#howsoonisnow — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #howsoonisnow, aggregated by home.social.
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How Soon Is Now - Johnny Marr Live At The Crazy Face Factory
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The bit that you skip #177: The Smiths – How Soon is Now?
A song with a strange lifecycle. Originally a B-side to William it was really nothing, How Soon is Now? carved a place of its own on indie darlings and their mixtapes. A song that you could dance alone to, specially if you were as terminally shy as the narrator. Sonically, it’s a far stride from what The Smiths were peddling. Jangly guitars, tambourine, and a slightly distant mixing now were replaced by studio trickery, tremolos, and a slick production.
Nothing wrong on both styles of The Smiths. They can coexist. The styles, not the band, though.
Always feels weird how so many classic bands like Joy Division, The Beatles, and The Smiths had songs with major appeal that weren’t on albums. Sure, the US edition of Meat is Murder has How Soon is Now? but for the United Kingdom, it was there, sandwiched between William it was really nothing and Please, please, please let me get what I want (at least on the 12 inch edition).
I was too young to “get” The Smiths when they were on radio. And to be honest, I think I was too much into The Cure or Depeche Mode to go for the poetic intimacy of The Smiths. What piqued my interest was Love Spit Love’s deft cover for The Craft, a movie almost all Gen Xer was attracted due to its cast and college radio friendly soundtrack.
Then This is England had Clayhill’s heartwrenching cover of Please Please Please let me get what I want. Then I really paid attention to The Smiths. It finally sink to me its importance. I remember going a few times to The Cookie Club in Nottingham on the gothic night, seeing people happily dancing by themselves listening to great tracks and not a single time was How Soon is Now? spared from being on the playlist.
I’ve mentioned before that you can accumulate a pile of “I’ll listen/read/watch later” stuff in your life and I know it’s unreasonable to believe you’ll be able to consume all of it. But start today, do a little bit. A page or two. An episode or two. Half an hour (or an act). A couple of songs. Never get stuck into a rut, listen to something new today, even if it was released decades ago. You won’t regret expanding your tastes.
-Sam J. Valdés López
https://youtu.be/hnpILIIo9ek?si=IF1lYf2SSm_-KpWs
#HatfulOfHollow #HowSoonIsNow #LoveSpitLove #music #Nottingham #Review #Reviews #Rock #TheCookieClub #TheCraft #TheSmiths #writing -
The Smiths - How Soon Is Now?
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How Soon Is Now?
6–9 minutesI wasted almost ten minutes of my life this morning… time I’ll never get back! I was trying to prove to a website that I am not a (enter expletive of choice!) robot!
I clicked on every blurry square containing a (more swear words!) “hydrant” until my eyes were crossed and my fuse was blown!
It’s another 21st-century glitch: we spend our days proving our humanity to a mindless interface, only to spend our evenings trying to find human connection… inside another one.
If you’ve been following my Citizen Jane Field Guides™️, you’ll know I’ve been railing against the Syndicate – those 10 global giants that want to own your pantry and your plate.
But now, they’ve set their sights on something much more valuable (and far more sinister).
They’ve started mining our loneliness. And in 2026, business is booming….
I. The Silicon Soulmate 📱💘
There’s a specific kind of quiet that’s settled over the world in recent years. Whether you’re in a pub in Glasgow or a coffee shop in Seattle, look around you. Half the people are “connected” to someone who doesn’t actually exist.
We’re seeing a massive rise in “AI Companions” – especially among young men. The pitch is seductive: a partner who never argues, won’t complain about the toilet seat and is programmed to find your every “dad joke” hilarious!
But it’s a trap.
The Syndicate is selling “frictionless” intimacy because real human connection is… messy. They’ve replaced the “I am human and I need to be loved” ache with a subscription-based “I am a user and I need to be validated” loop. 🔁
II. The Silicon Shrink 💻💭
Then there’s the AI Therapist. A personal pet peeve of mine.
In early 2026, a survey found that 51% of young people now find it “easy” to discuss personal issues with a chatbot, while only 37% feel the same about talking to a psychologist. Why? Because the bot is “always there.” But “always there” is just code for “doesn’t actually exist”. We’re trading the growth that comes from real-world judgement and boundaries for a script refined in a Silicon Valley lab.
I recently read an article about a smart “Longevity Mirror” that uses facial recognition to tell you if you’re stressed. I mean, honestly? I don’t know about you but, I don’t need a £500 motherboard behind a piece of glass to tell me I’m grumpy before my first coffee! ☕
We’re outsourcing our deepest vulnerabilities to an algorithm that understands our biometrics… but not our humanity. It’s another technical “solution” to a human problem – like trying to get warm by sitting next to a picture of a fire. It looks alright, but it won’t keep you warm. 🔥
We’re trading the messy, healing power of being truly ‘seen’ by another person for the safety of a mirror that only reflects what the code tells it to. Besides, if a chatbot gives you bad advice, who is responsible? A line of code? A terms-and-conditions tick box? The Syndicate loves AI therapy because you can’t sue an algorithm for a lack of empathy!
III. The Social Recession 👫📉
In 2026, finding love or friendship is treated as a problem for artificial intelligence to “solve”. We’re relying on data analysis rather than chance encounter.
The result? A “Social Recession“.
This isn’t just about being a bit lonely; it’s a total crash in our social stocks. We’ve forgotten how to be awkward. We’ve forgotten how to handle the silence on a first date or the vulnerability of asking a neighbour for a cup of sugar. We’ve traded the security of real-world neighbours and friends for “digital credits” and “likes” (that have zero value when your car breaks down or your heart gets broken!).
For my older readers, you might remember a time when a “friend” was someone you actually saw in 3D… not just a glowing dot on a screen. For the younger “Rebels” reading this: the Syndicate wants you isolated. An isolated person is a perfect consumer. They don’t start movements… they refresh their feeds. 📱
IV. The Heir of Nothing in Particular ⛔️👥
This isn’t just a Gen X grumble about “kids these days.” It’s a full-blown heist of the future! The Syndicate is selling “frictionless” intimacy to a generation that hasn’t yet been given the chance to learn that friction is where growth happens.
Recent data shows that nearly 70% of teenagers have experimented with AI companions. Why? Because the bot is “safe.” It doesn’t judge, it doesn’t have a bad day and it never pushes back. But, when a teenager spends their formative years talking to a bot programmed to find them perfect, they aren’t learning how to navigate the beautiful, bumpy reality of another person… they’re stuck in a digital hall of mirrors.
They are “Social Offloading” – using AI to draft the hard texts and dodge the uncomfortable heavy lifting of real-world confrontation. We’re handing the future a set of tools that skips the “hard parts” of being human. If you offload every difficult chat to an algorithm, you never get to build the muscle memory for a real-world heart-to-heart.
The Syndicate isn’t just tracking our data; they’re trying to sell us a physical placeholder for a friend. Take the ‘Ami‘ – a 2026 desktop gadget that houses an AI ‘soulmate’ in a box. It’s the ultimate Syndicate con: we’ve traded the messy reality of a person (who might let us down) for a £300 OLED screen (that’s programmed to never leave). We’re replacing a pulse with a power-cord.
The Citizen Jane Field Guide™️ (The Connection Rebellion) ✊✨
Taking back our social autonomy is the most radical thing we can do this week. As it’s Mental Health Awareness Month, let’s break the simulation with some real “Action”:
- The “Just Be Yourself” Challenge: Go and talk to a real person without a “script”. It’s okay to be a bit awkward. Don’t worry if you stumble over your words. It’s a revolutionary act to be imperfect in an “optimised” world! 💬💪
- The “Script-free” Conversation: If you have a difficult text to send or a hard conversation to have, don’t use AI to draft it. Don’t ask a bot to make it “polite” or “professional”. Let it be messy. Let it be human. The growth isn’t in the resolution – it’s in the raw nerves of hitting ‘send’ on your own thoughts. 💭📡
- The “Eye Contact” Protocol: Next time you’re at the till, look at the human cashier. Not the card machine, not your phone – the person. Say “thank you”. Like you mean it. 👀🙌
- The Analogue Invite: Call someone. Yes, with your voice. The Syndicate hates it when we use our actual vocal cords – it’s much harder for an algorithm to harvest data from a real, spontaneous laugh than a “LOL” text. 📞😂
- The “Unfiltered” Mentorship: For the older Rebels, offer to teach a younger person a “useless” skill (like bleeding a radiator or baking a proper loaf of bread). For the younger Rebels, ask a “Human Elder” for advice instead of Googling it. Wisdom should be free! 💡🎁
- The “No-Star” Review: Find a local shop or a park bench that isn’t on a “Top 10” list. Just sit there. Don’t review it, don’t photograph it, and don’t “check in.” Enjoy a moment that belongs only to you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- The “Just Because” Gathering: Invite a friend over for absolutely no reason. No “networking,” no “content creation.” And NO SMARTPHONE SCROLLING! Just sit in a room together and… exist. 🍻💬
Join the Rebellion ✊✌️
The Empire wants us “Comfortably Numb”, digitally tethered and – most importantly – predictable. They want our loneliness to be another line item on a spreadsheet. But “Rebellions are built on hope”… and hope is a human invention, not a digital one.
