2. The SmithsThe Smiths
The Smiths are one of my favourite bands of all time, I think I discovered them when I was 15, maybe? I was visiting my sister at college, and one of her friends was playing it – I wandered into the room, and sat down until the record was done. I still remember when I bought my first Smiths record, which was this one, and it was one of the best days of my teenage life. It was at Tower Records, and I made a lifelong friend that day. I love Morrissey’s voice, and Johnny Marr’s guitar playing. And even the bass lines just feel very specific to the Smiths, these walking bass lines that are just so melodic. I like how his soft singing-style contrasts with these really dark lyrics, that are often really funny in a dark way. It’s so personal, and I learned a lot about lyric writing from Morrissey’s approach to it. They blended a lot of different styles in their own very special way, and no one has ever outdone it. ‘Still Ill’ is one of my favourite songs. Humans are flawed, and I’m not excusing anything that Morrissey has said, but nobody can take away what a song meant to you in a moment. Morrissey is not my friend, but his music with the Smiths is my friend – and I love what his music meant to me.
