Today I’m pleased to announce the launch of Guitar & Pen. The mission of this new musical podcast, which I describe as “a songwriter’s notebook,” is to discover, analyze, highlight, and celebrate musical and lyrical ideas and concepts which songwriters, composers, musicians, sound engineers, and music producers might find not only inspirational but also useful in a practical sense as they engage in the creative art of music-making. Of course, it is also hoped that the album/song reviews, musician interviews, book discussions, reflections, and rants featured on the pod are of interest to the general music fan as well.
For the inaugural episode of G & P, I’m joined by my friend Craig Branch, whom I’ve known since my days in Korea, when we played together in various bands on the Seoul club circuit. He was in fact the drummer of Princess Disease, the vehicle for my Korea-themed songs which were later re-recorded by my Taipei-based musical project [ai] for the album No Cure for the Princess Disease. Now living in Germany, Craig is the host of the Can’t Find My Way Home podcast, which features interviews with expat musicians and artists.
At Craig’s suggestion, we chose The Smith’s 1986 album The Queen Is Dead as our focus for Guitar & Pen #1. After providing some essential background information on the classic album and the seminal band which created it—did you know, for example, that the album title was inspired by a Hubert Selby Jr. novel and the band name may well be an allusion to the characters in a play by Ionesco?—we proceed with a track-by-track analysis and then offer some concluding thoughts on the record’s impact on the music of the 80s and its continuing relevance. The songwriting partnership of Johnny Marr—the Guitar of the equation—and Morrissey—the Pen thereof—is obviously key to our discussion, but we also consider the importance of The Smiths’ rhythm section, which showcases the aggressive punk-funk attack of bassist Andy Rourke and the rock-solid, no-nonsense drumming of Mike Joyce.
One thing I became acutely aware of when revisiting The Queen Is Dead’s jangle pop rock grooves overlaid with melancholic poetry is Morrissey’s use of the refrain at the end of a song. Several tracks on the album conclude with a kind of chant or mantra repeated in a loop: “Life is very long when you’re lonely” on the title track, “I can feel the soil falling over my head” on “I Know It’s Over,” “I’m a living sign” on “Vicar in a Tutu,” “There is a light that never goes out” on the song thus titled. (Note that Morrissey also makes use of this technique on the title track of his fantastic 2014 solo album World Peace Is None of Your Business as he chants: “Each time you vote, you support the process.”) I don’t think I’ve ever concluded a song of my own with a device of this sort, but it’s something I’d like to try at some point.
I hope you enjoy our discussion of The Queen Is Dead. Let me know of any other musical topics you’d like me to address in future episodes.
Here are links to videos mentioned in the pod:
"I Want to Go Down in Musical History" - The Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead"