The Smiths have had a special importance to this site from the very beginning. In fact, it was a Smiths song that launched the Song of the Day series nearly two decades ago, on July 5, 2008.
For years I was alone in my adoration of the Manchester lads, and my most frequent commenters (who also happen to be related to me) gave no quarter in eviscerating the band every time it appeared.
That changed when my two daughters, Sophia and Fiona — just 6 and 2 when the site launched — ended up loving The Smiths as much or more than I do. I was able to share my fandom with them, and for two weeks in 2024, they shared some of their favorite Smiths songs here.
All of that coverage, and more, is collected below.
My first ever Song of the Day
Song of the Day #1: “I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’
The albums
The Smiths (February, 1984)
Meat is Murder (February, 1985)
The Queen is Dead (June, 1986)
Louder Than Bombs [Singles and B-Sides] (March, 1987)
Strangeways, Here We Come (September, 1987)
The Queen is Dead
Write-ups of every track
Sophia’s Smiths selections
‘Pretty Girls Make Graves’
‘Well I Wonder’
‘Never Had No One Ever’
‘Sweet and Tender Hooligan’
‘A Rush and a Push and the Land is Ours’
Fiona’s Smiths selections
‘Back to the Old House’
‘This Night Has Opened My Eyes’
‘William, It Was Really Nothing’
‘Ask‘
‘Half a Person’
Meet Me In Montauk 