Next week, the classic 1983 debut album from The The — Soul Mining
And, thanks to the fine folks at Sony Legacy, we’ve got a pair of copies of this handsome box set to give away to two lucky, U.S.-based Slicing Up Eyeballs readers.
For full details on the Soul Mining reissues, head over here.
TO ENTER: In the comments section below, please name your favorite The The song — and, if you’re feeling so inclined, offer up a few words as to just what it is about it that you think makes it so great. If you’re using the Slicing Up Eyeballs app, please email your entry to info@slicingupeyeballs.com with the subject line “This is the day I try to win some The The vinyl.”
RULES: This contest is open only to U.S. residents (sorry, those are Sony’s rules). We’ll take entries until 5 p.m. EDT Friday, July 4. After that point, we’ll select two winners, who will be notified via their provided e-mail addresses. One entry per person. Good luck, and godspeed.
‘Uncertain Smile’
Good Morning Beautiful – gorgeousness, irony, radiance and grit!
Favorite the The song: “Beat(en) Generation”
Armageddon Days Are Here (Again) is my favorite The The song. It was an eerie song when it was released but it’s amazing that it’s even more topical today. It’s amazing when an artist writes a song that continues to ring true more than 20 years later.
“Infected” – I was one of the few The The fans in my neighborhood growing up. That song has a special place in my life’s timeline. I believe The The to be one of the most underrated bands of it’s time.
I love ‘this is the day’ because it’s words are true BUT I’m entering to win this for my best friend of 22 years! She loves The The and even has a The The tattoo. She’d adore this gift!
This is the day.
It takes me back to my care free days of my teen years in the 80’s.
Too many to name just one, from this album Uncertain Smile is a favorite as well the title track Soul Mining and The Twilight Hour! this album is one of my all time favorites.
Giant
Armageddon Days Are Here Again
This is the perfect synthesis of political observation and up tempo catchy rock-pop
This Is The Night : because it almost exactly matched the feelings I felt when I was growing up around 17, 18 years old. Folks going through a bad separation, trying to lock down this girl I really liked. The music compliments the lyrics so well too. Classy tune
Every day I think This Is The Day…
“This is the Day”. The song helped me get through a real tough patch in the mid-’90s!
My favorite The The song is “This Is the Day”–it was the first song I heard from the band and the Quake in San Francisco played it on the radio all the time. This song instantly sends me back to that time when there were a lot of great songs played on this station.
Kingdom of Rain- Awesome lovemaking song!
Is it the song or the lovemaking that is awesome?!
Not boasting are you ?
I’ll have to go with This Is The Day. The poignant lyrics have made me well up on countless occasions while listening to this alone.
My favorite the The song is probably Uncertain Smile, if I had to narrow it down. It reminds me of being 14 years old (25 years ago) and trying to play along on my acoustic guitar in my bedroom.
“I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life).” It’s urgent, despondent and remarkably prescient when considering the cultural heroes/touchstones of our youth.
Out of the blue (into the fire)
Always wanting something. To feel something.
Uncertain Smile 😊Love the piano 🎹
Infected.
Classic, sexy, early The The.
I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All of My Life). Just love the spare opening, then the vocals and instruments come in at some point. Then a kicking synth solo. Awesome.
“Love Is Stronger Than Death”- Beautiful sentiment. It’s the song I turn to when I lose someone.
Can’t believe no-one’s mentioned Love Is Stronger Than Death yet… Sheer beauty! But, yes, there are many, many fantastic The The songs: Kingdom of Rain obviously, but also Flesh and Bones, Heartland, Beyond Love…
“Waitin’ for the Upturn” – Great rainy day music.
“God, what is wrong with my legs?
They’ve stopped telling me what’s going on beneath my feet.”
Sweet Bird Of Truth is my favorite The The track.
My favorite track from Soul Mining is Soul Mining. It’s just so simple and beautiful.
This is the Day is my favorite song on this album, but the whole record is brilliant!
Uncertain Smile. It always caught my ear on the Dallas modern rock station when I got into them. Saw The The once at the Fair Park bandshell around 94-95 with a new band named The Cranberries opening.
Dogs of Lust I couldn’t stop listening to it. Still can’t help turning it up whenever it comes on.
Infected!
This is the Day
Giant.Great lyrics and a beautiful build up to the tribal drums and chanting.Fantastic record from beginning to end.
Love Is Stonger Than Death
True beauty always belies the records of The The, but that song just strikes such a powerful chord! Each record is full of gems, but I always stop and am still while that song is on.
My fave is “Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)” from Infected. It’s sad and earnest and a little raunchy at the same time. I would watch the Infected movie and the image of the woman flailing in bed during this song is still with me…”Come my love with your desire…out of the blue and into the fire!”
Perfection, *sigh*.
“This is the Day” was a song that I put on a mix tape for my Father back in the 80’s. He loves this song and every time I hear it I am reminded of him and the road trip to NYC that we took. I WILL be playing this song at his funeral some day and for that reason alone, this song makes me happy/sad.
So much wonderfully poignant, acerbic, thought-provoking music from which to choose for this post. “This Is The Day” still resonates with me. One of my all time faves. Love (Matt Johnson)The The! 💖
The Beat(en) Generation – the first one I heard, primarily because of the involvement of Johnny Marr.
Today it’s Giant, but that could change tomorrow. It’s hard to pick one from this masterpiece.
august to september….what a fucking lyrical powerhouse
or helpline operator…more marr, more marr!
uncertain smile…never heard a more succinct song.
can’t choose one….
Love is Stronger Than Death! Self explanatory, and it makes me sing til my throat aches…
Uncertain smile
Need I say more
Through the sound of sirens And the distant noise of some drunken jazz band…Infected
“The Mercy Beat” — has the frantic feel of early The The with Jim Thirlwell (Foetus) influence.
I was 17 when this album hit.
I remember the odd cover catching my eye.
Then the enjoyment listening to it.
Nothing sounded quite like The The.
A mix of upbeat,great lyrics, and poppy with substance.
This Is The Day is a standout that has stood the test of time.
Love is stronger than death
Ultimate classic The The
‘Ive been waiting for tomorrow all of my life!’
… but then the whole album was a revelation. Excited for this reissue!
Uncertain Smile. One of the few piano solos I actually bothered learning to play.
“This is the day” is my alarm tone. It’s such an awesome way to wake up. Like many others, “Infected” and “Uncertain smile” are at the top of the list of favorite The The songs.
Impossible to choose, but I guess “Love Is Stronger Than Death” will have to do.
Easy – favorite song is Uncertain Smile.
“Beyond Love,” the live version, which triumphantly returns after the LP version’s too-abrupt ending, makes me melt every time I hear it. There’s so much truth and longing in it.
Uncertain Smile
Really anything on Dusk (it makes my list of top ten albums), but Bluer than Midnight is a favorite. I’m amazed how so much hope, noire, and desperation can be captured in a single song.
This Is The Day off this record but the whole album is great.
GIANT. Reminds me always of a friend I lost young who was a huge fan.
“This is the Day” is the only answer for me, but “Uncertain Smile” is close behind.
Uncertain Smile
“Uncertain Smile” Grew up in rural MN and watched MTV at my grandma’s house. Saw a video for “US” c. 1984 and was mesmerized. Watched MTV for two weeks straight hoping they would play it again. They never did. I don’t know if there ever even was an “official” video, so I’m not sure what I saw. Perfect pop tune, though. Tempo, melody, hook.
Long Gone Daddy
why?
because it not only got me into The The but also prompted me to seek out the music of Hank Williams Sr.
not many songs have turned me into to two amazing artists at the same time.
Uncertain Smile. Reminds me of the summer of my junior year in college. Many of the happiest memories of my life!
“Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)” — dark and sleazy, gets me every time
I love Matt’s cover of “Dolphins”. It just moves me.
“This is the Day”. Always brings back such great memories.
“Violence of Truth.” Because its a no-holds barred thought exercise set to a propulsive beat with swirling guitar and treated harmonica. Lyrics are uncompromising. “Why is it that anything on this earth we do not understand / We are pushed onto our knees to worship or to damn?” On Soul Mining, my favorite song is “The Sinking Feeling.” I love the mirroring backedness of the lyrics… “I’m just a symptom of the moral decay that’s gnawing at the heart of the country.”
Uncertain Smile.
The title alone is so evocative — it’s visual, it’s emotional — it sings of melancholy, ambivalence, sweetness and a wish to get closer to someone (something) not quite accessible.
