Future Mythologies
A Textual Journey with Maxwell Von BismarckSunday, October 17, 2004
I love the Smiths, and the first song by them that I loved was "The Boy with a Thorn in his Side", but it wasn't until I heard Jeff Buckley sing it that I knew what the song was really about. And his live half-improvised version (that I can't even find on slsk right now) makes it hard to hear anything in the Smiths version when I go back and listen to it.
Now I learn that it's not even a favorite among Smiths fans. Which is quite easy for me to now believe, as I feel like I'm half Smiths fan. The other half doesn't hate the band, but wonders what the obsession is that the other half has.
I am a lonely, skinny, white boy who stays at home and reads most nights (Friday nights at the library back in college, what nostalgia). But I don't adore Morrissey or think he's mad-sexy like Elvis or anything. I've certainly copped a lot of style from watching him in videos, but I was more convinced of the sexiness of Johnny Marr or Mike Joyce, who I guess are more traditionally brilliant musicians. Johnny Marr is the single greatest guitar player of all time, and Mike Joyce is a criminally underappreciated drummer who should have his own fan club. I was wary of solo Morrissey until I heard "Everyday is Like Sunday", and sometimes his voice ruins songs (Why can't he sing in tune on Ask??? It was so close to being the perfect love single!"
I forget about that half when I hear one song, of course. And that song is not "How Soon is Now", though it is a colossal single, the Smiths trump card, the crowning achievement. Yes, but the song I'm talking about here is:
Headmaster Ritual
Just the name sounds magical to me now, because I can barely sing it in my head, but I know if I put it on, I'll be transported to a different place. A place where Johnny Marr and Stephen Morrissey are telling 2 different parts of the same story at the same time. Marr tells the most beautiful stories through music. And Morrissey puts through the most chilling invective where the word "bastard" sounds like the dirtiest of swear words.
That, and the chorus has no words.
Now I learn that it's not even a favorite among Smiths fans. Which is quite easy for me to now believe, as I feel like I'm half Smiths fan. The other half doesn't hate the band, but wonders what the obsession is that the other half has.
I am a lonely, skinny, white boy who stays at home and reads most nights (Friday nights at the library back in college, what nostalgia). But I don't adore Morrissey or think he's mad-sexy like Elvis or anything. I've certainly copped a lot of style from watching him in videos, but I was more convinced of the sexiness of Johnny Marr or Mike Joyce, who I guess are more traditionally brilliant musicians. Johnny Marr is the single greatest guitar player of all time, and Mike Joyce is a criminally underappreciated drummer who should have his own fan club. I was wary of solo Morrissey until I heard "Everyday is Like Sunday", and sometimes his voice ruins songs (Why can't he sing in tune on Ask??? It was so close to being the perfect love single!"
I forget about that half when I hear one song, of course. And that song is not "How Soon is Now", though it is a colossal single, the Smiths trump card, the crowning achievement. Yes, but the song I'm talking about here is:
Headmaster Ritual
Just the name sounds magical to me now, because I can barely sing it in my head, but I know if I put it on, I'll be transported to a different place. A place where Johnny Marr and Stephen Morrissey are telling 2 different parts of the same story at the same time. Marr tells the most beautiful stories through music. And Morrissey puts through the most chilling invective where the word "bastard" sounds like the dirtiest of swear words.
That, and the chorus has no words.
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