Hello All, Just this morning I was thinking about the comments people have made comparing the Smiths to Belle and Sebastian; I came to the conclusion that there is no comparison what so ever. I recently re-listened to some Smiths albums and I realized that they no-longer hold any importance for me at all (except as nostalgia), and the reason for this is the complete self-absorption of Morrissery's lyrics. As I 16 year old I was fascinated by songs such as HAND IN GLOVE, but now all I can say is, "who cares." Not to say that the song is bad (I do think that it is a good song), but the sentiment, the emphasis on the "me" did not appeal to me at all. Thus the difference with Belle and Sebastian (also the difference between 16 year old me and 30 year old me). Both the Smiths and B&S have lyrics that are "sad" but the lyrics of B&S songs seem to find comfort in this sadness; a "we all have bad times, but we will get over it" tone. And the characters in B&S songs are more sympathetic: the characters of Smiths songs, to me, seem to invite nothing but pity. Maybe this difference is due to the difference in the (look out, pretentious word alert) zeitgeist of the 80's and 90's. The 1980s was a time of every man and woman for his/herself; all was about making money and having more toys than the next person. The Smiths were seen as a reaction against this, but I feel that their self-absorption fits right in with this attitude (I know Morrissery was an advocate for animal rights, but this does not take away from the egotism of his music--I am talking about music only). B&S have a wider world view, a very 90's world view, where almost anyone is able to place themselves in the situations of B&S songs (emotional if not actual experience). Listening to a Smiths song one has the impression that every lyric is about Morrissery and his obsessions; listening to B&S one has the impression that they have a view that goes further than their nose. Another way for me to put this is to use an example of what some critic had said about the Beatles: the Beatles music and lyrics was seen as comforting, aurally wrapping their collective arms around the listener. I think that the music of B&S is similar because even though the songs may be sad, so many people (from what I have gathered from postings) listen to B&S and leave feeling better. One final point--the fans. Fans of the Smiths took on not only Morrissery's "attitude" but also his look. I remember hordes of teenagers dressing like Morrissery: the hair, the glasses, even the hearing aid. There was a cult of personality around Morrissery that does not exist with B&S, and this lack of a cult of personality around B&S is not only another difference from the Smiths, but is also a very good thing. Sorry this was so long, but I did try to condense my thoughts. I hope my point comes through. Regards, Joseph PS I noticed that my spell check says to replace "Morrissery" with "morosely"--just a concidence perhaps? +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the reborn Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". WWW: http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "tech-heads and students" +-+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +-+ "jelly-filled danishes" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+