Hard to choose just one but if I must. “This is the Day” – Just so very many memories attached to that song. It would definitely have a high spot on the soundtrack of my life.
Title track of “Soul Mining”, for its delicate rise and fall. Going to listen to it right now!
There are too many to list, but one of my favorites is Kingdom of Rain. I know there are brilliant older tracks but I just love the duet with Sinead O’Connor, she has and incredible voice lent to this track that gives it the perfect extra layers that sends goosebumps through me.
Uncertain smile, still remember when it came out: listening to it on my clock radio as the street lights threw orange coloured shapes through my window.
I love “GIANT” from Soul Mining. To me it was a perfect example of dance music with brains (and heart).
I also love “Sweet Bird of Truth” from Infected — Politics to shake yr ass to!
The Beat(en) Generation – Campfire Mix.
This is the day
&
Love is stronger than death
“This is the day” has a magic effect. It actually relaxes my shoulders and clears my mind. I play that, sing it badly & loud in the shower (as well as Bowie’s “Space Oddity” ) before I begin a new venture, or go on stage
Slow Emotion Replay. That harmonica!!!!
Sweet Bird of Truth
“I’m praying that God’s with you when you die”
Good Morning Beautiful – Song that stands the test of time, prophetic. The The unmatched in music that impacts your life.
Gravitate To Me – one of the most seductive songs I’ve ever heard. Many try to make a song sexy and it’s just superficial. This is a grand exception.
Love is Stronger Than Death – such amazing lyrics, this song slays me every single time I hear it
Dogs of Lust. I just love the energy of this song.
“Uncertain Smile” … Perfect Song
This is the day!! Such a great song….when ever I hear that song it makes my day better….always has since the first time.
Uncertain Smile always fills me with hope and laughter, a memory of a persone once loved and now lost. :)
Bluer Than Midnight
Beaten Generation
Uncertain Smile. I lived with my grandparents when Soul Mining came out. This was right after my parents had a very messy divorce. It was a really depressing time. But my grandparents were the sweetest people on the planet and they made my life happy. I would play this album on a loop on their old hi-fi in the living room. After about the 100th time, my grandmother asked me who the artist was and I showed her the album cover. She told me that Uncertain Smile was her new favorite song. She would always request it when I was playing other music that she didn’t like. But she would always ask who the band was to show an interest and then say, “can we hear Uncertain Smile after this song?” It’s impossible for me to listen to that album without thinking of my grandmother and how much she loved me.
“This Is The Day” of course!
“This is the Day!”
If you’d asked me yesterday I’d have said “This is the Day,” but this morning I heard “Uncertain Smile” again for the first time in ages, and remembered what a great song is. Such a perfect description of that first sense that you might be falling in love…
Uncertain Smile – that piano solo, of course…
August and September. The live version piano intro just really sets the stage on that one.
This is the day beats out a few others by a nose.
Love is Stronger Than Death
This song is so dark and yet uplifting at the same time.
Goosebumps every time I hear it!
http://youtu.be/lo0cZRaZs6c
Uncertain Smile
Beyond Love. The title says it all.
This Is the Day
Sweet Bird of Truth. Almost impossible for me to really pick one though. Uncertain Smile is definitely a close second. I like the later albums just as much but it’s hard to forget how amazing these songs were when I first heard them!
I was a college DJ at WKDU in Philly (Drexel U) and got up at 4am for my show back in 1985. Hard to pick a favorite … was nice to start the show with “This is the Day” but particularly in love with the heartache in “Uncertain Smile.”
I mean how much better can you express college break-ups than “a broken soul stares from a pair of watering eyes, uncertain emotions force in an uncertain smile…” And then the amazing piano! I’ve played my whole life and never achieved that.
Saw them open for Depeche back in early 90s in Austin – he was still awesome. And I still put my original album on my original turntable and now my teenagers love it too!
This is the day
So many to pick from, but “Infected” is my final answer. This song is a great opener to the album and the reason I became such a huge fan of Matt Johnson/The The.
Slow Emotion Replay. Lyrically perfect and awesome tune. This song describes how everyone has felt at some point, if not all the time! B)
This is the Day
Armageddon Days.
Absolute CLASSIC writing.
