Hang The DJ

CAIRO – 6 August 2017: With his “gnarly” dance moves and cartoonishly large suit, Morrissey, The Smiths’ front singer stresses the fact that art and entertainment should deal with the issues we're facing in our lives, as he sings:

“Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed DJ”
- Panic – the Smiths

Even if you never heard a song by the Smiths you probably know them from this scene from the movie 500 Days of Summer;



And in case you didn't see that movie either, the Smiths are a rock band from the 80s that had many great hits and a huge influence over the Rock and Roll scene as we know it today; According to Nerve.com the rock band Panic! At the disco got its name from the Smiths song “Panic”.

It is rumored that the song “Panic” form the Smith’s 1988 album Rank, was written by Jonny Marr (the band’s guitarist) and Morrissey when they were listening to a radio station and just after the news of the Chernobyl reactor incident was broadcasted, the radio station played an up-beat song, which irritated the band members as they saw it irrelevant and disrespectful (check the interpretation of the song on lyricsgenius.com)


Rank - Brett Jordan - Flicker

Through cheerful music and exaggeration, the Smiths are trying to explain that yes there are times to have fun and be entertained but sometimes art has to address the issues which are bothering people.
So enjoy, but remember when to Panic!