I just read an interview with Mike Joyce, the drummer--and he said Johnny was so productive, so insanely creative, that he just cranked out one brilliant song after the other and he just got used to it. It became commonplace--a great problem to have!
It's insane how many great songs The Smiths actually have. They made it seem effortless. And to think they were only active from 82-87 just makes you wonder.
I'm not exaggerating or kidding when I say "How Soon is Now" profoundly changed my life when I heard it for the first time, probably in 1987. I was in the Navy at the time, and one of my co-workers was into bands like The Cure, The Smiths, etc., and he played "How Soon is Now" for me. It almost literally knocked me down, because it was the first song I had ever heard that really, truly, explained my own feelings of loneliness and isolation at the time. Up until really 1986 I had listened to top-40 radio, and there's nothing wrong with that, but none of it resonated in me quite like Morrissey's mournful singing did. I also rock a Smiths t-shirt at work, although I think 99.9% of my co-workers have no idea who they are, aside from one yesterday who said "I like your shirt!"
@@timothymarkin4481 yeah, I was watching some concert footage of him from within the last couple of years, and he looked like he was bothered to be there, like he was too much of a star or something. I guess it could also be an act, too. Who knows with him.
I was in sixth grade, my friend got Meat is Murder for Christmas. (U.S. edition had the song) and he said listen to this, its called new wave, I was blown away.
The number one band of my life. I feel blessed to have been a teenager at this time. I received their first Album for my Birthday from a friend, he had no idea who they were, he just thought as I was photography obsessed I would love the cover. He told me the guy just unboxed it at the store and couldn't tell him anything about it so he purchased it anyway. The next day I was home alone and stuck it on...from the first track I was hooked. Thanks, Mark for a life-changing 16th BDay present.
100 per cent get this. Me too. Songs that made me cry, songs that changed my life. I feel I can die happy for growing up in the time of the Smiths. People that don’t get this, I might like them a hell of a lot, but I can’t say we will ever truly bond.
@@damirpozgaj2296and having hit a wall in my own songwriting career years ago I have recently been dipping back into just the joy of playing covers of songs by almost every band mentioned here…. Ultravox and think song were the past evening and pet shop boys and some depeche mode last week… my first album in 93 jade a cover of the cure’s last dance…. Definitely my favorite music era although I don’t think I can sing alphaville like the kate bush vocal range of my youth! ☘️🙂🍀❤️
I was a Jock, a Football Player and relatively popular that never understood why I felt so alone in High School. In College, I was turned on to the Smiths and this song identified so much of why I felt the way I did. How Soon is Now was a revelation, an epiphany that I was only an outcast wearing the mask of acceptance. Thank you for framing this song, this time and the teenage angst so many of us experienced so adeptly. Best to you and bravo
Well I’m a Brit so not a “jock”. Nonetheless, I totally identify with your comment. I was popular and was basically faking being popular. I was always socially awkward inside but essentially just played a role of being outgoing. That lie I told myself, well it bit me hard later in life.
@@stanettiels7367 I think he means, Jock as in the American sporty guy way lol. I am also a Jock, in the Scottish type way, finding the Smiths in my teens in the eighties changed my life too.
How soon is now is the ringtone I have assigned to my daughter, the song really resonated with me when I was a kid back in the 80’s and it means a lot to me and so I assigned it to the one truly beautiful thing I helped create.
This, and so many other Smiths tracks, along with the Cure, New Order and DM, were the backing tracks to nearly every memorable moment I had in college. Thanks for the trip, Professor!
my college girlfriend in 88 in NYC was in to these new alt Brit groups. but also INXS 10000 maniacs, wish I would have taken the opportunity to go to a concert.
I discovered you while searching for songs of my youth. I'm helping my step-daughters grieve their mother who just died of COVID and I needed the music that helped me through college. I didn't fit in and the Smiths (and later Morrissey), Depeche Mode, Roxy Music and others saved me. This was my first time seeing your videos. Great job on this one. You literally took words from my mouth! Thanks!
It’s so gratifying to hear someone discussing this song, that feels as passionate about it as I do. It has been a comfort and validation through many painful experiences in my life. I discovered it around the same time too. late 80s, about to start high school, along with The Cure, Depeche Mode, Psychedelic Furs… and one he didn’t mention, Pixies. The music that shaped me and saved me.
beth same here was fortunate to see cure g.mu. furs 05 comeback tour but not able to get to smiths show g.m.u. last tour depeche same big show d.c. around the same time mega tour coludnt go but have live c.d. double of the tour and ol moz. came town several years ago with ol boz borrer and bunch but irionically was in wensleydale at the time friend went said moz and boz good show small venue national rva local gal lucy dacus bright eyes this weekend anyway nephew went to johnny show messenger nville show was promoting show and new guitar he was not familar with bands music but enjoyed show pixies came down to bburg va 123 cafe went to show before they went to england have the bbc c d. but ok not as good as studio records in small club sound not great but pixies back then if came to town support them short show about an hour or so but great band in unique style hard rockers for sure too loud but good show
As many I love this song, and so do my college age children. On reflecting back on this song I find it ironic that in the goth and punk clubs I went to as a college age adult, you had a roomful of people most of which were there because they wanted to connect with others but were too shy to approach anyone. When this song would get played, the dance floor would fill up and suddenly a roomful of lonely people were connecting through a song that spoke to the feeling we all had. For this alone, it make this song a classic everyone high school and up should hear.
I just remember when this song came on the radio (91X San Diego) everyone turned the volume to high. This song sounded like nothing else being played and was a staple for everyone on the beach and the clubs. Best times (80’s)of my life!
Lived in San Diego from 87 to 98 and 91X was a lifesaver which I had on 3 years solid as I didn’t have, nor did I want, to own a TV at the time. Go home from work, paint, write, read and listen to 91X.
I suffer from major Depressive Disorder and when I am in "the pit" music is one of the very few things that helps me cope with my feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame and loneliness. How Soon Is Now is absolutely one of the songs to which I will listen obsessively. The lyrics and the feel of the music tells me I'm not the only one who feels like this and that someone understands how I feel and can sympathize. Along with Tyler Joseph and a few others, I could never thank Morrissey and John Marr enough for their music
Oh man, this had me sobbing. This song and its lyrics don't just resonate with awkward, misunderstood teens. It encapsulates exactly how I feel as a 56 year old, painfully lonely man. Kudos to you, PoR, for such a detailed and respectful analysis, both intellectual and emotional, of this masterpiece. Peace and love to you all!
Tears were flowing for me as well. Sure the teenage years are difficult but it doesn’t end there. When you’re shy with a battered heart, crippling loneliness feels like a death sentence. “How Soon is Now” is exactly what I needed to hear today to keep me passing the open windows.
How Soon Is Now is a great song. Morrissey and Marr may have never reached those heights again. Hard to imagine in today's world that any artist could come close to doing what they did in 5 years. The 80's were possibly the last great decade for music. Thanks again for another great video, Adam.
This song resonated so deeply; I was a shy guy who was into a super cool girl and she would look right through me as if I wasn’t there. I found peace with the smiths and the cure. And hearing this song tonight gave me goosebumps. I haven’t heard it in a few years. I’m playing this on my way to work tomorrow!
