So why is The Smiths on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
Somewhere in my thirties, I “discovered” The Smiths and subsequently went through a heavy Smiths phase.
It got to the point where my wife would tease me and jokingly gripe to the tune of, “You’re listening to The Smiths again?”
The band’s eponymous album release has much to do with my enduring Smiths obsession.
My most favorite Smiths tune of all is “Pretty Girls Make Graves,” a song I find as relentlessly appealing as it is mysterious.
By “mysterious,” I’ll admit that I have no flipping clue why the pretty girls would be making graves and what the deal is there; I simply dig the hell out of the song. But musically it’s quite mysterious as well, in addition to feeling melancholy and melodic and endlessly catchy.
Over time, I also came to realize that there’s a connection between R.E.M.’s early jangle pop and Midnight Oil’s new wave meets college rock vibe. Of course, with The Smiths, Morrissey is a singularly talented and unique performer, and guitarist Johnny Marr’s style makes The Smiths very much its own Smiths-y thing.
“What Difference Does It Make?” is my second favorite Smiths song*, and it holds much of the same dark hypnotic powers that “Pretty Girls Make Graves” wields.
* “Panic,” off of Louder Than Bombs, is my third favorite Smiths song, but it’s a very close call.
“You’ve Got Everything Now” is as close to funk as The Smiths will ever get. Overall, it’s an upbeat new wave number that Morrissey crushes with his crooning voice and the power of his performance and personality.
Pop culture stuff that has something to do with The Smiths
Above, I noted that “Pretty Girls Make Graves” is “as relentlessly appealing as it is mysterious.” I cribbed that take from a hilarious recurring line from the comedic film, Dude, Where’s My Car?
Within the movie, an object (that’d be the “continuum trans-functioner”) that becomes key to the plot is always described as, “Its mystery is only exceeded by its power.”
The other thing that I feel compelled to relay is that Dude, Where’s My Car? is a legitimately good and funny movie, particularly if goofy, well written comedies do it for you.
Some stats & info about The Smiths
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, British Bands, Pop Music, Dance Music, College Rock, Alternative Pop
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was The Smiths released? 1984
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #300 out of 1,000
The Smiths on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Smiths that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
I’m not the man you think I am.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.