scene but not herd

Let me begin by saying that I love the Smiths. Not the make out in public kind of love, but rather a more private affair. Sure I wrote some lyrics on my book covers in high school, but I would never cry and tremble if I met Morrissey nor did becoming a vegetarian ever suddenly sound like a must do proposition. I have all the albums on vinyl yet, oddly enough, I never bought any singles. I only saw them once at the Hollywood Palladium back in 1985. As for Morrissey solo, I only ever bought Viva Hate and I only saw him live once at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa. In the last two weeks, though, my past comes rushing back to me. About a week or two ago I tossed on Hatful Of Hollow and boy is that good. No offense to either Morrissey or Mike Joyce, but I found myself enthralled by Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke. I was talking to a friend about these two guys and I asked him, "Was anyone else playing like Johnny Marr back then?" Listen to the beginning of "William It Was Really Nothing" or "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now." Is there anything lovelier than the guitar sound from the first few seconds of each song? To top things off you have the underrated bass playing of Andy Rourke. He's playing these great melodic lines so it is not just the usual low end throb. It was just so nice to really hear that great music now, whereas in high school I think I focussed much more on the lyrics.

Today Morrissey was interviewed on KROQ's Kevin and Bean morning show. I don't know why, but I suddenly turned into fan boy. Other than that first solo album I've basically neglected all his solo output and yet here I was fascinated by every word he had to say. He was very interesting and it was nice to hear his sense of humor come out. Now I feel compelled to go to one of the five upcoming shows at the Wiltern. There already was a pre-sale for tickets, but they officially go on sale tomorrow. Wish me luck that I obtain some and that I can relive a little bit of my youth.