I must have been about 17 in 1985 when I got to the all ages club called the Encore in Renton, Washington right after they opened the doors and they must have been testing the smoke machine. I walked into a dimly lit , smokey room with How Soon is Now playing loudly but crisply wondering what this amazing sound was by myself. Every time I hear it I remember that moment. Magical.
I got to see Johnny Marr on his last tour before covid at Irving Plaza ,NYC. He did his solo stuff , plus some Smiths ....it was brilliant. To hear “How Soon is Now?” played live was surreal. I didn’t want it to end.
Johnny Marr is, IMO, possibly the most underrated song writers in my life time. He proved that not all guitar hero’s have to be shredders and technical wonders. His use of unique chords and chord progressions stood out amongst his peers and influenced many guitarists and bands behind him. I was just a tad too young to ever see The Smiths live. It’s a huge disappointment for me and I often say a Smiths Reunion would be a must-see for me. It’s a bucket list for dreamers I guess.
Ive seen Morrissey in concert several times. The juxtaposition of seeing 50 + yo olds like myself and their teen kids entranced by this song is something I can’t even express in words. It’s a small but important bonding moment that I hope they can appreciate.
I'm so blessed to have seen both (and Morrisey can still rock it). As a woman in her 50s who is still gigging, I doubt I'll ever experience genius like it again.
That was a beautifully crafted review. Really felt your personal journey with this song and made me listen to my own response more deeply. Thanks for this.
I first heard this song when I was 15 in 1989. I wasn't bullied or mistreated in high school but I had always felt different from my peers. I was extremely introverted and this song became my anthem. It made my loneliness and isolation something to embrace. And it made me more empathetic to others who might be experiencing the same thing.
Thank you Adam for the backstory into one of the greatest songs of all time IMO. Timeless classic. I feel this song will still be relevant 100 years after it’s release.
Oh man, the last time you posted videos about The Smiths I went on a massive Smiths listening binge! And really, are there any more relatable lyrics than "You say it's gonna happen now, but when exactly do you mean? See, I've already waited too long, and all my hope is gone..." Also, I love the little details like random "Whistle While you Work" whistle towards the end and the bass offbeat hits! Marr + Moz= Musical magic 🤩
I really appreciated this breakdown of a song by a band I never got into. As a result I never heard the lyrics, but understanding them now 36/37 years later, I feel touched by them in a way I was not ready to appreciate back then. So thank you for opening my eyes. Blessings!
A beautiful and heartfelt episode about an indie masterpiece, thank you PoR. Like yourself, I was a kid (in England) who grew up on (my older brother's!) classic heavy rock records: Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Blue Oyster Cult, Foreigner, Journey and my all time faves, UFO. Then it was Duran Duran and Simple Minds (alt rock bands fused with electro) and British 'new romantic' outsider music, but it wasn't until I heard The Smiths that I finally knew I wasn't alone in feeling different any more. Exactly as you say, How Soon Is Now gave me a lifeline to realise that there were others like me that felt lonely, different and ignored. We were not the cocky, cheeky lads out on the pull, but sensitive souls hoping to somehow find love. This song spoke to me like nothing had before. I still love all the heavy rock from the classic years, but this song has been a saviour to me throughout my life. Many thanks for putting that gratitude into such articulate words.
UFO, a band that influenced just about every hard rock artist in the 80's and beyond. The boys will be wrapping it up for good in Greece. I just might be there.
Funny you mention Duran Duran - “New Romantic” was coined from a lyric in “Planet Earth,” off their debut album (1981)… (John Taylor is an amazing funk bassist)
The Smiths was pure musical magic. The combo of Morrissey and Marr produced some of the most powerful melodies and impactful lyrics. I have no doubt The Smiths saved thousands upon thousands of teenage lives.
@@tompaulcampbell You clearly have no clue. I'd bet that you loved mainstream corporate bands and never understood any lyrics past a simple repeating chorus of "mmmmm-bop"
I remember listening to a distant college radio station in TX late at night when I was a teenager and hearing this song. I was simply enthralled. They never said anything about it! It wasn't until I was in college myself a couple of years later that I found it again. I was like THAT'S THAT SONG!! I was so excited and started my journey with the Smiths from that moment on.
I have a similar memory. Back then I listened to a college radio show based in Austin on Sunday nights, and one night this song came on. The lyrics were so different, and that guitar riff just floated around the dark room, and I was enthralled! Definitely a life changer.
It just meant so much more to find music back then. A snippet of a song from a distant radio station bounced around in your head for months/years and then out of nowhere-there it is. You could feel your brain light up almost an “explosion”. I know the feeling so well. Having a Public Enemy song that o heard about a minute of one time. When I found the album, tape actually, in a record store months later I couldn’t get home fast enough to play the album over and over till I learned every word of every song. It completely blew my sheltered suburban 14yo mind.
@@jamesw1313 - Was the song you heard called "Rise"? I think that's the first PIL song I ever heard. This Is Not a Love Song was the second song of theirs that I heard.
The Smiths saved my life as a teen and I still go back to them to lift me when times are hard. Thank you for such an informative, heartfelt and eloquent take on an incredible song. Can you believe I met Mozza when he came to New Zealand. He was gracious and I was a bumbling mess! x
I don't know how to explain this song, but when I heard "How Soon is Now" I had to stop because the music kind of caught me off guard. The lyrics are different, but Morrissey's words and voice just works with the music. Again, I love this UA-cam channel.
This song was my anthem as a high school teenager. I remember buying that album and bringing it home and playing the song over and over, feeling it wash over me. Marr's riff and Morrissey's haunting voice took me to another place, and still does whenever I hear the song!
Teenage me felt completely disconnected from the larger music and pop culture of the mid to late eighties. My high school was awash in metal hair bands, and hip hop. But our little gang of misfits - the drama and music and computer nerds, who read the classics for fun, we gravitated towards the Smiths like moths to flame. HSIN is the generational anthem for the dispossessed. I remember getting it played at the under 21 club, and watching all the cool kids scatter to the wind, as the freaks came out onto the dancefloor to twist and gyrate and sway, independent of each other. Before, it had been all these well dressed popular people dancing in lines to the Humpty Dance ( and other, less memorable stuff) and then they were replaced with all these lone dark figures, geeking out in solitude. Beautiful memory.
It's ironic that you mention The Humpty Dance because Humpty was just like you. He knew he looked funny and was an outcast but didn't care. The opening lines were "I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to." Humpty danced to his own music and had is own dance moves. He called it the Humpty Dance and didn't care what anyone else had to say.
" I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does..." A raw declaration of loneliness and vulnerability makes the Smiths like no other group.
Man oh man you got me hooked on your analysis, and took me for a joyride down memory lane. Thank you. I'm with you, bud. I just turned 50 and to this day the Smiths are still forever the greatest band, and the words of Moz rings truer than ever for our generation. Thanks for all the incredible insights you've put into this discussion. 👏
One of the few songs that i still remember when, where and how I've heard for the first time... I went to a Depeche Mode party in one of the classic Tel Aviv clubs. Now, before you enter the main hall where a party takes place there were a smaller hall with classic "alternative" 80's songs. I entered the club and How Soon is Now just started to play. I was totally shocked. Can't say this about too many songs. Still one of my all-time favs and always will be.
