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"How Soon Is Now?" Top Song That Should Never Be Covered Again

posted by davidt on Thursday December 13 2007, @04:00PM
Sushi writes:
The OnionAVClub, the non-satirical interviews/reviews arm of the Onion, has a list of 23 songs that should never be covered again.

Topping the list is "How Soon Is Now?" They say:
"Perhaps because it's The Smiths' most recognized and recognizable song, "How Soon Is Now?" has endured countless ignoble recreations since it debuted 20 years ago. It's high time for it to retire with dignity. In spite of what bands may think, the nearly seven-minute epic isn't easy to cover, as it quickly exposes their shortcomings—few things are worse than someone trying to be Morrissey. Sadly, the song's association with the '80s and The Smiths' cool cred guarantees more ill-advised reprises down the road. See faux-lesbian Russian teen-pop duo t.A.T.u., who make it sound like a number by The Chipmunks."
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  • Wow, has it really been that long? Where does the time go? Anyhoo I agree: please stop covering "How soon Is Now" it was never broken to begin with. Geesh.

    Side Note:
    I once heard a stupid, terrible, awful cover of "I Melt With You" by Modern English and it was then I knew that there were people in the world who could really kill it for you.
    shorts -- Thursday December 13 2007, @04:10PM (#288364)
    (User #19582 Info)
    "You're the bees knees, but so am I..."
  • Dear Jim,

    "How Soon Is Now" needs to stop being covered. It's pathetic how many times a band can cover the same song.

    signed,

    Love Will Tear Us Apart Again
    Jim Rome -- Thursday December 13 2007, @05:08PM (#288385)
    (User #720 Info | http://www.jimrome.com/)
    ...and how?
  • Generally, I like The Onion AV Club, but they're just being silly here. The best thing about Morrissey doing 'How Soon Is Now' and other songs by The Smiths is that he's justified himself as a bona-fide solo artist and isn't living in the shadows of former glories / resting on laurels, etc. So:

    A song is just a song, a musical 'photograph'. Why get precious about it? It's not the fault of the writers of any of these songs that people obsessively fixate on them. It's just sad when one song becomes a 'career albatross'.

    Like it or not, kids will be going into guitar shops for many decades trying to get the Saturday staff to show them how to play/achieve the tones of both Jimmy Page and Johnny Marr.

    If even Robert Plant can just 'get over it', about hating 'Stairway To Heaven' because some mad radion station in American played it 20 million times in a row, then where's the story? It's not as if we all have to just sit there listening to Radio 1 Chaz'n'Smash nonsense all day anymore! If you don't like it: Don't listen to it. Life's too short and precious.

    Oh, and the 'Hallelujah' bit just isn't funny! From Leonard to Jeff Buckley to Rufus Wainwright to K.D Lang: This isn't just a song: It's a summary of human existence.

    Is Morrissey a Leonard Cohen fan? He must be, surely? I'm even more obsessed with Laughing Lenny than I am with Morrissey. Leonard actually wrote a song called 'Don't Go Home With A Hard-On' and Iggy Pop pissed himself trying to sing it. Now, that's entertainment!

    Kind regards
    AndrewGMooney [Text copyright: AndrewGMooney 11.09.1960, authorised to Morrissey-Solo.com only. All rights reserved]
    BrummieBoy -- Thursday December 13 2007, @06:47PM (#288409)
    (User #11602 Info)
    sig cancelled
  • Agreed.
    I don't even want to hear The Smiths version right now.
    It's overplayed. I'll revisit that song in a few years.
    Anonymous -- Thursday December 13 2007, @08:34PM (#288426)
  • the WORST cover of How Soon Is Now at this industrial roller disco thing (called Wumpskate ^_^.) It almost brought me to tears...really.

    Anonymous -- Thursday December 13 2007, @11:11PM (#288437)
    • Re:I heard... by Anonymous (Score:0) Friday December 14 2007, @01:07AM
  • since the Smiths first played 'How soon is now'
    Celibate Cry <[email protected]> -- Thursday December 13 2007, @11:32PM (#288442)
    (User #220 Info)
    and the hills are alive with celibate cries
    • Re:23 years by Celibate Cry (Score:1) Thursday December 13 2007, @11:37PM
  • Surely "My Way" is the most over-covered song and nobody ever does it their way (except perhaps Sid Viscous).
    It wasn't even Sinatra's way.
    Bill -- Friday December 14 2007, @04:10AM (#288477)
    (User #2130 Info)
  • Richard Butler (of Psychedelic Furs fame) did a passable cover of "How Soon Is Now" with his otherwise atrocious band Love Spit Love.
    Anonymous -- Friday December 14 2007, @06:57AM (#288515)
  • How Soon Is Now is the absolute most overrated The Smiths song ever.
    Why do people always mention it in magazines and polls?
    Come on all you people. I could give you 7 songs on Meat Is Murder and maybe 50 songs in total that's better.
    And it's not very representative for The Smiths work in general.
    It's to monotonic and drags on.

    And T.A.T.U.'s russian teen-lesbian cover is a nice try, I'll give them that.
    Boy About Town -- Saturday December 15 2007, @09:21PM (#288682)
    (User #16190 Info)
    Sweden Patrick Morrissey
  • Today as I was listening to it, I was like how did this song become their most popular. It's an okay song, but it's not their best.

    and also I heard this horrible cover on There's A Light That Never Goes Out. My friend showed it to me, like the guitar was alright, but the voice killed it. Anyways, yea it's too overplayed
    Anonymous -- Sunday December 16 2007, @10:51PM (#288757)

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