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Where is Britain's national pride? Not in pop music - The Guardian
"British rock has very little by way of comparison, and is the poorer for it. Morrissey believed that Manchester had so much to answer for, and said so, but where are the other songwriters paying tribute, for better or worse, to their home towns?"

David Cameron stole my favourite author - The Guardian
"Cameron's already played his Smiths-worshipping card, defeating Hazel Blears' silly attempts to prevent him being snapped outside Salford Lads' Club. His latest revelation puts me in danger of – if not actually liking him; that would be dangerously naïve – at least recognizing his human-like traits, wondering exactly what his progressive vision of England looks like
It's strange to be the same age, and to share similar tastes to the probable next prime minister – the inexorable march of time and all that. Although never an avid Smiths fan, I admire Morrissey's lyrics … and Boz Boorer's guitar playing, while getting the New York Dolls back together for Meltdown deserves a knighthood in itself, which he'll probably soon get."

Why records should face the vinyl curtain - The Guardian
"Morrissey was right in some regards, though - we should smash the turntables, hang the DJs and make bonfires of the scratchy crap they worship in a mass abandonment of life-cluttering, natural resource-wasting, soul-restraining, spirit-encumbering, planet-raping, petite-bourgeois "stuff"."

Murder, madness and lots of black trousers - The Guardian
"Dressed from head to toe in black, with a store of glowering songs about murder, kidnappings, mental illness and funerals, White Lies are the latest pretenders to Joy Division's gloom-pop throne. And, because the well-spoken Chiswick trio drape their dark, literate tales around skyscraping hooks and galloping, radio-friendly choruses, they are definite contenders for big-league success in 2009."

Should City be smiling? - Sky Sports
"When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is." Oscar Wilde
In 1989 another sharp-tongued bard sung of the last of the international playboys but Morrissey's vision of the future has proved less than prophetic, for rather than die out in sun-kissed Marbella hideaways the modern day player buys a football club."

The 411 Music Top Five 09.17.08: Songs of the 1980s - 411mania.com
"After a couple weeks' hiatus, 411Music's Top 5 comes back strong. We list off our top 5 songs from the 1980s, which, let's be honest, might be the best decade for music ever. Come in and leave your top 5, as well!"

Morgan Marx
1. The Smiths – "How Soon Is Now?" from Hatful of Hollow: I know, I know, not very original. But it was the first Smiths song I heard before I knew anything about the band (thanks Boston's WFNX "Leftover Lunch"). Johnny Marr's vibrato guitar latches onto the listener and doesn't let go. Morrissey is at his most sorrowful and his most poignant. I think everyone has experienced that feeling of going out full of promise, whether to a club or a concert, only to find yourself heading home alone. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sob into a pillow.

Were the 80s really this depressing? To me, it was a time of Voltron and an NES system for kindergarten graduation and Thundercats and shoes with dinosaur tracks on the soles. For Curtis, Morrissey, Ian McCulloch and Dave Gahan it was a time of sexual insecurity, blackness, and haunting reverb. What a difference a generation makes."