How Soon Is Now?
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| "How Soon Is Now?" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Smiths | ||
| from the album Hatful of Hollow | ||
| Released | February 1985 | |
| Format | 7" single, 12" single | |
| Recorded | 1984 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock | |
| Length | 3:53 (7"), 6:43 (12") | |
| Label | Rough Trade RT176 (7"), RTT176 (12") |
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| Writer(s) | Johnny Marr Morrissey |
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| Producer(s) | John Porter | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Smiths singles chronology | ||
| "William, It Was Really Nothing" (1984) |
"How Soon Is Now?" (1985) |
"Shakespeare’s Sister" (1985) |
"How Soon Is Now?" is one of the best-known songs by British band The Smiths. Sire Records chief Seymour Stein described it as "the 'Stairway to Heaven' of the Eighties".[1][2] Despite its prominent place in The Smiths' repertoire, however, it is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style.[3]
Originally a B-side with "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" on the 12" single version of "William, It Was Really Nothing" in 1984, the song was subsequently featured on the compilation album Hatful of Hollow and on US, Australian and Warner UK editions of Meat Is Murder. It was belatedly released as an A-side in the UK in 1985, reaching #24 on the singles chart. The single did not make the US Top 40.
Although a club favourite, "How Soon Is Now" did not chart as well as writers Morrissey and Marr had expected. Most commentators put this down to the fact that the song had been out on vinyl in a number of forms before being released as a single in its own right; according to producer John Porter, "Everybody knew the Smiths' fans already had it".[2] The original track ran for nearly 7 minutes; however, the 7" single edit cut the length down to under 4 minutes. The complete version is generally used on compilations.
Contents |
[edit] Music and lyrics
The song contains only one verse which is repeated twice, plus a chorus and a bridge. The subject is an individual who cannot find a way to break out of his shyness. Two couplets from the song are well known in pop culture, the opening to the verse: "I am the son, and the heir, of a shyness that is criminally vulgar / I am the son and heir, of nothing in particular", and the chorus: "I am human and I need to be loved / Just like everybody else does". The opening was adapted from a line in George Eliot's Middlemarch: "To be born the son of a Middlemarch manufacturer, and inevitable heir to nothing in particular".[1] While the track is cited as having changed US media perception of the band as "some wacky gay-rock crusade", the lyrics have also been taken as specifically relating to contemporary Manchester gay club culture.[1]
The tune is built around a guitar chord that rapidly oscillates in volume. As to how the distinctive resonant sound was achieved, the following was offered by Patrick Frawley on a fan site:[4]
- "There is a 'vibrato' or 'tremolo' twist knob on certain guitar amplifiers; some Fender models come to mind. It specifically produces that unmistakable wooga-wooga sound, originally intended to emulate a skilled stringed instrument player's fingered tremoloing (think concert violinists, cellists, etc). It's basically an electrically induced volume oscillation; one can hear the chord being played, bouncing back and forth on the volume scale, but Marr's good enough to mask the changes. Early guitar rock god Bo Diddley used it extensively on his Fifties singles, which have influenced generations of guitarists, including (obviously) Marr. The distinctive drumbeat of the track is also a blatant/loving Diddley nick".
[edit] Artwork
The single's cover art was a still from the film Dunkirk (1958) featuring British actor Sean Barrett, praying but looking sufficiently as though he was holding his crotch to have the sleeve banned in the US.[5]
[edit] Music video
A music video was made using the 7" edit of the song. It intercut clips of the band playing live (including a shot of Johnny Marr showing Morrissey how to play the guitar), an industrial part of a city, and a girl dancing. Whilst unauthorised and heavily criticised by the band,[1] the video has been credited with helping make the song their most famous in the US, along with heavy exposure on college radio.[6]
[edit] Live versions
"How Soon Is Now?" was always considered a "major problem" to play in concert, and live versions are rare.[1] One was used to open Morrissey's album Live at Earl's Court. Another was recorded during the concert for The Smiths' live album Rank, but was not used. Instead, a raw version of this song (and entire concert) can be found on the bootleg "A Bad Boy from a Good Family".
[edit] Cover versions
"How Soon Is Now?" has been covered by various artists including the Russian pop duo t.A.T.u. (on the album 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane) in 2002, UK indie band Hundred Reasons, US post-core band Quicksand (bonus track on their Slip album) in 1993, US post-grunge band Everclear, UK band Paradise Lost (on the limited edition Say Just Words EP), and industrial rockers Snake River Conspiracy. The guitar track was sampled, with the band's approval, in 1990 by indie-dance band Soho on their UK Top 10 single "Hippychick". The song became well-known to television viewers as the theme from Charmed, in a cover version performed by Psychedelic Furs spinoff band Love Spit Love; the same recording had earlier featured on the soundtrack for another tale of young witches, the film The Craft.
[edit] Critical standing
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine rated the song #486 in its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at #28 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. In 2006, "How Soon Is Now?" was voted runner up in VH1’s "Top Lyrics" poll for the lyrics, "So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die" and marginally missed out on top spot to U2’s "One".[7]
[edit] Track listing
[edit] 7": Rough Trade / RT176 (UK)
- "How Soon Is Now? [fade-out version]" – 3:53
- "Well I Wonder" – 4:00
- in original green sleeve
[edit] 12": Rough Trade / RTT176 (UK)
- "How Soon Is Now?" – 6:43
- "Well I Wonder" – 4:00
- "Oscillate Wildly" – 3:24
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
- The song is featured in the movies The Midnight Hour (1985), The Craft (1996), The Wedding Singer (1998), and Closer (2004).
- The song is referred to in Capcom's video game Killer7, its title scrawled on a wall. The message is part of a puzzle, incorporated due to the game's protagonists, the Smith Syndicate.
- A cover version by Love Spit Love is the theme song for the Charmed television series.
- The song is featured in the American version of Queer as Folk (Season 1).
- The opening of the song was used as background music for a Lexus commercial.
- The record sleeve is featured in the film The Science of Sleep. It sits above Stēphane's bed.
- One of the song's instrumental sections also appeared in the mid-1990s on a UK radio station 95.8 Capital FM jingle.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Simon Goddard (2004). The Smiths - Songs That Saved Your Life. ISBN 1-903111-84-6.
| The Smiths |
| Morrissey - Johnny Marr - Andy Rourke - Mike Joyce |
| Craig Gannon - Dale Hibbert |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: The Smiths | Meat Is Murder | The Queen Is Dead | Strangeways, Here We Come | Rank (live) |
| Singles: Hand in Glove | This Charming Man | What Difference Does It Make? | Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now | William, It Was Really Nothing | How Soon Is Now? | Shakespeare's Sister | That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore | The Boy with the Thorn in His Side | Bigmouth Strikes Again | Panic | Ask | Shoplifters of the World Unite | Sheila Take a Bow | Girlfriend in a Coma | I Started Something I Couldn't Finish | Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me | There Is a Light That Never Goes Out |
| Band-assembled compilations: Hatful of Hollow | The World Won't Listen | Louder Than Bombs |
| Other compilations: Stop Me | Best...I | ...Best II | Singles | The Very Best of The Smiths |
| Related |
| Rough Trade Records |