The Smiths should have gotten waaaaay more airplay. This song is an absolute statement for feelings so many us had so many times. A masterpiece! We love you and your work professor, agree with you maybe the most under played and under played bands that influenced alternate music forever.
the Smiths kinda wrote the same song time after time over-and-over again - the fact that they have no current currency now speaks to that - I liked them a great deal when I was younger but now I listen and simply think they are lame
@@JamesJoyce12 Factually, the Smiths are more popular now than they were in the day. They did it with nearly zero airplay. Similarly, Moz himself is in a cultural status which can only be compared to Elvis Presley. In my opinion, Johnny Marr was the greatest guitarist of the 80s. Moz's lyrics are like none other as is his voice. I understand your current disdain for certain music of the past, but you must acknowledge that you've never heard anything like them before or since.
@@JamesJoyce12 I suppose most bands repeat their styles and sound each time, remember also they were together 5 years most bands sound the same for 5 years
@@tarp11z if you liked them and still like them then have at it - I liked them and can't stand to listen to them now - I also note many films and book written in the last decade make fun of the Smith listeners. If this is sensitive territory - sorry - they totally are the greatest band ever.
@@dudetime8933 Go into Central America and find out how popular Morrissey is. Need I mention the UK? Regarding Elvis, he's great but hardly as great as his longstanding PR campaign (much of it posthumous.). Not all, but many people like Elvis because they're told to. Not so with Moz or the Smiths.
Traveled 3 hours to see morrisey in 2019, the opening song was HOW SOON IS NOW, and never felt soooo alive! :) the smiths has definitely had a great emotional influence in my life with many of their songs. Love them. Great video mate, I know exactly what you mean to find a song that gives you relief from suffering and brings rest to your heart for the moment you are listening. Great video.
Wow, still getting goosebumps from this song. Was almost overwhelming to the point that it felt magical as a teenager. This is what music is supposed to feel like with and to every inch of your body and soul!
I remember when this song first came out and I but the tape at a local import record shop. I would listen to it over and over again with my headphones at night. Morrisey seemed to speak directly to me and my pain in my high school years. Between The Smiths and Joy Division, high school became tolerable, and it started with How Soon Is Now.
One of the GREATEST tracks by any band in existence. Hands down. It never gets old, overplayed or tired. Still gives me chills every time I hear it. And this song spoke (and still speaks) to me in such a personal way as someone who has always struggled with painful shyness and an overwhelming feeling that I don't belong in social situations because I'm not "good enough". The Smiths were simply one of the best bands out of the 80s, and the soundtrack to a giant part of my kidhood.
Total Respect. I have no idea how I gravitated to this channel but I love the Professor's insightful commentaries. I'm also impressed with the wide variety of music featured here.. The anecdotes and historical back stories are so entertaining. When I bookmarked this video, I didn't realize it was about my favorite song from my favorite band, the Smiths and my favorite guitarist, Johnny Marr. Thank you for this. How Soon is Now is a masterpiece on so many levels.
I still can't believe this was not on an album. So many great songs were b-sides from the Smiths that were album/single worthy. Thanks for your passion Adam. Especially the 80s New Wave / Alt, etc.
It was on the Australian release of Meat is Murder. Rough Trade were notorious for repackaging, reissuing, hence Morrissey's scathing lyrics from Paint a Vulgar Picture: Best of! Most of! Satiate the need Slip them into different sleeves! Buy both, and feel deceived
I absolutely love this song and most of the Smith's other songs. I loved how you seemed so emotionally touched by this song. I have the same feeling. My wife hates the Smiths. She lived an idyllic life with little conflict or negative interactions. I think she doesn't want to experience "bad" thoughts. I, on the other hand, have had more than a few disappointments. It's made me stronger, but How Soon Is Now speaks to me more than any other song I've heard.
Morrissey is the man. One of my earliest musical memories is hearing "How Soon is Now?" at a friend's house as it randomly came on the radio. From the first note I froze. Writing this I am back in that moment- 1986 Incredible. ❤
When this song comes on in an 80s club everybody is on the dance floor mouthing the lyrics and dancing dramatically and we're all so together in our loneliness and, yes, it's our forever anthem.
This is the way I see this song.... I have no doubt in my mind that this song has saved lives and has made the lives of many outcast teenagers' lives bearable. It brought a light to my teenage years.... I personally believe in God. My take here is these people Marr, Morrissey, Rourke and Joyce used their God given talents and inspirations to Bless (encourage, better, enrich) their generation and generations to come with what they created. I believe that you use your God given talent, inspiration and passion for the material to create something that Blesses others...I am Blessed by your work here. I believe that this is how God works. Imagine the world where each and every human being were nurtured and allowed to do this.....utilizing their God given talents and inspiration for Blessing their fellow human beings. My wish. My hope. My prayer. Thank you 😊
I have to be in just the right mood to go back and listen to The Smiths at my age now. It’s tough to go back to those teenage years emotionally but I feel like when I’m able to listen to them, it’s like I’m crawling out of a hole again. They were and are still a lifeline to me.
I had the very same experience when I first found The Smiths. It was as if the wind was knocked out of me and a lightning bolt electrified me from my ears to my head to my heart. No other music has ever spoken to me like The Smiths have.
I can remember the first time I heard it and it was unlike anything I had ever heard before - and I grew up with all of the 60s and 70s rock. It spoke to a whole generation - no matter which age group you were in at the time. It seemed like it was the perfect song at the perfect time. That sound, those lyrics, nothing has ever surpassed it or even matched it.
Holy cow! I can't believe you referenced the WFNX poll of the greatest songs of the 80s. I spent a summer in Boston in '91 or '92, and I remember listening to that countdown over the 4th of July weekend. I remember being blown away by the Smiths being #1 (#2 was the Violent Femmes - "Blister in the sun", if memory serves me.).
One of those songs that can never be played loud enough. I recall hearing it all the time in clubs back in the day and it sounded so good blasting. Like others have said and I have to agree... it is a masterpiece.
I saw the Smiths on The Queen is Dead tour at the Fox theatre in Detroit. The T-shirt I got had the album art printed on white t-shirt. (Phrank opened the show)
I saw them at the Kingswood Music Theatre, north of Toronto, on that same Queen is Dead tour which I think was back in '86. The new album had been out only a few weeks and I was blown away how the entire crowd knew the lyrics to every new song that was played live that night - word for word. What a great summer '86 was as I saw The Cure at that same venue a few weeks later.
You truly are the professor of rock! Thank you for the deep dive into this great song. I remember hearing this track for the first time when it was added to side two of the US vinyl copy of Meat Is Murder back in 1985. I was so blown away by how great the song was, and it was the soundtrack to my adolescent life. Thank you to The Smiths and to you, Professor, for reminding us all how powerful this song was and still is, and how much it meant to me and those like me.
You don't like Big Mouth Strikes Again? Cracks me up every time I hear it. Both of these guys were dark and poetic yet they each had a wicked sense of humor.
I'm with you. I love this song but I cannot stand Morrissey, then and even to this day. But I can listen to this song over and over and I know it all comes down to the guitar.
