The Only Band Worthy Of Being The Next Smiths

[Librarian on Fire]

For many bands being touted as the new Smiths shoud have been a blessing, a seal of approval, but for many it became a curse and having recieved the canonization from Morrissey himself often spelt the end of a career. The bittersweet sucess of being liked by Morrissey but not by the general public and the media.

The only band who should have taken the prize and ran with it to sit on top of the charts for weeks were the Siddeleys, but they never did. They made it to the fifth round of the pop cup before cruelly disappearing.

Here were three boys and a girl who knew their pop history. Looked the part, had the swagger, the arrogance, the self belief and most importantly the songs to carry it off. And they did. While Morrissey had a shrub in his back pocket, Johnny Johnson was more likely to have a Stanley knife. Born out of the ashes of the Shop Assistants, the Primitives, Kleenex and to a lesser extent the Darling Buds the Siddeleys had that one piece of knowledge which is the most essential ingredient in pop music with guitars and girls - that if you can't sum up all your emotions in two minutes and 15 seconds then you might as well join some boring stadium rawk band. Musically they were more indie that the Smiths, lyrically Johnny Johnson gave Morrissey a run for his money.

"I'd do something hellishly foolish if you came round tonight
Brand talks and sanity walks away and everything seems bright
I'll never ever ever clutch at anyone's hand again"
Sunshine Thuggery

or

"I hope tomorrow never comes - I need to crawl into a kiss
six months many be half a year - but it's forever when it's spent like this"

Even the song titles and sleeves were close to Smithdom. "Something Almost Happened Last Night" and "Are You Still Evil When You're Sleeping" are the two best song titles Morrissey never wrote.

What went wrong, the usual things, no label having the faith to believe in them, the tide of music changing, the general desertion by the kids for "Madchester" was looming. The Siddeley's star shone the shortest but it was the brightest.

Pop music can be your best friend you can ever have, and at other times it can be cruel and turn on you.

The Siddeley's, - like running your tongue down a sugar coated razor blade.




http://www.siddeleys.com

 

[Lawrence Mikkelsen]

Were The Smiths ever "the new Orange Juice"?

OK, this is a very contentious topic. There have been lots of "new Smiths" - The Wedding Present, James, Echobelly (gulp), Gene and Suede to name just a few. As LOF said, for many of these bands the tag has been a real curse. Gene have never been able to escape Smiths comparisons, even after Martin Rossiter shaved off his quiff.

Personally, my vote for the mot convincing "new Smiths" would have to go to Belle & Sebastian. I know a lot of people hate B&S. but I think they have a fantastic lyricist in Stuart Murdoch, and embody the "gang" spirit that The Smiths (once) had.

Lyrically

"I was surprised, I was happy for a day in 1975, my brother had confessed that he was gay, it took the heat off me for a while"

is pure brilliance, and very Morrissey-esque. I admit that their later albums have moved away from this sound/feel, but "Tigermilk" and "If You're Feeling Sinister" are bot perfect examples of the spirit of The Smiths.

 

[Billy Budd]

Re: Why make comparisons ????

> Were The Smiths ever "the new Orange Juice"?

> OK, this is a very contentious topic. There have been lots of
> "new Smiths" - The Wedding Present, James, Echobelly
> (gulp), Gene and Suede to name just a few. As LOF said, for many
> of these bands the tag has been a real curse. Gene have never
> been able to escape Smiths comparisons, even after Martin
> Rossiter shaved off his quiff.

> Personally, my vote for the mot convincing "new
> Smiths" would have to go to Belle & Sebastian. I know a
> lot of people hate B&S. but I think they have a fantastic
> lyricist in Stuart Murdoch, and embody the "gang"
> spirit that The Smiths (once) had.

> Lyrically

> "I was surprised, I was happy for a day in 1975, my brother
> had confessed that he was gay, it took the heat off me for a
> while"

> is pure brilliance, and very Morrissey-esque. I admit that their
> later albums have moved away from this sound/feel, but
> "Tigermilk" and "If You're Feeling Sinister"
> are bot perfect examples of the spirit of The Smiths.

Sure The Smiths are a very influential band, but bands should be seen on their own merits. Although Moz is the best lyricist of all time, he wasn't the first to adopt that paricular style of his. Paul Heaton and Jarvis Cocker has two very similar lyricists to Moz, but they and all the rest have their own individuality.

Bands should always be forward thinking rather than trying to be revivalists of the past eh Ocean Colour Scene and Cast.