No Lies!

thinking about..what band could you compare them to..at the time they were coming out..None!

um I think you would have to put some parameters on the defination of orginal, for this question to have any validity.

I wouldn't know because they were the only band I listened to in the eighties so I had nothing to compare them to.

Like our friend said: depends how you define original. Although they were certainly one of the best bands of the 80's. I saw them live 3 times and they are still one of the best live acts I've ever seen.

Sorry mate but if you lived in London in the mid to late 80's you would have found the Smiths to be incredibly depressing, detatched and way to pretentious compared to the exciting sounds that funk and hip hop were producing at that time, and to this day everytime I hear his droaning voice I feel like slitting my wrists! Having said that though I think Joy Division would be more suited the title of original band of the 80's, they kind of pioneered depressing but were more interesting than the Smiths
...but then again that's just my opinion

more original than the cure even? hmmm, i don't know about that.

weepingwall said:

The Smiths were great, sure, but they don't deserve that tag. PIL's "Metal Box" is still one of the most innovative albums made in the last thirty years, ditto Big Audio Dynamite's debut, and - arguably - The Clash's "Sandinista" and "Combat Rock"; and then you're not factoring in New Order, the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and NWA, to name but a few.

skilletnomicrowave said:

I did live in London in the 80s. (In fact I still live in London) I always found the Smiths fucking hilarious. Most of Morrissey's lyrics had a lot of humour in them, you just needed to get past his voice and the stereotypical image. Now, if we're talking Sisters of Mercy or The Mission - THEY were depressing as shit - in fact they were shit first then depressing.
[Edited 5/23/06 4:03am]

Anx said:

I'd have agreed with you about The Cure, if they hadn't released a New order homage called In Between Days in 1985. Which means New Order are the original originals.

The Smiths created their own world and their own sound. They were so english, they couldn´t have happened anywhere else. More importantly, their songs stood the test of time. They still sound as fresh as ever. I love them.

Personally I think Nina Hagen blows all their asses away for originality, BUT the Smiths were an important 80's band. It's a shame that they never took off in the states except for the healthy cult status they still enjoy.

Shapeshifter said:

granted. and if that was the only song they'd ever recorded, i'd probably have to agree with you. but i think they had a couple of other singles.

I Think R.E.M was probably the most original band of the 80s.

Hell they pretty much started the notion of modern rock in the usa

Anx said:

Dig both of these bands. I got hipped to The Smiths while I was in Jr. High from a girl that I was dating. She ADORED The Smiths. Johnny Marr is a very underrated guitarist. Don't like them as much as I love The Cure though. Robert Smith is off the hook and always has been. But I definately give The Smiths their props. One of my all time favorite songs by anyone ever is The Smith's "Shoplifters Of The World (Unite and Take Over)".

Shapeshifter said:

The other way around actually. Although now that I think about it, I never found either band depressing. All this new mopey emo is far more depressing than goth ever was.

sextonseven said:

As for the argument, I think New Order would be the most original, while The Cure is the most diverse. The Smiths are the most revered, but they didn't take as many chances musically as the other 2.
[Edited 5/23/06 14:24pm]

Moonbeam said:

I can get with that.

GangstaFam said:

Or you can get with this!

Moonbeam said:

Who's the black sheep?

Shapeshifter said:

And let's not forget New Order was born out of the afore mentioned Joy Division.

skilletnomicrowave said:

the cure was around at the same time as joy division, weren't they? i think they may have been in existence even before joy division, though a) i could be wrong about that, and b) i don't know what my point is.

Anx said:

Didn't both their debut albums get released in 1979?

sextonseven said:

i thought the cure's came out a little earlier than that. where's that gangstafam when ya need him?

Anx said:

Both bands were formed in 1976 and both bands released their debut album in 1979, although Joy Division had their Warsaw stuff and a few EP's earlier. Joy Division stumbled upon that post-punk sound first though.

I don't know about "the most original", especially when you had other artists like Lene Lovich, Talking Heads, The Cure, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, yada yada. But The Smiths were without a doubt fucking wonderful.

NWF said: