Thursday, May. 22, 2014 | 07:04
The Smiths - Complete
when i was young, in high school i guess, i bought, through bmg music club, The Smiths' Best of, Vol. 1. to my ears at the time, it had a bunch of songs with weak, clear guitars and one cool-sounding song: How Soon Is Now? i got the band confused with James (whose singer i later confused with Jeff Buckley, much to my benefit) and didn't even stay on that path (Laid had much cooler-sounding songs, but I didn't get Wah Wah and found Whiplash a disappointment). in short, i had a jumble of songs to ignore and a few to play into the ground. i didn't appreciate what the genius.
listening to all The Smiths albums and collections now (perhaps their penchant for repackaging threw me because i didn't know where to start), i realize what a mistake i made. i clearly listened to the guitars and found them lacking instead of listening to the lyrics and getting swept up in Morrissey's words. somehow i even missed that part of How Soon Is Now?, focusing instead on that shimmering guitar. they were a brilliant band, in part because even while they were the soundtrack to every moody teenager's angsty woes, they also hit hard about very real problems (in england). people don't grow out of their songs, they find new perspectives.
i wonder how i might have been different had my distorted guitar-centric anger found solace in the soothing tones of mopey singers and their less-muscular guitar sounds. where would The Smiths have transported me? who would i be if The Cure had carried me away? would i have turned out more or less ego-centric? would i have worn black on the outside because that's how i felt on the inside? would i have survived my 20's? would i have laughed about it all later if i did?
i let music play such an important part in my personal development through high school and college that a different sound than the one i found then would have weighed heavily on who i would be. would i have blared There Is A Light That Never Goes Out from my dorm window? would i have attracted any attention and praise for doing it?
we'll never know. instead, i'll return repeatedly to The Smiths until i know them better than the back of my hand. they deserve as much.
