They've got the Smiths covered

We've been the boy with the thorn in his side since The Smiths called it quits in 1987.

Others, apparently, feel the same way about the quintessential '80s British band - one of the best groups the decade produced. Over four studio albums, The Smiths built its reputation with beautiful guitar work from Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey's wry lyrics (what's funnier than this couplet from "Bigmouth Strikes Again": "Oh, sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said I'd like to smash every tooth in your head / Oh, sweetness, sweetness I was only joking when I said by rights you should be bludgeoned in your bed"?).

First up in The Smiths parade: San Jose, Calif.-based singer Janice Whaley covers all 71 "official" songs by the band, sans instrumentation. Her six-CD box set, "The Smiths Project," will start shipping soon. There's more information at thesmithsproject.blogspot.com.

Then, in October, American Laundromat Recordings plans to release "Please, Please, Please: A Tribute to The Smiths," with homages by Built to Spill's Doug Martsch ("Reel Around the Fountain"), Tanya Donnelly ("Shoplifters of the World Unite") and The Wedding Present ("Hand in Glove").

"We're huge Smiths fans and have been planning a tribute for a few years now," the label posted on its website. "Timing just never seemed right. Then late last year, for several weeks, everywhere we went, we heard The Smiths playing . . . at the mall, at restaurants, on our car radios, at the offices. It was weird . . . we felt like the universe was telling us now was the time."

As Morrissey once put it, there is a light that never goes out.