The Moz/Smiths Top 100, Part 140: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT

How do you rate Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want?


  • Total voters
    178

Houdini

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

Song for Today: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT

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: Decent, 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):

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 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
Part 40: East West
Part 39: Driving Your Girlfriend Home
Part 38: Don't Make Fun Of Daddy's Voice
Part 37: Do Your Best And Don't Worry
Part 36: Disappointed
Part 35: Dial-A-Cliche
Part 34: Death Of A Disco Dancer
Part 33: Death At One's Elbow
Part 32: Dear God Please Help Me
Part 31: Dagenham Dave
Part 30: Cosmic Dancer
Part 29: Come Back To Camden
Part 28: Christian Dior
Part 27: Certain People I Know
Part 26: Cemetry Gates
Part 25: Break Up The Family
Part 24: Boxers
Part 23: Black-Eyed Susan
Part 22: Billy Budd
Part 21: Bigmouth Strikes Again
Part 20: Best Friend On The Payroll
Part 19: Bengali In Platforms
Part 18: Barbarism Begins At Home
Part 17: Back To The Old House
Part 16: At Last I Am Born
Part 15: At Amber
Part 14: Asleep
Part 13: Ask
Part 12: Asian Rut
Part 11: Angel, Angel, Down We Go Together
Part 10: Ammunition
Part 9: America Is Not The World
Part 8: Ambitious Outsiders
Part 7: Alsatian Cousin
Part 6: Alma Matters
Part 5: All The Lazy Dykes
Part 4: Accept Yourself
Part 3: A Swallow On My Neck
Part 2: A Song From Under The Floorboards
Part 1: A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours
 
Close the polls. I think everyone must agree this is a 10.
 
10 of course.

An understated masterpiece. Musically, melodically and lyrically perfect from first cadence to last.
 
Just a lovely little dose of melancholy beauty. I especially love the live version of this song from the "Thank Your Lucky Stars" bootleg - probably the most beautiful live version of a Smiths song ever, and so much nicer than Morrissey's recent version. (Sorry lads, but Johnny is simply irreplaceable.)

Here's an interesting quote about the song from Mozzer (circa 1987) when he was asked if he considered this to be the perfect Smiths song:

"I think it was very close indeed, and hiding it away on a B-side was sinful. I feel sad about it now although we did include it on Hatful Of Hollow by way of semi-repentance. When we first played it to Rough Trade, they kept asking, 'where's the rest of the song?' But to me, it's like a very brief punch in the face. Lengthening the song would, to my mind, have simply been explaining the blindingly obvious."

An understated mandolin-ridden 10.
 
I think I prefer the current live version to The Smiths version. But nothing could ever top that one-off performance of this song on the 2002 tour. Such a different style for song, and so perfect in every way. I give all versions a 10, but that 2002 version deserves at least a 15.
 
I think I prefer the current live version to The Smiths version. But nothing could ever top that one-off performance of this song on the 2002 tour. Such a different style for song, and so perfect in every way. I give all versions a 10, but that 2002 version deserves at least a 15.

I've never heard the 2002 version. Any chance you might share? (Alms for the Comtesse, alms for the Comtesse!)
 
Flawless genius. Anybody who doesn't vote this 10, yet rates mediocrity like Picadilly Palare a 10 deserves a sound beating.
 
I'm actually not that fond of the 'have who I want' lyric-change in the live version. Interesting that I never really noticed that in the 2002 version.
I must say I preferred that version to the 2006-version which dragged on a bit.

Nothing can beat the original, though.
Absolutely flawless. If only all records could end like this.
 
before nugz flames me, I gave it a '4' because of the complete pretentiousness of the song title. there is mopey, and there is blatant over the top mope, and that is what I view this is. too slow, and again, too much begging going on for my tastes.

not one for the status quo.......
 
look out treygar....!

i'm fun enough i can take it. and i stand by my views. i don't understand the popular songs like this one and Everyday is Like Sunday, they bore me.

if I want a slow song I put in I Know Its Over or Seasick Yet Still Docked.

if '10' was supposed the be the answer, we wouldn't have needed the poll.

so sorry to disappoint....
 
Someone once said, "If you can't appreciate (this) I really don't know how you can say you enjoy anything he does unless perhaps, you are a troll or a scenester/poseur" ;)

That goes for this song as far as I'm concerned. One of THE greatest songs ever written, absolute perfection.
 
Someone once said, "If you can't appreciate (this) I really don't know how you can say you enjoy anything he does unless perhaps, you are a troll or a scenester/poseur" ;)

That goes for this song as far as I'm concerned. One of THE greatest songs ever written, absolute perfection.

touche' - but again, I at least gave my reasons for not liking it and I will do you guys a favor - I will go home and listen to this song like five times straight (even though I've heard it hundreds of times) and then I will repost - I will admit I didn't appreciate TIALTNGO til this year really, and I first heard it going on 15 years ago....
 
I'm actually not that fond of the 'have who I want' lyric-change in the live version. Interesting that I never really noticed that in the 2002 version.
I must say I preferred that version to the 2006-version which dragged on a bit.

Nothing can beat the original, though.
Absolutely flawless. If only all records could end like this.

The "have who I want" lyric change is an unforgiveable offence for which Morrissey should be tarred and feathered!!! You don't mess with perfection, Moz!
 
An absolutely perfect record

I thought his version on the ROTT tour,however,was pretty poor and the 2002 version is horrendous

Sometimes,you just shouldn't muck around with perfection
 
touche' - but again, I at least gave my reasons for not liking it and I will do you guys a favor - I will go home and listen to this song like five times straight (even though I've heard it hundreds of times) and then I will repost - I will admit I didn't appreciate TIALTNGO til this year really, and I first heard it going on 15 years ago....

TIALTNGO??? WTF!?!? Can't you give us a clue? Does anyone else find this Moz-Acronym thing super annoying????? I don't want to have to sit down and run through every song title that starts with a T to try to figure out what the reference is. :mad:
 
i'm fun enough i can take it. and i stand by my views. i don't understand the popular songs like this one and Everyday is Like Sunday, they bore me.

if I want a slow song I put in I Know Its Over or Seasick Yet Still Docked.

if '10' was supposed the be the answer, we wouldn't have needed the poll.

so sorry to disappoint....

I agree 100% with you about Everyday is Like Sunday. Snoozefest. And Seasick is so underrated I can't stand it, perhaps one of his most beautiful melodies and lyrically a masterpiece. Having said that, I think you're f***ing insane for giving Please a 4.
 
The "have who I want" lyric change is an unforgiveable offence for which Morrissey should be tarred and feathered!!! You don't mess with perfection, Moz!

I don't mind so much the fact he is messing with perfection, I mind because I don't like the sound of it. Changing "get" to "have" doesn't really bother me, and it implies something a little different. If he's asking to "get" something it's like asking for permission to try to do something, that he still has to work for it, he just isn't being allowed to work for it. If he's asking to "have" something it's like it's already his or can easily be his and it requires no work on his part, there is just something preventing it from fully be his. But the "what" to "one" thing is what bothers me. I don't know, it just changes the whole tone of the song to me, and makes it have basically the same meaning as I'd Love To. And whenever a lyric alteration becomes standard, I.E., that he ALWAYS sings it that way (such as "something must have gone wrong" in In the Future which I actually do like), it just kind of annoys me. Because he's been messing with the lyrics his whole career, and at first it seemed to be just spur-of-the-moment changes that he didn't think out ahead of time. Some of them are meant to be funny, some of them change the meaning a little bit, and some of them are just slightly different ways of putting essentially the same thing. But when he always sings the same changes, it just kind of loses its effect in my opinion.
 
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