Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware: Interviews

To say the truth, we were'nt really expecting any of this. Of course, the news of the Matinée tribute to the Smiths did get us all excited, but you know how tribute albums are: you buy them out of curiosity, you listen with a smile to the familiar songs and then after a month you put the record somewhere, collecting dust until you move house again. But the fact that "Romantic and Square is Hip and Aware" is another matter is clear from the first seconds of song one. From thet moment you know that the right place for it is in the same filing row of "The Queen is Dead". We had to discover why this play is so good, and who could explain it better than the actors themselves?
Just two questions: 1. your memories of The Smiths and 2. why did you chose that song. And we discover stories of heavy addiction. Just like ours. But first, let's hear it from Matinée's boss Jimmy Tassos, the man behind it all:

The Smiths are my all-time favorite band. I discovered them in late 1983 around the time of the release of "This Charming Man." At the time I was listening to The Jam, Fun Boy Three, Orange Juice, Generation X, The Style Council, Aztec Camera, Pale Fountains and a host of others but nothing compared to what I heard on that single. When the debut album came out a few months later I was hooked for life. I made a weekly chart in those days listing my 100 favorite songs of the week and The Smiths topped the charts for countless weeks from 1984 through 1987, helping me through girlfriend trouble, the death of my father and other teenage angst. I only got to see them live once, in August of 1986 on tour for "The Queen Is Dead." My friend Brook drove us six hours from Louisville, Kentucky to Cleveland, Ohio to catch the only show that came anywhere close to us. We arrived late that afternoon and explored the city, running into Morrissey on the steps of the public library! We took some funny photos and a few hours later witnessed their fantastic live set in the historic and intimate Music Hall. It was a brilliant night! Being a habitual list maker, I can tell you with authority that my top five Smiths songs are: 1. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, 2. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side, 3. Bigmouth Strikes Again, 4. Rubber Ring, 5. Paint A Vulgar Picture.

We made this tribute to show respect to the greatest band of all time and to mark the 20th anniversary of their debut album. I know there are Smiths fans who think it is blasphemy to cover any of the songs, but we approached this as a sincere tribute so hopefully that is how it will be received. Some people will undoubtedly miss the point but in the end it was a lot of fun to create and now that I can hold it in my hands it seems like a nice way to say thanks. Hopefully Smiths fans will agree and maybe discover some great current indie bands in the process.

Jason Sweeney (Simpàtico)

Despite the fact that, like many, Morrissey and Co got me through the treacherous years of high school damage, I remember one particular night of adolescent desperation in which I began an extensive letter to The Smiths, explaining how profoundly affected I was by the single, Sheila Take A Bow, stating that a line like 'throw your homework onto the fire, go out and find the one that you love' kind of summed up my situation at the time. I cannot remember whether I sent the letter or not or whether they just sent back some Smiths merchandise... Anyway, I do believe that I somehow teletransported myself to Manchester each time I listened to The Smiths ... wondering, how can we not have an Australian band like this (we did/do - the Triffids, the Go-Betweens, Sea Stories et al...) - with nights singing along to my well-worn copies of The Queen Is Dead, Meat Is Murder... laying in the darkness, letting the entirety of The World Won't Listen wash over me (feeling oh-so smug with my Mum when buying this on vinyl in a large department store... the title, mum, look at the title of this record!! - have you seen "Velvet Goldmine" and that scene where Christian Bale's character points furiously at the screen image of Brian Slade screaming to his parents "that's me, that is!"... this is how I felt in that department store. In fact, my mum was really the bearer of Smiths gifts - she always let me scour the record shops for their 7"s and LPs and EPs... and she always let me have them, even though we never had any money that I recall... Smiths records were probably the only thing, materially, that gave me real joy as a messed up, gay kid in a red-neck Australian public high school. I know I am not alone with that story.

