[LEMONS] 4.17.2002
Stop me if you think that you've heard this one before.
Angst-ridden Mancunian rock quartet The Smiths have beaten off competition from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to be declared music bible NME's most important rock group of the last 50 years.Panic on the streets of London, indeed. Dublin, Dundee, Humberside. I wonder to myself....
You know what I think of NME and the British music press in general. (you don't? no? oh. um. it's something like this. sod off, wankers!) But in this case, I've got to say... Maybe. You've got to admit, some of the few pop musicians doing anything vaguely interesting (like radiohead, b&s, some of the e6 bands, etc) are more Smiths than Beatles. More Marr than McCartney. And there's Thom Yorke in "Meeting People is Easy" talking about how incredible he found it that he put out an album that meant as much to people as "The Queen Is Dead." (Or was it Strangeways? I forget.) That was clearly Yorke's Sgt. Peper's. Odd. When I was a kid, I was too cool for The Smiths. They were, in my opinion, too soft. I was an idiot. My friend Dave Kerns kept trying to get me to give them a chance, and I just refused and refused and refused. Called them wankers. Or worse. But secretly, well... More on that Friday.
So is the "award" offbase? Probably. Certainly they are one of the more critically acclaimed bands of the 80s. The music was tops, and totally unexpected (especially given the times). The lyrics were incredibly smart, and not nearly as maudlin as they are often accused of being. Johnny Marr is one of the more influential guitar players, you hear a lot of indie/alt folks playing Marr-sounding songs today. But are they really bigger than the Beatles? No. But before you (or I) get all Ringo on NME, note that the award is for the artists who "have had most influence on NME in the course of our 50 years as a title." Oh. Influence on NME. Right. Well. Nevermind then. I thought it was something important.
(thanks Dave!)
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