Fans degli Smiths, adoratori della premiata ditta Morrissey & Marr (con Andy Rourke e Mike Joyce a dare il loro prezioso contributo), prendete nota di questo blog: The Smiths Project. L’indirizzo esatto è thesmithsproject.blogspot.com. I più pigri lettori di questo post potranno raggiungerlo semplicemente cliccando QUI. E’ lo spazio nel quale Janice Whaley ha deciso di pubblicare durante il 2010 covers vocali dell’intero repertorio della band di Manchester. Si tratta di un progetto ambizioso reso affascinante dalle capacità mostrate da questa bravissima 34enne cantante e polistrumentista di San Francisco. Ogni canzone degli Smiths viene proposta con un arrangiamento completamente nuovo. E, come le cose più belle, anche con questi nuovi abiti le composizioni non perdono lucentezza rivelando, anzi, sfaccettature sorprendenti. Dall’inizio dell’anno Janice ha registrato circa metà dei 74 brani che hanno cambiato la vita di molti. La mia compresa. Andando su The Smiths Project potrete ascoltarli, scaricarli e, soprattutto, stupirvi. The Smiths Project è anche su Facebook.
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Vuoi leggere alcuni miei articoli pubblicati su Calcio 2000?
mercoledì 30 giugno 2010
The Smiths Project, l'idea geniale di Janice Whaley!
sabato 10 gennaio 2009
Morrissey, tutti i testi di/all the lyrics of ‘Years of Refusal’
Ecco i testi dei 12 brani inclusi in ‘Years of Refusal’, nuovo album di Morrissey in uscita il prossimo 16 febbraio.
Something is squeezing my skull
I'm doing very well
I can block out the present and the past now
I know by now you think I should have
Straightened myself out - Thank you, drop dead!
Something is squeezing my skull
Something I can barely describe6
There is no love in modern life
I'm doing very well
It's a miracle I even made it this far
The motion of taxis excites me
When you peel it back and bite me
Something is squeezing my skull
Something I can barely describe
There is no Hope in modern life
Something is squeezing my skull
Something I can't fight
No true friends in modern life
Diazepam1 that's valium, Temazepam, Lithium, HRT, ECT
How long must I stay on this stuff?
Don't give me anymore
Don't give me anymore
Don't give me anymore
Please don't give me anymore
Don't give anymore
Don't give anymore
You swore you would not give anymore
Don't give anymore, don't give anymore...
You swore, you swore, you swore
You swore you would not give anymore
Give anymore, give anymore, give anymore...
Mama, Lay Softly On The Riverbed
Mama, why did you do it?
Mama, who drove you to it?
Was it the pigs in grey suits
Persercuting you?
Uncivil servants
Unconcerned at how they frightened you1
Life is nothing much to lose
It's just so lonely here without you
Mama, why did you do it?
Mama, who drove you to it?
Spare priggish moneymen
Who scared the life out of you
Bailiffs with bad breath
I will slit their throats for you
Life is nothing much to lose
It's just so lonely here without you, mama
Life is nothing much to lose
It's just so lonely here without you
So, we're gonna run to you
We're gonna come to you
We're gonna lie down beside you, mama
We're gonna be with you
We're gonna join you
We're gonna lie down beside you, mama
And we will be safe and sheltered in our graves
We'll come before you
And we will kiss you2
By way of one final hug, mama
Black Cloud
The one I love
Is standing near
The one I love
Is everywhere
I can woo you
I can amuse you
But there is nothing I can do to make you mine
Black cloud, black cloud
The one I love
Roosts in the mind
Can snap this spell
Or increase hell
I can chase you
And I can catch you
But there is nothing I can do to make you mine
Black cloud, black cloud
Oh, black cloud
Oh, black cloud
I play the game
Of Favorites now
I can I must
I will I do
I can please you
Or I can freeze you out
But there is nothing I can do to make you mine
Black cloud, black cloud, black cloud
I can choke myself to please you
And I can sink much lower than usual
But there's nothing I can do
To make you mine
I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
In the absence of your love
And in the absence of human touch
I have decided
I’m throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
In the absence of your smiling face
I traveled all over the place2
And I have decided
I’m throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love
I’m throwing my arms around, around Paris
Because only stone and steel accept my love.