"That joke isn't funny anymore" It was a decision made by me and one of my best friends/collaborators, Nicole Lowrey. We've both had a burning desire to cover something by The Smiths for a long time... and when Jimmy put the idea to Simpático well it was a speedy and resounding YES. "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" is a tough song to do (as I think all Smiths songs are - how can anyone ever REALLY do them justice when the originals are perfect?) - anyhow, we chose this song out of a decision to address some pretty (current) dire Australian political circumstances - the ongoing and dreadful / unreasonable situation our government is placing on asylum seekers in this country - placing them in mandatory detention for years with no real hopeful solution and unworkable visa options, refoulements etc... well, "That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore" (because our current liberal government and prime minister, john howard, ARE a joke) seemed appropriate.... "I wish I could laugh..."

Mark & Lupe (Pipas)

Lupe: I remember seeing the video for "there's a light that never goes out" in very late night television, all grainy blue and green, going nowhere. it gave me such chills! my brother lent me The Smiths by The Smiths . Quickly became obsessed. Went to the books to solidify my obsession. I think I also became a vegetarian because of them. Mark: again it was television that brought the smiths into my life. I saw them performing live on 'the tube' whenever that was. but I never was a real true fan. I never bought any records. but loved the songs i heard. at least the more poppy ones . lupe turned it about for me with the song we covered. and maybe they deserve a tribute but tribute records are just a bad idea. yes, i'm a hypocrite.

"This night has opened my eyes" Lupe: it seemed full of possibility. With all the other ones we'd be arguing about who'd be Johnny and who'd be Morrissey, but not with this one, no. This one is for that nasty drummer & bass team who sued the hell outta the cutey boys' riches! I always wondered what it was about. who is this girl he sings about. I still don't know, it retains all mystery for me. Mark: I probably wouldn't have chosen this one but Lupe had been talking about it for ages and when I finally heard it it didn't have some of the trademarked vocal-stylings of the other songs. It's more subtle somehow. So now I love it!

Pamela Berry (The Pines)

I adore the Smiths but Joe is a huge, huge fan and he probably has a much more interesting memory of the Smiths to share! I think growing up with the Smiths in this country was probably a very different experience than growing up listening to the Smiths in the US. When I came to London the first time after I graduated university in 1989,some friends from school were living here at the same time and they lived in Notting Hill. They used to walk over to Queensway occasionally for breakfast and one morning they were in a shop and Kathy saw Morrissey in the queue. Kathy gasped and said, "Jeff, look!" And Jeff, not seeing Morrissey at all responded excitedly, "Wow, they sell Ricola here!" So you see, I had to pass this question to Joe because I love the Smiths but I only have other people's memories to share, ha!

Piedie Gimbel, Jr (The Pines)

The Smiths changed my life, like many others. There may have been loss as well as gain involved in that. But at a certain point, a few years after they had split, it became apparent to me that they were giving me something that other pop music had not. Their records have a rare capacity to take a listener radically under their sway: to remake listeners - almost into new people, with new feelings, new idioms, new attitudes. Part of this is the result of Morrissey's success in forging a world of his own - of icons and intertexts - but that wouldn't have the power it does without the music. My memories ought to be more specific than they are. Coming in from the sodium orange lights of a provincial town late one night, to be played for the first time The World Won't Listen, and to react to its strangeness and seductions. It repelled as well as seduced: I was wary of the music's decadent air and its apparent underachievement (such short songs! such silly, overrated words!). Yet my doubts, some of which still seem somewhat rational to me, had scant effect. Over time, the music would draw me in: something about it held a nearly inexplicable attraction for me. The very oddness, the eccentricity and morbidness that I initially resented about the band, would be among the most powerful experiences of pop music I would ever have, have ever had. You ask why the Smiths deserve this tribute record. They deserve admiration, or attention; they earned the place they've more recently been granted in Rock Heritage PLC, dubious destination though that may be. They deserve whatever plaudits and accolades we can spare. And I am glad and grateful to have been included on this tribute record. But whether we should make tribute records for them, I do not know. (I haven't really heard this tribute record yet - I am thinking about the issue in general, not in particular.) Possibly we can only detract from what they themselves did. They have been a notoriously hard act to follow - the bands who were heralded as following them by the music press through the late 80s and early 90s were not, could not be, up to the job, at least not the same job; and they have not necessarily been a good influence. One thing we might consider is whether great creative work must always be the fount, the inspiration, of other creative work - or whether some of it is sui generis and is best left as it is. If this, coming from one who played on the record, suggests ambivalence, well and good.

