My high school yearbook quote was, "And if the people stare, then the people stare, I really don't know and I really don't care." It was taken from The Smiths song, "Hand in Glove" and is probably the most popular track they've ever released. Now, don't get me wrong, it's an amazing song, but not my ultimate favorite. Then again, it's hard to have just one favorite Smiths songs.
In class, most kids would doodle. I would jot down Smiths lyrics.
So many of them touched me like, "Ask me why and I'll die. Does the body rule the mind or does the mind rule the body? I dunno" ... "There are brighter sides to life and I should know because I've seen them, but not very often." So many lines I loved... "I know it's over and still I cling, I don't know where else I can go ... Mother, I can feel the soil falling over my head." I can't forget about: "I wear black on the outside, 'cause black is how I feel on the inside." Then there's, "... and if a ten ton truck kills the both of us, to die by your side, well the pleasure and the privilege is mine."
My other yearbook quote was stolen from an interview I once read in an issue of Star Hits magazine in 1985. Lead singer Morrissey (Steven Patrick Morrissey) stated, "I was just the type of person everyone despises." He summed up how I felt all throughout my school years. The Smiths got me through grades 9-12 and then followed me into college. They guided me through late night writing assignments, weekend parties, crushes, breakups, heartbreak, kisses, late night drives and so much more.
I have always had a soft spot for British bands. I've loved The Smiths since 1986 and although they've been one of my all-time favorite bands, I haven't bothered to attend a Morrissey concert since the early '90s. I will never outgrow or tire of them.
The other day I stumbled upon this blog called The Smiths Project. This chick from California has the most incredibly angelic voice and does choral renditions of Smiths songs. She even performs them live! Why does everything cool have to happen in Cali?
I remember this Smiths video in 10th grade. I'm sure I taped it from 120 Minutes which was a two-hour late night alternative video series MTV aired on Sundays I think.
