http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AlH2oYedfk Written on the afternoon Morrissey and Marr heard the a bulletin about the Chernobyl disaster on Radio 1, which was then followed by 'I'm You're Man' by Wham. This glam rock homage to Metal Guru by T-Rex was their very p*ssed off response to what was happening in the self-righteous and superficial world of music in the '80s. Whilst the Smiths weren't invited to be part of the Band Aid single (I would have given anything to see Morrissey singing on that) and the subsequent Live Aid concert, the world would have been a better place if they had. 'Panic' slags everyone off without naming names and stays true to the bands constant message - music is important and there's no time to waste. The very annoying Radio 1 DJ Steve Wright adopted the 'Hang the DJ' chorus for his excruciating afternoon drive time show, showing how much he missed the point. He was one of the targets, not the hero. The only heroes and villains of this story was the band themselves.
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash