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"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" is a song by the English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
the Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...
, written by singer
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
and guitarist
Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...
and released on the group's 1987 album '' Strangeways, Here We Come''. Featuring a
glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...
-inspired guitar
riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
, the song emerged from a jam during the " Sheila Take a Bow" sessions. Though not originally planned to be released as a single, "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" was released as the album's second single after " Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was banned by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
for references to mass murder after the Hungerford Massacre. Released in November 1987, it reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart, a relative commercial underachievement. It was the first single released after the band had announced their split. "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" has seen critical acclaim for Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's witty lyricism. It has since appeared on multiple compilation albums.


Background

"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" began as part of a
jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
played during the sessions for the band's single " Sheila Take a Bow". Marr recalled, "It was just a weird chord change that I had in my pocket for a while, and we needed a song so I pulled that out, just trying to get the key changes to work. I mean there was a lot of throwing stuff around with that album 'Strangeways''" The song was inspired by
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
's " The Jean Genie" and Sparks' " Amateur Hour". Marr explained, "I wanted the electric guitar parts a lot less layered and with a lot more weight, which you can hear on 'I Started Something I Couldn't Finish'." Marr composed the song's music on a 12-string
Gibson ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its Gibson ES Series, ES (Electric Spanish) series 1958 in music, in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the cente ...
, which he commented "gave a really big sound." The song also features a saxophone melody played on an
Emulator In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run sof ...
, while co-producer
Stephen Street Stephen Brian Street (born 29 March 1960 in Hackney, London) is an English record producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album '' Viva Hate'' following the ...
added an electronic snare drum alongside Mike Joyce's drum line. Marr commented that the latter decision was to give his drumming "more texture." Though Morrissey was critical of certain aspects of early versions of the song, Marr commented that "Morrissey was really into the song and he was sort of encouraging me" in contrast to Joyce and bassist
Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk- ...
, who were not fond of the song. Marr pointed to Joyce and Rourke's opposition to the song as an additional incentive for him to leave the band. The track features an outtake during the fade out, with Morrissey asking: "OK,
Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...
, shall we do that again?"


Release

Initially, the band's label Rough Trade intended to release " Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" as the second single from '' Strangeways, Here We Come''. However, after the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
banned the single in the aftermath of the Hungerford massacre (the lyrics contain a reference to "mass murder"), the band selected "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" as the replacement A-side in the UK. The B-sides included alternate and live recordings of previously released Smiths songs, alongside a cover of James' "What's the World." The single reached number 23 in the UK, a relative underachievement commercially. Morrissey later reflected on the commercial shortcomings of the song and its follow-up, " Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me": "Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" was still released as a single in other countries, but its promotional video—which featured Morrissey plus a large number of Morrissey lookalikes—was used in the UK to promote "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish".


Artwork and matrix message

The cover of the single features actress Avril Angers in a
still A still is an apparatus used to distillation, distill liquid mixtures by heating to selectively Boiling, boil and then cooling to Condensation, condense the vapor. A still uses the same concepts as a basic Distillation#Laboratory_procedures, ...
from the 1966 film '' The Family Way''. The British 7-inch and 12-inch vinyls contain the etching: "MURDER AT THE WOOL HALL"(X)STARRING SHERIDAN WHITESIDE / YOU ARE BELIEVING, YOU DO NOT WANT TO SLEEP. The Wool Hall was the recording studio in Bath where the Smiths had recorded their last album ''Strangeways, Here We Come'', but it also was where Morrissey, at the time of this single's release, was recording his first solo album '' Viva Hate''. One of Morrissey's pseudonyms, Sheridan Whiteside, is the title role in the play '' The Man Who Came to Dinner''. The B-side etching is a reversal of "You are sleeping, you do not want to believe", a sample heard at the end of the Smiths song "Rubber Ring".


Critical reception

"I Started Something I Couldn't Finish" saw positive critical reception from its release. Reviewing ''Strangeways, Here We Come'' in 1987, the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' called it "a classic pop song that seems to echo―believe it or not―the treasured oeuvre of T. Rex,
Mud Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
, and the Glitter Band!" '' Consequence'' ranked the song as the band's 25th best, writing, "The Smiths' music is riddled with indecision, and this song is Morrissey at his most doubtful." ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked the song as the 42nd best Smiths song. A cover was released by
Bow Wow Wow Bow Wow Wow are an English New wave music, new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band with then 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on lead vocals. They released their deb ...
.


Track listing


Charts


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control The Smiths songs 1987 singles Rough Trade Records singles Songs written by Morrissey Songs written by Johnny Marr Song recordings produced by Stephen Street Glam rock songs 1987 songs