So Love The Smiths. I was on a camping trip with 2 friends and all they played was Strangeways Here We Come that weekend. I knew every song by Monday. Had another friend that let me borrow the tape (yes cassette tape lol) of The Queen is Dead. I was Totally hooked after that. Was devastated to learn they had already broken up when I got into them my Junior year of High School. I couldn’t wait to get off from my job just to listen to them. They spoke to me in a way no band at the time did. Marrs guitar and Moz’s lyrics and falsettos were amazing. This band helped me through my teenage years and I felt I wasn’t alone anymore in the thoughts and feelings I had. Thanks PoF great video
When you rattled off the bands that harmonized with your soul, DM, NO, Cure, I smiled with agreement. And when you spoke of your 💡 moment, I too reflected upon the same truth in my past life; a life that has also been “saved” by music. In the 80’s is was the aforementioned and in the 90’s it was U2,The Cranberries, Elvis Costello, and The Stranglers… if only I could impress upon my children the healing powers of music.
key I think is to listen to the album whilst driving, or out walking, just let your kids listen to the whole album. not the videos. the music itself the lyrics.
After having watched a lot of your commentary and analysis of songs I have to say that in my opinion this is the best I have seen. I'm not a huge fan of the Smiths but I do like a number of their songs, this being probably my second favorite. It has resonated with me for much the same reason it had meaning to you. You have done a beautiful job of expressing the connection the lyrics make with the listener. But before that you have given a fantastic explanation of the complex music and the difficulty in creating it that makes this the ultimate Smiths' opus. BTW I was unaware that my favorite Smiths' song, "Please, please, please" was one of 3 incredible songs written in the same week. This just illustrates why I am a fan, Professor Rock. Please keep on rocking and roll out more exceptional episodes like this one!!!
It was featured in the television movie The Midnight Hour from 85 which is on UA-cam free. It was used to good effect in that one. Just the guitar riff and that errie sound plays during a party scene highlighting an attack which takes place in slow motion in a wine cellar.
I'm glad The Smiths meant as much to you as they did to me. They appealed to me as soon as I heard this song (also my first from them!). Morrissey's plaintive vocals spoke to me and my adolescent loneliness and feelings of alienation. I agree that The Smiths probably saved many lives!
Thanks for this breakdown professor. This song galvanized the feelings of many teens and young people, myself included. A truly inspired melding of the isolation and yearning for love/acceptance most people experience within the human condition. Cheers to Morrissey and Marr as underrated genius.
R I P WDRE. That’s where I first heard this sound. The station is gone, Tower Records is mostly gone but that right after college graduation was when my musical tastes exploded.
This song is one of my all time favourites . Thank you for this back story. Your videos and interviews are organic and real , so glad I found your channel.
There is no doubt that The Smiths helped me immensely in those awkward years. They were the first band I connected with after punk. Moz is highly intelligent, and his lyrics were the perfect fit with Johnny Marr's music. Let's not forget the brilliance of Andy Rourke (RIP), Mike Joyce, Craig Gannon & all their producers.
I stated in my other comment, that I was previously a punk rocker and did not like The Smiths until Louder Than Bombs came out and I REALLY LISTENED to The Smiths and fell in love with their music! 🎶
Poll: What are some of the greatest B sides or album tracks of the 80s?
"You Might Recall", B side of "Paperlate" - Genesis (IMHO :) )
For outright silly value courtesy of the play on "The Young Ones", try "Nasty" by The Damned.
Once upon a daydream b side to the police every breathe you take. I used to buy single because they had b-sides of songs not on the album.
"Into the Groove" Madonna , "The Sweetest Thing" U2
Your funny uncle, Pet Shop Boys. It was the b side to "Left to My own devices"
“I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does” is a line that plays through my head all the time and I am grateful for it
And the way morrisey sings it is heart breaking
I just read an interview with Mike Joyce, the drummer--and he said Johnny was so productive, so insanely creative, that he just cranked out one brilliant song after the other and he just got used to it. It became commonplace--a great problem to have!
It's insane how many great songs The Smiths actually have. They made it seem effortless. And to think they were only active from 82-87 just makes you wonder.
Most bands lat about 5 years
@@zarrow50Most bands (if they're lucky) get one or two hits.😂
I have a hard time finding a track i want to skip
I'm not exaggerating or kidding when I say "How Soon is Now" profoundly changed my life when I heard it for the first time, probably in 1987. I was in the Navy at the time, and one of my co-workers was into bands like The Cure, The Smiths, etc., and he played "How Soon is Now" for me. It almost literally knocked me down, because it was the first song I had ever heard that really, truly, explained my own feelings of loneliness and isolation at the time. Up until really 1986 I had listened to top-40 radio, and there's nothing wrong with that, but none of it resonated in me quite like Morrissey's mournful singing did. I also rock a Smiths t-shirt at work, although I think 99.9% of my co-workers have no idea who they are, aside from one yesterday who said "I like your shirt!"
Similar experience for me but the song was “What Difference Does it Make” and it was about 1986.
Sadly, Morrissey just comes off as a jerk these days
@@timothymarkin4481 not go everyone. Also, why do you care? What other artists do you track into old age?
@@timothymarkin4481 yeah, I was watching some concert footage of him from within the last couple of years, and he looked like he was bothered to be there, like he was too much of a star or something. I guess it could also be an act, too. Who knows with him.
I was in sixth grade, my friend got Meat is Murder for Christmas. (U.S. edition had the song) and he said listen to this, its called new wave, I was blown away.
The number one band of my life. I feel blessed to have been a teenager at this time.
I received their first Album for my Birthday from a friend, he had no idea who they were, he just thought as I was photography obsessed I would love the cover. He told me the guy just unboxed it at the store and couldn't tell him anything about it so he purchased it anyway. The next day I was home alone and stuck it on...from the first track I was hooked. Thanks, Mark for a life-changing 16th BDay present.
100 per cent get this. Me too. Songs that made me cry, songs that changed my life. I feel I can die happy for growing up in the time of the Smiths. People that don’t get this, I might like them a hell of a lot, but I can’t say we will ever truly bond.
Meant to be
Great story thanx for sharing👍
The Smiths, the Cure, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys and New Order are truly my greatest musical groups. They all have helped me in so many ways.
I’d add Echo & the Bunnymen to that list for sure.
Don't forget The Sisters of Mercy, The Stranglers, Inxs, Midnight Oil, Ice House, Alphaville, Camouflage, Ultravox, Soft Cell, Human League...........
@@damirpozgaj2296and having hit a wall in my own songwriting career years ago I have recently been dipping back into just the joy of playing covers of songs by almost every band mentioned here…. Ultravox and think song were the past evening and pet shop boys and some depeche mode last week… my first album in 93 jade a cover of the cure’s last dance…. Definitely my favorite music era although I don’t think I can sing alphaville like the kate bush vocal range of my youth! ☘️🙂🍀❤️
I was a Jock, a Football Player and relatively popular that never understood why I felt so alone in High School. In College, I was turned on to the Smiths and this song identified so much of why I felt the way I did. How Soon is Now was a revelation, an epiphany that I was only an outcast wearing the mask of acceptance. Thank you for framing this song, this time and the teenage angst so many of us experienced so adeptly. Best to you and bravo
Welcome to the club!😊
Well I’m a Brit so not a “jock”. Nonetheless, I totally identify with your comment. I was popular and was basically faking being popular. I was always socially awkward inside but essentially just played a role of being outgoing. That lie I told myself, well it bit me hard later in life.
@@stanettiels7367 I think he means, Jock as in the American sporty guy way lol. I am also a Jock, in the Scottish type way, finding the Smiths in my teens in the eighties changed my life too.
FYI George Eliot is the pen name of Mary Ann Evans, a female author.
👍🌞
Came here to make the same comment. So pleased to see so many others on the ball.
@@jennifermorris6848 Same here!
I'm late to the party, I'm glad others also caght this.
Saved me a comment. English majors unite!
How soon is now is the ringtone I have assigned to my daughter, the song really resonated with me when I was a kid back in the 80’s and it means a lot to me and so I assigned it to the one truly beautiful thing I helped create.
Awwwwwww. I love that
❤️
Lovely! : )
This, and so many other Smiths tracks, along with the Cure, New Order and DM, were the backing tracks to nearly every memorable moment I had in college. Thanks for the trip, Professor!
All great bands
We were listening to the same music. ✌️
Highschool for me but ditto!
my college girlfriend in 88 in NYC was in to these new alt Brit groups. but also INXS 10000 maniacs, wish I would have taken the opportunity to go to a concert.
It was Depeche Mode for me
I discovered you while searching for songs of my youth. I'm helping my step-daughters grieve their mother who just died of COVID and I needed the music that helped me through college. I didn't fit in and the Smiths (and later Morrissey), Depeche Mode, Roxy Music and others saved me. This was my first time seeing your videos. Great job on this one. You literally took words from my mouth! Thanks!
It’s so gratifying to hear someone discussing this song, that feels as passionate about it as I do. It has been a comfort and validation through many painful experiences in my life.
I discovered it around the same time too. late 80s, about to start high school, along with The Cure, Depeche Mode, Psychedelic Furs… and one he didn’t mention, Pixies. The music that shaped me and saved me.
beth same here was fortunate to see cure g.mu. furs 05 comeback tour but not able to get to smiths show g.m.u. last tour depeche same big show d.c. around the same time mega tour coludnt go but have live c.d. double of the tour and ol moz. came town several years ago with ol boz borrer and bunch but irionically was in wensleydale at the time friend went said moz and boz good show small venue national rva local gal lucy dacus bright eyes this weekend anyway nephew went to johnny show messenger nville show was promoting show and new guitar he was not familar with bands music but enjoyed show pixies came down to bburg va 123 cafe went to show before they went to england have the bbc c d. but ok not as good as studio records in small club sound not great but pixies back then if came to town support them short show about an hour or so but great band in unique style hard rockers for sure too loud but good show
As many I love this song, and so do my college age children. On reflecting back on this song I find it ironic that in the goth and punk clubs I went to as a college age adult, you had a roomful of people most of which were there because they wanted to connect with others but were too shy to approach anyone. When this song would get played, the dance floor would fill up and suddenly a roomful of lonely people were connecting through a song that spoke to the feeling we all had. For this alone, it make this song a classic everyone high school and up should hear.
Yes! I close my eyes and I'm right back in the City Club in downtown Detroit.
Johnny Marr is criminally underrated....
Is not Johnny Marr... but Johnny Fucking Marr!!
F morrisey. It was Marr who wrote these anthems. Look what happened when morrisey went solo. Weho trash
@@ilovetrance3036 i heard that morrisey made melodies for vocal lines for the smiths. So he wrote these anthems too. Morrisey is underrated
Yet another fu/uckin' ...."criminally underrated" comment. Jeez, show some originality. Just who the f..k is criminally underating him....?
not underrated at all
I just remember when this song came on the radio (91X San Diego) everyone turned the volume to high. This song sounded like nothing else being played and was a staple for everyone on the beach and the clubs. Best times (80’s)of my life!
91X in the 1980s changed my world!👍
91x was the only station in 80s San diego
Lived in San Diego from 87 to 98 and 91X was a lifesaver which I had on 3 years solid as I didn’t have, nor did I want, to own a TV at the time. Go home from work, paint, write, read and listen to 91X.
91X 👍in SD and KROQ in LA I lived in both areas both legandary radio stations great times
Don’t overlook Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, one of the best rhythm sections in rock and roll.
Word!
Abso-lutely!
maravillosos !!!
R.I.P Andy Rourke 💔🖤
So true 👍
I suffer from major Depressive Disorder and when I am in "the pit" music is one of the very few things that helps me cope with my feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame and loneliness. How Soon Is Now is absolutely one of the songs to which I will listen obsessively. The lyrics and the feel of the music tells me I'm not the only one who feels like this and that someone understands how I feel and can sympathize. Along with Tyler Joseph and a few others, I could never thank Morrissey and John Marr enough for their music
Agree!
Shoplifters and GF in s Coma also pull me out of the blues.
I’ve never heard of someone being actually cheered up by Smiths music but I’m glad it helps. Love the Smiths!
When I'm feeling depressed playing certain music from grateful dead gets me more depressed state
May It always be there for you William....
Oh man, this had me sobbing. This song and its lyrics don't just resonate with awkward, misunderstood teens. It encapsulates exactly how I feel as a 56 year old, painfully lonely man.
Kudos to you, PoR, for such a detailed and respectful analysis, both intellectual and emotional, of this masterpiece. Peace and love to you all!
Tears were flowing for me as well. Sure the teenage years are difficult but it doesn’t end there. When you’re shy with a battered heart, crippling loneliness feels like a death sentence. “How Soon is Now” is exactly what I needed to hear today to keep me passing the open windows.
You refer to The Smiths as a “life changing band.”
I agree
You said “The Smiths really saved a lot of lives.”
I am proof
Right On Brother.b
This song never really leaves you…
I wish it would.
@@limiter3118😅 I know right, haunting.
Only Morrisey could make the phrase 'nothing in particular' totally epic
How Soon Is Now is a great song. Morrissey and Marr may have never reached those heights again. Hard to imagine in today's world that any artist could come close to doing what they did in 5 years. The 80's were possibly the last great decade for music. Thanks again for another great video, Adam.
You're welcome. What they did in 5 years is astounding for sure.
This is the deep dive on How Soon is Now we have all been waiting for.. some of us since the mid eighties- solid work Prof 👏🏼
This song resonated so deeply; I was a shy guy who was into a super cool girl and she would look right through me as if I wasn’t there. I found peace with the smiths and the cure. And hearing this song tonight gave me goosebumps. I haven’t heard it in a few years. I’m playing this on my way to work tomorrow!
I must have been about 17 in 1985 when I got to the all ages club called the Encore in Renton, Washington right after they opened the doors and they must have been testing the smoke machine. I walked into a dimly lit , smokey room with How Soon is Now playing loudly but crisply wondering what this amazing sound was by myself. Every time I hear it I remember that moment. Magical.
Ha ha- me too, up in Vancouver BC though- the smoke machine and a dance floor
I got to see Johnny Marr on his last tour before covid at Irving Plaza ,NYC. He did his solo stuff , plus some Smiths ....it was brilliant. To hear “How Soon is Now?” played live was surreal. I didn’t want it to end.
Listening to this masterpiece in headphones takes it to another level.
Johnny Marr is, IMO, possibly the most underrated song writers in my life time. He proved that not all guitar hero’s have to be shredders and technical wonders. His use of unique chords and chord progressions stood out amongst his peers and influenced many guitarists and bands behind him.
I was just a tad too young to ever see The Smiths live. It’s a huge disappointment for me and I often say a Smiths Reunion would be a must-see for me. It’s a bucket list for dreamers I guess.
Johnny and Patrick both more or less said they'd rather eat broken glass and wash it down with rubbing alcohol than ever speak to each other again.
@@rylian21 so you're saying there's a chance...
But Marr was/is a technical wonder.
@@DaveMcGarry 👍🏻
@@DaveMcGarry😂
It’s so haunting, lonely and dark, but still hopeful at the same time.
Professor, i’ve been listening and a patreon for a while now, and your breakdown and heartfelt synopsis of this masterpiece is some of your best work.
Ive seen Morrissey in concert several times. The juxtaposition of seeing 50 + yo olds like myself and their teen kids entranced by this song is something I can’t even express in words. It’s a small but important bonding moment that I hope they can appreciate.
I'm so blessed to have seen both (and Morrisey can still rock it). As a woman in her 50s who is still gigging, I doubt I'll ever experience genius like it again.
I saw them in 1985😂
I LOVE Johnny Marr's solo work... he is so underrated as a guitarist and is even a pretty decent vocalist.
Hi Hello is amazing, beautiful guitar melody, impossible for me to only listen to it once!
That was a beautifully crafted review. Really felt your personal journey with this song and made me listen to my own response more deeply. Thanks for this.
Really enjoyed this track breakdown.
I'm still marvelling about those 3 particular songs written in a week!
It's pretty mind blowing.
I first heard this song when I was 15 in 1989. I wasn't bullied or mistreated in high school but I had always felt different from my peers. I was extremely introverted and this song became my anthem. It made my loneliness and isolation something to embrace. And it made me more empathetic to others who might be experiencing the same thing.
How Soon is Now is both sad and beautiful at the same time. Absolutely brilliant.
like life!
It’s the Major/minor thing… plus the lyrics
@@brianfergus839 For some reason, the instrumental reminds me of a slowed down version of the music for Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song
Thank you Adam for the backstory into one of the greatest songs of all time IMO. Timeless classic. I feel this song will still be relevant 100 years after it’s release.
Oh man, the last time you posted videos about The Smiths I went on a massive Smiths listening binge! And really, are there any more relatable lyrics than "You say it's gonna happen now, but when exactly do you mean? See, I've already waited too long, and all my hope is gone..." Also, I love the little details like random "Whistle While you Work" whistle towards the end and the bass offbeat hits! Marr + Moz= Musical magic 🤩
Love it. You should go on another Smiths binge!
I really appreciated this breakdown of a song by a band I never got into. As a result I never heard the lyrics, but understanding them now 36/37 years later, I feel touched by them in a way I was not ready to appreciate back then. So thank you for opening my eyes. Blessings!
A beautiful and heartfelt episode about an indie masterpiece, thank you PoR. Like yourself, I was a kid (in England) who grew up on (my older brother's!) classic heavy rock records: Van Halen, Iron Maiden, Blue Oyster Cult, Foreigner, Journey and my all time faves, UFO. Then it was Duran Duran and Simple Minds (alt rock bands fused with electro) and British 'new romantic' outsider music, but it wasn't until I heard The Smiths that I finally knew I wasn't alone in feeling different any more. Exactly as you say, How Soon Is Now gave me a lifeline to realise that there were others like me that felt lonely, different and ignored. We were not the cocky, cheeky lads out on the pull, but sensitive souls hoping to somehow find love. This song spoke to me like nothing had before. I still love all the heavy rock from the classic years, but this song has been a saviour to me throughout my life. Many thanks for putting that gratitude into such articulate words.
UFO, a band that influenced just about every hard rock artist in the 80's and beyond. The boys will be wrapping it up for good in Greece. I just might be there.
Funny you mention Duran Duran - “New Romantic” was coined from a lyric in “Planet Earth,” off their debut album (1981)… (John Taylor is an amazing funk bassist)
Thank you for being so vulnerable. And this is such an amazing track, that calls to my heart even now, at almost 50.
Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT song!! I love listening to this song with headphones because there are so many sonic layers to discover.
I totally agree. It get richer with every passing. year.
The Smiths was pure musical magic. The combo of Morrissey and Marr produced some of the most powerful melodies and impactful lyrics.
I have no doubt The Smiths saved thousands upon thousands of teenage lives.
I'm one.
Don’t forget their other hit “This Charming Man”.
@@canto10mosha65 As if they were a one hit wonder. They had several hits over a few short years.
Or at least gave them some depressing lyrics from Morrissey to listen to while they end it all!
@@tompaulcampbell You clearly have no clue.
I'd bet that you loved mainstream corporate bands and never understood any lyrics past a simple repeating chorus of "mmmmm-bop"
I remember listening to a distant college radio station in TX late at night when I was a teenager and hearing this song. I was simply enthralled. They never said anything about it! It wasn't until I was in college myself a couple of years later that I found it again. I was like THAT'S THAT SONG!! I was so excited and started my journey with the Smiths from that moment on.
I have a similar memory. Back then I listened to a college radio show based in Austin on Sunday nights, and one night this song came on. The lyrics were so different, and that guitar riff just floated around the dark room, and I was enthralled! Definitely a life changer.
It just meant so much more to find music back then. A snippet of a song from a distant radio station bounced around in your head for months/years and then out of nowhere-there it is. You could feel your brain light up almost an “explosion”. I know the feeling so well. Having a Public Enemy song that o heard about a minute of one time. When I found the album, tape actually, in a record store months later I couldn’t get home fast enough to play the album over and over till I learned every word of every song. It completely blew my sheltered suburban 14yo mind.
@@jamesw1313 - Was the song you heard called "Rise"? I think that's the first PIL song I ever heard. This Is Not a Love Song was the second song of theirs that I heard.
@@jamesw1313 Did you mean "Public Image Limited"?
The Smiths saved my life as a teen and I still go back to them to lift me when times are hard. Thank you for such an informative, heartfelt and eloquent take on an incredible song. Can you believe I met Mozza when he came to New Zealand. He was gracious and I was a bumbling mess! x
THIS is why I keep coming back to this channel. So interesting. So factual. So educational. Keep up the great work.
Much appreciated
As a teen in the eighties, I always thought of Morrisey as a modern Oscar Wilde. He certainly seemed to put on similar "affectations"! :)
I don't know how to explain this song, but when I heard "How Soon is Now" I had to stop because the music kind of caught me off guard.
The lyrics are different, but Morrissey's words and voice just works with the music.
Again, I love this UA-cam channel.
Thank you for your most loyal support my friend!
This song was my anthem as a high school teenager. I remember buying that album and bringing it home and playing the song over and over, feeling it wash over me. Marr's riff and Morrissey's haunting voice took me to another place, and still does whenever I hear the song!
Teenage me felt completely disconnected from the larger music and pop culture of the mid to late eighties. My high school was awash in metal hair bands, and hip hop. But our little gang of misfits - the drama and music and computer nerds, who read the classics for fun, we gravitated towards the Smiths like moths to flame. HSIN is the generational anthem for the dispossessed. I remember getting it played at the under 21 club, and watching all the cool kids scatter to the wind, as the freaks came out onto the dancefloor to twist and gyrate and sway, independent of each other. Before, it had been all these well dressed popular people dancing in lines to the Humpty Dance ( and other, less memorable stuff) and then they were replaced with all these lone dark figures, geeking out in solitude. Beautiful memory.
