"Slow Emotion Reply" by The The

The The is the music of English singer/songwriter Matt Johnson, who has also released solo albums. The height of The The began in 1988 with the release of "Mind Bomb," a record that featured high-profile guests like Sinead O'Connor on vocals and Johnny Marr (The Smiths) on guitar. While popular in the UK, theband was rarely seen in the US except very late at night on MTV's 120 Minutes.

Building on their fanbase, The The almost broke through in the US with the release of "Dusk" in 1993. "Dusk" is one of the more radio-friendly and consistent records in the band's catalogue. "Slow Emotion Reply" and "Dogs Of Lust" received decent airplay, but not enough to put the band on the charts.

The band's musical style has always been hard to place, shifting between all sorts of genres. Instead of capitalizing on the exposure "Dusk" attracted, the band shifted gears once again and followed it up with "Hanky Panky," an album of nothing but cover songs by country icon Hank Willams.

"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" by The Smiths

In the 80s, The Smiths brought joy and happiness to brooding teens everywhere. Helmed by the Captain of Melancholy, Morrissey, The Smiths became hugely popular and influential without obtaining a single entry on the US charts.

The band was on a steady rise throughout the decade and seemed poised to hit it big with their 1987 album, "Strangeways, Here We Come." But despite the strengths of tunes like "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" and "Girlfriend In A Coma," it just didn't work out and they broke up. 

After the breakup, Morrissey finally broke through on the American charts as a solo artist with 1994's "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," which reached #46. It would remain his only charting single. Famed guitarist Johnny Marr also had his taste of chart success in his new band, Electronic, whose "Getting Away With It" hit #38 in 1990.

"The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores" by Morrissey

Steven Morrissey, who simply goes my his surname, got his start as the lead singer and songwriter for The Smiths. The Smiths were favorites at college radio in the 80s and introduced the world to Morrissey's soothing baritone and cerebral lyrics. Infighting between Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr led to the band's breakup in 1987, and the beginning of Morrissey's prolific solo career.

Between 1988 and 1997, Morrissey released six records to critical acclaim, although he's had little commercial success in the US. His only brush with the American charts came in 1994 when the stalker's anthem, "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," reached #46. Unfortunately, the US did ignore Morrissey and he got no closer to mainstream success. Bet I'm betting he prefers it that way.

The Master of Mope took an extended hiatus from recording, then released a marvelous comeback record in 2004 called "You Are The Quarry." Among the many terrific songs on this record, some of the most mature and thoughtful of his career, is "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores." Has anyone better articulated the struggle thoughtful people must endure having to dwell among people who fail to nurture their intellect?

Cover songs – Anberlin

Modern rock band Anberlin masterfully blends musical genres and it seems they have a fondness for 80s music. You’ll hear hints of synth pop and industrial music in many of their original songs, but they’ve also covered a number of 80s hits.

Here they are performing “Enjoy The Silence”, which was Depeche Mode’s biggest hit ever, landing at #8 on the Billboard chart in early 1990.

They also covered “The Promise”, from the one-hit wonders, When In Rome, who took the song to #11 in 1988.

Anberlin has also covered the classic 1986 Smiths song, “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”.

Anberlin has covered other tunes beyond the 80s…including Radiohead’s “Creep” and this classic from Bob Dylan.

All of the above cover songs can be found on Anberlin’s 2007 release, “Lost Songs”.