two things to say about this
What stands out to me is the concept of the contrast between the melancholy minor vocal melody and the upbeat bright music of the instruments. Doesn't this make a lot of sense in so many ways when we think about the Smiths? The appeal of the music, the way it can be so exciting and make you feel good, versus the common perception that the music is gloomy, because of some of the subject matter and the way Morrissey is singing.
The contrast makes each part, sad vs happy to put it in insultingly simple terms, stand out in stark contrast against the other and makes each more effective. This has not occurred to me before in regards to The Smiths music.
Personality-wise it makes a lot of sense, too. Even in The Smiths, in a lot of ways Morrissey was on his own, musically speaking, and personality-wise. Wish I was saying that better. It's not to say there was not musical collaboration. Obviously there was. But haven't we sort of decided by now that Johnny was the liaison between Morrissey and the rhythm section?
So that was part one.
The other thing I would say is that music expresses great undeniable emotional truths, and it is universal. You don't have to study 18th Century German classical music to arrive at the same techniques that its composers were using. Morrissey could easily, because of his deveoped sensibilities and his gift, have arrived at some of the same conclusions musically as these composers, without understanding or considering the theory behind it. There are different ways to compose music, and it can be done logically using rules, but I'd think that great highly effective music taps into an unconscious place. The theory to study it is something that comes after.
Morrissey could have used these same techniques unknowingly.
