13. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naos7it_bl0 What should have been their final single, but was pulled in the wake of the atrocities of the Hungerford disaster because of the reference to mass murder. The lyrics detail the end of a love affair, and like so many songs from 'Strangeways Here We Come', it tells the tale of The Smiths' upcoming demise - 'Nothing's changed, I still love you, I still love you, only slightly, only slightly less, than I used to, my love.' Where Morrissey previously wrote of unrequited and doomed loved with people from his teens or his imagination, he's now seeing his relationship with Marr fall to bits, almost without realising it. There is a lovely song on 'Strangeways' called 'I won't share you' that provides the coda to this story the title says it all. The music powers along as effortlessly as ever, with Morrissey playing the role of centre forward, scoring the winning goal at Wembley. And there's a lovely guitar solo from Johnny too, what's not to love?
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