A former co-worker once asked me what some of my favorite bands in high school were, and I mentioned groups like The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Psychedelic Furs, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, and The Cure. After listing those and a few more he said something to me that was very odd: “How did you manage not killing yourself after listening to all that depressing music?”.
Well, I never really felt depressed after listening to any of the bands mentioned above. Did The Smiths or any of the others sing about less-than-joyful things? Sure, sometimes. But more often than not the lyrics and music of those songs felt bittersweet to me. And let’s face it, Depeche Mode had a period where half of the songs on a CD would be about sex, and that worked out just right for my teenage hormones.
Speaking of bittersweet, that’s exactly how I would characterize my favorite song by The Smiths, “How Soon Is Now?”.