The Headmaster Ritual, The Andy Appreciation | The Smiths Reaction 

Shut up about the f'ing bass. We know he was good. RIP Andy.

Andy Rourke will stand as one of the great bass players of the post-punk era.

I just realized that you haven't done "This Charming Man" yet. Not only is this one of their most played songs, but it has some very "fun bass". In fact, the bass is extremely prominent in the mix in this one.

Hi there. Im journalist, and once had the fantastic chance of knowing and interview Andy Rourke. Was he kind, polite, funny and charming?....of course he was, and even more than that. But once the recording machine was off, we started to talk as men. He told me that he was the most big Marr´s guitars fan, and that he always tried to "create a song into another song" with his bass. He used to use Rotosound strings, his main bass was an 1964 Fender Precision bass; he normally used a Peavey Mark III amplifier, and sometimes a Boss Chorus pedal. Another fact, he was one the first bass players in the poprock world who uses double stings riffs (Well I Wonder, William, Heaven Knows, etc). Hope you like this info. Cheers. (Somes books says that he married a black girl after the Smiths split....bollocks, not true).

It's a fun bass over the lyrics like "Give up life as a big mistake"

Walk of stage very proudly after morrisey told the whole crowd to"Stay Handsome 😅

Deserved 👏 praise! Andy Rourke =Robbie Shakespeare of Brit pop 🇬🇧 sez 👁.

You gotta do This Charming Man! Top tier

I find it fitting that as soon as Lauren discovers Andy Rourke....He dies. :)

in the late 70s(when punk went global) i attended a British-style school here in new zealand essentially controlled by war veterans; we were caned, there were fights, persecution, all that stuff, 900 boys, so yes, i can relate to this track

Great reaction as always, and yes, another great bassline! You've made me appreciate "Mr. ace of bass" in a way I never have before.

Andy played the bass as a melodic instrument and not as just a bridge between the guitar and drums. I think Marr's melodic folksy way of playing the guitar played into that. Marr wasn't trying to be the star. He was trying to make great music. He is undoubtably one of the best guitarists of all time. I think his style fed into Andy's ability to expand the bass sound on The Smiths' recordings. They were an amalgam of such great musicians. It is a shame that money came between them. Love your channel!

Another shout here for Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order), great bass lines with similar sort of dreary, miserable Mancunian vibes musically. Im not overly familiar with JD but try 'Atmosphere'. Someone else can tell me whether its their best bass song, but I love it and the bass leads. For New Order, 'Age of Consent' all the way

Really enjoying your channel! Somehow I stumbled upon your Ghost videos, and was pleasantly surprised to see you go down The Smiths rabbit hole! Since you love bass and intelligent lyrics so much, have you given Rush a listen? Their song Freewill might be up your alley. If you're up for something wacky, Primus would be a fun exploration too. Lastly, just wanted to say I really like your style of videos. The finger in the air warning that a pause is coming (your passing is tastefully done). Also, that you're not watching videos and you are purely reacting to the song. The 2nd listen is also a nice touch.

Try This Charming Man.

You seem obsessed with the bass guitar, thus you have to listen to Peter Hook with Joy Division/New Order and Graham Maby who played/plays for Joe Jackson

Have you covered Type O's song Be My Druidess? That opening bass line has been stuck in my head for 25 years lol I think you'll like it

If bass is your thing,i would suggest Girl Affraid

Have you listened to New Order? Base is the driving force there as well.

we would love to recommend: Oingo Boingo - Just Another Day Queen - Gimme The Prize Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is Ph.D - I Won't Let You Down KC & The Sunshine Band - Please Don't Go (1979) Aretha Franklin - Respect Siouxsie and the Banshees - Spellbound Earth, Wind, and Fire - Let's Groove The Cure - Burn Sinéad O' Connor - Thank you for hearing me The Cult - She sells sanctuary Heart - "Barracuda" (1977) Midnight Oil - Beds are Burning Martika - Toy Soldiers Journey - Don't Stop Believing! The Cure - The Forest KISS - Dreamin' Alice in Chains - Would

There's a ridiculously good version of this by Radiohead on RU-vid. Also Ceremony by Joy Division in the same studio session.

There are 3 “depressing” bands with awesome bass. The Smiths, The Cute and Joy Division. Go fill your boots!

please do one listening to well I wonder

Radiohead do a great cover of this on RU-vid

I miss Andy. If you need some heartfelt lyrical content, "Suffer little children" is the place to go.

Stop whatever you're doing, and listen to the song called "Nowhere Fast" right now.

I don't get it. Bass is part of every song. In every band. Ever. A band REQUIRES bass. Are you really only paying attention to the bass?

That joke isn’t funny anymore from meat is murder

Next one... Bigmouth Strikes Again

It's tastefully done. Not over cooked. Andy compliments Johnny Marr's guitar so well. The Smiths were the complete package.

I've never heard someone review the Smiths and never talk about Morrissey's lyrics. NEVER! Thank you for helping me appreciate Andy. I feel like I took him for granted. Thank you!

If you want bass then listen to Andy Rourke's bass on barbarism begins at home on "The Tube" a uk music tv show from the early 80's..especially towards the end of the live performance..absolutely awesome

Andy Rourke, much like Bruce Foxton of The Jam and of course Lemmy, were all guitarists first before switching to bass. Its no surprise to see them all playing bass guitar in a more inventive way. Although Lemmy played his bass much like a rhythm guitar. All great players and all in great bands. Early New Model Army, especially, and No Means No are two bands to check out if you like great bass driven music. X

RIP Andy, Legend.

I appreciate your love for Andy's bass, look more into my other two favourite bass players, Simon Gallup of The Cure and Peter Hook of New Order. The Smiths were a one solid unit, so their music is appreciated holistically.

If you love bass, listen to Primus My Name is Mud!

Hey Lauren, you what's a fantastic Smiths song with an awesome bassline? What Difference Does It Make! 😎🤣

basically joy division

To use musical terminology to say what you're saying, the bass in most punk or basic rock songs usually follows the guitar by playing the root notes....So it just rolls between the same 4 or 5 notes throughout the song with occasional flourishes. And thats what its designed to do, compliment and flesh out the treble-heavy guitars which exist in all rock music. What (in my opinion) sets the best bands apart from the others in their genre is a bass which plays a melody different from the guitar without clashing with it. Some examples are Matt Freeman of Rancid, Peter Hook of New Order and of course Andy. Its way harder than it looks to compose this type of thing. Id imagine you need some musical theory or just a really good ear for how notes can compliment each other without clashing to be able to pull this shit off. Ive read that Johnny Marr wrote some of those basslines, and that sounds like it could be true, since he is by far the best rhythm guitarist of all time. Regardless, it takes a hell of a player to pull it off, so I dont think that takes anything away from Andy if he didnt write it all. The lyrics to me here are impossible to overlook. This is an unflinching look back at the narrators school years, a time which clearly traumatized him and sounds exactly like Id expect English public school to be like in the 60's and 70's. All those types of characters he mentioned still exist inside school systems to this day, or at least I recognized them from my school days. There was a pretty big brou-ha-ha over this song when it was released, with the leaders of the Manchester schools defending their educators and saying Morissey didnt have a rough time. Does anyone possibly believe that? Lol Im not going for that

Check out Panic 🙂 I was lucky enough to see them live in Manchester. 🙂

Cracking bass player

This tune was an album track… so you’re right in saying that it is a ‘kinda’ lesser tune - compared to ones released as singles )such as ‘how soon is now’ ) I do like some of the tracks from the album ‘ Hatful of Hollow’ a lot of which are session recordings, so have more of a raw, unrefined quality to them. Not to everyone’s taste though

Heaven knows I'm miserable now

Oops I suggested this in a comment on one of your videos. My bad. This is a great song about scary school, in the tradition of Pink Floyd etc. And Nirvana's song School is hard🎸💥

Kiddo! Joy Division!

You will love barbarism begins at home !

Eveyone use to point Barbarism, or This Charming Man, or Death of a Disco Dancer as one of Andy´s best lines. Yes, those are great bass lines. But, if you really want to hear those andy´s next level lines, forget the hype and pay attention to "Well I Wonder" (the entire song, not just the main riff) and "Oscillate Wildly"(Natham East wouldn´t make any better).

Rip Andy Rourke ❤😢

If you want a catchy bass please check out "Frisk" by Black Marble

Why do they stop the songs so much, can't you leave your message at the end of the song?

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

Marr wrote all of this and showed Andy how to play it.

I assume you're from Philly with the way you say "home"🤣

Did I tell you I'm from Salford just outside Manchester and the smiths had a famous album cover with the Salford lads club featuring on its cover darling. 😊

i am curious to see your reaction to George Harrison - Art of Dying absolute masterpiece of a song

It’s called jangle pop!! 🖤

RIP Andy Rourke....

great bass player and a miss

Girlfriend in a coma by the Smiths is great for the Bassline.