“This is the Day”. 24 years ago I was completely fed up with all the hype and pressure involved with getting married, and the stress of planning a traditional wedding, including picking a meaningful “first dance” song. One night this song came on the radio and that was it – my now-husband and I agreed that it was THE PERFECT first dance song for two people disillusioned with the whole wedding thing. I still love this song, and still think it’s the perfect first dance song. :)
I would have to say that “This is the Day” is my favorite and why I love this album. In fact, it has been my iPhone’s alarm song of choice for the last few years that wakes me up every morning. The way the song fades in and the lyrics of the chorus just set the mood for a great new day of life. It is very cool to see Sony offer such a cool reissue for this great debut album!
Kingdom of Rain
Beaten Generation
Infected… and This Is The Day.
Uncertain Smile…reminds me if the carefree days from high school and listening to great college radio in the days radio was great.
I adore “This Is The Day.” It’s a lovely song and the moment that he starts to sing “You pull back the curtains …” Is pure magic.
Uncertain Smile – Great song and I will forever remember hearing this every week as the theme song for “Off the Boat” on WLIR on Sunday nights.
Slow Train to Dawn.
why? Neneh Cherry, that’s why!
song without an ending!
‘This the Day’ because of the awesome Gap commercial. Just joking.. throw away since I am Canadian. All of the songs are wonderful and sublime.
Definitely Uncertain Smile. My favourite song on my absolute favourite album. I was only born in 1981 and remember my Dad playing a crackly Soul Mining tape on long car journeys and absolutely loving it. I bought the original CD version then the remastered London Town box set. I can’t wait for the new vinyl and download!
Like many others, Uncertain Smile, 1 for the lyrics and 2 for that amazing piano!
This Is The Day. Damn thing tears me up eveytime
‘Giant’ because of the massive beats and chanting harmonies. Over 9 minutes of The The excellence!
“The Beat(en) Generation”
Slow Emotion Replay
Giant. Because, c’mon, seriously? :) Lyrics, arrangement, all spot-on.
“This is the Day”
This is an amazing pick me up song, and always makes me think that I can do better in whatever endeavor I try next.
Uncertain Smile – Written by a man not quite out of his teens, this is a most mature and emotionally haunting song. Jools Holland’s piano solo brings it all together to make it one of the most important songs of the 80’s for me.
Uncertain Smile – Called in a radio show to request it. I was friends with the DJ by the time we hung up.
Let me state from the beginning that Matt Johnson IS the greatest song writer of the last 30 yrs so it’s hard to pick one but True Happiness This Way Lies is pure genius. He sums up the human condition in 3 minutes with the help of Existencial/Buddhist thought. You’re never going to be happy with the “things” you chase after.
“Someday you’ll come my way
But when you put your arms around me
I’ll be looking over your shoulder for something new…”
Amazing!
“Sweet Bird Of Truth ”
Brilliant adaptation of the angst of war vs personal morals
Love is Stronger Than Death. It is such an incredible song. For me it is the greatest song about losing a loved one and the cycles/seasons of life.
Dogs of Lust!
Out of the Blue (into the fire) ripping around like a lizard in a tin
I only saw a little love for “Dusk” above, so I’ll say that True Happiness This Way Lies is my fave song, though I love every track on that record.
Love is Stronger Than Death:)
Mine: Armageddon Days Are Here Again
Impossible to pick Just One, I Love The The ,, Matt Johnson is The Man …
“I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)”
Always a good reminder of how NOT to live one’s life:
“All desires have been denied to put me in this state of mind
Another year older and what have I done
My aspirations have shriveled in the sun
I’m crippled by guilt, blinded by science
I’ve been waiting for tomorrow all of my life.”
Sweet Bird Of Truth or Uncertain Smile. My band liking the idea covered Uncertain Smile back in the day. “This is the day I try to win some The The vinyl.”
The Beat(en) Generation – my first xposure to The The — love the Johnny Marr feel.
I want to say “The Whisperers” but really it’s “Infected” that i’ll dance around the house to.
“This is the Day”, the soundtrack to many a life-changing moment. And it has nothing to do with M&Ms.
uncertain smile
it was my favorite dance tune back in the day.
August & September
I hope the rest of the albums get the deluxe treatment too
“This is The Day” .. has always been the one song that has always managed to get me to disconnect from absolutely everything else. An amazing song from one of the perfect albums.
In Heartland, Matt Johnson sings “This is the 51st State of the U.S.A…”, but I guess that ain’t enough for Sony eh? Christ, we were listening to The The before the US had figured out it wasn’t a typo. Man, why can’t I enter this comp? I mean, it’s not like you can torrent physical, analogue LP’s off The Pirate Bay. Don’t they realise this?
So many to choose from…but I would say the one I turn to the most is “Love Is Stronger Than Death.”
Giant–the way the song builds, step by step, instrument by instrument, then halts at the drum solo only to start the chanting and the instruments return and bleed out. Brilliant.
There are SO MANY great Matt Johnson/The The tunes, it’s quite hard to narrow it down. If I had to pick one though, I guess I’d go with ‘Another Boy Drowning’. I became a The The fan when I first heard Heartland and the Infected album. I latched onto everything before and after. Another Boy Drowning sticks out because these are some truly amazing lyrics from a 17 or 18 year old English boy, who (I believe) wrote, played and produced the haunting (now) debut album which closes with this epic track.
“Monday morning, I looked the mirror in the eyes
I think I’d kill myself if I ever went blind
Your life is slipping away
You found out you’re older than you thought you were today…”
Definitely planted a mind bomb like many of the tracks that came afterwards.
The Sinking Feeling
Perfect. “What is there to fear from such a regular world?”
That one song.
All of the above are excellent choices. My 2 favourites are: The Uncertain Smile 12″ with the saxophone solo, instead of Jules Holland’s mighty pianistics and Slow Emotional Replay.
Infected. “I’ve got too much energy to switch off my mind/But not enough/To get myself organized.” His best lyrics.
Giant
Uncertain Smile is my favorite The The song. That piano break makes the best ear worm ever!
I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life). I was the only kid in 5th grade listening to Soul Mining thanks to my brother buying the cassette.
uncertain smile cuz I got one
Kingdom Of Rain
Sinead seals the deal.
August & September
Because we have all written the letter that turned into a book.
“Slow Emotion Replay”
The harmonica intro alone fills me with such joy, but lyrically the song speaks to me more than almost any other.
Fave sing: Gravitate to Me
Lovely melody, great lyrics, cool harmonica and the wonderful Mr. Johnny Marr.
Infected was the first one I heard and it’s still my favorite
“Jealous of Youth”
It’s funny how, as we grow old
We cling to the past as we cling to the air
And feel nostalgia for things that were maybe never there
This Is The Day. I have to sing every word of it and it tells a great tale.
Dumb As Death’s Head
Because it is impossible to locate, that’s why.
Actually, August & September got me through many difficult times in my life. Matt writes songs in a way that I only wish I could.
Uncertain Smile for sure. Just makes me feel so happy.
I am going to answer this without taking any time to think about it, so the first answer is it, and this band has innumerable great songs: Another Boy Drowning. It is desperate, poignant, sad and incredibly moving. I also think that Burning Blue Soul is an absolute masterpiece. And then there are the other records…
Uncertain Smile does it for me every time.
Have to default to Uncertain Smile – any and every version. This song is absolutely required listening on every song list on every device and a spare copy of the cd in my car…fabulous driving music…
GIANT. For all the Davids who feel like Goliaths.
Uncertain Smile and Jools Holland’s piano solo. I have the Soul Mining album on repeat constantly.
The whole mind bomb album is pretty amazing. The Beaten Generation stands out.
this is the Day as it was the wedding song for my best friend(s) wedding …song spoke to all the love in the room and the best album ever!
Uncertain Smile is my favorite
I like August and September because it’s the soundtrack to what I’m living now.
My favorite The The song is ‘Lung Shadows’ from Dusk….one of those tunes in one’s life that transports ya right back to the first time ya heard it….bravo.
The Dogs of Lust, of course.
Everyday I strive for “This is the Day” but most often it ends up as ” Slow Motion Replay”
Armageddon Days – one of the best choruses ever
Uncertain Smile. The song can transport me. Same with Giant. I saw The The a few times, once with Johnny Marr. Also saw Matt Johnson at a small club in Kingston. Such good memories.
Kingdom of Rain. Sinéad O’Connor voice is great on this track.
Uncertain Smile is reason enough for sure.
The Beat(en) Generation!
It’s Giant today. Oh, and a trip to Kazan remains on my bucket list.
When I first heard “uncertain smile” I was 15 and had snuck into a new wave/goth club called the kitchen in miami Florida ages ago. I remember being completely enthralled by the slow creep up of beginning of the song and it had somehow lifted me to the dance floor with perpetual ease. I completely lost myself In the rhythm and lyrics and spun myself around in pure ecstasy. It was the first time I had ever even been to a nightclub and still to this day as a nightclub manager in nyc I always love to start my night with that song to always remind myself to remain hopeful , youthful and cool. This song is the essence of me. It’s enigmatic, whimsical, endearing, and beautifully honest. I want it to be the last song I ever hear before I leave this earth one day. I love Matt Johnson for writing my absolute favorite song in this entire world.
This is the Day. First thing I heard from them and the first song I think about when hearing them.
Well now, i didn’t wake up this morning cos i didn’t go to bed. I’ve been watching the whites of my eyes turn red. The calendar, on the wall, is ticking the days off; til I scream with joy that ‘THIS IS THE DAY my life will surely change’ as I’ve never won a competition before and I bought the original LP on the day it came out and played it to everyone I knew. No one I knew had heard of The The back then. I’m sure Matt became successful because of my ranting about the quality of the record. Anyway. Thanks.
Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)
“The Sinking Feeling”!
Mrs Mac
Infected is by far the best The The song. When the album came out I listened to it again and again and again.
GIANT.
While I love This Is the Day and Slow Emotion Replay, the 2 1/2+ minute Jools Holland piano solo in Uncertain Smile is absolute joy and puts the song into my winner’s circle.
I couldn’t pick just one…
– This Is The Day
– Armageddon Days (DNA Remix)
– Love Is Stronger Than Death
I really wish Matt Johnson would tour again. It’d be nice to hear these songs one more time live.
I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)
I freakin LOVE the THE!! All of his music is great but I think Love Is Stronger might have to b my favorite. Every album had special tracks that mean so much to so many people. When I was working for Sony I got to meet Matt when he was touring with Depeche Mode. A few of us got to go backstage after his set. He was a really nice guy. The The songs really hit you in the heart strings. I believe he ended up getting screwed by some record label nonsense and that is why he Stopped putting out music for awhile. Would really love to have this reissue ov Soul Mining, please…..
Remember listening to Soul Mining endlessly during high school in my bedroom with the lights out. Worried my parents to no end! Always loved “Perfect” as it was the first song I heard from Matt Johnson (the faster version).
So difficult to choose one…okay, I’ll go “Uncertain Smile.”
My favorite song is This is the Day. It has rung so true to me at many, many different points in my life, from college in the 80s to now.
I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All Of My Life) – I enjoyed this song on my original cassette copy of Soul Mining for hours (tape is now worn out). After many years and much life experience, I now understand that waiting for tomorrow is pointless. I only have today.
Uncertain Smile.
I remember when this LP first came out, and I was listening to it at a friends flat in San Francisco. I had never heard of “The The” at that point (what, 1983?). I couldn’t believe something could be so mellow sounding and yet rock so hard at the same time.
As soon as I hear the first few notes of this song it’s stuck in my head all day. Soul Mining was simply a brilliant album.
Uncertain Smile (12 inch version)- best “vibes” solo since Lionell Hampton days
This is The Day. One of the best uses of accordion.
Extended 12″ Dance Mix of “Uncertain Smile”
While Uncertain Smile and This is the Day are classics, I have always been a deep cut kind of guy. Giant is one of those and while I like many The The songs throughout the years, I have to go to the album that got me hooked. Giant is great with layered build up throughout the whole song. Wonderful lyrics, and the drums really kick it. It is a Giant by the time the song ends!
All of Infected, really, but ‘Heartland’ is the standout because it’ sharp, bitter, and catchy. ‘Flesh and Blood’ is a more under-appreciated gem.
Giant. A song that NEVER gets old.
“This is the day”
I played this song every time I a made a move to a new home/state. On to better things!
I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All of My Life)
My first The The song, and still my favorite!
This Is the Day is an incredible song. It reflects back to the great memories that many of us have and at the same time provides hope for what happens next. As it is put in the song “This is the day your life will surely change,
This is the day when things fall into place”. Simply beautiful!
