned leather briefcase. He’s having one of his good days – “It’s a constant source of amazement to me” – and every word from his mouth is wickedly sarcastic.
YOU’RE SO VAIN
DK – “Would you agree that you’re vain?”
M – “Oh yes, I am vain. If someone punches me in the face and I lose those five teeth then I’m going to be upset, make no mistake about that. Yes it’s vanity – I care about the way I look, the way I feel and the way I am – and I don’t want to apologise about it. People can picture me laying naked in my house, covered in feathers, rubbing these pictures on myself. But that isn’t the case…”
THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
There is a topic from which Morrissey almost recoils, and that’s his past, the subject matter of those aching songs. So why is the past, loudly trumpeted in the songs, so vigorously veiled elsewhere?
Silence.
M – “It’s just that the past is so very important. I don’t like it when people say ‘Let’s leave the past and go ahead’ because a lot of the future isn’t that attractive.”
DK – “What did you actually learn at school?”
M – “I learned that if ever wanted to be educated I’d have to leave school. I came from a working class background and very brutal schooling, which is of no use to anyone who wants to learn. So education, quite naturally, had no effect on me whatsoever.”
DK – “In all this childhood misery, who did you blame for your predicament?”
M – “I think I always blamed myself. I always felt these things are happening because I’m an ugly, awkward, gawky individual, and that stayed with me for years and years. I used to believe that if wasn’t successful in ay way it was because I was a totally worthless, shallow slob.”
DK – “Who do you blame now?”
M – “The same person. In some totally inexplicable way, I still accept a lot of the blame. Perhaps it isn’t right, but I do. Guilt and regret are the most futile emotions in the universe.”
A THING CALLED LOVE
In all of Morrissey’s bleak urban mindscapes of isolation, disappointment and mistrust, the one word that keeps blinking out, is ‘Love’. And yet there’s this creature who claims – yawn – to sleep with no-one, so what the hell is he on about? Has he even ever been in love?
M – “Do you mean actually experiencing relationships?”
DK – “No, not really. I mean the spiritual, mental delirium of being in love.”
M – “Not the physical thing?”
DK – “Paranoia is not a pretty sight. No.”
M – “Oh well, in that case I can easily answer. I am constantly in that state of desire and admiration for things, words…”
DK – “Oh come on, that’s clutching at straws. Don’t you wish you loved people, and that people loved you?”
The famous bogbrush haircut tilts back; his eyes fix on a spot on the ceiling.
M – “Yes, yes I do.”
DK – “Do you think you’d be happier, more content, then?”
M – “Well yes. ‘m convinced that once it happens, if it ever does, there will be a tremendous turnabout in my life, and that’s captivating and riveting to me. I’m waiting for it to happen…”
And then, further into this slim volume, comes another of the 75 songs…
SUEDHEAD – MORRISSEY
The song itself was based on a demo co-writer/producer Stephen Street made for possible B-sides for the last Smiths album ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’. Famously secretive concerning his lyrics, Morrissey never said who the song was about, but just that it was about his life.
WHAT WE SAID AT THE TIME (20/2/88)
“As he sings ‘I’m so sorry’ his vocals hit a pitch that turns your stomach with queasy delight. It makes you feel vulnerable and provokes emotions that you’ve forgotten about. Like experiences from the raw zone; the break-ups and one-night encounters, the falling in love and the confidence that comes with it.”
Sk/Peter
In the NME today they had a supplement to celebrate their 3000th edition (or a sponsorship with iTunes if you’re a cynic) – it’s called Essentials – 75 songs that defined rock and roll. The very first one in the booklet is How Soon Is Now, followed some Moz quotes. Later on, there’s Suedehead. And several pictures that you’ve probably seen before.
How Soon Is Now – The Smiths
It must be tough being Steven Patrick Morrissey. Think back to the time when wanted to go out but didn’t have a stitch to wear, or when he got sore lips from too much dodgy smooching under the iron bridge. Heaven knows he’s miserable now? Well, it’s understandable isn’t it? “How Soon Is Now?” though, is the epitome of Mozza gloom. The heart rending tale of going out to a club, looking for a shag – or maybe even just a cuddle – and getting diddly squat. Apart from a large dose of melancholy and self-loathing.
Starting life as a mere B-side on the 12” of “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” and “William It Was Really Nothing” (sic – Sk.), How Soon Is Now? Is a shy-boy anthem that has touched and connected people across the world through its universal feelings of loneliness, longing and rejection. But it’s not just genius because of what it’s about, it’s genius because of the way it sounds. Seymour Stein, the renowned boss of Sire Records, described it as: “The ‘Stairway To Heaven’ of the ‘80s”. It’s a bombastic, epic number that lets Johnny Marr’s obsession with Bo Diddley-style tremolo guitar shine through, while creating a sound that was distinctly different to anything The Smiths had ever created before, but came to be representative of the group. The track was actually crafted in a hung-over, hash-fuelled smog by Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce while Morrissey was putting his feet up in his Kensington flat – probably mulling over how he couldn’t get laid. Morrissey popped down to the Jam Studios a few days later and did the vocal in two takes, with lyrics nabbed from his stash of notebooks and works-in-progress.
The song wet on to top Peel’s Festive 50, and has a special place in the hearts of all self-respecting indie fans. But the less said of Soho’s dire 1991 top 10 hit ‘Hippychick’, which sampled the track, the better. Russian faux-school dykes TaTu did a far better job with the song, giving it a quirky millennial twist by mispronouncing most of the words amid ear-bashing sonic production.
If the Tate Gallery had an aural hall of fame, ‘How Soon Is Now?’ would definitely take pride of place. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, a masterpiece, and proof that being miserable doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, it can be amazing.
And now, the quotes, from the June 8th, 1985 edition of the NME.
The Further Thoughts Of Chairman Mo
The hills are alive with celibate cries and hat Pope Of Pop, Morrissey, is still walking on water. Has cherub Danny Kelly met his match in the misery stakes? Let the revelation begin.
He is somewhat shorter than the six feet claimed in the tour programme, and sports those national health specs, and an old-fashioned leather briefcase. He’s having one of his good days – “It’s a constant source of amazement to me” – and every word from his mouth is wickedly sarcastic.
YOU’RE SO VAIN
DK – “Would you agree that you’re vain?”
M – “Oh yes, I am vain. If someone punches me in the face and I lose those five teeth then I’m going to be upset, make no mistake about that. Yes it’s vanity – I care about the way I look, the way I feel and the way I am – and I don’t want to apologise about it. People can picture me laying naked in my house, covered in feathers, rubbing these pictures on myself. But that isn’t the case…”
THE PAST IS A FOREIGN COUNTRY
There is a topic from which Morrissey almost recoils, and that’s his past, the subject matter of those aching songs. So why is the past, loudly trumpeted in the songs, so vigorously veiled elsewhere?
Silence.
M – “It’s just that the past is so very important. I don’t like it when people say ‘Let’s leave the past and go ahead’ because a lot of the future isn’t that attractive.”
DK – “What did you actually learn at school?”
M – “I learned that if ever wanted to be educated I’d have to leave school. I came from a working class background and very brutal schooling, which is of no use to anyone who wants to learn. So education, quite naturally, had no effect on me whatsoever.”
DK – “In all this childhood misery, who did you blame for your predicament?”
M – “I think I always blamed myself. I always felt these things are happening because I’m an ugly, awkward, gawky individual, and that stayed with me for years and years. I used to believe that if wasn’t successful in ay way it was because I was a totally worthless, shallow slob.”
DK – “Who do you blame now?”
M – “The same person. In some totally inexplicable way, I still accept a lot of the blame. Perhaps it isn’t right, but I do. Guilt and regret are the most futile emotions in the universe.”
A THING CALLED LOVE
In all of Morrissey’s bleak urban mindscapes of isolation, disappointment and mistrust, the one word that keeps blinking out, is ‘Love’. And yet there’s this creature who claims – yawn – to sleep with no-one, so what the hell is he on about? Has he even ever been in love?
M – “Do you mean actually experiencing relationships?”
DK – “No, not really. I mean the spiritual, mental delirium of being in love.”
M – “Not the physical thing?”
DK – “Paranoia is not a pretty sight. No.”
M – “Oh well, in that case I can easily answer. I am constantly in that state of desire and admiration for things, words…”
DK – “Oh come on, that’s clutching at straws. Don’t you wish you loved people, and that people loved you?”
The famous bogbrush haircut tilts back; his eyes fix on a spot on the ceiling.
M – “Yes, yes I do.”
DK – “Do you think you’d be happier, more content, then?”
M – “Well yes. ‘m convinced that once it happens, if it ever does, there will be a tremendous turnabout in my life, and that’s captivating and riveting to me. I’m waiting for it to happen…”
And then, further into this slim volume, comes another of the 75 songs…
SUEDHEAD – MORRISSEY
The song itself was based on a demo co-writer/producer Stephen Street made for possible B-sides for the last Smiths album ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’. Famously secretive concerning his lyrics, Morrissey never said who the song was about, but just that it was about his life.
WHAT WE SAID AT THE TIME (20/2/88)
“As he sings ‘I’m so sorry’ his vocals hit a pitch that turns your stomach with queasy delight. It makes you feel vulnerable and provokes emotions that you’ve forgotten about. Like experiences from the raw zone; the break-ups and one-night encounters, the falling in love and the confidence that comes with it.”
Sk/Peter
