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The career of the Smiths was a volatile study in contrasts.
Morrissey loved fine art, literature, 60s pop, and 70s glam.
Mike Joyce fell in love with punk rock as a teen.
But that approach ultimately worked against them.
Its one of the oldest stories in music: They got the splits wrong.
Ten percent was an unfair assessment of what Rourke brought to the table.
He could be every bit the virtuoso Marr was; he had to be.
Morrissey wrote to instrumentals the other players sent him.
And Rourke couldnt just trace Marrs fleet Rickenbacker lines and chord progressions from octaves below.
It wouldve sounded thin.
He needed a counterpoint.
So we filled it up as much as we could.
The effort was obvious early on.
That sense of unerring, unresolved frustration, the crux of the Smiths, is often attributed to Morrissey.
Rourke could handle Marrs intimidating speed and versatility because he was a brilliant musician in his own right.
A survey of the classics finds him sneaking sounds from several other genres into the Smiths indie-pop formula.
While Rourke was adding these impressive colors to the music, he was under the threat of replacement.
it’s possible for you to change rock-and-roll history without enjoying a cut of your own merch.
Marr liked the idea of having an outspoken front man; it took the heat off the guitarist.
Andy Rourke shouldnt have had to clamor for the sliver of the Smiths payday that he did receive.
It shouldnt have even been a sliver.
Pull his parts out and the songs collapse.
to Brexit and the For Britain Movement.
Sometimes, everything burns up just as quickly and magnificently as it gels.
Wed have less idols to shatter that way.
