When there’s f***ed up shit going on, I’m not bored. I’m frustratingly entertained, pained, disappointed, sad, angry…. But otherwise I’m bored. It’s either bad news or no news (or stupid news). Like I said before, I stick around for other reasons.
It's bizarre to romanticise reclusiveness and meanness as artistic virtues. He's ruined so many opportunities by antagonising practically every person he meets and to think he's somehow superior for doing that, or better off than people who are "glad-handing" ... it makes no sense. It's like you think of him as some Byronic hero instead of a real person and so the more misery and dysfunction that follows him around, the better. It's not a normal way to live. And how predictable - to dismiss success when he's struggling but if his career were at a high point, you'd be shouting it from the rafters.
It's no more of a gimmick than the Classically Smiths project would have been, or Rick Astley doing Smiths karaoke, or licensing Smiths songs for films and adverts - and Johnny surely has more right than most to do what he wants with his own songs. Everything to do with 'legacy' artists is gimmicky really. Do we really need albums in 6 formats? Deluxe versions, endless Best-Ofs, albums reissued with altered tracklisting and artwork? Speaking events? Book tours? 'Residencies'? The industry is full of money-making gimmicks and Moz is no stranger to it - or he wasn't, before his career imploded and the opportunities dried up.
The funny thing is that if Morrissey sang in front of an orchestra, you'd be praising it to the high heavens. It's so predictable.
I dunno, watching a vid of Johnny's show I thought maybe Morrissey could do it too. But then there's the conductor - who could he work with?
