"More Shimmery"

(via Drudge)

I would imagine that is a phrase that Prof. Johnny Marr of Salford University in Manchester will be saying quite often.

His shimmery guitar playing framed Morrissey's plaintive whine in the 80s to create the Smith's version of pop perfection.

It's great stuff in small doses (in large doses, might lead to wrist slitting).

But when you have a guitar player with such a distinctive 'shimmery' sound, I wonder how useful he'd be in teaching technique to other students.

Does Johnny Marr even know himself how he came up with his signature sound?

Often with leftfield musical artists with very distinctive sounds, their methods are mysterious, and their knowledge of traditional composition weak. They wouldn't develop in a unique way if they didn't come by their talent in a unique manner.

I don't think you can instruct uniqueness, but I admire Johnny Marr for trying.

Here's the video for How Soon is Now, listen to the shimmer, feel the whine (or is that listen to the whine, and feel the shimmer?).