Talk:This Charming Man

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Featured article star This Charming Man is a featured article; it (or a previous version of it) has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community. Even so, if you can update or improve it, please do.
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Contents

[edit] GA?

Why put up a former front page article for GA? Highway 07:20, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Why not? --kingboyk 08:49, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Smiths

I have a Rough Trade Australia/New Zealand LP of The Smiths which features "This Charming Man" as the 11th song, after "Suffer Little Children", so there must have been at least one edition that featured the song prior to WEA's reissues.

Looks like it's shaping up to be a great article though. :) --Hn 20:49, 23 November 2005 (UTC)

I have tried to modify the introduction to take this into account. Thanks for your help with the article. Hopefully we can get it on the front page one day. Live Forever 21:58, 24 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Lyrics

Maybe something like this would work... Rossrs 05:16, 10 January 2006 (UTC)

The lyrics of many of The Smiths' songs have been reviewed by academics and the sexual ambiguity, bisexuality and homoeroticism depicted are suggested as providing an insight into the attitudes and past experiences of Morrissey. In discussing the opening lyrics, "Punctured bicycle / on a hillside desolate / Will nature make a man of me yet?", Sheila Whiteley, Professor of Popular Music at Salford University suggests Morrissey is referring to a "rite of passage" and in another part of the song which refers to a "passenger seat" suggests he is referring to a real event in his life. [1]

Nabeel Zuberi in Sounds English - Transnational Popular Music notes that Morrissey often refers to a "deviant outsider" in his lyrics, which is represented in this case by the "charming man" of the song's title who offers the young man a lift when his bicycle tire is punctured. Zuberi describes the meeting as a "brief encounter" and suggests, on behalf of the songwriter, "partly a homoerotic attraction". He notes that Morrissey's lyrics often place working-class males in a homoerotic situation, [2]and the line "jumped up pantry boy who doesn't know his place" was taken from the film Sleuth, in which the protragonist uses the phrase as an insult to his working class rival. Ricky Rooksby in Inside Classic Rock Tracks: Songwriting and Recording Secrets of 100 Great Songs from 1960 describes the opening line as "wonderfully evocative" and says that Morrissey's lyrics are marked by a "droll wit" and colloquial phrases such as "I haven't got a stitch to wear". [3]

[edit] References

Perhaps it would be a good idea to include band's that have covered This Charming Man, just to further expand the references section. I believe it would provide a context to the extent The Smith's music has permeated music culture.

216.211.68.208 08:15, 5 March 2006 (UTC) Having recently viewed the film Sleuth starring Michael Caine and Lawrence Olivier, there is a line where Olivier calls Caine 'a jumped up pantry boy, who never knew his place.' Morrissey must have seen the film and quoted this line. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.208.92.50 (talk) 01:14, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Link to Video?

YouTube has the video for this song up on their site, would it be against Wiki policy to put a link to it in the article?

[edit] Nice choice...

Great article and a great choice for a front pager.

[edit] Cover Versions...

I don't know what others actually exist, but Death Cab for Cutie has a cover of this song on the You Can Play These Songs with Chords archive release in 2002. I believe this should be mentioned in the article, I wasn't too sure where to fit it in. --Drowse 07:45, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

It is already mentioned, isn't it? --Hn 09:50, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Composition and Meaning

Although currently reference is made the jangle pop and surf rock influences on this track, I think the former should be changed to 'highlife'. In that Guitar Player article, Marr makes about three references IIRC to the highlife influence on his guitar lines. And this song might be his highlifiest. --Adamgarrigus 22:18, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Make it featured.

Yeah, place suggestions below and how to improve it. I can't be bothered myself right now. --Tom of north wales 12:10, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Well, it was featured, then demoted from FA, then relisted as GA. That's fine at the moment.--h i s s p a c e r e s e a r c h 18:17, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Could we have the Vinyl etchings please? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.13.170.223 (talk) 17:42, 7 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Track Listings?

Why did we get many of the different releases of the single? I'm sure many people would like to know the names of the b-sides and the different track listings of the single in different countries. - flowerkiller1692 23:16, 13 January 2008 (UTC)