Tag: morrissey
Best Non-Single Masterpieces of 2009
by Niki N. Phaser on Dec.16, 2009, under Non-Single Masterpieces
Yes, I gave in and embraced the cliché of making ‘best of the year’ tops. Still, ‘top’ is a strong word, it sounds so… hierarchical, so definite, things that can be calculated with numbers. Artistic value has a lot to do with the moment. While I’m listening to a great song and I’m really feeling it, I’m not thinking “This song is slightly less wonderful than another great song”. Music is not a sport. When it comes to art, each individual is the judge. Music is the place where the mind and the heart meet, it has nothing to do with other people’s opinions. You should also know that some of the songs from this list might be released as singles in the future, so read the date when this was posted before sharing with your friends… Ok, enough with this mumbo-jumbo, let’s see who made to number 1, people!!!!!
11. Morrissey – It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore
His recent albums are pretty far from the fresh outta The Smiths stuff. I’m talking about the music, because the lyrics have always been briliant – the guy just can’t be topped when it comes to editing ideas into the most simple and yet poetic words. It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore it’s one of the most powerful songs he wrote in years, talking about how politeness and hypocrisy have nothing to do with one’s expression of love: “All the gifts that they gave can’t compare in any way to the love I am now giving to you right here right now on the floor”. LISTEN
The Smiths – Suffer Little Children : Comforting a dying child
by Niki N. Phaser on Jun.18, 2009, under Non-Single Masterpieces
Suffer Little Children was one of the first songs that Johnny Marr and Morrissey ever worked on, after that legendary visit the guitarist paid to the tortured poet. The song has a special relevance for Morrissey, since it is about the Moors murders, which occured in the Manchester area in the 60′s of his childhood. Because of its subject and length, we can’t really blame The Smiths for not putting Suffer Little Children out as a single. In fact, it was a B-side to the Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now single, but the sad truth is that you have to be familiar with The Smiths to have heard this song.
Suffer Little Children is a perfect example of that unique magic embodied by The Smiths. Marr’s guitar picks alone make this track a masterpiece, they are that evocative. They are sad and happy, as someone smiling to comfort a dying child and, of course, the image is completed by Morrissey’s first person lyrics and ghostly vocals, which express no anger, just a constant plea “find me, find me, I am on the moors”. The subtle female laughs towards the end add to the horror already present in the listener’s mind because of the subject and the line “A woman said I know my son is dead I’ll never rest my hands on his sacred head”. If you listen to this song, after reading about the victims of the Moors murders, the effect is amplified immensely.
This is, under no circumstances, the kind of song which pops up on your ipod’s shuffled playlist and you keep on jogging. This is the one you take the time to listen.