I’m throwing my arms around Paris
Because nobody wants my love
Nobody wants my love
Nobody needs my love
Nobody wants my love
Yes, you made yourself plain
Yes, you made yourself very plain
All You Need Is Me
You hiss and groan
And you constantly moan
But you don't ever go away
And that's because all you need is me.
You roll your eyes
Up to the skies
Mock horrified1
But you're still here
All you need is me
There's so much destruction
All over the world
And all you can do is complain about me
You bang your head against the wall
And say you're sick of it all
Yet, you remain2
'Cause all you need is me
And then you offer your one and only joke
And ask me "What will I be,
When I grow up to be a man"?
Me? NOTHING!
There's a soft voice
Singing in your head
Who can3 this be?
I do believe it's me
There's a naked man standing
Laughing in your dreams
You know who it is
But you don't like what it means
There's so much destruction
All over the world
And all you can do is complain about me
I was a small fat child in a welfare5 house
There was only one thing I ever dreamed about
Fate has just handed it to me
Whoopee!
You don't like me but you love me,
Either way you're wrong
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You don't like me but you love me,
Either way you're wrong
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
When Last I Spoke To Carol
When last I spoke to Carol I said:
"I can't pretend it gets easier."
She said: "I've hung on, I have edged
along this narrow ledge
since the day I was born in 1975."
When last I spoke to Carol I said:
"I can't pretend I feel love for you."
She said: "I've hammered a smile
across this pasty face of mine
since the day I was born in 1975."
When I said goodbye to Carol
Black earth upon the casket fell
She had faded to
Something I always knew
To the rescue
Nobody ever comes.
That's How People Grow Up
I was wasting my time
Trying to fall in love
Disappointment came to me and
Booted me and bruised and hurt me
That's how people grow up
That's how people grow up
I was wasting my time
Looking for love
Someone must look at me
and see their sunlit dream
I was wasting my time
Praying1 for love
For a love that never comes from
Someone who does not exist and
That's how people grow up
That's how people grow up
Let me live before I die
Not me, not I!
I was wasting my life
Always thinking about myself
Someone on the deathbed said
"There are other sorrows too"
I was driving my car
I crashed and broke my spine
So yes, there are things worse in life than
Never being someone's sweetie
That's how people grow up
That's how people grow up
As for me I'm ok
For now anyway
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Always be careful
When you abuse the one you love
The hour or the day, no one can tell
But one day goodbye will be farewell
And you will never see the one you love again
You will never see the one you love again
I have been thinking, what, with my final brain cell
How time grips you slily in its spell
And before you know, goodbye will be farewell
And you will never see the one you love again
And the smiling children tell you that you smell
Well, just look at me
A savage Beast, I've got nothing to sell
And when I die, I want to go to Hell
And that's when goodbye should be farewell
One day goodbye will be farewell
So grab me while we still have the time
It's Not Your Birthday Anymore
Your voice it might say "no"
But the heart has a will of its own
Your voice it might say "no"
But the heart has a heart of its own
It's not your birthday anymore
There's no need to be kind to you
And the will to see you smile and belong has now gone
It's not your birthday anymore
Did you really think we meant
All those syrupy, sentimental things
That we said?
It cannot be given
And so it must be taken
It cannot be given
And so it must be taken
All of the gifts that they gave can't compare in any way
To the love I am now giving to you
Right here, right now on the floor
All of the gifts that they gave can't compare in any way
To the love I am now giving to you
Right here, right now on the floor
It's not your birthday anymore
There's no need to be kind to you
And the will to see you smile and belong has now gone
It's not your birthday anymore
Did you really think we meant
All those syrupy, sentimental things
That we said yesterday?
You Were Good In Your Time
Let the heart rest
Lay back your head
You were good in your time
And we thank you
You made me feel less alone
You made me feel not quite so
Deformed, uninformed and hunchbacked
Time takes all breath away
You were good in your time
And we thank you so, so...
You said more in one day
Than most people say
In a lifetime, it was our time
And we thank you
An end-of-the-ride sigh
Your soft smile says
"Please understand, I must surrender"
Then you grip with your hand
Now so sworn in mine
Are you aware, wherever you are,
That you have just died?
Sorry Doesn't Help
Sorries pour out of you
All wide-eyed simple smiles
Certain to see you through
Like a QC full of fake humility1
You say: "Oh, please forgive..."
You say: "Oh, live and let live..."
But sorry doesn't help us
And sorry will not save us
And sorry will not bring my teen years back to me
(Any time soon)
Forced back, it springs right out
Seasoned, you have no doubts
You lied about the lies that you told
Which is the full extent of what being you is all about
You say: "Oh, please forgive..."
You say: "Oh, live and let live..."
But sorry doesn't help us
Sorry will not save us
Sorry will not bring my love into my arms
(As far as I know...)
Sorry doesn't help us
Sorry will not save us
Sorry is just a word you find so easy to say...
So you say it anyway
Sorry doesn't help us
Sorry won't protect us
Sorry won't undo all the good gone wrong, my love
I'm Ok By Myself
Could this be an arm around my waist?
Well, surely the hand contains a knife
It's been so all of my life
Why change now? - "It hasn't!"
Now this might surprise you, but
I find I'm OK by myself
And I don't need you
Or your morality to save me
No, no, no, no, no
Then came an arm around my shoulder
Well surely the hand holds a revolver
It's been so all of my life
Why change now? - "It hasn't!"
Now this might disturb you, but
I find I'm OK by myself
And I don't need you
Or your benevolence to make sense
No, no, no!
After all these years
I find I'm OK by myself
And I don't need you
Or your homespun philosophy
no, no, no, no
This might make you throw up in your bed
I'M OK BY MYSELF!
And I don't need you
and I never have, I never have
No, no, no, no!
Recensione in anteprima: 'Years of refusal', Morrissey tra ispirazioni e autocitazioni
Strongest. Questo è l’aggettivo più utilizzato da Morrissey per battezzare ‘Years of refusal’, in vendita dal prossimo mese. Tradotto significa che secondo lui questo album è il più potente, intenso e libero da compromessi che abbia mai inciso. Se si riferisce al muro sonoro che lo sostiene (escludendo 'Southpaw Grammar' del '95) forse ha ragione, se sottilmente vuole significare che è il più originale probabilmente sta bluffando. D’accordo che la sincerità non deve essere elemento fondamentale per l’arte, tuttavia la coerenza non guasterebbe. Per carità, non che sia un lavoro da buttare. Dal punto di vista vocale Moz non tradisce (quasi) mai e se dicessi che non mi piace sarei bugiardo. Ma lo sarei altrettanto se non ammettessi che da lui mi sarei aspettato meno autocitazioni e più istinto. Meno clichè e più colpi a sorpresa. Di quelli che ti costringono a far ripartire la traccia senza dar tempo a quella successiva di prendere il sopravvento.
Per i colpi di fulmine ci vuole predisposizione. Non lo nego. Ma quando dopo sette anni di silenzio ‘You are the quarry’ schizzò nell’immobile stagno musicale del 2004 - e ventitré mesi dopo ‘Ringleader of the tormentors’ si presentò quasi altrettanto ispirato -, la mia espressione era diversa da quella di questo momento. D’accordo che il fanciullesco strabuzzamento degli occhi di fronte ad un disco non deve considerarsi prassi, ma il primo ascolto di ‘Years of refusal’ mi lascia poco convinto. Forse per il senso di disomogeneità che lo permea: più raccolta di brani distinti che opera vera e propria. Lavoro i cui calcoli a tavolino emergono oltre i limiti di un logico sottofondo. Registrato quasi completamente sul finire del 2007 (!), ‘Years of refusal’ ha avuto i primi missaggi nel febbraio 2008. Dopo averne annunciato la pubblicazione nel settembre successivo, rimarrà ancora incatenato dalle regole del marketing sino al prossimo 16 febbraio. Una gestazione quantomeno complicata il cui risultato finale ne risente. Questo attesissimo album contiene 12 tracce fra cui ‘That’s how people grow up’ e ‘All you need is me’ - già presenti nell’ultimo ‘Greatest hits’ – e vari pezzi già rodati da esibizioni live. Fra questi ‘Mama, lay softly on the riverbed’, ‘One day goodbye will be farewell’ e la sfrenata ‘Something is squeezing my skull’, a cui viene saggiamente conferito il ruolo di apripista. Insieme a questa, le mie preferite sono ‘It’s not your birthday anymore’, ‘You were good in your time’ e ‘I’m throwing my arms around Paris’, prescelta come primo singolo e rivestita di una produzione pop che potrebbe renderla ottima b-side per qualsiasi singolo degli Smiths di metà anni Ottanta. Il desiderio di riesumare quell’epoca emerge prepotentemente nel brano di chiusura: ‘I’m ok by myself’ la cui consistenza cita senza alcun pudore le memorabili ‘What she said’, ‘London’ o altre creazioni simili. Tributo o carenza di idee?
Tracklist di ‘Years of refusal’:
01. Something is squeezing my skull
02. Mama, lay softly on the riverbed
03. Black cloud
04. I’m throwing my arms around Paris
05. All you need is me
06. When I last spoke to Carol
07. That’s how people grow up
08. One day goodbye will be farewell
09. It’s not your birthday anymore
10. You were good in your time
11. Sorry doesn’t help
12. I’m ok by myself
giovedì 13 novembre 2008
'The Sound of The Smiths', quando persino le raccolte riescono ad avere un senso
Come Liverpool ha i Beatles, Manchester ha gli Smiths. Lo so, il paragone è irriverente. Ma, seppur con proporzioni ben diverse, la band di Morrissey & Marr ha segnato un’epoca e messo il germe per la nascita di nuove generazioni musicali. E’ per questo che, benché io sia ferocemente contrario alle compilation, considero di buon occhio ‘The Sound of The Smiths’, occasione per riunire momentaneamente sotto lo stesso progetto le due anime più forti del gruppo. In realtà il lavoro principale è stato svolto dal chitarrista. Johnny Marr ha infatti supervisionato la rimasterizzazione delle canzoni prescelte mentre Moz si è occupato della scelta definitiva del titolo, in un primo momento indicato come 'Hang the DJ: The Very Best of The Smiths’. La raccolta, edita dall’ottima Rhino Records, è disponibile nella versione normale (con 23 singoli o brani inizialmente prescelti per esserlo) e in quella deluxe contenente un secondo disco con 22 tracce fra cui alcune rarità interessanti soprattutto per i neofiti, visto che i collezionisti le hanno già avute a disposizione attraverso produzioni non ufficiali. In attesa che l'8 dicembre esca 'Singles Box' - cofanetto in edizione limitata contenente le riproduzioni in vinile dei primi 10 singoli britannici - Irving Azoff, attuale manager del gruppo, annuncia ciclicamente possibili reunion della band sollecitate da sponsor disposti a offrire cifre da capogiro. Il mio auspicio, per l’assoluto nulla che può valere, è che ciò non avvenga mai e poi mai, perché le magie vere non possono ripetersi. E gli Smiths strepitosamente magici lo sono stati per davvero.
Ecco la tracklist di ‘The Sound of The Smiths’:
Disco 1:
01. Hand In Glove
02. This Charming Man
03. What Difference Does It Make? (John Peel Session)
04. Still Ill
05. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
06. William, It Was Really Nothing
07. How Soon Is Now? (12-inch vinyl version)
08. Nowhere Fast
09. Shakespeare's Sister
10. Barbarism Begins At Home (seven-inch vinyl version)
11. That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore
12. The Headmaster Ritual
13. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
14. Bigmouth Strikes Again
15. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
16. Panic
17. Ask
18. You Just Haven't Earned It Yet, Baby
19. Shoplifters of the World Unite
20. Sheila Take a Bow
21. Girlfriend in a Coma
22. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
23. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Disco 2:
01. Jeane
02. Handsome Devil (Live)
03. This Charming Man (New York Vocal)
04. Wonderful Woman
05. Back To The Old House
06. These Things Take Time
07. Girl Afraid
08. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want
09. Stretch Out And Wait
10. Oscillate Wildly
11. Meat Is Murder (Live)
12. Asleep
13. Money Changes Everything
14. The Queen Is Dead
15. Vicar In A Tutu
16. Cemetry Gates
17. Half A Person
18. Sweet And Tender Hooligan
19. Pretty Girls Make Graves (Troy Tate Demo)
20. Stop me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
21. What's The World? (Live)
22. London (Live)