Sweet Bird of Truth. “This is your Captain calling, with an urgent warning”
“This Is The Day” Because these are some of the best opening line lyrics….Well you didn’t wake up this morning ’cause you didn’t go to bed
You were watching the whites of your eyes turn red
The calendar on your wall is ticking the days off
You’ve been reading some old letters
You smile and think how much you’ve changed
All the money in the world couldn’t buy back those days
Perfect (12″ version)
Love is Stronger Than Death. Beautiful lyrics: “How could you believe that the life within the seed
That grew arms that reached
And a heart that beat.
And lips that smiled
And eyes that cried.
Could ever die?”
Uncertain smile
Love is Stronger Than Death
“Uncertain Smile” because it is on the soundtrack of my youth, and is the epitome of my favorite person in the world, Shmooo, who without her, I might not know of the The, or Matt Johnson. <3
I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)
My introduction to The The back in my days of listening to college radio (so many memories). The rest is history but this one will always hold a special place in my heart!
Love Andy Dogs art work too!
Uncertain Smile
“Infected”
It was the first song I ever heard from The The and fell in love with them instantly. Other than that, the lyrics and the beat!
Uncertain Smile
“Flesh And Bones” of the compilation “If You Can’t Please Yourself, You Can’t Please Your Soul”. It’s just a really cool song with a really cool feel.
GIANT. All caps. All fantastic. GOT IT? GOOD.
“Dogs of Lust”. Mean Harmonica. Insane Johnny Marr guitar riff. Trademark Matt Johnson vox. Enough said.
Uncertain Smile is definitely my favorite song by The The. The lyrics are perfect and Jools Holland’s piano solo is a blast!
Helpline Operator
In the fall of 1984, I was attending USF, majoring in being away from the parents. One day in my dorm room I was listening (and recording) KFOG on the radio. I remember the DJ saying, “Happy birthday, Ida,” and then the fabulous intro to This IS The Day faded in. Still have the cassette – somewhere.
Pillar Box Red. That piano line is exquisite.
Flesh and Bones! A one-off from the If You Can’t Please Yourself… compilation. I would play this to freak out my friends. Great lyrics. And then I would play Foetus’s The Only Good Christian…. and then they would get out of my car.
Favorite, well it’s a tie ‘Uncertain Smile’ & ‘Kingdom of Rain’
Giant
I was attending a concert by another New Wave artist [too long ago to can’t remember who] and the DJ was playing that track before the show started. When it finished, I turned to the lad next to me and asked if he knew who the artist was. He said, “The…”; I asked, “WHO”? He said “THE…THE!” One of the best discoveries EVER!
Perfect
The first one I remember, and brilliant lyrics
Jealous of Youth – There are so many great songs by theThe but this one is my personal favorite because of its connection to my father. He taught me to enjoy life while you could make the most out of it and to keep finding joy long after others became bitter.
this is the day
91x san diego memories
Beat(en) Generation
Thank u Johnny Marr!
Uncertain Smile
My Heart Would Know…this entire album is genius.
Uncertain Smile, especially live version w/Johnny Marr from the vs the world video.
Uncertain Smile – My girlfriend used to sing this song all the time, even though she had a horrible voice. Ah, memories!
Far too many to choose from, but right now it’s “Beyond Love.” Especially the live version.
Uncertain Smile. The soundtrack to a first love…..
Loved the whole “cassette” of Soul Mining. Finally saw The The with Johnny Marr/Frank Black in LA years later….
This Is The Day – I’ve had Soul Mining in heavy rotation since it came out 30 years ago. An all time top 10 album.
The Beat(en) Generation
Brilliant album to begin with “I’ve Been Waitin’…and ends Perfectly! This is the Day I win this vinyl box set! =)
Sweet Bird of Truth – this is song reminds me so much about my life in the military.
The “45rpm” version of ‘December Sunlight.’ Heart-wrenching, Gorgeous and finally Triumphant.
Uncertain Smile
Love is Stronger than Death….brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it…just so beautiful
Out of the Blue (Into the Fire)
I almost picked one of the few eerily prescient tracks that predicted the shape of the political world in which we now live, but this one… it sticks with me always. Matt’s brilliant illustration of a man’s struggle with his inner demons is something we all relate to in some way. It is dirty and honest and unapologetic to an uncomfortable degree, lyrically, and the ringing minor melody that ends the track refrain is the tune of a soul in anguish and need for relief.
This Is The Day
Soul Mining. Amazing title track.
Uncertain Smile
“Love Is Stronger Than Death” is probably my favorite – also the first The The song I ever heard, covered by Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, no less. That was a rabbit hole I’ve been glad to go down for years. Such a gorgeous, gorgeous song.
“Helpline Operator” – I love the filtered vocals that give that impending sense of losing touch and loss of communication.
Uncertain Smile. It just moved my soul the first time I heard it. This whole album is just genius.
“Slow Train to Dawn” because Matt and Nina Cherry
Honky Tonkin’ from Hanky Panky rules! I love how he twisted Hank Williams into a more sleazy and dark vibe. I also dig Infected. To this day, every time I go over a bridge with a muddy river, it reminds me of the video.
“Uncertain Smile”. My favorite song from one of my most favorite albums…ever, not just from the 1980’s. Brilliant prize!
“August and September” – Mind Bomb got me through the most painful breakup of my life: My first one. The line “Was our love too strong to die, or were we just too weak to kill it?” remains one of the most trenchant lyrics I’ve ever heard.
“Infected” – because it was the first track I had heard by them, and it still brings me back to that place every time I hear it.
Soul Mining.
the title track from album “soul mining” is probably my favorite — which actually when pondering, found a very hard question to answer— for good reason because of the quantity and quality of soo many good the the tunes… though this one drags me down into the pit of despair with its lulling pace –and on-point lyrics. it really speaks to the despair that one can feel -when things don’t go just the way you’d like. not that I look to languish in misery, though this song here, for me… speaks to how, in many ways…everyone experiences something going wrong, when things are going right. —I will say, regardless of winning contest, is pretty awesome to see THIS MANY people who appreciate good music, as the the / Matt Johnson. kudos everyone AND slicing up eyeballs as well. -t
True Happiness This Way Lies. One of the best album openers ever. Dusk has always been my favorite TT LP.
The Nature Of Virtue
This gem of a song can be found on the B Side of 1984’s Perfect 12″ (a shorter version appears on the B Side of the 7″). It starts with hypnotic synths that flow with a rythmatical pulsating drumbeat. Together they entwine into a melodic soundscape for Matt to share his wonderful insight.
“Don’t change yourself to suit everybody else…”
“I’ve Been Waiting For Tomorrow (All My Life)”. First track off the first The The record I heard. Great lyrics and a style all of it’s own. Soul Mining changed my musical life forever.
Of course, there’s not a weak song on “Soul Mining.” My favorite though is “The Twilight Hour” – just the right mix of menace and danceability!
“Uncertain Smile” – Jools Holland’s piano part at the end kills me every time
This is the day.
Armageddon Days Are Here (Again) – sorry to be a downer.
My favorite, by far, Uncertain Smile. I love that Matt has no fear and continually revisits and reinterprets his songs. I love the flute and sax version, the, is it, miriamba? I love Matt’s ability to embrace sounds that at first might appear unorthodox, to take chances, remember we’re talking early 80s here. I love that he let Jools Holland lose, trusted him then had the confidence, at the final edit, to transform it to one long piano solo rather than the originally recorded two piano sections, and yet it worked. It worked and then some. I love that Matt was essentially a kid doing all this, going with his gut and producing an album that has, to this day, no equal.
Most of all I love Uncertain Smile because it reminds me of my dad. A man who’s musical touchstones were Chuck Berry, The Stones and Dione Warrwick. Like most parents back then he was truly dismissive of most of the records I bought. So the day he asked me, ‘Who’s this then?’ as Uncertain Smile trailed out was a bit special. It was the song that opened the door, my bedroom door specifically and got my records on the turntable in the livingroom. The old man grew to love The The, The Waterboys, Big Audio Dynamite and many others. He was a cool dude in some ways. It was Uncertain Smile that did that.
This is the Day. So many songs, but it’s the one I enjoy the most.
Bluer than Midnight
(Maybe not their best, but my favorite.)
Kingdom Of Rain is a very beautiful song filled with disappointment, heartbreak and passion, the two singers tell the story well and I think the reason why it’s my favorite The The song is because it’s one of the few The The songs that has a duet.
My favorites are the “Dogs Of Lust” remixes – great collaboration!
Sweet Bird Of Truth [12″ Version]
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December Sunlight- I like this one for the female accompanyment and the fact that she overcomes a jerk….