"Ask" Why did we choose "Ask"? There were practical factors, of course. But beyond that, it seemed to be the song that we agreed on most closely when we combined our vectors of preference. We thought that this was a song with which we might be able to do something. But beyond even that, it is my favourite Smiths 45. I am a votary of the faith that its guitars represent. It represents a kind of cultural peak for me, the realization of a mode, a combination of sound, thought, voice, language and atmosphere. My friend Don Allen has said that the song is a comedy of manners in a world afeared of nuclear holocaust. I guess I agree. It sounds like the sunshine, but it has more to say than that: it has shadows to sketch.

Fabricio Cantoni (Pale Sunday)

There is nothing, absolutely nothing like the smiths, the lyrics, the music aproach and arrangements, the bass lines, the guitar lines and drums are perfect for Morrissey's voice and poems...good taste with... fun!!! And I like Morrissey over Marr, 'cos Morrissey didn´t broke the band...and my heart...but sincerely: I like Johnny but he's been wasting his time for two decades.

"I Know it's over" I really insisted about this song 'cos I lived in the south of Brasil, in the city of Joinville, state of Santa Catarina for about 14 years and when i bought The Queen is Dead i used to walk with the album under my arm at the school and this special song reminds me the winter of Joinville wich is very strong and my friends and parties. To me, "I Know Its Over" is the most beautyful song of all times...

Jessica Griffin (Would-Be-Goods)

I first came across the Smiths when sitting in Mike Alway's office at Cherry Red. (He was the label's A&R man at that time.) Mike's assistant gave me an unwanted promotional copy of 'Hand In Glove'. It still evokes the atmosphere of that summer for me, one of the most exciting times of my life. Some months later I saw the Smiths supporting the Monochrome Set at the Venue and was not disappointed.

"Back to the old house" I chose it because I could imagine singing it the way I'd have sung it when I was seventeen, that summer, alone in my bedroom. Also, perhaps, because it's one of the few Smiths songs that I can imagine being performed by anyone other than Morrissey.

Marc Elston (The Liberty Ship)

Like most people of my generation I first became aware of The Smiths in 1983 when they appeared on Top of the Pops. They made an immediate impression for a number of reasons. Firstly they played guitars, unusual in 1983 when synth-pop ruled in Britain, secondly they had a skinny be-quiffed singer who whirled gladioli over his head like a floral helicopter, thirdly they just seemed....cooler than other bands. The Smiths were a total 'lifestyle' band like Bowie fans in the 1970's, Smiths fans had a look, a way of thinking and a way of being, they were that influential. I knew people at my university who went out to clubs with flowers in the back pocket of their jeans! Even today the first few seconds of This Charming Man gets me racing for the dancefloor like a mad fool.

"Sweet and tender hooligan" All Smiths songs are difficult because Johnny Marr was a genius songwriter and arranger. We didn't have long to rehearse and record so we just attacked one of their louder songs in a 'garage' band style. I like the lyrics of 'Sweet and Tender Hooligan' because they echo what I was trying to say in 'Baseball Caps and Novas' from our album.

Keith Girdler (Lovejoy, Snowdrops)

I guess the first time I heard This Charming Man was pretty amazing.. I cannot think of another band or singer that has influenced me so much. I remember buying Meat Is Murder in France and playing it at this flat I was staying in. I have to say Meat... is my fave Smiths LP by a million miles. I adore Well I Wonder... that to me encapsulates what was so romantically different about the Smiths as a musical and creative force!!! I gradually fell in love with the smiths...I suppose I first remember feeling the thrill of their music when 'what difference does it make?' came on the radio on a school trip, on the bus; Did anyone else get it? (no) did anyone else hear what i was hearing? (no)...I knew them by then of course, but had no idea if anyone else did - i was a bit isolated in my youth, which porbably explains a lot now. just hearing the song publicly and feeling so ...excited...it still sticks in my mind now.

