The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 173: THAT JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE

[Houdini]

Let's compile our own Morrissey/Smiths Top 100 by rating all 232 Moz/Smiths-songs.

Song for Today: THAT JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE

Voting should be something along these lines:
10: Perfection
9: Near perfect, brilliant
8: Really good Moz/Smiths song
7: Good Moz/Smiths song
6: OK, Nothing special
5: Uninspired
4: Poor
3: Bad
2: Should never have been released
1: He/They should be ashamed

The songs so far (voting is still open, click to vote):

Part 172: Teenage Dad On His Estate
Part 171: Sweetie Pie
Part 170: Sweet And Tender Hooligan
Part 169: Sunny
Part 168: Suffer Little Children
Part 167: Suedehead
Part 166: Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Big Difference
Part 165: Stretch Out And Wait
Part 164: Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
Part 163: Still Ill
Part 162: Spring-Heeled Jim
Part 161: Speedway
Part 160: Southpaw
Part 159: Sorrow Will Come In The End
Part 158: Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others
Part 157: Slum Mums
Part 156: Skin Storm
Part 155: Sister, I'm A Poet
Part 154: Sing Your Life
Part 153: Shoplifters Of The World Unite
Part 152: Sheila Take A Bow
Part 151: Shakespeare's Sister
Part 150: Seasick Yet Still Docked
Part 149: Satan Rejected My Soul
Part 148: Rusholme Ruffians
Part 147: Rubber Ring
Part 146: Roy's Keen
Part 145: Reel Around The Fountain
Part 144: Redondo Beach
Part 143: Reader Meet Author
Part 142: Pretty Girls Make Graves
Part 141: Pregnant For The Last Time
Part 140: Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
Part 139: Piccadilly Palare
Part 138: Pashernate Love
Part 137: Papa Jack
Part 136: Panic
Part 135: Paint A Vulgar Picture
Part 134: Our Frank
Part 133: Ouija Board, Ouija Board
Part 132: Oscillate Wildly
Part 131: On The Streets I Ran
Part 130: Oh Well, I'll Never Learn
Part 129: Nowhere Fast
Part 128: Now My Heart Is Full
Part 127: Now I Am A Was
Part 126: November Spawned A Monster
Part 125: Noise Is The Best Revenge
Part 124: Nobody Loves Us
Part 123: No One Can Hold A Candle To You
Part 122: Never Had No One Ever
Part 121: My Love Life
Part 120: My Life Is A Succession Of People Saying Goodbye
Part 119: Mute Witness
Part 118: Munich Air Disaster 1958
Part 117: Moonriver
Part 116: Money Changes Everything
Part 115: Miserable Lie
Part 114: Michael's Bones
Part 113: Mexico
Part 112: Meat Is Murder
Part 111: Margaret On The Guillotine
Part 110: Maladjusted
Part 109: Lucky Lisp
Part 108: Lost
Part 107: London
Part 106: Little Man, What Now?
Part 105: Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning
Part 104: Life Is A Pigsty
Part 103: Let the Right One Slip In
Part 102: Let Me Kiss You
Part 101: Late Night, Maudlin Street
Part 100: Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Part 99: King Leer
Part 98: Journalists Who Lie
Part 97: Jeane
Part 96: Jack The Ripper
Part 95: It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small
Part 94: Is It Really So Strange?
Part 93: Irish Blood, English Heart
Part 92: Interlude
Part 91: Interesting Drug
Part 90: In The Future When All's Well
Part 89: If You Don't Like Me, Don't Look At Me
Part 88: I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
Part 87: (I'm) The End Of The Family Line
Part 86: I'm Not Sorry
Part 85: I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now
Part 84: I'd Love To
Part 83: I Won't Share You
Part 82: I Will See You In Far Off Places
Part 81: I Want The One I Can't Have
Part 80: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
Part 79: I Like You
Part 78: I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Part 77: I Know It's Over
Part 76: I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday
Part 75: I Knew I Was Next
Part 74: I Keep Mine Hidden
Part 73: I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
Part 72: I Have Forgiven Jesus
Part 71: I Don't Owe You Anything
Part 70: I Don't Mind If You Forget Me
Part 69: I Can Have Both
Part 68: I Am Two People
Part 67: I Am Hated For Loving
Part 66: Human Being
Part 65: How Soon Is Now?
Part 64: How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?
Part 63: Hold On To Your Friends
Part 62: Heir Apparent
Part 61: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
Part 60: He Knows I'd Love To See Him
Part 59: He Cried
Part 58: Have-A-Go Merchant
Part 57: Handsome Devil
Part 56: Hand In Glove
Part 55: Half A Person
Part 54: Hairdresser On Fire
Part 53: Good Looking Man About Town
Part 52: Golden Lights
Part 51: Glamorous Glue
Part 50: Girlfriend In A Coma
Part 49: Girl Least Likely To
Part 48: Girl Afraid
Part 47: Get Off The Stage
Part 46: Ganglord
Part 45: Friday Mourning
Part 44: Frankly Mr Shankly
Part 43: Found Found Found
Part 42: First Of The Gang To Die
Part 41: Everyday Is Like Sunday (follow this link for first 40 songs).

[Chartres]

The best The Smiths' song, ever!

[nugz]

10

of course

[treygar]

awesome song in that it's broken into a few parts - and each part is perfect in its own right - when put together you get an endearing song that sounds so simple but is so complex in nearly a million different levels.

one of the 10 best songs lyrically and musically.

[fredhenson]

One of my favorite smiths songs of all time. Haunting, poignant and enigmatic A 10

[nugz]

SNS, how the hell can you give this a 9!? explanations now plz.

[Corrissey]

Park the car at the side of the road *drums* you should know... I love the drum part in here.
This is my fave 'slow' Smiths song. A gorgeous, epic 10. Moz just might die with a smile on his face afterall.

[moscow kate]

A nice mellow smiths song

[Dothatagain?]

Masterful. An incredible piece of music, and great lyrics. I think the last three minutes of it are the most oddly uplifting thing the Smiths ever did.

I've seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in mine.

10.

[nugz]

Masterful. An incredible piece of music, and great lyrics. I think the last three minutes of it are the most oddly uplifting thing the Smiths ever did.

I've seen this happen in other people's lives and now it's happening in mine.

10.

uplifting? i take that as the complete opposite. like, when you see bad stuff happen in other peoples lives and you say to yourself "thank god thats not me" or "That would never happen to me" and then it DOES. i think those are some of the SADDEST lyrics I've ever heard, not uplifting.

[fredhenson]

uplifting? i take that as the complete opposite. like, when you see bad stuff happen in other peoples lives and you say to yourself "thank god thats not me" or "That would never happen to me" and then it DOES. i think those are some of the SADDEST lyrics I've ever heard, not uplifting.

The content of the lyrics is certainly sad, but the music and the lyrics are so beautiful that the song becomes uplifting rather than depressing. I think thats what dothatagain? means when he/she says "oddly uplifting". If so, then I agree.

P.S does anyone know if Morrissey has played this live since The Smiths?

[Comtesse]

Breathtakingly beautiful, both musically and lyrically. Oh, if only Morrissey could write them like this again. A 10.

[Amy]

Absolutely, heart-breakingly beautiful. Our man at the top of his game. 10

[Dothatagain?]

uplifting? i take that as the complete opposite. like, when you see bad stuff happen in other peoples lives and you say to yourself "thank god thats not me" or "That would never happen to me" and then it DOES. i think those are some of the SADDEST lyrics I've ever heard, not uplifting.

I read it the other way. Morrissey (or "the narrator", if you prefer) starts out by chastising his companion for laughing at the lonely, because it hits "too close to home".

But then it changes - Mozzer "drives the point home" on the cold leather seats of the car, and realises that he "just might die with a smile on my face after all". He's finally "getting some" - that's what he's always seen happening in other people's lives, and it's finally happening in his.

[titsmcgee]

I thought this song was about dying of a heroin overdose:


"It was dark as I drove the point home
And on cold leather seats
Well, it suddenly struck me
I just might die with a smile on my face, after all"

[Corrissey]

i think those are some of the SADDEST lyrics I've ever heard, not uplifting.

I love the sad, subtleness of "kick 'em when they fall down" *ugh...clutches chest*

[Comtesse]

I read it the other way. Morrissey (or "the narrator", if you prefer) starts out by chastising his companion for laughing at the lonely, because it hits "too close to home".

But then it changes - Mozzer "drives the point home" on the cold leather seats of the car, and realises that he "just might die with a smile on my face after all". He's finally "getting some" - that's what he's always seen happening in other people's lives, and it's finally happening in his.

I agree with this interpretation as well, but I can also see the opposite interpretation. This is what Morrissey's best songs do: they speak to people in different ways. We can all take from it whatever we desire to fulfill our own needs. It's all part of Morrissey's unique genius.

[Helios]

Beyond brilliant. A definite 10. Pity those who prefer Morrissey B-sides.

[the judge]

The best The Smiths' song, ever!

I don't agree anymore. But it's still a 10.
I can't play the whole song, just the intro and the chorus... oooh, it's so beautiful and moving.

[nugz]

I agree with this interpretation as well, but I can also see the opposite interpretation. This is what Morrissey's best songs do: they speak to people in different ways. We can all take from it whatever we desire to fulfill our own needs. It's all part of Morrissey's unique genius.

very true. although I was really disappointed to discover that he totally ganked that line "I've seen this happen in other people's lives, and now it's happening in mine." I forget from where, one of those movies...but I read it in "the Songs that Saved your life." I was really upset at first, but I got over it. it fits perfectly with the song.