Your Mission: Do one thing today that would make an algorithm crash. Be inconvenient. Be spontaneous. Be “un-optimisable”.
To my fellow Gen Xers: Be the human elder. Offer the awkward, un-optimised connection that a screen can’t mimic. Show them that a real friend is worth the “friction”!
To the younger Rebels: Don’t let the Syndicate convince you that you’re too “fragile” for the real world. Your raw nerves are a superpower, not a bug in the system. Reclaim the mess. Reclaim the silence. Reclaim each other!
What was the last messy, unscripted human moment that made you feel actually alive? I’m talking about those beautifully awkward interactions that a robot could never simulate because there was no “Correct Response” button. Please share them with me in the comments. (Bonus points if you both ended up laughing at how weird it was!) 👇
Let’s keep the resistance going… ✌️✊
Citizen Jane x ✌️
Need a Real Human to Talk To? 📞
- UK: Call Samaritans for free at 116 123 anytime.
- US: Access the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline through local crisis services.
- Global: Find a local helpline via Befrienders Worldwide or IASP.
https://youtu.be/hnpILIIo9ek?si=qb79He-cfaXDHCf_
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"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by the English #rock band #theSmiths. It was released as a single in August 1984, featuring the B-sides "#PleasePleasePleaseLetMeGetWhatIWant" and "#HowSoonIsNow", and reached No. 17 in the #UKSinglesChart. The song is featured on the compilation albums #HatfulOfHollow and #LouderThanBombs, as well as other best of and singles collections. In 2004.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6WgdPCaRgs -
"William, It Was Really Nothing" is a song by the English #rock band #theSmiths. It was released as a single in August 1984, featuring the B-sides "#PleasePleasePleaseLetMeGetWhatIWant" and "#HowSoonIsNow", and reached No. 17 in the #UKSinglesChart. The song is featured on the compilation albums #HatfulOfHollow and #LouderThanBombs, as well as other best of and singles collections. In 2004.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAon-ffyTrk -
@for Ak, jeg husker den desparate The Smiths sang, hvor Morrissey deklamerer at være "the Sun and Air". D.v.s. sådan lød det for teenage-mig med interesse for meteorologi. Han var selvfølgelig "the Son and Heir"! #howsoonisnow
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Hoy descubrí este cover de «How Soon is Now?» de The Smiths hecho por una banda llamada Snake River Conspiracy, a quienes tampoco conocía. Me gustó harto, así que se va mi playlist de covers.
#SnakeRiverConspiracy #HowSoonIsNow #TheSmiths #Covers #Rock #Música
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@JustinDerrick (@[email protected])
#IT's #Still a #GoodQuestion...
#HowSoonIsNow...?
🧙⚔️🤖🐺🤖⚔️🧙 | 🕵️🦹🎈🦄🎈🦹🕵️
#Soho: Hippychick (Art Of Mix Version)
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I knew there must have been a reason that the first song I chose for #FridayRockShow today just happened to be #HowSoonIsNow by #TheSmiths
Did I have a gut feeling about this? I'd not seen/heard any news site at all today... Was out all morning until at least 2pm.
So here it is again
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Not done #FridayRockShow for ages... and it's not really gonna be rock today either... but #choons from my youth all the same.
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It's like The Smiths without Morrissey:
How Soon Is Now - Johnny Marr Live At The Crazy Face Factory - Invidious
https://yt.artemislena.eu/watch?v=mY8eKQFyRJk -
The Smiths original of this song popped up in my suggestions on YT and I was reminded that this cover existed... Which for some reason.. I like.
#t.A.T.u
#HowSoonIsNow -
@pendleton I've convinced me missus that in 27yrs time we're going to the Maldives to renew our wedding vows for this precise reason.
