38 years

This was released over 38 years ago. Yikes.

It’s still evocative and lovely.
It popped up on my timeline yesterday, and was just perfect for the moment, because I actually was a bit miserable then. Ironically, it cheered me up a bit.

Terrible lip-syncing, as was always the way with Top of the Pops. And Morrissey doing his level best to be cool, despite the vacuous, mainstream show on which he’s ended up.

Yet he still manages to look suitable chastised and dramatic as he hits that third verse:

You’ve been in the house too long, she said
And I, naturally fled.

Oh. And that quiff. Timeless.

Hamish Hawk cover

I know music posts on this blog don’t go down well with everyone, but I need to pop a post up today and this Hamish Hawk cover of The Smiths is just so beautiful.

Short and oh so sweet.

You should remember Hamish from the Mauritian Badminton Doubles Champion, 1973 song, which remains a real highlight from last year.

And if you’re wondering about what’s below, then you need to go here.

Two tumblrs

Two tumblrs for you to enjoy today. And while you enjoy them, it’s probably worth remembering that if I had a tumblr, you wouldn’t have to wade through all this verbosity each day. But I don’t. So you do.

First up, Hear Me Wail, which reminds me in no small part of Angry People In Local Newspapers. But this far more specific, this is Daily Mail linked, and features images of sad people together with the things that made them sad.
For example, can anyone guess what incident might have occurred here?

dm1

It’s not what you think. No, actually, it is what you think (Trigger Warning if you’ve ever been trapped waist deep in quicksand, just yards from the shore).

Someone should have put a sign up. That would surely have helped.

The second tumblr is far deeper. ThisCharmingCharlie is simply brilliant at any level. If you;re a fan of The Smiths or the Peanuts comic strip, it’s even better. If you’re a fan of both, you have just found tumblr Nirvana. Somehow, combining Morrissey’s lyrics with Charles M. Schulz’s characters just works.

tcc     tcc2

While the angst and the powerful messages were always clearly evident in The Smiths’ songs, one had to delve more deeply, past the superficial humour, to understand what Schultz was trying to get across. And although many of the Peanuts characters are featured on the blog, the parallels between The Smiths music and the misunderstood, depressed Charlie Brown is clear to see.

Cleverly done.
I’m now thinking of trying the same with Wacky Races’ Dick Dastardly and the fire-fueled lyrics of Slipknot. It just might work!