"Girlfriend in a coma" I didn't originally choose 'Girlfriend in a coma' for lovejoy. I wanted to do Jeane...and still do someday, its such a fantastic record. There were issues with licensing some of the songs in the States, so we had a reduced list of material to work from. Then I was playing around with 'There is a light...' but the Lucksmiths got there first! So eventually I decided on 'girlfriend in a Coma'. It's apt though, because it is my favourite smiths seven inch and I remember loving it when i first heard it. So it worked out ok in the end.

Graeme Elston (Slipslide)

I was a little too young to appreciate the impact of the Smiths' early releases, so I only got into them around the time of Ask, which was a big influence on me. Really though, I never felt such an outsider so it wasn't as if I greatly empathised with Morrisseys lyirics. I was far more interested in Johnny Marr's guitar playing and the overall sound. I was never a Moz clone, although without the Smiths I'm sure I would never have worn as many cardigans and DM's from 1985-1990! I think that was the biggest influence of the Smiths at that time, that they were a cult band that people could use as a badge for their outlook on life, their beliefs. We don't seem to have bands like that these days, or perhaps I've just got too old to notice!

"Please please please let me get what I want" We chose to cover 'Please Please Please let me get what I Want' as the lyric is universal. So many Smiths lyrics could only really come from Morrisseys personality that I would feel ridiculous singing them. For me, the best Smiths songs are those which cover bigger themes or universal emotions; who hasn't felt the emotions described in 'Please Please Please let me get what I Want'? So although the reasons for a Smiths tribute are their cultural influence, I wanted to cover a song which could be sung by anyone - not just Morrissey.

Brent Kenji (The Young Tradition)

Unfortunately, I discovered the Smiths a year too late to catch their live experience. I was in junior high school and was still heavily drowned in The Cure's, "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me." However, Smiths' songs after all these years still remain a staple in my musical diet, as well as everything by The Cure prior to "Disintegration." Initially, I was frightened to cover a Smiths tune, but with some convincing from our friends and the approach of not trying to replicate their sound, I was a bit more relaxed about it. The Fairways got their name because our good friend had misquoted one of Morrissey's lyrics, something about playing on "the fairway." We thought it was so charming that the name just stuck.

"Sheila take a bow" This recording marks the first release of Erik and I working in the flesh. I had not met him prior to putting this song on tape. (the California Morning ep was recorded via mail). He was visiting me in San Francisco when the concept of this compilation was first proposed to us from Matinée, so we were rushing to find a song that was easy to interpret and that could be readily applied to our sound. It was pretty difficult to come up with a solid plan. I first wanted to cover "William, It Was Really Nothing" because it has always been one of my favorite tunes but "Sheila Take A Bow" provided more leniency as the song was easier for me to sing, and the song provided more room for interpretation. I also was always intrigued and delighted by the role playing suggested in the lyrics. Laura Watling has been a dear friend of mine for many years and I thought that our voices would compliment each other on this particular song. Laura has an amazing talent for singing in key on first take and with this knowledge in mind, and our tight recording schedule, I knew it would work out perfectly.

Tali White (The Guild League)

The smiths were one of the first bands that really made me excited about music from my own generation. Before them I mostly listened to 60's folk music. Growing up in the country there is nothing more punk than admitting you are romantic and sensitive! I was both, the Smiths were my soundtrack.

"Panic" I love Panic as a song and I thought it'd sound great on the Fender Rhodes (I hope you like it). We had fun recording it.

Many thanks to Jimmy Tassos and to all Matinée artists involved in this feature.

Salvatore

Links:

"Romantic and Square..." review: bands/matinee.htm#smiths
Matinée website: www.indiepages.com/matinee
The Smiths: www.askmeaskmeaskme.com