Xixax Film Forum

Non-Film Discussion => Real-Life Soundtracks => Topic started by: phil marlowe on March 30, 2003, 12:18:24 PM

Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: phil marlowe on March 30, 2003, 12:18:24 PM
any fans here? this is one of my favourite bands ever. everything is topnotch haunting and personal, especially the lyrics.

and how much did they influence the nineties pop/rock? where they overrated? any favourite albums?

discuss.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on March 30, 2003, 12:43:25 PM
I'm a fan -- what former-goth-punk-retro kid wouldn't be? Although I actually grew to like them more for Johnny Marr's incredible guitar work than Morissey's haunting voice. I love Rank...they sound so good live. But my favorite song ever from them is Girlfriend In A Coma.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: phil marlowe on March 30, 2003, 12:57:11 PM
Quote from: GhostboyI actually grew to like them more for Johnny Marr's incredible guitar work than Morissey's haunting voice.

love them equally i guess. i think it's the chemistry between them theres the bomb, also if you listen to there solo projects they really dont seem to be any special.

that joke isn't funny anymore is a masterpiece of a song.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on March 30, 2003, 01:00:24 PM
Quote from: Phil Marloweif you listen to there solo projects they really dont seem to be any special.

Agreed, although some of Marr's new stuff is kinda cool.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on March 30, 2003, 01:19:33 PM
Never heard of them. But I have all their albums (imports too) and singles (including their work with Sandie Shaw, beautiful covers). Which is why I say I'm still living in the 80's. Got me through high school. I actually think they were underrated. I don't think I've heard anybody like them since, so I don't know how much influence they were.

"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me" is pure poetry. "Meat Is Murder" and "The Queen Is Dead" being my fave albums.

I like Morrissey's early solo work ("Viva Hate" being a better debut than I expected after the break-up), but up to the "Your Arsenal" album.

Marr's guitar work with Brian Ferry, The The and Electronic were just as good as when he was with The Smiths.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Cecil on March 30, 2003, 02:03:01 PM
im a fan here too. "how soon is now"... brilliant

i love the way the lyrics also say "you" rather than "him" or "her"
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on March 30, 2003, 02:07:39 PM
Quote from: cecil b. demented"how soon is now"... brilliant

The remake used in the opening of "Charmed" (taken from "The Craft"), Hippychick's sampling, and the TATU remake =  :yabbse-thumbdown:
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: phil marlowe on March 30, 2003, 03:00:50 PM
yeah, the covers doesnt even sound like a the smiths song. i believed deftones has made a couple of decent ones. chino loves them to death.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Henry Krinkle on March 30, 2003, 07:01:51 PM
Huge fan of THE SMITHS also - AND MORRISSEY's solo work.

I'd have to say MEAT IS MURDER and STRANGEWAYS HERE WE COME are tied as my fave Smiths album.  

For Morrissey - VAUXHAUL AND I is my fave along with the massively underrated SOUTHPAW GRAMMER.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Born Under Punches on March 30, 2003, 07:18:58 PM
Best Smiths album is "The Queen Is Dead"  Love "Bigmouth Strikes Again"
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 08, 2003, 09:26:35 PM
Wow... so there IS a whole cadre of fellow Smiths fans here!

This being a movie board, I'm wondering if anyone else here loves Billy Liar... which is, of course, the film upon which "William, It Was Really Nothing" is based.

I can think of very few other bands who are as film-associated as The Smiths. Not on soundtracks 'n stuff, but for the references... most of their record sleeves, even, were adorned with your more obscure film stars on the covers. If Morrissey solo has one unequivocal flaw compared to The Smiths, it's that his sleeves weren't nearly so cool...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: RegularKarate on May 08, 2003, 09:50:15 PM
Quote from: godardian
I can think of very few other bands who are as film-associated as The Smiths. Not on soundtracks 'n stuff, but for the references... most of their record sleeves, even, were adorned with your more obscure film stars on the covers. If Morrissey solo has one unequivocal flaw compared to The Smiths, it's that his sleeves weren't nearly so cool...

Good point... I think that Skinny Puppy is really the only band I can think of that was more movie oriented in content.

I went through different periods of loving then hating then liking the Smiths again.

The hatred was more because of other people than because of the music.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 08, 2003, 10:14:58 PM
I know, we're total snots sometimes.

So I'm going to try not to be a TOTAL snot about Skinny Puppy, and just ask: What are their film references? Or are you just trying to ruffle some snooty Smiths-fan feathers with that none-too-apt comparison??  :x

My fave Smiths album is The Queen is Dead, but for songs, it's a toss-up between "Panic" and "Rubber Ring," both of which i think are sublime.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: RegularKarate on May 08, 2003, 10:32:42 PM
Quote from: godardian
So I'm going to try not to be a TOTAL snot about Skinny Puppy, and just ask: What are their film references? Or are you just trying to ruffle some snooty Smiths-fan feathers with that none-too-apt comparison??
Not trying to ruffle anybody's feathers.  I said I like the Smiths... and it wasn't necessarily the fans in general, just some particular ones... high school can fuck with you... I'm over that now though.

The only reason I mentioned Skinny Puppy was because they have so many film references... too many to mention really.

My personal Favorite is Rivers. which is basically an auditory homage to Stanley Kubrick.  (though almost the entire album Rabies is influenced by Kubrick)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on May 09, 2003, 12:14:31 AM
boy with the thorn in his side.  morrissey writes the funniest lyrics.  i was very into him a few years ago moreso than now.  as far as morrissey solo i like vauxhall and i and i think that his collection of b-sides and such is probably better than most of his albums.  the smiths are very cool.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 14, 2003, 03:08:24 PM
Sanctuary Records Group Announcement

MORRISSEY SIGNS TO SANCTUARY RECORDS

Sanctuary Records Group and Morrissey have announced that they have resurrected the Attack label to release the forthcoming new album by Morrissey.

The label will be distributed via BMG in the US, Pinnacle in the UK and Sanctuary Records Group's various distribution partners in the rest of the world. The deal was signed on the 20th of May and Morrissey will begin recording his first album since 1997's Maladjusted immediately.

The Attack label - part of the legendary Trojan Records family - released records by The Pioneers, Gregory Isaacs, The Upsetters, Big Youth and I Roy amongst many others between 1969 and 1980.

The Sanctuary Group Inc Chief Executive Officer Merck Mercuriadis commented, "Morrissey is one of the most important artists of the last 20 years and we are delighted that he has given us the opportunity to lead the charge on this significant next phase of his career with a deal that is as innovative as his music. Early on in our discussions Morrissey proved himself to be a connoisseur of our Trojan Records catalogue and expressed an interest in using the Attack label for the release of his records much as he did the HMV label when he was with EMI. We are very pleased to accommodate and hope that he will also find new artists to release on Attack. Attack Records will be a reflection of his creative vision and his exclusive domain."

The Sanctuary Records Group's labels and artists include Rough Trade Records, Fantastic Plastic, Trojan Records, The Strokes, Spiritualized, The Libertines, Ween, Death In Vegas, British Sea Power, Pet Shop Boys, The Beatings, Tricky and The Futureheads.

A brand new documentary, entitled 'The Importance Of Being Morrissey' will be screened on Channel 4 on Sunday 8th June at 11.15pm (BST).
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on June 16, 2003, 12:05:07 PM
Quote from: mogwaiI'm looking for a The Smiths song that I heard a while ago. It goes something like:

"went to london and died"

"this is the story of my life"

Those are just the lyrics I remember.

"Half A Person"

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six long years
On your trail

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent six years on your trail
Six full years of my life on your trail

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y ... W.C.A.
I said : "I like it here - can I stay ?
I like it here - can I stay ?
Do you have a vacancy
For a Back-scrubber?"

She was left behind, and sour
And she wrote to me, equally dour
She said : "In the days when you were
Hopelessly poor
I just liked you more..."

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
I went to London and I
I booked myself in at the Y ... W.C.A.
I said : "I like it here - can I stay ?
I like it here - can I stay ?
And do you have a vacancy
For a Back-scrubber ?"

Call me morbid, call me pale
I've spent too long on your trail
Far too long
Chasing your tail
Oh ...

And if you have five seconds to spare
Then I'll tell you the story of my life :
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
That's the story of my life
Sixteen, clumsy and shy
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
The story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story of my life
That's the story ...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 16, 2003, 01:43:29 PM
Good god, was Morrissey ever a brilliant lyricist. Only with The Smiths could I ever come close to relating to the sort of Beatlemania devotion you see in the old films. My devotion is complete and (so far) lifelong. They've never faded the way other groups I've loved can.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: AlguienEstolamiPantalones on June 16, 2003, 03:56:28 PM
sorry phill i missed this thread the other day

the man wrote songs like

hairdresser on fire, shoplifters of the world unite , and death of a disco dancer

of course he will be a huge influence on me

i just feel bad that his penis was mangled in a bike accident, ohh poor moz , i would be bummed as well if such a thing happened to me .

ohh course i never understood why he was so huge amungst asians
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 16, 2003, 04:51:26 PM
If anyone ever had a good sense of humor about penises and such... it was Morrissey. I love the photo of him in front of a hand-scrawled sign: "Penis mighter than the sword."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Gold Trumpet on December 03, 2003, 12:10:12 PM
I downloaded my first song by The Smiths, "Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" after Andre 3000 recommended it recently and said he wish he wrote it. I liked it and want to explore some more songs by them. To the person trying to make the cross over from the numbing sounds of pop radio all day, where do I begin?

P.S. I'm really not into radio, but I do need a starting point with this band.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on December 03, 2003, 12:19:32 PM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetTo the person trying to make the cross over from the numbing sounds of pop radio all day, where do I begin?

Get the rest of the album:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fart.half.ebay.com%2Fprod%2F1251070.jpeg&hash=e744ff53bd93547b84219cf1563f473acbd77ebf)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on December 03, 2003, 12:20:13 PM
start with this...

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.amazon.com%2Fimages%2FP%2FB000002MFS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg&hash=2b338ec2923a676035d938d851b84a02d8db92a4)
i did. it's a good introduction to them and just about every song you could download off it will be good.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on December 03, 2003, 12:20:55 PM
Quote from: The Gold TrumpetI downloaded my first song by The Smiths, "Last Night I Dreamt that Somebody Loved Me" after Andre 3000 recommended it recently and said he wish he wrote it. I liked it and want to explore some more songs by them. To the person trying to make the cross over from the numbing sounds of pop radio all day, where do I begin?

P.S. I'm really not into radio, but I do need a starting point with this band.

Ah... this is a pleasure.

My favorite Smiths songs:

1. "Panic"
2. "There is a Light that Never Goes Out"
3. "Some Girls Are Bigger than Others"
4. "Shoplifters of the World Unite"
5. "Girl Afraid"
6. "Shiela Take a Bow"
7. "Rubber Ring"
8. "Half a Person"
9. "Still Ill"
10. "I Know It's Over"

Their best album is The Queen is Dead (w/ Alain Delon on the cover!).

Almost anything of theirs is worth checking out. Most popular Smiths song in the US by far is "How Soon is Now?" A very good song- not their best.

A great place to start is the Best... 1 and 2 U.S. compilations, though the best curation is on the UK comp The World Won't Listen.

Enjoy, and please post your thoughts on the music!

"Last Night I Dreamt..." is Bowie's favorite Smiths song, and is covered by The Thrills on the b-side of their new single.

EDIT: MacG's and modernage's suggestions are great places to start, too. I'd suggest starting with anything after Meat is Murder. The first two albums show huge promise and potential; the rest shows that potential blossoming like absolute mad.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on December 03, 2003, 01:28:47 PM
Quote from: godardian
"Last Night I Dreamt..." is Bowie's favorite Smiths song, and is covered by The Thrills on the b-side of their new single.

oh wow, i have to hear that!  do they do any other covers?  beach boys perhaps?
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on December 03, 2003, 02:12:29 PM
Quote from: themodernage02
Quote from: godardian
"Last Night I Dreamt..." is Bowie's favorite Smiths song, and is covered by The Thrills on the b-side of their new single.

oh wow, i have to hear that!  do they do any other covers?  beach boys perhaps?

The 7-inch vinyl version of the same single (it's "Don't Steal Our Sun") has a live cover of REM's "The One I Love." Smiths connection: Rumors surrounding Stipe and Morrissey were flying fast and furious during the early nineties. They claim they had nothing more than a friendship, but they're awfully shy 'n sly about it when it comes up.

There are 2 CDs and the vinyl. The other CD is nothing too special- a radio session version of an album track on the b-side, no biggie.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: TheVoiceOfNick on December 04, 2003, 12:37:47 PM
The Smiths is a great band, and anything you hear from them is bound to be great.  The thing is... they were basically a singles band... releasing lots singles, then repeating some of the same songs on different albums... the greatest hits CD is essential Smiths listening...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on December 04, 2003, 01:59:38 PM
Quote from: TheVoiceOfNickThe Smiths is a great band, and anything you hear from them is bound to be great.  The thing is... they were basically a singles band... releasing lots singles, then repeating some of the same songs on different albums... the greatest hits CD is essential Smiths listening...

This is completely true, and that's what they always meant to be... the real top-notch Smiths stuff is their singles and b-sides, so starting with a compilation is probably the best idea. You can find Best... I and II on the cheap everywhere- used CD shops, used copies on the 'Net, from record clubs, etc. Those two discs are a very good place to start. I predict you'll want more, though, and all their actual best stuff isn't covered.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: freakerdude on December 04, 2003, 05:52:55 PM
I was checking out Morissey and the Smiths on BMG's website. Morissey had only this one mainstream hit that was played here in Atlanta on our only commercial alternative station. Anyway, I checked out his Best Of but none of the songs struck a bell with me.

Does anyone have a clue as to what it might be and I can't give any freaking lyrics. I just know it was a real suave and grooving tune and he also played this during his SNL performance. What were his biggest comm. radio hits? Allmusic  (http://www.allmusic.com) is an excellent music source for info just like imdb is, IMO.

BMG has all single CDs for $5.99 free shipping and most 2 disc sets for $8.99 free shipping until tomorrow. If you are a member, all discs are 2/3 off & free shipping....except those like brand new releases, Beatles, etc.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on December 04, 2003, 06:43:19 PM
Quote from: freakerdudeI just know it was a real suave and grooving tune and he also played this during his SNL performance.

That was the episode with Michael keaton as host. It was either "Suedehead" or "Glamourous Glue". Most likely "Suedehead"; that was his most mainstream hit, although at that time he was promoting the album "Your Arsenal" and played "Glamourous Glue" first.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Banky on December 04, 2003, 06:52:59 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwhatisthematrix.warnerbros.com%2Fvfx%2Frl_img%2Fvfx_image_06.jpg&hash=b12f94bffb1b46617b1f1288c7a8151897ba8a61)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: freakerdude on December 04, 2003, 08:15:56 PM
thanks MacGuffin......I'll go check it out at BMG since bearshare is hosed on my PC. And maybe it's b/c I don't share.......a foolish thing to do these days.

Ah, the Smith Task Force of another kind.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on December 10, 2003, 11:51:21 AM
From The Onion:

LEAST ESSENTIAL SOLO ALBUM (SMITHS DIVISION)

Johnny Marr + The Healers

When The Smiths broke up in 1987, everyone knew that Morrissey would be exposed as a no-talent, and that the full genius of guitarist/songwriter Johnny Marr would be revealed at last. Impressive session work for The Pretenders, Talking Heads, The The, and others fanned the flames. Then the should-have-been-brilliant-but-wasn't Bernard Sumner collaboration happened. Then everyone forgot about Johnny Marr. Then, earlier this year, Marr and his band The Healers released an album that sounded like the lost work of some uninspired early-'90s Stone Roses wannabe. Then everyone forgot about Johnny Marr again.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on December 10, 2003, 12:10:40 PM
Quote from: godardianThen the should-have-been-brilliant-but-wasn't Bernard Sumner collaboration happened.

Disagree. The two albums Electronic came out with were excellent. I still play 'em in my regular rotation.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on December 10, 2003, 12:13:02 PM
Quote from: MacGuffin
Quote from: godardianThen the should-have-been-brilliant-but-wasn't Bernard Sumner collaboration happened.

Disagree. The two albums Electronic came out with were excellent. I still play 'em in my regular rotation.

That was actually just The Onion's opinion... I dutifully bought all the Electronic albums. I like New Order, too, so...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on December 10, 2003, 12:19:39 PM
Quote from: godardianThat was actually just The Onion's opinion... I dutifully bought all the Electronic albums. I like New Order, too, so...

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that was your opinion. I did see the source, and was disagreeing with them.

But I just did a check and didn't know they came out with a third album (Twisted Tenderness). Any good?
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: myadopteddaughter on December 10, 2003, 01:27:45 PM
Frankly, Mr. Shankly

I lip synched that song in my theatre class last year. Awesome, awesome.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on January 11, 2004, 08:00:36 PM
So, I'm going to pretend this is The Smiths/Morrissey thread (and see about that title). From morrissey-solo (http://www.morrissey-solo.com[/url) and True to You (http://www.truetoyou.net), new album info:

"MORRISSEY NEWS

9th January 2004

You Are The Quarry is produced by Jerry Finn and engineered by Joe McGrath.

Musicians on the album are: Boz Boorer (guitar), Alain Whyte (guitar), Gary Day (bass), and Dean Butterworth (drums), with Roger Manning (piano).

The album has been recorded at Sarm in Berkshire (England), and Conway Studio in Los Angeles.

Songs recorded on the session are:

"America Is Not The World"
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
"I Have Forgiven Jesus"
"Come Back To Camden"
"I'm Not Sorry"
"The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores"
"How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?"
"The First Of The Gang To Die"
"Teenage Dad On His Estate"
"I Like You"
"The Never-Played Symphonies"
"The Slum Mums"
"You Know I Couldn't Last"
"Home Is A Question Mark"
"The Public Image"
"It's Hard To Walk Tall When You're Small"

The album is set for release on the Attack label through Sanctuary Records in the second week of April.

Attack are also negotiating with Nancy Sinatra to release her version of "Let Me Kiss You" as a single. The song was originally recorded by Morrissey for inclusion on
You Are The Quarry."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: phil marlowe on January 12, 2004, 10:15:19 AM
hey! someone changed the title of my thread

I'M SO OFFENDED
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on February 22, 2004, 11:16:22 AM
From http://www.morrissey-solo.com

(also check out http://www.morrisseymusic.com the new "OFFICIAL" website)

"This is the best album I've ever done."
    - Morrissey, on You Are The Quarry

You Are the Quarry, the first new solo material in seven years from Morrissey, is to be released May 17th in the UK and May 18th in the US on Sanctuary's revamped imprint, Attack.  Recorded in Los Angeles and London, Quarry is an album of extraordinary original songs using keyboards interwoven with crunchy guitars that work to create a lush, musical backdrop.

"There are no links to the past. This is a much brighter sounding album, than much of my previous work.  We've turned the page with Quarry. It's a dynamic album and I couldn't be any happier."

"America is Not the World," "I Have Forgiven Jesus" and "The World is Full of Crashing Bores" illustrate that Morrissey's genius and wit haven't waned a bit. On "America", Morrissey personally pleads with the U.S. of A to hold on to its humility and to cease its heavy-handedness but, make no mistake, "America" is not an anti-American song. "I love you/I love you/America/ but you are not the world," Morrissey sings in a melancholy voice while a thunderous guitar strums and a drum beats heavily in the background. "I'm Not Sorry" shows that Morrissey has no regrets. "I'm not sorry for the things I've done" he sings to the sound of a droning guitar and the beat-beat-beat of a drum loop as Morrissey warns "There's a Wildman in my head."  Morrissey lets his detractors know that harsh words have helped his career in "You Know I Couldn't Last," "the critics can't break you/they unwittingly make you."
 
"The song is my response to the negative press I have endured over the years," Morrissey says.

Instead of firing back at his detractors, however, Morrissey takes the criticism in stride. In fact, "Last" sounds more like a thank you note to the nay-sayers what with the song's powerful drum beat and hummable chorus making it an irresistible foot tapping piece of pop poetry.

From mandolin to flute to harp to moog keyboard, Quarry's richly textured musical layers see Morrissey exploring new musical territory. The album crosses many genres, incorporating subtle elements of dance, jazz, world and rock. Morrissey said the combination will definitely appeal to his core fanbase and will also reel an audience that may not be familiar with his earlier solo work.

Quarry was produced by Jerry Finn, one of the most in-demand producers working today, who was behind massive selling hit albums by pop-punk rockers such as Blink-182, AFI and Green Day. It may seem strange that a producer who is best known for breathing new life into the punk rock movement would be twisting the knobs for an artist like Morrissey. But to hear Morrissey tell it, theirs is the perfect marriage.

"I wanted a louder sound for this record," said Morrissey. "I was introduced to Jerry by a mutual friend. He made me feel very confident. He's not easily pleased and he's not prepared to be overwrought. He knows exactly what he wants to do. He was able to help me create the sound for this album that I had already been hearing in my head."

Finn said he set out to create an organic "creamy" album with Morrissey and the outcome is much better than even he anticipated. "This is one of the best records I've produced," said Finn. "It's just purely organic and it sounds incredible."

Finn recruited acclaimed keyboard player Roger Manning, a founding member of the seminal pop band Jellyfish who has also worked with Blink-182, Air and Beck, to the fold. Manning's contribution to Quarry is nothing short of spectacular. His keyboard and synthesizer work gives the album a somewhat vintage feel but still manages to sound current and blissful behind Morrissey's dynamic vocal arrangements. Morrissey is backed up on Quarry by his longtime band: guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, bass player Gary Day and Dean Butterworth on drums. You Are The Quarry marks the first time in Morrissey's solo career that he recorded his vocals with the band in a studio, Finn says. On his previous albums, Morrissey would record his vocals first and the band would record the music later.

"Having everyone in the studio at the same time made the creative process much easier," Finn said. "Instead of trying to create the music around Morrissey's vocals, which is how it used to be done, we were able to create a much more listenable album because everyone was in the same room at the same time and it made the album much tighter. I think Quarry is Morrissey's best work because of how it was recorded."

There's no denying Morrissey's impact on pop music. As lead singer for The Smiths, arguably the best alternative act of the 80s, Morrissey blazed a trail for dozens of modern day alternative rock acts including The Strokes, The Rapture and The Shins amongst others.

Morrissey has sold millions of records worldwide both as a solo artist and during his time with The Smiths. His concerts sell-out in minutes and in 2003, despite the fact that Morrissey hasn't released an album of new material since 1997; he played two sold out nights in Anaheim to three thousand ravenous fans. .

"My audience believed through the years that I've never received the recognition I deserved on my records," Morrissey said. "I have an incredibly loyal following and they have made it their mission to support me when ever I play a concert. I'm grateful for that."

Prior to signing with the Sanctuary family, Morrissey said he met with the label's chief executive officer Merck Mercuriadis in New York and expressed interest in reviving the Attack label. "They had a drawer full of labels that they bought and Attack was part of the Trojan family," Morrissey said. "I've been a fan of the Attack label for quite some time. I have a Gregory Isaacs seven inch on my refrigerator. Well, I told Sanctuary that I wanted to re-launch the label and have Quarry released on Attack and they agreed."

Attack was launched in 1969 and became the breeding ground for dub and reggae artists including Gregory Isaacs, Family Circle and The Monkey, many of whom at the time had no place to showcase their talents. The label became part of the legendary Trojan Records in the 1970s. Trojan itself is wholly-owned by Sanctuary.

Morrissey will also sign new talent to the Attack label. Morrissey said he's already found three bands to work with and has written a song that was recorded by legendary chanteuse Nancy Sinatra, who will release an album on the label in the near future.

"This is the album that I've wanted to make for quite a while.  I believe You Are The Quarry has something for everyone." Morrissey said. "I didn't want to do the same thing over again. That's so boring."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on February 22, 2004, 05:25:51 PM
The picture on the official website is pure delight !
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on February 22, 2004, 06:59:59 PM
Quote from: Pas RapportThe picture on the official website is pure delight !

I completely agree. :) I'm totally salivating for this album. And the single, too, if only as a foretaste.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 12, 2004, 01:39:19 PM
Tidbit's from author Simon Goddard's interview on BBC radio:

"There's a clipped drum sound almost a bit like New Order's "True Faith", quite electronic. And there's a lot of spaghetti western twangy guitars in it."

"I described the song [I Like You] as anodyne, and now I'm retracting my comments on the BBC because I think that the actual recorded version is really really good. I was impressed and surprised."

"His singing on this record is really, really fantastic, and his lyrics as well... There are some good jokes on this album... He's being very political, very controversial, but at the same time there are desperate, lovelorn, isolated, classic Morrissey and a real sense of him singing about himself and perpretraing his own myth..."

"My favourite lyrical note on the album is in the song "I Have Forgiven Jesus" ... 'Monday -- Humiliation. Tuesday -- Suffocation. Wednesday -- Condescension' and the line that absolutely killed me 'Thursday is Pathetic."

"The opening track "America Is Not the World" has a funny verse about hamburgers. Classic Morrissey, like "Meat is Murder"

"The Slum Mums doesn't appear on the album.... "Mexico" is not on it."

"The full track listing is:

America is Not the World
Irish Blood, English Heart
I Have Forgiven Jesus
Come Back to Camden (Godard's favourite song)
I'm Not Sorry
The World is Full of Crashing Bores
How Can Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel?
The First of the Gang to Die
Let Me Kiss You
I Like You
All the Lazy Dykes
You Know I Couldn't Last

"[Come Back to Camden] is a really classic Morrissey song. In the same vein as "I Know it's Gonna Happen Someday" and "Trouble Loves Me", a beautiful piano ballad. And the lyrics are very John Betjmen, "Everyday is Like Sunday". There's a line about 'Drinking tea with the taste of the Thames' It's a really fantastic song. It's got that welling-up quality about it."

"There's a great flute solo on "I'm Not Sorry". 'I Like You' begins with like an acid-house synth, which sounds horrible but really works."

"A lot of credit must go to Jerry Finn. ... Electronic drum sounds like on Viva Hate with "Late Night, Maudlin Street" That sharp kind of click"

"It's no great musical departure from Vauxhall and I, but in terms of production it sounds very contemporary."

"He sings about Americans being overfed warmongers. America is Not the World is a really strong opener."

"I think his fans will love it and there's so much good will out there in the world for Morrissey."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Jeremy Blackman on March 12, 2004, 05:41:35 PM
Quote from: godardianI Have Forgiven Jesus
I like that.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 16, 2004, 05:59:36 PM
From Billboard:


Morrissey Gets Direct On 'Quarry'



Morrissey reels off some of the most direct lyrics of his career on "You Are the Quarry," his first album since 1997's "Maladjusted." Due May 17 internationally and a day later in North America via Sanctuary's reactivated Attack imprint, the 12-track set finds the former Smiths frontman expressing his views on American politics, religion and the longstanding civil war between England and Ireland, in addition to imagining himself as a member of a Mexican street gang.

Previewed recently for Billboard.com, the album opens with "America Is Not the World," in which Morrissey describes the dichotomy of a country that is a "land of opportunity in a just and truthful way / and where the President is not black, female or gay." First single "Irish Blood, English Heart" sees him in a similarly defiant state of mind, declaring, "no regime can buy or sell me."

Morrissey is nothing if not perpetually unlucky in love, a subject he tackles on "I'm Not Sorry" ("the woman of my dreams, she never came along / the woman of my dreams, well, there never was one"), "Let Me Kiss You" and "I Like You," one of the album's standout tracks. On the latter, which is melodically reminiscent of Human League's synth-pop classic "Don't You Want Me," Morrissey admits to the subject, "no one I ever knew or have spoken to resembles you."

On album closer "You Know I Couldn't Last," the artist uses years of critical drubbing as inspiration for a nearly six-minute epic that balances soft verses with emphatic choruses. "The critics who can't break you / they somehow help to make you," he sings. Later, he reminds himself, "your royalties bring you luxuries."

"I Have Forgiven Jesus" zeroes in on Morrissey's familiar bluntly honest lyrical outlook: "Monday, humiliation / Tuesday, suffocation / Wednesday, condescension / Thursday is pathetic / By Friday, life has killed me." The artist's storytelling skills are also in fine form on "Come Back to Camden," as he paints a scene of "drinking tea with a taste of the Thames / where taxi drivers never stop talking under stale gray Victorian sky."

"First of the Gang To Die" is a romanticized peek into Mexican gang life, as Morrissey narrates the tale of Hector, not only the first of his mates to be killed, but also the first "with a gun in his hand" and the "first to do time."

Overall, the Jerry-Finn produced "Quarry" emphasizes the poppier side of Morrissey's musical persona. Synthesized strings are prominent on a number of tracks, as are the keyboard contributions of Roger Manning Jr. (Jellyfish, Air). The artist slips into falsetto on several occasions, particularly on "Come Back to Camden."

While dates are still being confirmed, a major tour is in the works in support of the album. Just finalized is a June 2 appearance at Denmark's annual Roskilde Festival. The artist is also rumored to be appearing at the 2004 edition of Lollapalooza.

Beginning May 24, Morrissey is confirmed to appear for an entire week on CBS' "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn." As previously reported, he will curate the U.K.'s Meltdown Festival, which runs from June 11-27."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on March 16, 2004, 06:12:07 PM
Quote from: godardianBeginning May 24, Morrissey is confirmed to appear for an entire week on CBS' "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn."
wow, cool.  remind me when this happens godardian as i will have forgotten by then.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on March 16, 2004, 07:22:14 PM
It will be the first time I ever see Morrissey on TV when this happens !  :-D

He has to sing the classics though. Has to.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: meatwad on March 16, 2004, 07:55:55 PM
has he been on craig kilborn before?
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 16, 2004, 08:07:43 PM
Quote from: meatwadhas he been on craig kilborn before?

Yes... Kilborn angled for him to come on the show for months and months (I think maybe as a sort of joke, to tell you the truth, dunno if at Morrissey's expense or his own). Anyway, he finally came on mid-last year, sang a new song, sat down for an interview, etc.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: meatwad on March 16, 2004, 09:38:53 PM
cool. thanks for the info
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on March 16, 2004, 09:47:34 PM
kilborn did the same thing to Dido when she was becoming big.  i think it was pretty sincere as i'd imagine him geniunely liking/loving morrissey would be.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sigur Rós on March 18, 2004, 03:51:39 AM
A message to all our scandinavian members:

Morrissey will be playing at Roskilde 2004.
:-D
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 20, 2004, 12:07:54 PM
Amazon U.S. now has You Are the Quarry (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001WB696/qid=1079805821/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-8082288-0888830?v=glance&s=music) with bonus DVD available for pre-order...

...also the CD without DVD for slightly cheaper (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001WAOH6/qid=1079805821/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-8082288-0888830?v=glance&s=music).

...and what appears to be a domestic release of "Irish Blood, English Heart (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001WDF68/qid%3D1079806032/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-8082288-0888830) single.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 25, 2004, 02:45:03 PM
MOZ SAYS BURGER OFF! - NME, Mar. 25, 2004

MORRISSEY has banned all hotdog and burger stalls from his highly anticipated comeback show in May.

The singer has demanded that there be no meat vendors when he plays Manchester's MEN Arena on May 22.

According to The Sun, Morrissey said: "It would be hypocritical to sing 'Meat Is Murder' amid smells of hamburgers."

As previously reported on NME.COM, Morrissey is to play a five night residency in LA.

The star, who releases his long-awaited new album 'You Are The Quarry' on May 17, will play at the Wiltern theatre on April 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pedro on March 25, 2004, 05:12:34 PM
i think that's funny
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on March 27, 2004, 06:13:43 PM
more morrissey news..
BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN
Source: NME

Morrissey has launched a withering attack on Pop Idol and the culture of immediate pop celebrity.

During his first interview on Los Angeles radio station KROQ, in over a decade, he told the Kevin and Bean Morning Show he thought the series was "shocking."

"I think all the contestants should be put in a cage and sent to Thailand," he said. "I think it's awful. It's the worst aspects of the music industry and just dreadful."

He criticised what he believed was the show's lack of artistic merit saying, "that's exactly what's wrong with it -- they think all they have to do in order to be an idol is stand up there and sing an old Diana Ross song and suddenly they are a pop idol. I think there's a bit more to it then that, really.

"I think they're very sad and I feel sorry, genuinely sorry for them. I think they look a bit sad and they sound sad and they're treated in a sad way. The panels are awful. And I think it's very unfortunate."

He added, "anything that would suggest creativity would be good but there isn't any suggestion of [it], but they're all just simple folks to me. Sorry."

The former Smiths leader also took aim at The Darkness.

"I've never been interested in heavy or soft metal or medium metal. It doesn't offend me. I don't know what it is, but it's just not my bag," he said.

But he praised the current crop of UK bands saying "I think the atmosphere in England has changed now, the music scene has changed. It's a lot better. There's a lot more exuberance in British music now."

Morrissey was promoting his five night stint at the LA Wiltern Theatre - April 22-27 - which goes on sale today. He also spoke about why he is finally returning home to Manchester after a 12 year absence, to play the MEN Arena on May 22.

"The venue I wanted to play in Manchester was [always] booked up by some awful dreadful pantomime things, and awful, horrible little children's theatre. We always had to wait and I knew the time would be right at some stage and it was this year," he said.

Morrissey releases his new album,'You Are the Quarry', on May 17.

"I just think it's the best of me," he said. "I think it's the best album I've ever done. It's the best playing we've ever done and the best writing. I think this really is the most strongest, resolute album and I'm thrilled to death."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on March 28, 2004, 08:49:18 AM
I hope this album will be good. I'm starting to be thrilled.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pubrick on March 28, 2004, 08:50:59 AM
i'll eat it if IT'S FULL OF MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pas stick up for me... zlomb too  :shock:
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on March 28, 2004, 08:53:40 AM
Quote from: Pubricki'll eat it if IT'S FULL OF MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pas stick up for me... zlomb too  :shock:

Oh god Godardian must not see this. You're on your own man !
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 28, 2004, 10:39:17 AM
Quote from: Pas Rapport
Quote from: Pubricki'll eat it if IT'S FULL OF MEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pas stick up for me... zlomb too  :shock:

Oh god Godardian must not see this. You're on your own man !

Oh, foolish mortals... do you not know that the all-seeing eye of god(ardian) is always upon you?

Believe it or not, I've heard Morrissey's vegetarianism made fun of before :shock:  during my neverending stint as an obsessive worshipper of the heroic Moz. Since I consider him a sort of spiritual father, it's no worse than having your dad made fun of. It happens, and you can usually laugh along.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on April 01, 2004, 11:17:57 PM
MORRISSEY BLASTS MARR FOR RUINING SMITHS MYTH
Source: Contactmusic

MORRISSEY has slammed former sidekick JOHNNY MARR, blaming him for ruining the legacy of THE SMITHS.

The British singer claims guitarist Marr has perpetrated a myth that Morrissey is "a monster" to disguise his disappointing post-Smiths career.

Speaking in the new issue of men's magazine GQ, Morrissey states, "I think, with time, he realised he had made an awful decision.

"The only way that he could substantiate that decision was to maintain that I was a monster. So that became depressing, and the aftermath of the group's existence became enormously depressing."

Morrissey admits he would never have disbanded the cult group were it not for Marr's decision to leave.

He adds, "I thought The Smiths would still exist and would be on our 30th album."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Grand Epic on April 07, 2004, 02:26:40 PM
I can't believe there's been so much love for "Last Night" and none for "Stop Me."
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 07, 2004, 02:43:50 PM
Quote from: Grand EpicI can't believe there's been so much love for "Last Night" and none for "Stop Me."

Oh, I have much love for "Stop Me." "Last Night" is probably just easier for most to take a little more personally- it expresses more internal yearning than external witticism. "Stop Me" had a great video, "Last Night" had a brilliant sleeve. To wit:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww009.upp.so-net.ne.jp%2Fdeath%2Fsmiths5.jpg&hash=70f5f8ca3aadac1f3b5974263273ada1d90fad38)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 07, 2004, 04:07:13 PM
From www.morrissey-solo.com:  

"Morrissey's new album You Are The Quarry is released on May 17. Next week, he will give his first interview with NME for twelve years. As a teaser, NME was given an exclusive listen to the hugely anticipated album, his seventh solo record and the first since 1997's 'Maladjusted'.

Morrissey is enjoying something of a second coming of late, with bands including The Libertines and Franz Ferdinand declaring him a huge influence. With british music on the rise and his old band The Smiths recently crowned the most influential of all time by NME, the record will be released in a feverish atmosphere.

Morrissey told NME: "I think this album is the best I've ever done, absolutely. Though of course only time will tell, but even at this stage of shall we say release I've never felt so excited. I get myself a night at home and I play it and I just feel....fantastic."

Morrissey's band for the album includes long-time guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, bassist Gary Day and drummer Dean Butterworth. It finds him as complex and seductively contradictory as ever.

1. America Is Not The World.

Morrissey surveys his adopted homeland and is typically wrenched between the good and bad. As an acoustic guitar gently strums, he lambasts the country of fast food, singing: "Well America...you know where you can shove your hamburger."
Key lyric: "Where the President is never black, female or gay/And until that day/You've got nothing to say/To me, to help me believe/Oooh oooh woah in America"

2. Irish Blood, English Heart

One of the highlights of 2002's UK live dates and the first single to be taken from the new album (released May 10). Evocative of the magnificent 'Speedway' from Vauzhall and I, it's probably his best single for a decade. Unafraid to be labelled controversial, he tackles the notion of Englishness over a rousing guitar.
Key lyric: "I've been dreaming of a time when/To be English is not to be baneful/To be standing by the flag, not feeling shameful/Racist or partial"  [Hear bloody hear - VB]

3. I Have Forgiven Jesus

Morrissey flirts with witty self-pity, swingng from egotism to self-loathing with a speed that's dizzying.
Key lyric: "Monday - humiliation/Tuesday - suffocation/Wednesday - condescension.../Thursday is pathetic"

4. Come Back To Camden

A gentle piano ballad that blossoms into a massive showstopper. Strings well up as the master of the morose has a good wallow in his own version of a sweeping romantic ballad. It's a Broadway hit transferred to grey goth-strewn London streets.
Key lyric: "Drinking tea with the taste of the Thames/Sullenly on a chair on the pavement/Here you'll find my thoughts and I"

5. I'm Not Sorry

Over a circular acoustic strum Morrissey insists his soulmate must be someone special. A flute solo draws a veil over proceedings.
Key lyric: "The woman of my dreams/She/She never came along/Wel-ell there never was one"

6. The World Is Full of Crashing Bores

Morrissey takes aim at the world. Essentially a sideswipe at the police, the taxman ("Educated criminals, work within the law") and dullard pop stars.
Key lyric: "Lockjaw pop stars thicker than pigshit/Nothing to convey/They're so scared to show intelligence/It might smear/Their lovely career"

7. How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?

A doomy, atmospheric riff - one of the best on the album - gives way to antagonistic, stabbing guitars as a world-weary Moz berates his situation and casts barbs at people in "smelly uniform".
Key lyric: "But even I/As sick as I am/Would never be you"

8. The First of the Gang to Die

The album's only story song that, like older classics Sweet And Tender Hooligan and Last of the Famous International Playboys, toys with the romanticism of the thuggish. Played on the 2002 UK tour.
Key lyric: "Hector was the first of the gang/With a gun in his hand/And a bullet in his gullet/...The first last lad under the sod"

9. Let Me Kiss You

Written for 60s legend Nancy Sinatra - daughter of Frank - this is a tale of newfound love with a twist. Features chiming guitars similar to The Queen Is Dead's 'Never Had No One Ever'. Nancy Sinatra's version has been tipped as the first single off her new album, 'To Nancy, With Love'.
Key lyric: "And think of someone you physically admire/And let me kiss you"  [Oh, go on then - VB]

10. All The Lazy Dykes

This song features a heartbreaking acoustic guitar part reminiscent of the closing riff from The Smiths' legendary I Know It's Over. Morrissey pleads to a housewife to be true to herself and "join the girls".
Key lyric: "Be yourself/Be yourself/Come to the ponds and see yourself/And at last your life begins"

11. I Like You

Morrissey's plight this time is with a person who treats him badly but he lets them get away with it because he, well, likes them.
Key lyrics: "I like you/You're not right in the head/And nor am I/And this is why I like you"

12. You Know I Couldn't Last

This is Morrissey handing out advice to a fading pop star and gleefully kicking detractors in the crotch as the chorus crashes in.
Key lyric: "The critics who/Can't break you/They sometimes help to make you"
---------------------

Then on the inside of the back cover they have run a preview of next week's feature. They have done a mockup of The Godfather logo reading The Mozfather and MORRISSEY THE RETURN in big letters across a full page photo of his lordship. There is a speech bubble reading "People always say to me 'You changed my life' and I just feel a flush of pride. It's quite something to have helped people through their darkest hours".

Then in the corner is a lovely photo of next week's cover, with the header Morrissey: The guv'nor returns. It gives a list of topics Moz will be discussing reading as follows:
Sex, Death, The Smiths, The Strokes, Racism, Tea, Kurt, Courtney, Ipods, Love, Fans, Jack White, Eminem, Pop Idol, Lesbians and THAT Union Jack incident.

All sounds very tantalising, I'm sure you'll agree.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on April 07, 2004, 04:54:14 PM
I heard Irish Blood, English Heart the other day and I dug it.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 09, 2004, 01:05:09 AM
From tomorrow's Guardian, today!


'Somebody has to be me'

Morrissey loves his new album, his comeback show sold out in hours and he's been given London's Meltdown festival to curate. So why the long face? By Dorian Lynskey


Now 44, Steven Patrick Morrissey is, to quote one of his songs, a handsome devil. He looks iconic. His quiff is as vertical as it was when he fronted the Smiths 20 years ago, his sideburns laced with a distinguished steely grey. He wears an expensive-looking grey striped shirt over a white vest over a broad chest, coloured pink by the sunshine of his Californian home. He's surprisingly brawny but if you closed your eyes and just listened to his languid, mellifluous voice you'd imagine he was built like Alan Bennett. The words sigh out of him. What does he feel when he looks in the mirror? He considers his response. "Extreme reluctance."

Morrissey slides into the sofa of his palatial suite at a swanky London hotel. Visibly, his wilderness years are at an end. He has finally finished You Are the Quarry, his seventh solo album and his first since the disastrously received Maladjusted in 1997. That same year he and guitarist Johnny Marr lost a court case against their former Smiths colleagues Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke, at the end of which Judge John Weeks famously branded him "devious, truculent and unreliable". Shortly afterwards, he relocated to Los Angeles. He toured frequently, but got through a string of managers and aborted record deals without releasing a note.

He admits he was unsure if anybody still cared. "I doubt that on a monthly basis and I'm always surprised when they listen. In the midst of the seven-year gap I went through great gulps of doubt wondering whether there was actually any point to it." And yet he is hardly crippled by excessive humility. Later on he says: "I think if I was shot in the middle of the street tomorrow a lot of people would be quite unhappy. I think I'd be a prime candidate for canonisation."

As it turns out, Morrissey's absence has made hearts grow fonder. His hometown comeback show at Manchester's MEN Arena sold out within hours and his cultural stock is sky-high. The best young bands in Britain, Franz Ferdinand and the Libertines, can trace their prickly intellect and pop flamboyance to the Smiths. Small wonder, then, that Morrissey has booked both of them for his Meltdown shows at the Royal Festival Hall, along with such personal heroes as the New York Dolls, Alan Bennett (naturally) and Maya Angelou. So far only Shelagh Delaney, author of A Taste of Honey, has politely declined. And You Are the Quarry is up there with his best solo work. All in all, life is good.

"I've found a very nice label [Sanctuary] and I've made an album that I really love, and it changes my life and pushes me forward," he says.

Does he need to be making music to feel happy? "Well, yes, because if you're not making music then what are you? I mean what am I, anyway? I don't know what I am. I've been trying for 30 years. I feel undefinable actually." He chuckles to himself.

Morrissey intends to remain undefinable. He's a conversational escapologist, eluding any attempt to pin him down. Take, for example, his sexuality. It's 20 years since Rolling Stone magazine described him as gay, much to his annoyance, and he still refuses to specify. Often he denies any kind of sex life at all. That's his business, but it's a long time to maintain ambiguity.

Actually he's not so much an escapologist as a verbal fencer, thrusting and parrying. Sometimes when I think he's being serious he says he's joking, and vice versa. He contradicts things he's reported to have said in previous interviews, then claims he never said them. He plays with the wording of questions or suddenly interrogates me about my private life.

Even his body language is a choreography of discomfort. He fidgets around the sofa, crossing his arms, chewing his lip and wearing a curious smirk that could either mean he's having a high old time or that he's never hated an interview more.

Not that it matters. He has never liked anything anyone has written about him. I ask him if he thinks interviewers miss the point and he fires back: "What point?" So there's a point to Morrissey? "Absolutely no point whatsoever, but they think there is - which is extraordinary."

I ask if he means everything he says and he looks incredulous. "Nooo. I'm not that silly. But some people do, which fascinates me. It's like being a scriptwriter for Blind Date. But I suppose some people find it frustrating."

Even now he's dogged by statements he made years ago, like the time he told the NME "reggae is vile", despite being a reggae fan."I said reggae is wild," he protests.

No he didn't. But did he say it just to wind up the right-on 1980s NME? "Yes, I did. And God knows it works. Let's not underestimate our power to wind up."

Does he still enjoy doing that? "No, I don't. Not now. I've got other hobbies. Cycling for instance." He gives a brittle giggle.

Morrissey's greatest fear is being caged. That's how he felt back in Manchester before meeting Johnny Marr - raging against school or the dole, playing his beloved records, dreaming of escape - and perhaps it explains his flightiness in the years since.

These days he feels "as free as a bird". At first it seems perverse that the poetic voice of drizzle-damp England would choose the eternal sunshine of Los Angeles, but it is a good place not to belong because nobody belongs in Los Angeles, a city with neither heart nor history. "I don't think anybody feels at home there," he agrees. "Everybody has come from somewhere else and belongs somewhere else, and quite rightly so."

He says he ended up there by "complete accident" but how can you buy a house by accident? "Oh, you do," he smiles. "Life's full of tricky snakes and ladders. I decided earlier that I would revolve through the 40th door somewhere else other than England. And I did. I just didn't want to turn 40 sitting in the same old armchair by the same old window."

He loves the weather and the landscape and "the endless drives into nothingness". "America's such a fascinating monster that we all think that it's just too grotesque to imagine waking up to every single day. But there are good aspects to it, even though the awful are truly awful. The arts are a struggle. Television's appalling. And after all the American enlightenment we end up with George W. That's frightening."

He misses walking in England, and the shared TV programmes. "I miss the drab everydayness and I miss the common experience that everyone has. And I quite like the absurdity and ridiculousness of British people." You have to ask yourself if he misses the real England or the long-gone, three-channel, Sunday-closing England that he sings about.

The Smiths were always a band out of time, which is why they have aged so well. Their record sleeves celebrated icons from Alain Delon to Yootha Joyce, and many of Morrissey's lyrics were rooted in the past, whether his wretched schooldays at St Marys Secondary Modern or the Moors Murders that cast a pall over the Manchester of his childhood.

It's remarkable how witty and strange these songs still sound. The Smiths' four studio albums, three compilations and 17 singles between 1983 and 1987 comprise arguably the most consistent body of work in British pop.

Morrissey is famously weary of people asking if the Smiths will reunite. I don't bother because he only has to start talking about his erstwhile bandmates to make the very idea absurd. He refers to drummer Mike Joyce, venomously, as "this Joyce character", as if he were some malevolent stranger whom Morrissey had never actually met.

The subject of the court case, which Morrissey raises without prompting, has a transformative effect. His usual droll wordplay is replaced by earnest, fluid monologues about the frightful behaviour of judges and former Smiths. To sum up: Joyce and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr for 25% of the Smiths' performing royalties (rather than the songwriting ones), not the 10% they were paid, even though they never officially appeared on a contract. Judge Weeks found in the rhythm section's favour, and Morrissey's subsequent appeals have failed.

Like his hero Oscar Wilde, Morrissey feels persecuted by the legal establishment. "How a judge can offer a judgment with 50 mistakes is absolutely unbelievable," he fumes. "Of course judges speak with such extreme authority and their own error is completely unthinkable. You can see that if they still had the power to hang you they'd do it with a smile on their face. They're enraged they can't actually hang you."

He says it's now impossible for him to remember the Smiths fondly. "It's destroyed. It really is destroyed. Because Joyce and Rourke and Marr could have stepped in and said something in my defence. But they didn't. They let the judge say the most extreme and hateful things about me, which they knew weren't true."

So, no reunion then. He feels the press victimised him, too. On his new single, Irish Blood, English Heart, he sings of "standing by the flag not feeling shameful, racist or partial". He's referring to his notorious performance at Madness's Madstock weekender in 1992, when he wrapped himself in a Union flag and was branded a racist by the music press, casting a long shadow over his solo career. Four years later, Noel Gallagher emblazoned the flag on his guitar without censure, an irony that did not escape Morrissey's.

Could he not have simply explained his intentions? "Well, you know, I haven't just arrived from the village," he snaps. "I did think of all these things. I knew the people I was dealing with and there was no point in reaching out to them. It's more dignified to step away than to run towards them and say, 'Please forgive me for something I haven't done.' I think it was a couple of journalists who couldn't stand the sight of me and wanted to topple me. And they tried. And now they're gone. And I'm sitting here in the Dorchester talking to you." He smirks triumphantly.

Morrissey is thin-skinned but hard-headed. He was devastated when Johnny Marr left the Smiths, effectively finishing the band, but bounced back with his excellent solo debut, Viva Hate, just six months later. Not that he has ever forgiven Marr, whom he didn't see again for years afterwards. Does he find forgiveness difficult?

"I treat people the way they treat me, to be honest. I feel very open at first and you just wait for people to betray your trust. And they do."

Do you find that people always end up disappointing you?

"Yes, I do. Always. I think it's pretty much impossible to come across anybody who can do a decent job. Most people are completely inept."

Is that why you've cut so many people loose over the years?

"Well, no, there have been many reasons for the departure of many people, and many people go willingly. But friendships aren't necessarily meant to last. People come and go. Don't you find?"

Not really. Not yet.

"Give it a few more weeks."

Morrissey's attitude to relationships is not entirely slash and burn - he has been friends with performance artist Linder Sterling since 1976 and retained guitarists/co-writers Alain Whyte and Boz Boorer for over a decade - but the picture he paints of life in Los Angeles is one of splendid isolation.

"I'm not really that hot on the human race to be honest. Very few people have anything to offer."

Offer you? "Offer offer. Offer the world. Offer themselves."

Sometimes he gets visitors, like Nancy Sinatra, who will be covering one of his new songs, the yearning Let Me Kiss You. God forbid he should invite anybody round, though. "I'm not part of any Hollywood set," he firmly insists. "Quite the opposite. In a way I lead a very British life. It's still very much inanimate objects and a television screen and jolly old books and things like that."

A fundamental trope of Morrissey's work has always been loneliness and the longing for affection. It is there on 1986's Never Had No One Ever. And here it is, 18 years later, on Let Me Kiss You. And yet in his own life he goes to great lengths to avoid company, even though he does get lonely. "If I didn't I'd be superhuman. I'm sure even the Pope gets lonely."

So why does he choose to be alone? "Well, you see, I consider that to be a privilege. I don't feel like I live alone because I've made a terrible mistake or I'm difficult to look at. Can you imagine being able to do what you like and never having to put up with any other person? And their relatives.

"You can constantly develop when you're by yourself. You don't when you're with someone else. You put your own feelings on hold and you end up doing things like driving to supermarkets and waiting outside shops - ludicrous things like that. It really doesn't do."

I suspect Morrissey likes his own company because he considers himself the only person who's halfway good enough. He concedes he refuses to compromise but regards it as a virtue. "We feel that there's a shame to being uncompromising and there's a terrible sadness to solitude, but none of the great poets ever thought that."

It's the sort of thing you can imagine the 17-year-old Morrissey saying, and part of Morrissey's appeal is the way he retains his teenage intensity and stubbornness into his fifth decade. No lyricist has ever so articulately voiced the defiant, self-aware misery of adolescence.

"I was diagnosed with depression before they knew what gender I was," he quips. "I was only depressed because I had a very poetic instinct about things and I didn't want to walk in a pack. That's very frustrating when your prospects are minus zero. So I'm not going to be running around laughing hysterically, am I?"

He took antidepressants when he was 17 in order to help him sleep, and he has had therapy intermittently since then, but he is almost proud of his black moods. "I think if you're remotely intelligent you can't help being depressed. It's a positive thing to be. It means that you're not a crashing bore. I mean, you don't get support groups for rugby players, do you?"

This is a very Morrissey thing to say. You wonder if he ever plays to type, a suspicion compounded by some of his new song titles, especially How Could Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel?

"It's amusing when you say it," he says, sounding miffed. "I don't know why."

Well, I thought it was meant to be funny.

"But isn't it something we all feel at some stage? So why is that particular sensation attributed to me alone?"

I mention another line, from Let Me Kiss You: "But then you open your eyes and see someone you physically despise." Does he really see himself that way or is that just his lyrical persona - the self-hating eternal loser?

He regards me witheringly. "Oh right, so you think I sit down and say, I think I'll write a Morrissey song tonight and I grab out the old discs to see what a Morrissey song sounds like. Not at all, no."

Every now and then, Morrissey turns abruptly waspish. When I ask if the song I'm Not Sorry is his Je Ne Regrette Rien he replies: "No. It's my Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep." From someone as sharp as Morrissey, blunt sarcasm is enormously disappointing. For the most part, he is faultlessly courteous, albeit sometimes passive-aggressive. He's not one for making a fuss. It wouldn't do.

I decide to broach the subject of his sexuality and mention his splendidly titled All the Lazy Dykes, a song about the liberating effects of coming out of the closet.

"Trying to get somebody to," Morrissey corrects, smiling. "And telling her if she came to join the lazy dykes she'd be one herself. And she needed me to tell her, of course, because she can't come to that conclusion herself."

Doesn't that invite speculation?

"No. Andy Williams could have sung that song. It just happens to be me who's singing it."

This is nonsense but let's press on. Does he believe in love?

"Um. I believe it does exist, yes. I've skirted it on a few occasions."

But never plunged in?

"Plunged? I think I've plunged, yeah."

Were all these people women?

"They seemed to be, as far as I knew. They would all be women if they had a choice." He laughs as if to say: "That's all you're getting."

What is both admirable and exhausting about Morrissey is that he doesn't change. While other musical heroes get their teeth fixed, date models and accept honours from the Queen, Morrissey remains proudly remote from the throng. It means he is still a vital lyricist, a mesmerising performer and a perplexing human being. He is much as he was.

"Dear God, if only I could change," he says theatrically. "We'd all be so relieved. But not yet."

You're stuck with you, I suggest.

"Despite massive discouragement, I remain myself," he says, invisible Wildean quotation marks popping into the air. "Somebody has to be me so it might as well be me."

Who could do it better? Who would dare?

· Irish Blood, English Heart is out on May 10 on Attack. The album You Are the Quarry is out on May 17.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 09, 2004, 04:06:46 PM
A pretty good picture of the new, "mature" Morrissey, methinks:

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.morrissey-solo.com%2Fnews%2F2004%2Fimages%2Fmozguardian090404.jpg&hash=60fa1f00f07d9796cbfb4719a84d65992ccb8650)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: mogwai on April 09, 2004, 04:10:52 PM
i don't like the new "grey hair" look.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 09, 2004, 04:39:30 PM
Quote from: mogwaii don't like the new "grey hair" look.

That's called age... it'll happen to us all, you know. He is 44! I don't think it looks bad on him. A dye job would look worse, probably, although lord knows he has the inside track on professional stylists!
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: mogwai on April 10, 2004, 05:24:16 AM
i think he looks alright and all but if he had an armani suit on him i'd kill him.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on April 10, 2004, 07:48:07 AM
Quote from: mogwaii think he looks alright and all but if he had an armani suit on him i'd kill him.


what's wrong with armani suits?
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 10, 2004, 01:19:19 PM
Quote from: cronopio
Quote from: mogwaii think he looks alright and all but if he had an armani suit on him i'd kill him.


what's wrong with armani suits?

I think what he's saying is that Morrissey is now a snappy/flashy dresser who can afford to drop thousands at designer boutiques, not an indie-boy Urban Outfitters demographic like most of us... but, I mean, he can afford it, so which is worse: Wearing fine, expensive tailored clothes, or pretending that you're poor when it's painfully obvious that you're not? I know he doesn't lord it over anyone that he can afford luxuries, or feel that it makes him a better person, so... I wouldn't kill him for wearing an Armani suit. But I actually don't think he would; that particular design is associated with things Morrissey is definitely not.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on April 10, 2004, 01:40:28 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimage.guardian.co.uk%2Fsys-images%2FGuardian%2FPix%2Farts%2F2004%2F04%2F08%2Fmorrissey1.jpg&hash=53604deefab4f495f8abc96e4c58ebfe7c6947ef)

This is what I was referring to when I said I love people with style.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sigur Rós on April 10, 2004, 02:16:16 PM
Quote from: cronopio
This is what I was referring to when I said I love people with style.

....and eyebrows
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on April 19, 2004, 02:17:17 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.amazon.com%2Fimages%2FP%2FB0001WB696.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg&hash=ac956f4e64c4bd6613142e9eccc4118033e39d42)

http://www.youarethequarry.net/
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 19, 2004, 03:30:57 PM
Fantastic! I am always grateful to hear any little snippet or excerpt of the new material... and I am sufficiently impressed with the tantalizing glimpses we're offered on that site.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 22, 2004, 11:32:48 AM
A photo of Morrissey with Nancy Sinatra (they're neighbors in Hollywood)... Sinatra will be covering his song "Let Me Kiss You" (from the new album) and it's supposedly going to be released as a single and included on her new album.

I'm sure it won't seem odd to anyone that Morrissey is enchanged with Nancy Sinatra... after all, the first thing he ever did after becoming famous was resurrecting Sandie Shaw, the UK approximation of a Nancy Sinatra-like figure, by giving her songs to cover... and for those of us "Some Velvet Morning" fans out here, it's really a match made in heaven...

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nancysinatra.com%2Fpt%2Fimage_uploads%2FMorrisseyNancycopy1.jpg&hash=49184a615396e11fa0ee081ffabebbe6bb968c39)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sigur Rós on April 22, 2004, 11:36:45 AM
What a odd couple - but interesting none the less.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 22, 2004, 08:33:18 PM
Must be the most interesting Spin cover in years (possibly since the last time he was on the cover, I believe in '92):

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.morrissey-solo.com%2Fnews%2F2004%2Fimages%2FSpinCoverMay04_tn.jpg&hash=c97d4cc3af79657b3d10d96e9489c1f2e4057f0e)

...the article's just a regular Smiths/Morrissey primer, nicely done by a writer who's clearly a big fan, but the pictures are very cool, especially the two-page spread w/ mirrors.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on April 24, 2004, 02:35:50 AM
Just got back from the concert at The Wiltern, and it was brilliant. The new songs will be great. I likened them to the Your Arsenal album (without the surf guitar input, but still guitar and/or beat based). The stand out song was I Have Forgiven Jesus. Morrissey was in pure form with his posing and whipping/dancing with the microphone cord. But he showed signs of age on his face; his hair a bit more grey, and his stomach had a bit of bulk to it (seen better when he took off his shirt). Throughout, Morrissey played some of the well known songs and throwbacks (Everyday Is Like Sunday, Hairdresser On Fire, Such A Little Thing Makes Such A Difference, Little Man, What Now? and ended things with an awesome version of I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday - the lighting perfect). But what really got the crowd excited and singing were The Smiths songs - A Rush And A Push and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out! That'll be the closest I'll ever get to seeing The Smiths perform. The only down side was a one song encore for Irish Blood, English Heart.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: mogwai on April 26, 2004, 01:02:07 PM
MOZ FEST!

MORRISSEY is to release 'HULMERIST' and 'THE MALADY LINGERS ON' on DVD next month.

The DVDs feature promotional videos for many of the ex-Smiths frontman's earlier solo material, including 'Everyday Is Like Sunday', 'The Last of the Famous International Playboys' and 'Glamorous Glue'.

'Hulmerist' contains footage of Morrissey's legendary gig at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in 1988.

Both films have been re-mastered and will be released on May 31. Morrissey's new album 'You Are The Quarry' will be released on May 17, preceded by new single 'Irish Heart, English Heart' on May 10.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on April 26, 2004, 04:07:25 PM
Morrissey's also on the cover of this month's Tokion, probably the most stylish magazine ever.

www.tokion.com
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 01, 2004, 01:16:01 PM
The new single plus all three b-sides will be available to download at the iTunes Music Store on May 4 (Tuesday). Until then, you can listen to 30-second snippets. It doesn't work if you search by "Morrissey," only if you search by "Irish Blood, English Heart."

http://www.apple.com/itunes/store/buy.html

Also, looks like he'll be on Kilborn 05/25 and 05/26. I don't like Kilborn.  :(  I do, however, like Morrissey.  :)  I'm kind of hoping he'll be on Ellen somehow.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 02, 2004, 06:45:20 PM
The Morrissey websites report that Roman Coppolla directed the "Irish Blood, English Heart" video. It has a nice simplicity and elegance to it, but there's absolutely nothing particularly great about it as far as progressing the form of the music video. Still, I like it better than CQ.  :)
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on May 03, 2004, 04:58:02 AM
Video:
http://www.mtv.com/bands/az/morrissey/audvid.jhtml
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Slick Shoes on May 03, 2004, 11:23:02 AM
So I just bought my first Smiths CD over the weekend, The Queen Is Dead. I don't think I ever heard them before up until about a month ago, not even once. Or perhaps I did, I just didn't know it. Actually, it was the reading of this thread that prompted me to go down to my local music store, where I was able to listen to some songs. I'll have to give the disc a few more spins (I've only listened to it once all the way through) to fully flesh out my feelings. Suffice to say I liked it very much, though. It's a good feeling when you first discover something, whether it be a band or a director, that you were largely unaware of up until that point, and it's like a whole new world opens up before you. Anyway, back to work...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 03, 2004, 06:55:56 PM
Welcome to Smiths fandom, Slick Shoes! I envy you your virgin ears as they're exposed to the greatness of The Smiths. I predict your life will be changed. Next: The World Won't Listen and Strangeways, Here We Come.

There are three new one-minute sample clips up at www.morrisseymusic.com:  "I Have Forgiven Jesus," "I'm Not Sorry," and "First of the Gang to Die."

"Jesus" sounds fantastic. He's been playing "Gang" for a while, and it was definitely my favorite of the "new songs" when all that included was "Gang," "Irish Blood," "I Like You," and "Mexico" (whatever happened to "Mexico"? It always sounded like a b-side at best to me, but it seems to have completely disappeared).
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 14, 2004, 04:12:20 PM
I received this in an e-mail from a friend with the subject line "Morrissey is finally famous!":

Morrissey enters USA singles chart at #4

May 14, 2004   MORRISSEY ENTERS USA SINGLES CHART AT #4
"Irish Blood, English Heart" debuts on Billboard's Singles Chart

"Irish Blood, English Heart," the first single from Morrissey's forthcoming album YOU ARE THE QUARRY, has debuted at #4 on the Billboard singles chart. The stellar sales debut of Morrissey's first new recording in 7 years reflects the commitment and support of Morrissey's loyal fans and alternative radio airplay on tastemaker stations KROQ LA and WXRK NY as well as video airplay on VH1. Morrissey's recent five night stands at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre and New York's Apollo Theatre both sold out in minutes. The New Musical Express declared "This song is solid proof that sometimes, only rarely, the best melodies combine with the best lyrics and the best performances, and at the point where those three elements meet we find not only the perfect pop song but the perfect pop single." Rolling Stone said "The album, like Morrissey's tenor, never stops defining and reinventing itself. The world, as Morrissey leaps to declare in one song, continues to be full of crashing bores. But YOU ARE THE QUARRY is a triumph of maladjusted vitality"

Morrissey will begin a weeklong residency on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on Monday, May 24. He will also headline this year's installment of the Lollapalooza festival.

YOU ARE THE QUARRY is to be released on Sanctuary/Attack on May 18.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 14, 2004, 04:27:15 PM
Also, on the upper right-hand corner of today's EW, one word: "Morrissey." Inside, a very nice two-page interview (he's snippy and funny in it!) with full-page photo.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Dirk on May 14, 2004, 05:11:05 PM
Morrissey launches scathing attack on David Bowie

Source: NME

MORRISSEY has launched a scathing attack on DAVID BOWIE during his first television interview in 17 years.

He labeled Bowie "showie", claiming that the veteran artist was a "business'". He went on to say that the public only fell in love with Ziggy Stardust, and the visuals for Ziggy were dreamt up by someone else.

Morrissey also tore strips off the artist in an interview in the April edition of GQ magazine.

"(He is) not the person he was. He is no longer David Bowie at all. Now he gives people what he thinks will make them happy, and they're yawning their heads off. And by doing that, he is not relevant. He was only relevant by accident."

The attack on the veteran artist will be broadcast tonight (May 14) on 'The Jonathan Ross Show', where the former Smiths frontman also performs two songs, current single 'Irish Blood, English Heart' and the classic 1988 single 'Everyday Is Like Sunday'.

Relations were not always tense between the two, as Bowie covered the Morrissey track 'I Know It's Going To Happen Someday' on his Black Tie White Noise album in 1993, and asked Morrissey to join him on his 1995 tour, though Morrissey left the tour before it was over.

Morrissey's new album 'You Are The Quarry' is released on Monday (May 17), following the release of the single 'Irish Blood, English Heart', which is heading for a Top Ten entry on Sunday's chart.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sleuth on May 14, 2004, 05:45:34 PM
oh hey, Morrisey's got a new album
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: cron on May 19, 2004, 09:35:39 AM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lesinrocks.com%2Fpicts%2Fvisuels%2F20045%2F43173.jpg&hash=8d64eefad663c7e69ed735b8772f8318dbb9752e)


Morrissey is appearing in every magazine in this planet.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pubrick on May 19, 2004, 10:07:33 AM
and still no one knows who he is.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on May 19, 2004, 10:15:25 AM
Haha very true here in Quebec.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 19, 2004, 10:36:02 AM
Seems many know who he is in my neighborhood... but then, I chose my neighborhood wisely.  :)

The single is a bona fide hit in the U.S., with a #4 position on the Billboard singles chart.

The album is out now, and no excuse not to buy it. It comes in the most remarkably aesthetically-pleasing CD sleeve I think I've ever seen; it's been designed to look like an LP. The contents are, of course, unimpeachable.

I'm getting ready to hold my nose through Craig Kilborn so I can watch the man on TV every night next week. I really, really don't like Kilborn.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Mesh on May 19, 2004, 01:21:00 PM
I'll get around to hearing this album at some point.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on May 19, 2004, 01:29:03 PM
My excuse for not buying it is that I have no money to spare, but I did hear a handful of full songs, as well as about a minute from every track on the album, on a radio show the other night, and it all sounded quite good, sometimes truly excellent, with, now and then, an ever so slight touch of the mediocre (although, truth be told, if the DJ hadn't gone to the trouble of  reading the lyrics to that song about the US out loud, I might not have noticed their ham-fistedness on the first listen). I'm happy to see the single doing so well, and I wish I could contribute to the monetary success of the album, but alas, I have to choose my music purchases carefully, and there are a few upcoming albums that are higher on my list of must-haves.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on May 19, 2004, 02:25:15 PM
Quote from: godardianSeems many know who he is in my neighborhood... but then, I chose my neighborhood wisely.  :)

The single is a bona fide hit in the U.S., with a #4 position on the Billboard singles chart.

The album is out now, and no excuse not to buy it. It comes in the most remarkably aesthetically-pleasing CD sleeve I think I've ever seen; it's been designed to look like an LP. The contents are, of course, unimpeachable.

I'm getting ready to hold my nose through Craig Kilborn so I can watch the man on TV every night next week. I really, really don't like Kilborn.

Do us a full album review when you get a minute !  :yabbse-thumbup:
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 19, 2004, 02:55:59 PM
Quote from: Pas Rapport
Quote from: godardianSeems many know who he is in my neighborhood... but then, I chose my neighborhood wisely.  :)

The single is a bona fide hit in the U.S., with a #4 position on the Billboard singles chart.

The album is out now, and no excuse not to buy it. It comes in the most remarkably aesthetically-pleasing CD sleeve I think I've ever seen; it's been designed to look like an LP. The contents are, of course, unimpeachable.

I'm getting ready to hold my nose through Craig Kilborn so I can watch the man on TV every night next week. I really, really don't like Kilborn.

Do us a full album review when you get a minute !  :yabbse-thumbup:

I should have one posted on my blog over the weekend.
 :oops:  :oops:  I don't even have to ask if I'm a nerd...
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 19, 2004, 02:58:13 PM
Quote from: GhostboyMy excuse for not buying it is that I have no money to spare, but I did hear a handful of full songs, as well as about a minute from every track on the album, on a radio show the other night, and it all sounded quite good, sometimes truly excellent, with, now and then, an ever so slight touch of the mediocre (although, truth be told, if the DJ hadn't gone to the trouble of  reading the lyrics to that song about the US out loud, I might not have noticed their ham-fistedness on the first listen). I'm happy to see the single doing so well, and I wish I could contribute to the monetary success of the album, but alas, I have to choose my music purchases carefully, and there are a few upcoming albums that are higher on my list of must-haves.

"Shoplifters of the world, unite and take over."  :)

I should feel fortuante, then, that I don't have to choose between this and the new PJ, which is also looking to be very good, better than the last one.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: A Matter Of Chance on May 19, 2004, 06:46:42 PM
Detailed Thoughts

I bought this CD on the day it was released, school was starting late so popped by tower records and picked it up... it's amazing. I liked the Smiths and Morrissey before, but now it's even better. The packaging is refreshing, too.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on May 20, 2004, 11:23:00 AM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnme.com%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2FThisWeeksNME.jpg&hash=7b9cf5bc2bf1def2794f60126e32f5b12c10470b)
Morrissey/Franz Ferdinand/Godardian Loses Control Over His Entire Body
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on May 20, 2004, 02:51:17 PM
HAHAHAHA !
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 22, 2004, 12:30:55 AM
I have posted on my blog a giant, way overlong post regarding the new Morrissey and various other debris of my life/cultural intake. In case anyone's remotely interested.

Morrissey and Franz Ferdinand, together at last... honestly, it's possible I wouldn't have ever heard of FF if it weren't for Morrissey. I know which sources to trust by now...

I think I'm gonna brave Lollapalooza to see the man.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on May 22, 2004, 02:45:04 AM
Man, that coverage of yours just makes me want to go out and spend the twelve bucks. Maybe I can afford it after all (if I think that way, anything is possible!).
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on May 24, 2004, 10:57:49 AM
Reminder to those interested: Starting tonight, Morrissey will be on Craig Kilborn every night this week.

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latelate/guest/
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 24, 2004, 05:20:43 PM
A rumor that's gone out on the 'net (supposedly, ticket holders are receiving this e-mail):

Apparently, this notice has gone out:

As a ticket holder for tonight's taping of The Late Late Show with Craig
Kilborn we wanted to inform you that tonight's performance with Morrissey
has been postponed as he is sick. The taping will still take place, but
Morrissey will not be in attendance. We are sorry for any inconvenience
and will inform you when he is rescheduled as soon as we have more
information. Thank you.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sigur Rós on May 25, 2004, 04:07:26 PM
Morrissey said yesterday that Britney Spears is the Devil.  :twisted:
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pas on May 25, 2004, 07:37:59 PM
Really ? Where ? God Morrissey is great
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 25, 2004, 07:44:17 PM
Quote from: Pas RapportReally ? Where ? God Morrissey is great

It's a quote from last week's Entertainment Weekly- they had a huge piece about him with a full-page photo and three pages of article including long and interesting Q&A.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 08, 2004, 04:56:54 PM
A more vital target than Britney Spears comes under fire...:

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/s/119/119107_bush_should_have_died_not_reagan_morrissey.html
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Ghostboy on June 09, 2004, 02:13:58 PM
Well, in the two weeks I've had this, I've been listening to it almost non-stop. I think 'Come Back To Camden' and 'I Like You' are my favorites -- those are the ones that send a little recognitive thrill down my spine when the first notes issue from my shuffled iTunes playlist. One seems to be about bittersweet acceptance, the other is all about the lofty giddiness of those first sparks between two people, and at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum I find them quite compatible, highly relatable, and endlessly listenable.

I also love the fiery politics of 'Irish Blood, English Heart,' and 'America' has grown on me, even though I still shudder at the lyric about the hamburger (although maybe its just because I hate hamburgers?) And even though it's a B-side, I think 'The Never Played Symphonies' also ranks with the best songs on the album.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 11, 2004, 12:05:06 PM
If you go here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/long/biography.shtml) and click "Play this show again," you can hear Nancy Sinatra's version of "Let Me Kiss You" (which is one of my favorites on this excellent new album) with M. himself on backing vox at about the 17 minute mark. No fast-forwarding, so have something you can do for 17 minutes (although, really, you could do worse than hearing 17 minutes of Janice Long's selections).
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Redlum on June 16, 2004, 12:53:55 PM
Listening to the new Morrissey album on the back of 'First of the Gang to Die', and my discovery of 'This Charming Man' by the Smiths. The rest of the album annoys the hell out of me. All the other tracks are so on-the-nail it really ruins what is a musically sound album. When I hear 'Labour' and 'Conservative' in a lyric I'm not really going to think 'oh he's so smart, he's being political'.
I like the songs where he's telling stories in the lyrics because if he's trying to say something in those (like the first two tracks I mentioned) at least he's not kicking me in the teeth with it like some shouting and wailing, political punk band. Disapointed more than anything, really. I  love 'First of the Gang to Die'. Cunning first single choice.

So I went and listened to Ellito Smith - Figure 8 and enjoyed myself!
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 30, 2004, 07:06:39 PM
Quote from: ®edlumListening to the new Morrissey album on the back of 'First of the Gang to Die', and my discovery of 'This Charming Man' by the Smiths. The rest of the album annoys the hell out of me. All the other tracks are so on-the-nail it really ruins what is a musically sound album. When I hear 'Labour' and 'Conservative' in a lyric I'm not really going to think 'oh he's so smart, he's being political'.
I like the songs where he's telling stories in the lyrics because if he's trying to say something in those (like the first two tracks I mentioned) at least he's not kicking me in the teeth with it like some shouting and wailing, political punk band. Disapointed more than anything, really. I  love 'First of the Gang to Die'. Cunning first single choice.

So I went and listened to Ellito Smith - Figure 8 and enjoyed myself!

What about "I Have Forgiven Jesus," "Come Back to Camden," "Let Me Kiss You," "All the Lazy Dykes," and "You Know I Couldn't Last"?

The songs containing the things you say you're annoyed by constitute the minority of the album. The songs I've mentioned are all more "story" songs, the kind you say you prefer, and I think they're all excellent, particularly "Camden" and "You Know I Couldn't Last," which rings more anthemic every time I hear it.

Aren't all punk bands "political," anyway? I think almost all of the good ones are: The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Jam, X-Ray Spex, The Adverts, etc. Even The Ramones and the Buzzcocks are implicitly political, especially the latter.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on October 28, 2004, 11:37:29 AM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.morrissey-solo.com%2Fnews%2F2004%2Fimages%2Fmozstewart_tn.jpg&hash=5d973839ef9280fc70e70845f0795df52376e239)

http://www.morrisseymusic.com/newsitem.asp?id=89

OCTOBER 27, 2004
With all my heart I urge people to vote against George Bush. Jon Stewart would be ideal, but John Kerry is the logical and sane move. It does not need to be said yet again, but Bush has single-handedly turned the United States into the most neurotic and terror-obsessed country on the planet. For non-Americans, the United States is suddenly not a very nice place to visit because US immigration officers – under the rules of Bush – now conduct themselves with all the charm and unanswerable indignation of Hitler's SS.
Please bring sanity and intelligence back to the United States.
Don't forget to vote.
Vote for John Kerry and get rid of George Bush!
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on November 16, 2004, 11:58:18 AM
I thought this (http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2004/11/1204.cfm) was very amusing.
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Sleuth on November 16, 2004, 01:19:14 PM
he's on Letterman tonight I think
Title: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: UncleJoey on November 16, 2004, 01:25:57 PM
Info on expanded You Are the Quarry release here (http://pitchforkmedia.com/news/04-11/15.shtml#story3)
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on December 13, 2005, 04:34:00 PM
OH MY GOD!!!!

Please let the rumors (and my dreams) come true:

Smiths duo regrouping for UK cancer benefit

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and bassist Andy Rourke will perform together at an English charity show January 28 for the first time since the legendary act split up in 1987.

Rourke is overseeing the lineup for the Manchester v. Cancer show at the Evening News Arena, which will also feature New Order, Doves, Badly Drawn Boy, Primal Scream's Mani, and Stephen Fretwell. Rumors have circulated that former Smiths frontman Morrissey will be involved in the show but at present there's no indication he will participate.

"Andy told me about this project he was involved in and of course I literally stood up and applauded," Marr said in an audio interview posted on the event's official Web site (http://www.manchestervcancer.co.uk). "I said I'd get involved if he needed any help. Absolutely glad to do it. It's a privilege to do it. It's not the easiest thing in the world to get something like this together, because it has to be on a fairly big scale for it to be significant."

The Smiths' unhappy breakup has of late been back in the news, after former drummer Mike Joyce attempted to sell unreleased Smiths material on eBay. Morrissey responded by posting a detailed account of the lawsuits Joyce has filed for back royalties in recent years on the fan site True to You (http://www.true-to-you.net/).

Tickets for Manchester v. Cancer go on sale Saturday via Ticketmaster. "It will bring together people and bands that have made Manchester famous," Rourke said. "The idea is that this will be the start of an annual event to raise money for charity whether it is helping cancer or arthritis."

:multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire: :multi: :onfire:
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Pwaybloe on December 22, 2005, 10:36:37 AM
That joke isn't funny anymore.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on February 05, 2006, 08:32:44 PM
I'm still jealous of MacG for his attendance of the Wiltern shows in '04. We'll see what happens this time 'round. . . .

This space should be jumping in a couple of months for Ringleader of the Tormentors. I hope.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on February 06, 2006, 08:34:37 PM
The new single can be heard here:

http://music.myspace.com/morrissey

Especially nice for fans of Italian cinema....
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Gloria on February 06, 2006, 11:10:12 PM
Quote from: godardian on February 06, 2006, 08:34:37 PM
The new single can be heard here:

http://music.myspace.com/morrissey

Especially nice for fans of Italian cinema....

Oh wow!  I had no idea he had a new album coming out so soon.  The new single is really great.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on February 14, 2006, 12:40:51 PM
"You Have Killed Me" is now available for purchase/download at iTunes (no b-sides... yet).
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on March 21, 2006, 03:01:28 PM
Would you turn down $5 million dollars? Apparently Morrissey would. During an interview at this year's South by Southwest conference Thursday, Moz revealed that the Smiths were offered the enormous sum to re-form for this year's Coachella festival but turned the offer down. "When you start doing things for money, something terrible happens to you," he explained. "I haven't reached that stage ... but I might." During his performance at the Austin Music Hall that night, Morrissey attacked the latest round of U.S. bombings in Iraq. "I hear we bombed Iraq again. We can't be looking for weapons of mass destruction again."
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: RegularKarate on March 21, 2006, 05:03:34 PM
at the same panel, he made my eyes roll numerous times and suggested that he sympathizes with the 9/11 terrorists.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 22, 2006, 12:46:23 PM
Quote from: RegularKarate on March 21, 2006, 05:03:34 PM
at the same panel, he made my eyes roll numerous times and suggested that he sympathizes with the 9/11 terrorists.

...I'm curious about the eye-rolling part. What did he say? He was probably just being droll. And aren't these things why we love him? I cannot think of a single recording artist with his level of ingenuity and talent who has so very little need to be ingratiating. Unlike 99% of people making records, I think he seriously doesn't care if he sacrifices album sales in order to be able to say what he really thinks. Without these veeery nebulously "pro-terrorist" comments (I would like to know the exact words, but I somehow have a feeling it was more "I understand why" than "I sympathize" or "I approve") and the million other little things he says that are not designed to make him popular, he would be a massive, massive star, and people would probably recognize his importance; but paradoxically, he wouldn't be as important if he didn't have this outspoken, opinionated personality. On the other hand, his fan board is full of people (mostly losers, in my opinion--that's why I never post there and avoid reading when there's no news) who can't stand his politics or his sexuality--yes, Virginia, there are actual homophobic Morrissey fans on this planet. He must have some appeal that extends even to those he offends.

So, um, yes. It's just Morrissey and Kanye West and maybe the Dixie Chicks, really, who will say things in no uncertain terms. They should all get together for a big round of "Bigmouth Strikes Again." Maggie Gyllenhaal (http://www.cinematical.com/2005/04/26/tribeca-2005-maggie-gyllenhaal-sparks-controversy/) can be on "now I know how Joan of Arc felt" backup vocals, and George Clooney can play Johnny Marr.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: RegularKarate on March 22, 2006, 01:21:06 PM
Quote from: godardian on March 22, 2006, 12:46:23 PM
...I'm curious about the eye-rolling part. What did he say? He was probably just being droll. And aren't these things why we love him? I cannot think of a single recording artist with his level of ingenuity and talent who has so very little need to be ingratiating. Unlike 99% of people making records, I think he seriously doesn't care if he sacrifices album sales in order to be able to say what he really thinks. Without these veeery nebulously "pro-terrorist" comments (I would like to know the exact words, but I somehow have a feeling it was more "I understand why" than "I sympathize" or "I approve") and the million other little things he says that are not designed to make him popular, he would be a massive, massive star, and people would probably recognize his importance; but paradoxically, he wouldn't be as important if he didn't have this outspoken, opinionated personality. On the other hand, his fan board is full of people (mostly losers, in my opinion--that's why I never post there and avoid reading when there's no news) who can't stand his politics or his sexuality--yes, Virginia, there are actual homophobic Morrissey fans on this planet. He must have some appeal that extends even to those he offends.

So, um, yes. It's just Morrissey and Kanye West and maybe the Dixie Chicks, really, who will say things in no uncertain terms. They should all get together for a big round of "Bigmouth Strikes Again." Maggie Gyllenhaal (http://www.cinematical.com/2005/04/26/tribeca-2005-maggie-gyllenhaal-sparks-controversy/) can be on "now I know how Joan of Arc felt" backup vocals, and George Clooney can play Johnny Marr.

Don't get me wrong, I like Morrissey and everything, I just don't think he's a brilliant as he seems to think he is.  I'm sorry, but he IS an aging rocker, yet criticizes his idol, Bowie for being the same (as in not as good as he used to be)... he "forgives" Bowie for his recent crap because he used to be so good.

The terrorist thing was just kind of lame to me because it was like he was hinting that he might sympathize with them, but wouldn't actually expand on the sly smile he gave.  Other than that, I really enjoyed the panel and kind of thought it was funny that a couple of times he reminded me of that Simon guy from American Idol with his snobbiness about bands like Joy Division ("Flat as a pancake").
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: squints on March 27, 2006, 07:42:40 PM
Morrissey Hates Canada, Loves Seals
from Pitchfork

Quanah Humphreys reports:
Canada has free health care, legal marijuana, and state-sanctioned gay marriage, but America's free-wheeling neighbor to the north won't be getting Morrissey.

Canada's annual seal hunt has put it at odds with the king of all vegans, prompting Morrissey to refuse to tour the country in support of his forthcoming album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. In a statement on the fan site True to You, Morrissey said, "I fully realise that the absence of any Morrissey concerts in Canada is unlikely to bring the Canadian economy to its knees, but it is our small protest against this horrific slaughter." That, sir, would be an understantment.

According to Moz, the Canadian government argues that the "cull," as the hunt is called, is a sustainable, economically viable activity based on sound conservation principles, but Morrissey remains offended by "the barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals which is now underway."

He continued, "The seal population has looked after itself for thousand of years without human intervention, and, as the world knows, this slaughter is about one thing only: making money. The Canadian government will stream all of the pelts into the fashion industry and this is the reason why the baby seals are killed with spiked clubs that crush their skulls - any damage to their pelts is avoided."

Oh, life is a pigsty!

"The Canadian Prime Minister also states that the slaughter is necessary because it provides jobs for local communities, but this is an ignorant reason for allowing such barbaric and cruel slaughter of beings that are denied life simply because somebody somewhere might want to wear their skin. Construction of German gas chambers also provided work for someone - this is not a moral or sound reason for allowing suffering."

Uh, Morrissey? You do realize that you recently played three shows in America, where George W. Bush is President, right? And he's responsible for way worse things than killing baby seals, right? OK, just checking.

He closed his statement with the following: "If you can, please boycott Canadian goods. It WILL make a difference. As things stand, Canada has placed itself alongside China as the cruelest and most self-serving nation."

Wow, us Yanks sure dodged a bullet on that one. Maybe we get a free pass because Morrissey used to live here. That's the only logical explanation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

as a strong baby seal clubbing activist i say moz should go fuck himself for screwing the canadians
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 27, 2006, 11:44:11 PM
Like all animal-rights activists, Morrissey takes controversial positions about the human/animal hierarchy that most people take for granted and are shocked to have challenged. I think it is utterly admirable that he has never once wavered on this issue, even though many have mocked and berated him for his stance, and the cause has vacillated in acceptability and fashionability. For someone so observant and therefore ambivalent about human beings, his views seem absolutely fitting to me.

What I'm saying is, I think Morrissey would rightly see clubbing baby seals as part of a continuum that also includes human war. As far back as Meat is Murder, he was saying human-human violence will never end until we question all of our violent behavior and see it is all as interrelated and inseparable.

All that being said, I have to agree that entirely apart from the Morrissey issue, Canada's policies are generally more humane and forward-thinking than those of the U.S., or at least have been. Is this the "new," Conservative prime minister we're talking about here...?
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 28, 2006, 01:36:24 AM
Purchase the "You Have Killed Me" (http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=129718060&s=143441) EP (U.S. version of the 2-part UK single) on iTunes now, or at amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ERVJFE/sr=8-1/qid=1143530502/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8068443-6518267?%5Fencoding=UTF8).

It includes the b-sides "Human Being," "I Knew I Was Next," and "Good Looking Man About Town." All of them are wonderful; they all sound a bit unlike anything he's done before more. "Human Being" is a cover of one of his beloved New York Dolls' more rowdy tunes (from the 1974 The New York Dolls In... Too Much Too Soon album), and it has to be heard to be believed; certainly an essential for anyone who enjoyed his cover of the Dolls' "Trash" on the Live in Dallas video.

"I'm blowing my change on the fan magazines with all the Hollywood refugees," etc.--on the Ringleader goes!

The inner sleeve of the album (for the cover, you need only glance to your left).

(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv326%2Farjwan%2Finsiderott.jpg&hash=c3b9c02b6e44734a9f1bbb2c89c0aeb8201a8892)
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: NEON MERCURY on March 28, 2006, 09:31:39 AM
Quote from: godardian on March 22, 2006, 12:46:23 PM
I cannot think of a single recording artist with his level of ingenuity and talent who has so very little need to be ingratiating. Unlike 99% of people making records, I think he seriously doesn't care if he sacrifices album sales in order to be able to say what he really thinks. 

i guess you dont listen to popa roach... :yabbse-rolleyes:
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on March 28, 2006, 01:54:14 PM
Quote from: pyramid machine on March 28, 2006, 09:31:39 AM
Quote from: godardian on March 22, 2006, 12:46:23 PM
I cannot think of a single recording artist with his level of ingenuity and talent who has so very little need to be ingratiating. Unlike 99% of people making records, I think he seriously doesn't care if he sacrifices album sales in order to be able to say what he really thinks. 

i guess you dont listen to popa roach... :yabbse-rolleyes:

Well, I did qualify that:

Quote from: godardian on March 22, 2006, 12:46:23 PM
I cannot think of a single recording artist with his level of ingenuity and talent who has so very little need to be ingratiating. Unlike 99% of people making records, I think he seriously doesn't care if he sacrifices album sales in order to be able to say what he really thinks. 
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 09, 2006, 10:30:55 PM
Wow...I'm the only person who ever posts here anymore.  :yabbse-cry:

Anyway, some excellent news:

http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_060409_01

...and has anyone bought/heard the album yet?

My review is still in the works. I have something somewhat special planned for it. Nothing TOO spectacular, so don't set the bar too high; my little idea is more time-consuming than anything.

Also, he's been covering Magazine's "Song from Under the Floorboards" in concert.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on April 10, 2006, 12:35:09 AM
Quote from: godardian on April 09, 2006, 10:30:55 PM
...and has anyone bought/heard the album yet?

I think it's his best album since Your Arsenal. While it might not have some of the stand-out tracks like Quarry did, Ringleaders feels a more complete album; sounding at times like a companion to Viva Hate, in its orchestrations and arrangements.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Gloria on April 10, 2006, 12:50:43 AM
Quote from: godardian on April 09, 2006, 10:30:55 PM
Wow...I'm the only person who ever posts here anymore.  :yabbse-cry:

I haven't been able to listen to all of the songs yet.  I look forward to hearing it all and then posting my review as well!
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on April 21, 2006, 10:04:09 AM
i am just not digging it.  the arrangements, the songs themselves, the way he sings them.  nothing.  :yabbse-sad:  i dont know whats wrong with me.  i used to love morrissey.  favorite songs are Speedway, Jack The Ripper (live from M.E.B.Y.), Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself, pretty much all of Vauxhaul & I and My Early Burglary Years.  i even like a few songs off Maladjusted better than anything on the last two albums.  i'll give it a few more tries to see if anything sticks.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 29, 2006, 05:03:58 PM
Quote from: modage on April 21, 2006, 10:04:09 AM
i am just not digging it.  the arrangements, the songs themselves, the way he sings them.  nothing.  :yabbse-sad:  i dont know whats wrong with me.  i used to love morrissey.  favorite songs are Speedway, Jack The Ripper (live from M.E.B.Y.), Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself, pretty much all of Vauxhaul & I and My Early Burglary Years.  i even like a few songs off Maladjusted better than anything on the last two albums.  i'll give it a few more tries to see if anything sticks.

Anything sticking yet? Here's a thought (just a thought and not meant as a criticism but a guess as to an explanation): your taste seems to run to the more "indie" type stuff, which might encompass a lot of your Morrissey faves that you mentioned. But Morrissey's aspiration has never been to be indie, per se; he believes in the idea of the pop icon of worldwide renown who touches millions of people the world over. I think his aspiration is really to be some impossible combination of Johnny Rotten and Frank Sinatra. I think if you approach this album and the last one from that understanding, you'll be better able to appreciate what's going. Just a thought. If you don't like it, you don't like it.

Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on April 29, 2006, 05:05:30 PM
I've finally completed my little obsessive essay about the album. It somehow ended up involving a re-scrutinizing of David Lean's Summertime (the "something special" I mentioned before--hope I didn't oversell it!). It is posted here (http://trappings.blogspot.com/).

I ask your advance forgiveness for the lack of any real vetting/copy-editing process for this. I cleaned it up as best I could with the amount of time/energy I have left. It was three weeks in the making, so I hope I've done the record at least some justice.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on May 03, 2006, 04:06:06 PM
One of the very few reviews/assessments of the man or the album to get it right (in my opinion) can be found on Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2140918/).
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on June 12, 2007, 10:40:09 AM
Morrissey announces where he wants to be buried

Morrissey has revealed that his search for his perfect final resting place may be over.

Speaking to the Daily Record, the former Smiths frontman cited the celebrity cemetery Hollywood Forever in his former hometown of Los Angeles as his preferred graveyard.

He declared, "I like Hollywood Forever. I've sat there for a very long time and felt quite good about it."

The singer explained that he decided on the cemetery after visiting the grave of Ramones singer Joey Ramone.

"I always felt I wanted nothing more than my name, birth date, death date, and all three names, Steven Patrick Morrissey," he said. "And I've even considered putting money down for reserving a spot."

For now though the singer is still very much alive, and even played a show at the weekend near his preferred graveyard at the Hollywood Bowl.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on June 12, 2007, 01:08:45 PM
Might you have been witness to the Hollywood Bowl show, McG? (Any other Angelenos who made it?)

I saw the Spokane show, the Seattle show, and the San Diego show, in that order. The first show was interesting; it was moved to a very small general-seating venue that transformed the performance into something very intimate, very sweaty, a bit shambolic, but nice. The second show, in Seattle, was superb. The San Diego show was beset with security and sound problems, so the big M was very irritable and left without an encore. It was at a lovely outdoor bay-front venue, but the show has to be considered a disaster. All in all, I could've just stayed home and gotten the best show! (Though I have to say, having never really been to Spokane before, it is quite a charming little city, at least the part I saw, and the drive east--through the middle part of the state--on a mildly warm spring day was gorgeous.)
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on June 12, 2007, 02:09:11 PM
Quote from: godardian on June 12, 2007, 01:08:45 PM
Might you have been witness to the Hollywood Bowl show, McG? (Any other Angelenos who made it?)

Sadly, no. Not really a fan of the Bowl and I had no one to go with anyway. I missed the Pasadena show too.  :yabbse-cry:
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on August 25, 2007, 10:22:20 PM
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.morrissey-solo.com%2Fgallery%2Falbums%2Fuserpics%2F10001%2Fnormal_mozweekeo5.jpg&hash=38b6d9038cacd170b03f10569206bd4338f83945)


Moz, bloggers, downloads and mall music
Source: Los Angeles Times

Morrissey today announced a 10-night stand at the Hollywood Palladium -- the final shows at the venue before it closes down for renovation. The dates are Oct. 1 through 13 (Moz takes three nights off during the run), and before you crack wise about the number of people (some you may even know) who will attend every show, know that promoters are offering a special deal for fans who want to attend every show.

Starting at 10 a.m. Monday, package deals giving the Moz faithful 10 nights for the price of nine go on sale. The deal also gets attendees a commemorative ticket, the opportunity to go to the head of the queue and, presumably, much better odds of catching the man's shirt when he tosses it into the crowd near the end of the show.

How much are the tickets? This just in: The special packages are $391.50. before the leviathan surcharges Ticketmaster is sure to add. That would put single-night tickets at about $43.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: godardian on August 25, 2007, 10:29:40 PM
So, are you gonna go, McG?
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on August 25, 2007, 10:34:58 PM
Quote from: godardian on August 25, 2007, 10:29:40 PM
So, are you gonna go, McG?

If I can get a ticket. I'm sure it'll sell out fast. Ideally, I think I'd like to see Oct. 13's show.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on September 08, 2007, 12:09:01 PM
Quote from: godardian on August 25, 2007, 10:29:40 PM
So, are you gonna go, McG?

Got my ticket for Oct. 13th.  :yabbse-thumbup:
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Stefen on September 08, 2007, 12:11:30 PM
If you're not seeing every show, you're not a real fan.

How hard was it to get tix for the last night?
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on September 08, 2007, 12:14:24 PM
Quote from: Stefen on September 08, 2007, 12:11:30 PM
If you're not seeing every show, you're not a real fan.

How hard was it to get tix for the last night?

Quick, then again, I was only buying one.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: Stefen on September 08, 2007, 12:56:08 PM
I wish I could go. It's always best to go to either the first show or the last.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on October 14, 2007, 02:08:47 AM
It's good that they are making over The Palladium, because it's really in need of a make-over. But it was the perfect venue to see Moz. I had a better time at this concert than the last time I saw him at The Wiltern. The gen. admin. (pit) atmosphere was right for this. And although I wasn't close enough to catch any of the three shirts he threw to the crowd (or his sweat), I was the closest to him than I had even been before, meaning I didn't need binoculars. He looked much better this time; he dropped some lbs. and the grey hair was gone. The opening act, Kristeen Young, was quite good. She was like a blend of Siouxsie and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. When she was done, they showed some film clips of the New York Dolls, Bridget Bardot singing, James Dean's screen tests for East Of Eden, a clip from the tv show The Untouchables (one of the characters was named Morrissey). And then the curtain screen dropped...


Playlist:

How Soon Is Now?
In The Future All's Well
The Loop
Jack The Ripper
Sister, I'm A Poet
London
Tomorrow
Human Being
Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself?
The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
I Like You
The Death Of A Disco Dancer
Billy Budd
Shoplifters Of The World Unite
All You Need Is Me
One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
Irish Blood, English Heart
Stretch Out And Wait
Throwing My Arms Around Paris
I Will See You In Far Off Places

Encore: First Of The Gang To Die


Ran for just over 90 minutes. Kinda bummed he didn't play more early stuff, and I was expecting something special for the final night (only one encore song?), but The Smiths songs, especially Disco Dancer, sounded great. The band was really rockin' this time. For the encore they came out in matching soccer uniform shirts.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: modage on October 25, 2007, 11:15:33 AM
so, i used to be a pretty big morrissey/smiths fan in college and i never got to see him live.  then he had his 'comeback' albums which i pretty much hated.  and now he's playing Hammerstein Ballroom here for 5 nights and they have been discounting the tickets like crazy and marked sunday's show down from like $65 to $22 a ticket and its general admission and not a huge place so i bought one.  with fee's it was $33 but its morrissey so thats still pretty good.  anywho, he'll prob play half songs i love and half i don't know or hate.  hopefully it'll be fun, i'm going alone.  (morrissey wouldn't have it any other way).
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: tpfkabi on November 12, 2007, 10:07:36 PM
The Smiths are probably one of the classic bands that I've heard or read the most about, but have not actually heard much of their stuff.

Are there any plans to remaster their CD's?
All copies I see seem like Beatles discs - made when CD's first came out.

If they started remastering them, I'd probably buy them up like Talking Heads and Rolling Stones.
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on November 29, 2007, 10:26:29 AM
Morrissey vs NME: Mozgate Part II
Source: Dave Simpson; The Guardian

Consider these two statements:

While, to the immigrant, entry to this country was admission to privileges and opportunities... the impact upon the existing population was very different. For reasons which they could not comprehend, and in pursuance of a decision by default, on which they were never consulted, they found themselves made strangers in their own country."

"The gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away."

The first is taken from the late MP Enoch Powell's notorious "Rivers of Blood" speech to the Conservative Political Centre on April 20, 1968.

The second is attributed to Morrissey, on the cover of this week's NME magazine and under the headline "Big Mouth Strikes Again.... On dear, not again". At the heart of it is an extraordinary kerfuffle over immigration between Britain's respected veteran music publication and one of pop music's most widely-loved veteran Mancunians.

The background is this:

Following their recent Love Music, Hate Racism campaign the NME planned to give away a free Morrissey single to coincide with an interview with the ex-Smith in the paper. NME journo and Guardian blog contributor Tim Jonze (a Smiths fan whose photo of himself outside Salford Lads Club appears on the blog) met the man.

During the interview, Morrissey apparently made some remarks about immigration. Jonze conducted a second - telephone - interview in which the remarks were not only repeated but expanded upon. Then the proverbial hit the fan. The Morrissey-sanctioned fan website true-to-you.net carries some eye-watering (often legal) correspondence between Morrissey's management and NME editor Conor McNicholas.

The management accuse "the eNeMEy" of a "hatchet job", resisting attempts to stop publication, and point out Morrissey's "antiracist" songs such as Irish Blood, English Heart and I Will See You In Faraway Places.

The NME editor says the paper are "not accusing Morrissey of racism," but says his comments are "unreasonably skewed towards immigration" and are "unhelpful at a time of great tensions." To further inflame or muddy the issue, writer Jonze has disowned what he says is a "rewritten" piece and asked for his name to be removed - bizarrely, the story carries the credit "Interview - Tim Jonze; Words - NME".

So what are Morrissey's comments?

A music-based interview suddenly veers from chat about the industry and Johnny Marr to ask Mozzer (who lives in Rome, an immigrant there as his Irish parents once were into the North West) if he'd consider moving back to Britain.

Morrissey:" ... [W]ith the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. If you travel to Germany, it's still absolutely Germany. If you travel to Sweden, it still has a Swedish identity. But travel to England and you have no idea where you are... If you walk through Knightsbridge you'll hear every accent apart from an English accent."

Cue NME outrage and branding of Morrissey as a "Tory."

As the paper points out, this is not the first "immigration" controversy involving Moz and NME. In the 1990s the parties fell out after Morrissey was accused of "flirting with disaster" and racist imagery after draping himself in the Union Jack onstage. Such accusations were never levelled at Noel Gallagher and the Spice Girls, although in the latest interview NME again tackle Morrissey about the "ambiguous" lyrics of the song Bengali in Platforms and the notorious line "Life is hard enough when you belong here." To which he retorts that the song is written from the viewpoint of a "protagonist", who "didn't belong here." Annoyingly, no further clarification is sought or proffered.

To further muddy the issue, unlike Powell's largely venomous, racially-slanted speech, Morrissey's follow-up interview comments consist pretty much of what you'd expect of any reader of this newspaper.

Explicitly denying that immigration is the reason he doesn't want to live in Britain, he damns this country over the cost of living and the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, admits that managed immigration "enriches" the country, says his favourite actor and singer are from Israel and Iraq, says he finds racism "very silly" and supports the Love Music Hate Racism campaign. Indeed, he wanted the slogan on the (now withdrawn by NME) free single.

Although the use of language like "the gates are flooded, anybody can have access to England" is perhaps unfortunate when taken out of context, in the context of the interview his position is remarkably similar to that adopted by all three mainstream political parties in this country - that immigration is beneficial but shouldn't be a free for all, nor should it be contrary to the retention of a firm and recognisably British national and cultural identity. Without wishing to sound like his hero Kenneth Williams, the latter is the central thrust of Morrissey's position.

In fact, as NME know full well, the singer has been hankering back to a nostalgic, almost mythical England of tea rooms and bowler hats as long ago as the Smiths. He has displayed infuriatingly Philistine tendencies in unwelcome statements like "All reggae is vile".

But while he may be old-fashioned, reactionary and remarkably, stubbornly resistant to our changing world and probably shouldn't have allowed himself to be embroiled in all this again, I am not convinced that he is anything more dangerous than his own famous description of himself as an "arcane old wardrobe".

I agree with NME that in the current climate Morrissey's comments - and certainly, the way they have been sensationalised - are "unhelpful", so why are they a) prompted in interview and b) splashed across the cover of the paper?

I'm sure NME will benefit from the extra sales. However, if Morrissey can be pilloried for expressing similar views to David Cameron, is it any wonder he prefers to live abroad?
Title: Re: the smiths / morrissey
Post by: MacGuffin on November 23, 2008, 11:19:08 PM
Oh God, kill me now. Everyday Is Like Sunday turned into an NFL ad (https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.visualart.ro%2Fforum%2Fimages%2Fsmilies%2Fsuicide.gif&hash=199d83f9bc0fe8b85672809afa5a00ce885e4ef0) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIIwxfEhvFU