Registered Historical Facts* is my regular series on Morrissey and the Smiths’ appearances in pop culture.

The Killer (2023)

The Killer (2023)
netflix.com

This film was tipped to me by Dave, who mentioned that the protagonist is an assassin who listens to The Smiths.

How have I never heard of this film? This is the kind of film that is right up my alley. Starring Michael Fassbender and directed by David Fincher (famous for Seven and Fight Club) and was based on a French comic book by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon.

After watching it, yes, indeed, I can verify that The Killer listens to The Smiths songs, from “Well I Wonder” to the final “There is a Light That Never Goes Out” (full song outro). It’s just a weird quirk of the Killer, I guess.

I think my biggest complaint about the movie is that for someone who is very, very good at his job, I just couldn’t believe that he totally blew it with the first hit-job that starts the movie off. I think they could have easily fix my problem by having a tiny scene of the Killer finishing his job on the first mark, like at the end of the movie or post-credit scene. That would’ve tidy up the entire movie for me.

Still, for what we got, I thought it was a terrific straightforward assassin-doing-his-thing film.

Currently, I don’t think you can buy the film, you’ll have to stream it on Netflix.

The Last Ten Seconds 2026 Tour

The Last Ten Seconds
thelasttensecondsoflife.com

When I first saw this band’s name, The Last Ten Seconds, I knew immediately that they had stolen their name from The Smiths. So, after I checked all the registered historical facts, I discovered that they had indeed taken their name from the song “Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before.”

The Smiths: Stop Me (1987)

The lyrics goes, “I was delayed, I was way-laid, an emergency stop, I smelt the last ten seconds of life, I crashed down on the crossbar and the pain was enough to make a shy, bald, Buddhist reflect and plan a mass murder.” While I find that last line, about the shy, bald Buddhist to be pretty funny, at the time, in August 1987, the BBC objected to the song’s lyrical reference. I don’t think the single was released in the UK, but I’ve got the German and Japanese version.

Anyway, this Pennsylvania deathcore band will be heading out on a 2026 American Winter Tour. The three-week journey runs from January 22nd in Atlanta, Georgia through February 19th in San Antonio, Texas. Additional support will be provided by Fr3ak as well as Your Spirit Dies and LarcɆnia RoɆ on select dates.

Tour Dates

THE LAST TEN SECONDS OF LIFE w/ Oceano, Monsters, Aight Bet:

12/06/2025 The WC Social Club – West Chicago, IL
w/ Left To Suffer, Fr3ak, Your Spirit Dies
1/22/2026 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
1/23/2026 Conduit -Winter Park, FL
1/24/2026 Oscura – Tampa, FL
1/26/2026 Radio Room – Greenville, SC
1/28/2026 Local 506 – Chapel Hill, NC
1/29/2026 Metro Music Hall – Baltimore, MD
1/30/2026 Meadows – New York, NY
1/31/2026 Palladium – Worcester, MA
2/01/2026 Empire Live Underground – Albany, NY
2/03/2026 Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
2/04/2026 Garrison – Toronto, ON
w/ Left To Suffer, Fr3ak, LarcɆnia RoɆ:
2/05/2026 Sanctuary – Detroit, MI
2/06/2026 Reggie’s – Chicago, IL
2/07/2026 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
2/08/2026 X-Ray Arcade – Cudahy, WI
2/10/2026 Marquis – Denver, CO
2/11/2026 Launchpad – Albuquerque, NM
2/12/2026 Launchpad – Mesa, AZ
2/13/2026 Glass House – Pomona, CA
2/14/2026 Cornerstone – Berkeley, CA
2/15/2026 Goldfield Trading Post – Roseville, CA
2/17/2026 Eagle Hall – Las Vegas, NV
2/19/2026 Vibes Underground – San Antonio, TX

1994 by Sponge (Oct 18, 2024)

Sponge
spongetheband.com

I didn’t find out that Sponge covered Morrissey’s “The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get”, until I recently saw the group live in Ponte Vedra Beach (October 12).

The song is part of their cover lover album 1994, seeing the band cover everyone from Blur to Sonic Youth to Mazzy Star, showcasing that the band was influenced by so many bands and music genre.

As I mentioned in my postscript, “The More You Ignore Me…” is my least favorite Morrissey single: It’s so slow and whiney, and typical Morrissey. I guess Sponge tried to fixed these issues by doing a cover that sounded nothing like Morrissey, especially taking place at a stripper bar, it’s pretty funny. Despite Sponge’s best efforts, I still don’t like the song.

* The title comes a line in The Queen is Dead:

So, I checked all the registered historical facts
and I was shocked into shame to discover
how I’m the 18th pale descendent
of some old queen or other
has the world changed, or have I changed?

My alternative name would have been “The News of the World”, but that is the name of a tabloid newspaper in the UK … taken from This Night Has Opened My Eyes:

In a river the color of lead

Immerse the baby’s head
Wrap her up in The News Of The World
Dump her on a doorstep, girl