An interesting post from Morrissey Solo about The Smiths and Morrissey's album sales in the US:
Here are the Morrissey and Smiths album sales in the Soundscan era (i.e from 1992 onwards), which I received from a friend who works there.
Interestingly enough both in 2007 and in total sales since 1992 The Smiths outsell Morrissey, if only just.
In 2007 The Smiths sold 66,063 albums in the US and Morrissey sold 58,992 albums Cumulatively The Smiths have sold 2,598,266 albums in the SoundScan era and Morrissey has sold 2,350,983.
The best selling Smiths albums from 1992 onwards are:
Best...1 : 432,907 Louder Than Bombs: 412,444 Singles: 396,150 The Queen Is Dead: 287,180 Meat Is Murder: 245,385 Strangeways, Here We Come: 230,794 Best...2: 208,357 Harful of Hollow: 133,809 The Smiths: 130,076
The best selling Morrissey album from 1992 onwards are:
Your Arsenal: 366,047 Bona Drag: 360,977 Vauxhall & I: 293,017 Viva Hate: 234,804 You Are The Quarry: 230,169 Kill Uncle: 221,293 Best of Morrissey: 179,746 Ringleader of The Tormentors: 97,502 Maladjusted: 88,554 World Of Morrissey: 69,357 Southpaw Grammar: 67,451
Let's face it: any jerk can put some Pulp and Elastica on a CD and call it a Britpop mix. The recent Brit Box? Good intentions, but kind of boring. In the end, only one person could put you inside the head of a University of Michigan sophomore studying abroad in London in '96. Only one person could pick the music that would evoke day trips to Manchester on Smiths pilgrimages, or evenings spent sipping Newcastle and watching the band whose first release just got Melody Maker's "Single of the Week". That person is Dead Flowers' resident Britpop expert, Phil. For a year I've been pestering him to put together a mix like this, and he's finally delivered. Here's a track-by-track rundown:
1. Echobelly - Insomniac Phil's Comment: Sept. 1994, Echobelly and Oasis both sell out the same venue, same capacity on different days in ny (wetlands). alas, quite different paths after that.
2. Gene - London, Can You Wait? P: Never given their due/respect! Mike (Dead Flowers)'s comment: I agree. Taken in small doses, Gene were quite good.
3. Blur - Chemical World M: One of my favorite Blur tracks. Amazing guitar, and the lyrics would set the template for Britpop songs to come.
4. Oasis - Whatever M: There's nothing better than a great non-album single. Sure, this apes The Beatles, but it does it in a classy way. Liam's voice would never sound better.
5. Suede - We are the Pigs P: Best song intro in the britpop era. M: While most latter-period Britpop bands would draw on mundane events like soccer championships and elections to find inspiration for their anthems, Suede had it right from the beginning: bad drugs and JG Ballard novels.
6. Tricky - brand new you're retro P: I guess some trip-hop needs to be thrown in. M: Sure, it sounds really dated. But it's interesting to hear what passed for 'cutting-edge' back then.
7. Salad - Granite Statue P: Even the lesser players at the time were still quality M: At first I thought this song was crap, but I've had it stuck in my head for the past few days and I can assure you it's top-notch. The girl can't sing, but only half of the Britpop singers could anyways.
8. The Auteurs - Lenny Valentino P: Also criminally underrated, Luke Haines' post-auteurs stuff was never topped. M: Haines really looks like Paul Banks in this video. Brilliant track.
9. Morrissey - Hated for Loving P: Still the godfather of british pop
10. Marion - Time P: Obligatory Manchester-based, smiths-heirs-to-the-throne-but-never-were band.
11. Sultans of Ping - Where's me Jumper? P: The unofficial anthem of britpop.. bar-none M: I think Art Brut heard these guys.
If there was any doubt about who would come out on top of the Morrissey/NME "racism" scandal, it's been settled now. One can only imagine the tears in the NME editor's eyes when he read this diatribe by none other than Morrissey himself:
I abhor racism, and apologise - for speaking to NME
I grew up a chanting believer in the New Musical Express. Last week however, I was the victim of the magazine's agenda to cook up a sensational story...
On Friday of last week I issued writs against the NME (New Musical Express) and its editor Conor McNicholas as I believe they have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview I gave them in order to boost their dwindling circulation.
I abhor racism and oppression or cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass without being absolutely clear and emphatic with regard to what my position is.
Racism is beyond common sense and I believe it has no place in our society.
To anyone who has shown or felt any interest in my music in recent times, you know my feelings on the subject and I am writing this to apologize unreservedly for granting an interview to the NME. I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three...
Into the 90s, the NME's discernment and polish became faded nobility, and there it died - but better dead than worn away. The wit imitated by the 90s understudies of Morley and Burchill assumed nastiness to be greatness, and were thus rewarded. But nastiness isn't wit and no writers from the 90s NME survive. Even with sarcasm, irony and innuendo there is an art, of sorts. Now deep in the bosom of time, it is the greatness of the NME's history on which the 'new' NME assumes its relevance...
he editorial treatment given to my present interview with the 'new' NME is the latest variation on an old theme, but like a pre-dawn rampage, the effects of the interview have been meticulously considered with obvious intentions. It is true that the magazine is ailing badly in the marketplace, but Conor doesn't understand how the relentless stream of "cheers mate, got pissed last night, ha ha" interviews that clutter every single issue of the 'new' NME are simply not interesting to those of us who have no trouble standing upright.
Disclaimer:
Commercially available MP3s are 64 kbps and for word-of-mouth purposes only. If you like any of the music featured here, please purchase it to support the artist and enjoy higher quality audio. If you are an artist or represent an artist and would like a file removed, please contact me. If you are a website owner, please link to posts, not MP3s. All written material Copyright 2006-2008 Mike Kegler, unless otherwise noted.
An interesting post from Morrissey Solo about The Smiths and Morrissey's album sales in the US:
