Morrissey vs The Smiths

Influence is a hard thing to wrap our heads around sometimes. The Smiths were around for just a few short years, but they put out a host of music that continues to echo through time. Morrissey has been a solo artist for over three decades, but no matter what sales success he achieves, his solo music is never going to endure in the public consciousness the same way. It is The Smiths, for better or worse, that has the upper hand in that department. It may be Johnny Marr's guitar playing, it may be Morrissey's messaging being more efficient, or it might just be that it's easier to separate the band from the man, when the man is as problematic as Morrissey.

I came to Morrissey's music only after he was a cultural relic attempting a comeback, so that timing will undoubtedly impact the way I hear all of this music. The Smiths are a relic of a past I was too young to remember, a seismic record of an event that never altered my path.

As I think about everything Morrissey has done, I begin from this conclusion; Morrissey was never as smart, or as good a lyricist, as his reputation suggests. There are the occasional lines here and there to catch my ear, but by and large he is a post-punk in the way he makes an effort of sounding like he puts no effort into his work.

On some of the biggest hits he has ever been associated with, like "How Soon Is Now?" and "Shoplifters Of The World Unite", he practically repeats entire verses rather than come up with something else to say. He is the kind of writer who thinks being inspired by a book means his own lyrics are literary, completely twisting the role of artistry in the proceedings. On a song like "November Spawned A Monster", when he says of the wheelchair-bound character, "so ugly, so ugly", are we really supposed to act like he is uttering something profound? There is no discernible social commentary about the way life is designed with little accommodation for people who are not fully able, nor does he offer up any rebuttal to the narrator to defend her worth and gifts as a person. All he has is a clumsy line about the "wheels underneath her".

Likewise, later on he would write songs calling America a "big fat pig" for never having a gay President, while on the same album he titled a song "All The Lazy Dykes". Clearly, Morrissey thinks only in three minute intervals, and has no philosophy all of his work can be grafted onto. And let's not forget the masterful poetic couplet in "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get"; "I'm sitting at the bar/with my head on the bar". Or the chorus to "Hairdresser On Fire", where he sings, "You're always busy. Really busy. Busy, busy." True artistry there.

But I'm getting off-topic here. Despite his shortcomings as a lyricist, Morrissey has one of the most oddly charismatic voices, and he has in fact wielded it on some wonderful music. It may have taken me a long time to come to terms with that, but both The Smiths and Morrissey the solo artist have a compilation's worth of amazing songs I have found myself listening to again and again in recent times.

But which is better?

Working in the favor of The Smiths is how they burned bright and burned out. They were not around long enough to decline into self-parody, and their best songs are easily the best Morrissey ever helped to pen. "How Soon Is Now?", "Shoplifters Of The World Unite" and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" are a trio of songs that simply can't be beat. The entire world of depressing sad-sack indie-emo can be traced in large part to those songs, and none of those bands have ever been more effective in sounding like philosophy majors who have finally understood the big questions of the universe can never be answered, no matter how much yelling and reasoning we do.

Working in the favor of Morrissey's solo career is his longevity, as the amount of music he has made lowers the bar for his success rate. None of his early records hold up very well as full entities, nor do his latest works, but dotted throughout are songs that can't be denied. "November Spawned A Monster" is a classic even as it is irredeemable, while "Every Day Is Like Sunday" and "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get" are Morrissey writing melodic songs in a way he seldom would.

That's the thing about Morrissey. The man loves to hear himself talk, and he writes like it, but that means his songs often come off as diatribes more than melodic nuggets. He may come up with a great single on nearly every record, but the rest of the tracks are the tuneless ramblings of a man who thinks everything he has to say it too important to get covered up with petty things like a melody. It makes his career both incredibly frustrating, but also easily digestible. When boiled down to compilations, all the Morrissey I could ever need fits in tidy playlists.

So what is the tie-breaker? Ah, that's the thing. Despite being around for four decades, I think Morrissey has only made one album I truly love as a full-length. I have written before about my attachment to "You Are The Quarry", and it's that record that tips the scales. I can make a best-of for either side and barely see a difference in the quality level. Beyond that, I don't need to listen to anything more from The Smiths. With the solo work, I would be disappointed not to hear "You Are The Quarry" ever again, let alone the glorious B-side "Friday Mourning".

I am tempering my praise, because Morrissey is one of those people who I have to fight my feelings to enjoy. The man does not make it easy to be a fan, both musically and with his personality. What kind of sullen word nerd would I be if I didn't have a bit of Morrissey in me?

I don't know if I'll ever come to embrace any of that old music I have more or less written off, or if he could ever catch lightning and make something I like again, but right now the scale tips slightly in the direction of Morrissey outweighing The Smiths.