Every person has an “album” that defines the music they love, or the band that they are obsessed with or even a time in their life which they can relate to an album. Some albums help people get through life’s obstacles or help them cure depression and so forth. The gist is that all people who really love music have an album that they always go back to and consider the album which most represents them. One of my friends says ‘Kid A’ by Radiohead, another says ‘The Holy Bible’ by Manic Street Preachers and you get the idea.
‘Meat Is Murder’ is the album which I’ll always return to when I don’t know what to listen or just because I want to listen an album I know will I love. Some fans of The Smiths will say that ‘The Queen Is Dead’ is the best album but I think die hard Smiths fans will argue that ‘Meat Is Murder’ is the best Smiths record. It’s an album which I think you need to give at least two or three listens from start to finish before you can really have an opinion on it.
What I love most about the album is that there is no stand out “hit” or single, perhaps ‘How Soon Is Now?’ is that song but even then I don’t think it’s one of The Smiths most commercial songs like ‘Panic’ or ‘This Charming Man’. Each song on the album is different to the next which is another thing I really love about the album. Lyrically the album is my favourite too with lyrics like “Belligerent ghouls, run Manchester schools. Spineless swines, cemented minds” in ‘The Headmaster Ritual’. One of my favourite lyrics of all time is from this album and is in the song ‘Rusholme Ruffians’. Morrissey at his very best when he sings “So… scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen (this means you really love me).”
Some of Johnny Marr’s finest moments happen on ‘Meat Is Murder’ like in ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’ and really every song on the album is as good as the next. ‘What She Said’ at two minutes forty-two seconds is a particularly short song in terms of the album but at the same time is just as fantastic as the ‘Barbarism Begins At Home’ which stands at six minutes and forty-eight seconds.
‘That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore’ is a slower song and contains such lyrics like “But that joke isn’t funny anymore. It’s too close to home and it’s too near the bone.” ‘Nowhere Fast’ and ‘Well I Wonder’ are two more fantastic Smiths songs and the closing song ‘Meat Is Murder’ is a fairly hard listening closer but at the same time a very daring and incredible ending track.
‘Meat Is Murder’ to me is the most perfect record I’ve ever listened to and it is an album that I know I’ll always love.
‘Meat Is Murder’ is the album which I’ll always return to when I don’t know what to listen or just because I want to listen an album I know will I love. Some fans of The Smiths will say that ‘The Queen Is Dead’ is the best album but I think die hard Smiths fans will argue that ‘Meat Is Murder’ is the best Smiths record. It’s an album which I think you need to give at least two or three listens from start to finish before you can really have an opinion on it.
What I love most about the album is that there is no stand out “hit” or single, perhaps ‘How Soon Is Now?’ is that song but even then I don’t think it’s one of The Smiths most commercial songs like ‘Panic’ or ‘This Charming Man’. Each song on the album is different to the next which is another thing I really love about the album. Lyrically the album is my favourite too with lyrics like “Belligerent ghouls, run Manchester schools. Spineless swines, cemented minds” in ‘The Headmaster Ritual’. One of my favourite lyrics of all time is from this album and is in the song ‘Rusholme Ruffians’. Morrissey at his very best when he sings “So… scratch my name on your arm with a fountain pen (this means you really love me).”
Some of Johnny Marr’s finest moments happen on ‘Meat Is Murder’ like in ‘I Want The One I Can’t Have’ and really every song on the album is as good as the next. ‘What She Said’ at two minutes forty-two seconds is a particularly short song in terms of the album but at the same time is just as fantastic as the ‘Barbarism Begins At Home’ which stands at six minutes and forty-eight seconds.
‘That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore’ is a slower song and contains such lyrics like “But that joke isn’t funny anymore. It’s too close to home and it’s too near the bone.” ‘Nowhere Fast’ and ‘Well I Wonder’ are two more fantastic Smiths songs and the closing song ‘Meat Is Murder’ is a fairly hard listening closer but at the same time a very daring and incredible ending track.
‘Meat Is Murder’ to me is the most perfect record I’ve ever listened to and it is an album that I know I’ll always love.
5 comments:
i so so so so agree that Meat Is Murder is better than The Queen Is Dead. it is pretty much 100% perfect.
We should be friends lol!
http://fireglo.wordpress.com/2008/08/16/belligerent-ghouls-run-manchester-schools-meat-is-murder-by-the-smiths/
I like your article but I want you to reconsider the popularity and success of "How Soon Is Now?". This track is one of the few that got any attention in the mainstream and has been covered more than any other Smiths song. At least one of these covers have been a chart topping dance song (ironically enough!). It is a brilliant song on a stellar album, we agree, but I can't see denying it top spot as most popular Smiths song. In this instance there is nothing bad about admitting you dig a the album with the most played/popular/famous track on it. Don't worry you can still be hip and like a popular track. -
Peace- Mightyhorserox@yahoo.com
I was wondering if you could take the link to On Dancefloors off from here and replace it with http://riskandconsequence.blogspot.com/ please? New print 'zine being launched next week.. much appreciated, hope you're well etc etc. :) xxx
Now that takes me back
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