Released 35 years ago today on the U.S. edition of the Smiths’ second album, “How Soon Is Now” provided an era-defining riff to a new generation.

“Easy Money,” from Johnny Marr’s forthcoming solo album ‘Playland,’ is ridiculously listenable.

I always think of music born from culture as being a purely organic thing. Say, the country blues of the American south; the chants of Tibet; the music of the Sufis. But here we have a counterexample You May Also Like: No related posts.

The decades have changed everything about this song. Once a paean, at least for me, of youth-bound angst — about dreams deferred for the drudgery (the tragedy!) of homework — it’s now shot through with real regret. You May Also Like: The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ Is the Gen-XRead More

Why the hell am I listening to The Smiths? The simple answer is that I saw a friend tweeting that he was listening to them. I was surprised, because I could have sworn that he found Morrissey’s voice off-putting. You May Also Like: The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ IsRead More

A hired gun and a second fiddle for almost his entire career thus far, Johnny Marr finally slips into the driver’s seat with The Messenger. His debut solo record is his own creation from top to bottom, a propulsive and diverse recording top-loaded with raucous accoutrements and immense souvenirs. NME’sRead More

Credentialed alterno-god Johnny Marr, who was cool when today’s hipsters weren’t even glimmers in their parents’ eyes, returns with a stark, riff-fueled message: “The underground is overground.” You May Also Like: The Smiths’ ‘How Soon Is Now?’ Is the Gen-X ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’

“Stripped” from The Song That Changed My Life Series from Duncan Sheik on Vimeo. Former 1990s one-hit-wonder Duncan Sheik blows up the sleepy atmospheres that doomed last summer’s Covers Eighties, pumping some new life into the upbeat numbers — but, even more interestingly, completely enlivening the slower songs. You MayRead More

Live albums and reissue projects often do much to shape the broader idea we have about a musical legacy, and this year was no different — with impressive sets devoted to Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings and the Smiths You May Also Like: No related posts.

by Tom Johnson I found myself entranced by the horn-laden theme that repeatedly roared through the ads for Inception. Less song-like and more a series of massive, rumbling horn crashes, the music seemed as important as it was mysterious. Hans Zimmer’s score was no mere backing music. Like the biggestRead More