The The - pillar box red, 2002

"Pillar Box Red is a lesser-known vaudevillian ballad from 2002 that descends in scale while a vertiginous signature melody strikes over the top, making it sound like the soundtrack to a French detective series. “I paint my lips a pillar box red,” sings Johnson sotto voce, with a supporting female vocal less pronounced still. “It reminds me of the country where I was born and bred.” He actually grew up above a pub in the East End among a close but extended family, and in the promo video he is back on the premises of a local boozer, providing the entertainment with an acoustic while punters chatter among themselves. “The sarcasm / The bitter remarks,” he laments, “that pierce the chest and wound the heart.” Whether he is in character or singing from personal experience, it’s a beautifully realised song."

The The - dogs of lust, 1992

"Dogs of Lust" is a song by English rock band the The. Written by frontman Matt Johnson, who co-produced the track with Bruce Lampcov, the song was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album, Dusk, on 4 January 1993. Johnny Marr played the electric guitars and harmonica riff on the song."

The The - perfect, 1983

"Youthful angst and anomie are fine in their place, but not all over the place."

The The - slow emotion replayed, 2025

"Matt Johnson has a penchant for covering and reinventing his own songs as with ‘This Is The Day’, ‘Infected’, ‘Armageddon Days’ and others. The original version of ‘Slow Emotion Replay’, appeared on Dusk, released in 1993. This new version, ‘Slow Emotion Replayed’ was recorded in Studio Cinéola, London, featuring Matt Johnson on Omnichord and vocals, Barrie Cadogan on electric guitar and backing vocals, James Eller on bass and Gillian Glover also providing backing vocals. The B-side of this single is entitles ‘Crow Commotion Displayed’."

The The - the beaten generation live, 2021

"An amazing release, top to bottom very well done."

The The - cognitive dissident, 2024

"Cognitive Dissident" by The The delves into themes of surveillance, censorship, manipulation of reality, and the inversion of truth. The song portrays a world where individuals are constantly monitored, restricted, and controlled, leading to a state of cognitive dissonance."

The The - this is the day, 1983

"I was 21 and going through various life changes. I was in a new relationship, with Fiona, my first proper girlfriend. I’d come off the dole, signed to CBS and had been recording in New York, which all felt very exciting. My ex-manager and I ended up smashing up hotel rooms and misbehaving, all the stuff you feel you’re supposed to do when you’re 21 and signed to a record company and abroad. Drugs were involved, of course. The record company had loved Uncertain Smile so I was under a lot of pressure to come up with another single."

The The - uncertain smile, 1983

"It was a sweltering summer’s day and he turned up in full leathers on his vintage Norton bike so he wasn’t cool, he was sweltering somewhat. But he was very humble, very low key, very nice person. It was recorded on a nice piano and I still own it. It’s a Yamaha C3 baby grand and it was in a really good live room. Someone asked me why I chose to put a piano solo on that song and it was simply because we had such a nice sounding piano in such a nice sounding room."

The The - love is stronger than death, 1993

"Love Is Stronger Than Death" is a song from The The's album Dusk. It was written by Matt Johnson, the only constant member of The The. Johnson wrote this song following the death of his brother. In his depression, he found that writing this song was therapeutic for him. The title is a paraphrase of a biblical quote: "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame." (Song of Solomon 8:6).

The The - the beaten generation, 1989

"Instead of the darkly polished dance-pop styling of earlier albums Soul Mining and Infected, Mind Bomb opens up the music to reveal a slow, winding textured world of sound, thanks in no small measure to Marr. Lyrical subjects include politics, religion, and romance."

The The - slow emotion replay, 1993

"Slow Emotion Replay" was the 94th best-selling single in Iceland."