Posted on 04/16/2002 10:36:08 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
Angst-ridden Mancunian rock quartet The Smiths have beaten off competition from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to be declared music bible NME's most important rock group of the last 50 years.
The band, renowned for its fatalistic lyrics and fronted by the misery-wallowing Morrisey, have not troubled the pop charts for more than a decade, but NME -- the fanzine formerly known as New Musical Express -- ranked them as more important than Elvis, the Sex Pistols and Madonna (news - web sites).
Bands were assessed on the number of front covers, letters and features they generated as well as end-of-year polls.
Beatle fans can take some consolation that the Fab Four came in second, followed by the Stone Roses and David Bowie.
Fellow Manchester band Oasis were the highest-ranking modern day band, at number six in NME's 50th anniversary survey. Self-styled Queen of Pop Madonna scraped in at number 42, eclipsed by controversial American white rapper Eminem (news - web sites) at 40.
Unsurprisingly, modern manufactured chart toppers like "Pop Idol" TV show winner Will Young and runner-up Gareth Gates failed to make an impression.
You should check out their latest single, "Here to Stay." Apparently, it won't be released in the U.S. although it's as good as anything on GetReady. The song is from the movie "24 Hour Party People", just released in the UK last week to very positive reviews. The movie is about the rise and fall of Factory records, featuring Joy Division and Happy Mondays. It's supposed to be released in NY and LA this July.
Can I get a vote in for the Clash?
I am a music sharing junkie. A guilt ridden music sharing junkie.
I would have never in a million years bought a "The Smiths" album. Ditto "The Cure" and "New Order".
South Florida is radio hell. You can get urban top 40, country, oldies, etc., but I had never heard any of these groups.
This discussion got me curious and I downloaded a couple of the more popular cuts from these groups using Morpheus.
I LIKE THEM! I will definitely buy some of these CD's, but without hearing them first, I wouldn't have considered it. Yeah, you can sometimes play them in a store, but who has the time? Maybe you could hear it streamed someplace, but streaming quality usually $ucks on ice.
You hear that Music Recording Industry bozos! You can thank Morpheus for a few sales!
Please. This is a joke right?
No, it's not a joke. NME has declared The Smiths as the band having the most influence over their magazine for the last 50 years.
Here's what their website says:
The top 50 artists to have had an influence will be revealed tomorrow (April 16) in a special issue celebrating 50 years of NME but as a taster we can now reveal the Top 10 – which also includes The Beatles, Oasis, Public Enemy and David Bowie.
The list takes into account: Appearances on front covers. Volume and significance of features. Dominance of end of year writers polls. The response from our readers in the weekly letters page. The presence of their name and influence in the paper (e.g. the number of acts referred to as the new them, the endless questioning of other artists for their opinions of them, the terrible pun headlines on their name or song titles...). And the speed with which they took over.
It was felt that The Smiths and then a solo Morrissey's all-encompassing spread through the 80s and early 90s allowed them to reign.
The top 10 is as follows:
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