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For the past year, I have been the news editor and head writer for BritpopNews.com. Previously, I maintained two personal blogs (general pop culture and humor).
There have been reissues. There have been repackages. And now it's time to reevaluate the songs. So, put on your tacky badge, and let's take a look at the seventeen Smiths singles that were released from 1983 to 1987. In just four short years, the Manchester-based band broke on to the scene - confusing, titillating, [...]
In an interview with The Guardian published yesterday, My Bloody Valentine frontman Kevin Shields proselytized that Britpop was part of a government conspiracy. According to The Guardian, Shields 'reacted angrily to a mention of the Cool Britannia phenomenon,' the mid-1990s wave of cultural celebration that capitalized on the global successes of Britpop and groups like [...]
Love triangles. Band rivalries. Heroin heroin heroin. The Britpop era was fraught with the sort of drama that could satisfy any tabloid lover. While most of the juiciest stories have been heavily guarded by the bands themselves (or perhaps forgotten in a distant drug haze), Luke Haines dishes up a bit of delicious dirt in [...]
Morrissey outwitted everyone as the Dorothy Parker of pop under the auspices of the Smiths in the 1980s. When they broke up in 1987, Morrissey's fans eagerly awaited his first foray into solo territory. 1988′s Viva Hate was a continuation of the Smith's pristine legacy, both lyrically and musically.
Everyone wants to take claim of being the first Britpop band, ushering in the scene and inspiring the rest of the groups, but no one wants to take responsibility for the uglier aspects, its descent into jingoistic caricatures championed by the media. Many of the bands who have claimed to have invented Britpop quickly sought [...]
Edtior's note: we liked this album so much we wanted to review it twice. It's shocking that it took twenty-five years for Johnny Marr, architect of the Smiths' inimitable sound and one of the most influential guitarists of all-time, to finally release his solo debut.