Meat Is Murder Explained

Meat Is Murder
Type:studio
Artist:the Smiths
Cover:MeatMurder.jpg
Border:yes
Recorded:1984
Studio:
Genre:
Length:39:46
Label:Rough Trade
Producer:The Smiths
Prev Title:Hatful of Hollow
Prev Year:1984
Next Title:The Queen Is Dead
Next Year:1986

Meat Is Murder is the second studio album by English rock band the Smiths, released on 11 February 1985 by Rough Trade Records. It became the band's only studio album to reach number one on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The album was an international success: it spent 11 weeks in the European Top 100 Albums chart,[3] peaking at number 29.[4] It also reached number 110 on the US Billboard 200 in the United States.

Writing and recording

After the band's 1984 debut studio album, lead vocalist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr produced the album themselves, assisted only by engineer Stephen Street. They had first met Stephen Street on the session for "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and requested his contact number.[5] Officially, the record's production is credited to "The Smiths".

To build the album's soundscape, Morrissey provided Marr and Street with his personal copies of BBC sound effects records from which to source samples.[6] Morrissey would continue this practice on future Smiths singles and albums.

Meat Is Murder was more strident and political than its predecessor, including the pro-vegetarian title track (Morrissey forbade the rest of the band from being photographed eating meat),[7] and the anti-corporal punishment "The Headmaster Ritual". Musically, the band had grown more adventurous, with Marr and Rourke channelling rockabilly and funk influences in "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Barbarism Begins at Home", respectively. "Rusholme Ruffians" interpolates the Victoria Wood song "Fourteen Again". Author John King has suggested that the title track was inspired by the 1983 song "Meat Means Murder" by the anarcho-punk band Conflict, which deals with the same topic and also opens at a slow pace.[8]

Morrissey also brought a political stance to many of his interviews. Among his targets were the Thatcher administration, the monarchy, and his musical contemporaries. When asked about Band Aid, which was being strongly promoted in the UK media at the time, he quipped, "One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England".[9] Similarly, he began to promote vegetarianism in live shows and interviews, on one occasion convincing a Scottish TV show to air footage of slaughterhouses during the dinner hour.[10]

Cover art

The album's sleeve uses a 1967 photograph of an American Marine, Cpl. Michael Wynn, in Vietnam, though with the wording on his helmet changed from "Make War Not Love" to "Meat Is Murder". The original image was used for Emile de Antonio's 1968 Oscar-nominated documentary In the Year of the Pig.[11] [12] [13] Wynn stated in 2019 that he was never asked permission for the use of the photo, and that he "wasn’t real happy" that the wording on the helmet was changed.[14]

Legacy

In 2003, Meat Is Murder was ranked number 295 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[15] and 296 in a 2012 revised list.[16] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2005).[17]

Use in other media

In 2016, animal rights advocacy group PETA released a video game titled This Beautiful Creature Must Die, based on the song "Meat Is Murder". The game, which featured a chiptune rendition of the song, tasked players with clicking on their screens before different kinds of animals get chopped up in a death spiral.[18] [19] [20]

Track listing

Note

Personnel

The Smiths

Production

Design

Charts

Chart (1985)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[26] 58
Canadian Albums (RPM)[27] 40
European Top 100 Albums29

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Daley. David. 9 December 2012. The Smiths: Best band ever?. 17 April 2021. Salon.
  2. Web site: Hayden. Mack. 10 February 2015. Meat Is Murder, 30 Years Later. 17 April 2021. Paste.
  3. European Hot 100 Albums Chart . Music & Media . 6 May 1985. 14 Oct 2019. 26.
  4. European Hot 100 Albums Chart . Music & Media . 4 March 1985. 14 Oct 2019. 26.
  5. Web site: Interview With Stephen Street . . 27 September 2005 . 12 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120314061930/http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_StephenStreet.html . 14 March 2012 . dead .
  6. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 151.
  7. Web site: How Morrissey helped turn vegetarianism into a mainstream movement in the UK. . Vegan.com . July 2014 . 5 January 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141227073842/http://www.vegan.com/morrissey/ . 27 December 2014 . live .
  8. 26 March 2019. Meat Means Murder. John. King. John King (author). 34–35. Rebellion Festivals Programme - 2014. 6 August 2014. Rebellion Festivals Ltd.
  9. Web site: Green. Jonathan. 18 November 2004 . Band Aid vs. Morrissey ... . http . Overyourhead.co.uk . 22 April 2007.
  10. 26 March 2019. 32–36. Greening of Rock. November 1985. Jeff . Tamarkin . Jeff Tamarkin. Deirdre . Rockmaker . Dan . Mathews. Dan Mathews. Vegetarian Times. 99. 0164-8497. Active Interest Media, Inc.. United States.
  11. https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2013/aug/12/smiths-artwork-posters-exhibition-pictures The Artwork of the Smiths - in pictures|Music|The Guardian
  12. Web site: In the Year of the Pig 1968,directed by Emile de AntonioTime Out . 17 November 2019 . 17 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191117031531/https://www.timeout.com/london/film/in-the-year-of-the-pig . dead .
  13. https://www.nme.com/photos/the-smiths-the-stories-behind-all-27-of-their-provocative-album-and-single-sleeves-1424816 The Smiths – The Stories Behind All 27 Of Their Provocative Album And Single Sleeves - NME
  14. Web site: The story behind the cover of Meat Is Murder by The Smiths. 2022-02-12. Radio X. 5 August 2019 . en.
  15. Web site: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: The Smiths, 'Meat is Murder' | Rolling Stone . www.rollingstone.com . 17 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120604054555/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-20120531/the-smiths-meat-is-murder-19691231 . 4 June 2012 . dead.
  16. Web site: 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. 2012. Rolling Stone. September 9, 2019.
  17. Book: Robert Dimery . Michael Lydon . 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition . 23 March 2010 . Universe . 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  18. "PETA Gets The Smiths Back Together … for a Video Game", Washington DC: Associations Now. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017
  19. Web site: This Beautiful Creature Must Die: what is Morrissey's animal rights game like? . Jonze . Tim . 11 August 2016 . The Guardian . 23 May 2018.
  20. The Smiths' 'Meat Is Murder' Becomes Dark PETA Arcade Game . Reed . Ryan . 10 August 2016 . Rolling Stone . 23 May 2018.
  21. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 356.
  22. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 137.
  23. Kaminer, M, 1985. Smiths: Their latest release keeps up the pace of their first. Columbia Daily Spectator, 25 April 1985. 12.
  24. Web site: The Smiths: The Making of "Meat is Murder" . .
  25. Goddard, S, 2013. Songs That Saved Your Life - The Art of The Smiths 1982–87. 2nd ed. U.K.: Titan Books. P. 142.
  26. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 279.
  27. Web site: RPM Chart Archives, 27 April 1985 . 15 July 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210203901/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.0514&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=4v7ogs335vkfmh8vs7iglsulm0 . 10 February 2015 . dead .

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