Nice! The popular ones will never understand. You guys knew it all along.
Your words…I know you, I’ve been you, I am you.
This was my experience to a T
It's ironic that you mention The Humpty Dance because Humpty was just like you. He knew he looked funny and was an outcast but didn't care. The opening lines were "I'm about to ruin the image and the style that you're used to." Humpty danced to his own music and had is own dance moves. He called it the Humpty Dance and didn't care what anyone else had to say.
@@Scottocaster6668 remember: popular is just another word for "common".
That guitar hook.....the way it shimmers over the surface of my mind..... *shiver*
In the 80s, my older brother would bring home his college music influences. This song was one. I was blessed.
" I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does..."
A raw declaration of loneliness and vulnerability makes the Smiths like no other group.
Man oh man you got me hooked on your analysis, and took me for a joyride down memory lane. Thank you. I'm with you, bud. I just turned 50 and to this day the Smiths are still forever the greatest band, and the words of Moz rings truer than ever for our generation. Thanks for all the incredible insights you've put into this discussion. 👏
One of the few songs that i still remember when, where and how I've heard for the first time... I went to a Depeche Mode party in one of the classic Tel Aviv clubs. Now, before you enter the main hall where a party takes place there were a smaller hall with classic "alternative" 80's songs. I entered the club and How Soon is Now just started to play. I was totally shocked. Can't say
this about too many songs. Still one of my all-time favs and always will be.
The Smiths should have gotten waaaaay more airplay. This song is an absolute statement for feelings so many us had so many times. A masterpiece! We love you and your work professor, agree with you maybe the most under played and under played bands that influenced alternate music forever.
the Smiths kinda wrote the same song time after time over-and-over again - the fact that they have no current currency now speaks to that - I liked them a great deal when I was younger but now I listen and simply think they are lame
@@JamesJoyce12 Factually, the Smiths are more popular now than they were in the day. They did it with nearly zero airplay. Similarly, Moz himself is in a cultural status which can only be compared to Elvis Presley.
In my opinion, Johnny Marr was the greatest guitarist of the 80s. Moz's lyrics are like none other as is his voice. I understand your current disdain for certain music of the past, but you must acknowledge that you've never heard anything like them before or since.
@@JamesJoyce12 I suppose most bands repeat their styles and sound each time, remember also they were together 5 years most bands sound the same for 5 years
@@tarp11z if you liked them and still like them then have at it - I liked them and can't stand to listen to them now - I also note many films and book written in the last decade make fun of the Smith listeners.
If this is sensitive territory - sorry - they totally are the greatest band ever.
@@dudetime8933 Go into Central America and find out how popular Morrissey is. Need I mention the UK?
Regarding Elvis, he's great but hardly as great as his longstanding PR campaign (much of it posthumous.). Not all, but many people like Elvis because they're told to. Not so with Moz or the Smiths.
'You've Got Everything Now' is the one that did it for me. No one ever seems to talk about the musical depth and cathartic lyricism of that song.
To the back of your carrrrrr
One of my favorites too
@@skeeterd5150 You are your mother's only son, and you're a desperate one.
Traveled 3 hours to see morrisey in 2019, the opening song was HOW SOON IS NOW, and never felt soooo alive! :) the smiths has definitely had a great emotional influence in my life with many of their songs. Love them. Great video mate, I know exactly what you mean to find a song that gives you relief from suffering and brings rest to your heart for the moment you are listening. Great video.
thanx for doing this. one of my very favorites.
Wow, still getting goosebumps from this song. Was almost overwhelming to the point that it felt magical as a teenager. This is what music is supposed to feel like with and to every inch of your body and soul!
POF - This was your best episode ever, thanks for this. You captured exactly how I felt when I heard this song for the first time.
I remember when this song first came out and I but the tape at a local import record shop. I would listen to it over and over again with my headphones at night. Morrisey seemed to speak directly to me and my pain in my high school years. Between The Smiths and Joy Division, high school became tolerable, and it started with How Soon Is Now.
One of the GREATEST tracks by any band in existence. Hands down. It never gets old, overplayed or tired. Still gives me chills every time I hear it. And this song spoke (and still speaks) to me in such a personal way as someone who has always struggled with painful shyness and an overwhelming feeling that I don't belong in social situations because I'm not "good enough".
The Smiths were simply one of the best bands out of the 80s, and the soundtrack to a giant part of my kidhood.
It's still as fresh and hypnotic as first time I heard it decades and decades ago.
15:48 "...with a plea for *compassion* and acceptance...". Simply, Beautifully put, and with such feeling. Fabulous video; Wonderful channel...!
One of the greatest songs ever recorded. I love this song and always have ever since I heard it for the first time.
Total Respect. I have no idea how I gravitated to this channel but I love the Professor's insightful commentaries. I'm also impressed with the wide variety of music featured here.. The anecdotes and historical back stories are so entertaining. When I bookmarked this video, I didn't realize it was about my favorite song from my favorite band, the Smiths and my favorite guitarist, Johnny Marr. Thank you for this. How Soon is Now is a masterpiece on so many levels.
Adam as always, your interpretation of this song is spot on! It truly is a timeless song and it even speaks to me now.
Greetings from Ireland, where I was a teenager with this song, and it deserves your praise
I still can't believe this was not on an album. So many great songs were b-sides from the Smiths that were album/single worthy.
Thanks for your passion Adam. Especially the 80s New Wave / Alt, etc.
Meat is Murder 1985
It was on the Australian release of Meat is Murder. Rough Trade were notorious for repackaging, reissuing, hence Morrissey's scathing lyrics from Paint a Vulgar Picture:
Best of! Most of!
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves!
Buy both, and feel deceived
@@luminol Depends on what release you have. On the initial release, the US may have been the only one or one of the very, very few that had it.
@@seang3019 Reissue, repackage, repackage...
Your presentation of this absolutely amazing song is truly incredible.
Perfect report on a perfect song. Thank you for this.
You're welcome.
It's majestic. Can't think of a better word for this song, and it never fails to give me the tingles every time I listen to it.
You nailed it. The Smiths deserve much more recognition and appreciation.
@@dudetime8933 Huh? Static for the sake of static?
Deeply grateful for your vulnerability and willingness to share the importance of music in our lives. Saved a few live for sure.
I absolutely love this song and most of the Smith's other songs. I loved how you seemed so emotionally touched by this song. I have the same feeling. My wife hates the Smiths. She lived an idyllic life with little conflict or negative interactions. I think she doesn't want to experience "bad" thoughts. I, on the other hand, have had more than a few disappointments. It's made me stronger, but How Soon Is Now speaks to me more than any other song I've heard.
Maybe one day she will be in touch with her dark side. It comes around eventually, and when it does - The Smiths helps you get through!! 😇
Morrissey is the man. One of my earliest musical memories is hearing "How Soon is Now?" at a friend's house as it randomly came on the radio. From the first note I froze. Writing this I am back in that moment- 1986 Incredible. ❤
When this song comes on in an 80s club everybody is on the dance floor mouthing the lyrics and dancing dramatically and we're all so together in our loneliness and, yes, it's our forever anthem.
This is the way I see this song....
I have no doubt in my mind that this song has saved lives and has made the lives of many outcast teenagers' lives bearable.
It brought a light to my teenage years....
I personally believe in God. My take here is these people Marr, Morrissey, Rourke and Joyce used their God given talents and inspirations to Bless (encourage, better, enrich) their generation and generations to come with what they created.
I believe that you use your God given talent, inspiration and passion for the material to create something that Blesses others...I am Blessed by your work here.
I believe that this is how God works.
Imagine the world where each and every human being were nurtured and allowed to do this.....utilizing their God given talents and inspiration for Blessing their fellow human beings.
My wish.
My hope.
My prayer.
Thank you 😊
RIGHT ON !!!!
I have to be in just the right mood to go back and listen to The Smiths at my age now. It’s tough to go back to those teenage years emotionally but I feel like when I’m able to listen to them, it’s like I’m crawling out of a hole again. They were and are still a lifeline to me.
I had the very same experience when I first found The Smiths. It was as if the wind was knocked out of me and a lightning bolt electrified me from my ears to my head to my heart. No other music has ever spoken to me like The Smiths have.
I can remember the first time I heard it and it was unlike anything I had ever heard before - and I grew up with all of the 60s and 70s rock. It spoke to a whole generation - no matter which age group you were in at the time. It seemed like it was the perfect song at the perfect time. That sound, those lyrics, nothing has ever surpassed it or even matched it.
Holy cow! I can't believe you referenced the WFNX poll of the greatest songs of the 80s. I spent a summer in Boston in '91 or '92, and I remember listening to that countdown over the 4th of July weekend. I remember being blown away by the Smiths being #1 (#2 was the Violent Femmes - "Blister in the sun", if memory serves me.).
One of those songs that can never be played loud enough. I recall hearing it all the time in clubs back in the day and it sounded so good blasting. Like others have said and I have to agree... it is a masterpiece.
I got chills when you listed the 3 tracks.
I saw the Smiths on The Queen is Dead tour at the Fox theatre in Detroit.
The T-shirt I got had the album art printed on white t-shirt.
(Phrank opened the show)
Wow! I would give my left arm to see them.
I saw Morrissey in Atlanta in ‘90 at the fox theatre and Phrank also opened then.
12th row, main floor, house left.
I saw them at the Kingswood Music Theatre, north of Toronto, on that same Queen is Dead tour which I think was back in '86. The new album had been out only a few weeks and I was blown away how the entire crowd knew the lyrics to every new song that was played live that night - word for word. What a great summer '86 was as I saw The Cure at that same venue a few weeks later.
You truly are the professor of rock! Thank you for the deep dive into this great song. I remember hearing this track for the first time when it was added to side two of the US vinyl copy of Meat Is Murder back in 1985. I was so blown away by how great the song was, and it was the soundtrack to my adolescent life. Thank you to The Smiths and to you, Professor, for reminding us all how powerful this song was and still is, and how much it meant to me and those like me.
Not a Smiths fan, but I LOVE this song. It's the guitar....
Johnny Marr is a great guitarist for sure. .
You don't like Big Mouth Strikes Again? Cracks me up every time I hear it. Both of these guys were dark and poetic yet they each had a wicked sense of humor.
I'm with you. I love this song but I cannot stand Morrissey, then and even to this day. But I can listen to this song over and over and I know it all comes down to the guitar.
So Love The Smiths. I was on a camping trip with 2 friends and all they played was Strangeways Here We Come that weekend. I knew every song by Monday. Had another friend that let me borrow the tape (yes cassette tape lol) of The Queen is Dead. I was Totally hooked after that. Was devastated to learn they had already broken up when I got into them my Junior year of High School. I couldn’t wait to get off from my job just to listen to them. They spoke to me in a way no band at the time did. Marrs guitar and Moz’s lyrics and falsettos were amazing. This band helped me through my teenage years and I felt I wasn’t alone anymore in the thoughts and feelings I had. Thanks PoF great video
Strangeways.
One word. It’s the name of a grim northern prison.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HM_Prison_Manchester
@@TesterAnimal1 fixed now. That’s great though. I never knew that’s what it was so thx for telling me!! 🤜🏼🤛🏼
When you rattled off the bands that harmonized with your soul, DM, NO, Cure, I smiled with agreement. And when you spoke of your 💡 moment, I too reflected upon the same truth in my past life; a life that has also been “saved” by music. In the 80’s is was the aforementioned and in the 90’s it was U2,The Cranberries, Elvis Costello, and The Stranglers… if only I could impress upon my children the healing powers of music.
You nailed it! Great bands you listed.
@GxV sounding better than ever 👍
key I think is to listen to the album whilst driving, or out walking, just let your kids listen to the whole album. not the videos. the music itself the lyrics.
After having watched a lot of your commentary and analysis of songs I have to say that in my opinion this is the best I have seen. I'm not a huge fan of the Smiths but I do like a number of their songs, this being probably my second favorite. It has resonated with me for much the same reason it had meaning to you. You have done a beautiful job of expressing the connection the lyrics make with the listener. But before that you have given a fantastic explanation of the complex music and the difficulty in creating it that makes this the ultimate Smiths' opus.
BTW I was unaware that my favorite Smiths' song, "Please, please, please" was one of 3 incredible songs written in the same week. This just illustrates why I am a fan, Professor Rock. Please keep on rocking and roll out more exceptional episodes like this one!!!
Beautiful breakdown of a song I love.So many great little insights I never knew. Thanks you so much.
It was featured in the television movie The Midnight Hour from 85 which is on UA-cam free. It was used to good effect in that one. Just the guitar riff and that errie sound plays during a party scene highlighting an attack which takes place in slow motion in a wine cellar.
I'm glad The Smiths meant as much to you as they did to me. They appealed to me as soon as I heard this song (also my first from them!). Morrissey's plaintive vocals spoke to me and my adolescent loneliness and feelings of alienation. I agree that The Smiths probably saved many lives!
Thanks for this breakdown professor. This song galvanized the feelings of many teens and young people, myself included. A truly inspired melding of the isolation and yearning for love/acceptance most people experience within the human condition. Cheers to Morrissey and Marr as underrated genius.
R I P WDRE. That’s where I first heard this sound. The station is gone, Tower Records is mostly gone but that right after college graduation was when my musical tastes exploded.
WDRE in Philadelphia?
This song is one of my all time favourites . Thank you for this back story. Your videos and interviews are organic and real , so glad I found your channel.
There is no doubt that The Smiths helped me immensely in those awkward years. They were the first band I connected with after punk. Moz is highly intelligent, and his lyrics were the perfect fit with Johnny Marr's music. Let's not forget the brilliance of Andy Rourke (RIP), Mike Joyce, Craig Gannon & all their producers.
I stated in my other comment, that I was previously a punk rocker and did not like The Smiths until Louder Than Bombs came out and I REALLY LISTENED to The Smiths and fell in love with their music! 🎶
This is the kind of video I like to see from you. It's clear that you are passionate for this band and song. This makes it exciting to watch.
I agree with most everything you've said. "Asleep" is my goto Smiths song. Same motif , different mood.