Album: Meat is Murder
Year: 1985
. . .
“How come someone hasn’t noticed that I’m dead”
Nobody knew it at the time, but behind the scenes, The Smiths were a complete and utter mess in early 1985, not just dealing with fallout from Morrissey’s continually pissing people off in his interviews, but the revolving doors of managers and potential managers who came in and out of their lives.
All of this, combined with the incessant pace of writing and recording songs, touring, interviews, and live shows made it difficult for them — i.e. Morrissey & Marr, both of whom were in their early twenties, and neither of whom had any experience being in a band that was utterly blowing up — to get organized.
This disorganization — plus their hostility towards things like music videos — and Morrissey’s tendency to pick fights with everybody but those closest to him (which Johnny Marr seemed to think was a feature not a bug) hampered the Smiths’ progress in the U.S.
Especially in terms of the radio. Unlike R.E.M., who started crossing over to mainstream rock radio as early as “Radio Free Europe” — “Can’t Get There From Here” made it to #14 on mainstream rock charts — the Smiths didn’t get airplay here outside of college and the “new music” stations. I mean, “Can’t Get There From Here” is a fine song, but “How Soon Is Now?” is an all-time all-timer, but it didn’t cross over at the time, meaning that Meat is Murder, a number #1 album in the U.K.,“How Soon is Now?” stalled out at #110 here.
Which is too bad, because a song like “What She Said” was tailor-made to be vastly beloved album track on a top-selling record here, especially given the way the uptempo music could make you totally ignore the a set of lyrics that played right into Morrissey’s reputation as the bard of sad. Or, if you chose to, you could ignore the noise and lean into the words.
What she said
“How come someone hasn’t noticed that I’m dead
And decided to bury me? God knows, I’m ready!”What she said was sad
But then, all the rejection she’s had
To pretend to be happy could only be idiocy
Another uptempo raver, “What She Said” featured an absolutely torrential tornado of a guitar riff from Johnny Marr, rising and falling as it spun around you dizzily, helped out by Mike Joyce tattooing his snare in an attempt to keep up. Andy Rourke split the difference with a rubbery, bouncy bassline that situated “What She Said” as an evil cousin to “What Difference Does it Make?” All of this noise both contrasted and supported Morrissey’s sad girl lyrics. Lana Del Rey should do a cover.
What she said
“I smoke ’cause I’m hoping for an early death
And I need to cling to something!”
What she said
“I smoke ’cause I’m hoping for an early death
And I need to cling to something!”
After that, Morrissey has nothing more to say on the subject, content to let Marr, Joyce and Rourke spend nearly the last fully minute (of a song that’s only 2:43) kicking up as much dust as they possibly can, like whirlwind that crosses the highway and blinds you for a bit.
“What She Said” was a song that they Smiths played in concert even before Meat is Murder came out, and made it to the very end of their live shows, best heard with as a medley with the riff from “Rubber Ring.”
“What She Said”
“What She Said” live in Madrid, 1985
“What She Said” live in London, 1986
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