Sounds hurtful. Viva hate, is that it? But it's a thin line. It really is.
I love you, but you are already me, carrying the burden of my unrepaired past, my deprivation and my destructiveness. And I am doubtless that for you, taking the brunt of punishment for what you never received; we are for one another already faulty substitutions for irreversible pasts, neither one of us ever really getting past the desire to repair what cannot be repaired. And yet here we are, hopefully sharing a decent glass of wine [let us dream]. “Life, as we find it,” Freud tells us in Civilization and Its Discontents, “is too hard for us.” This explains the need for various forms of narcosis (including, of course, art)...
from
The Force of Non-Violence by Judith Butler, who says even the most loving relationships contain some hatred, . While the lazy just hate, child-like hope can help cope with these primal forces. Or something like that.
Epicurus has come into my mind repeatedly in recent weeks. One of his suggestions was to, in effect, 'stop watching the news' and live a quiet life of delights, friendships and reflections. He wasn't quite a household name in his lifetime, 2000 years or so ago, but what he did accomplish, in designing a distinct practical philosophy, has been increasingly cherished to this day.
Nobody can realistically deny what Morrissey has achieved. He commented on this himself during Dave Fanning's excellent 2002 radio interview with him:
-> DF: It’s the obvious thing that people have this phrase, a lot of British journalists have of “Being Morrissey”, where you can get a wry little sentence out that sort of dismisses any question that might have to go into too much detail or whatever…is that a defensive mechanism, or does it exist at all?
M: Well, I think it’s…I think it defines a certain type of sort of…supposedly willowy, but ummm….feisty character, I think. So it simply defines a type. I think…maybe not.
DF: Well, it’s not for you to have to worry about, I suppose..
M: It’s not for me to worry about, because…I am Morrissey.
DF: Exactly. Your music has been judged a lot more than a lot of other people’s music down through the years because… it just meant so much to so many people.
M: Yes, yes.
DF: Are you okay with that?
M: Well…..it annoys me sometimes because so many people in music just seem to get away with so much and so many artists who I think are absolutely dreadful are very leniently dealt with and…I never am, of course. People seem to take a very severe line and so…I just see so many people slipping through the net with just dreadful songs and dreadful presentation and…they go on to be multi-platinum and applauded and so forth and…it does irk me sometimes. But there’s nobody else I’d rather be…I don’t think “Well, I wish I was that person”. I don’t think anybody has the perfect career…everybody has great gaping holes in what they do.<-
Another interesting exchange there:
->DF: Do you think it’s better that artists remain aloof and give off the vibe of being superior? I’ve often thought that you’ve looked up to people like that, right down through your career.
M: Well, I don’t know how many people can really do that, because if you play the fame game then you just have to dive in and you have to be orchestrated somehow and if you don’t- if you’re uncontrollable- then people say you’re a problem. And if people can’t get one over on you, they say you’re a problem and you’re awkward. But it just means that they don’t really get away with anything where you’re concerned, so then they say you’re really difficult. But as far as I can see, most people do tow the line. I can’t really see anybody in pop music who’s rebellious. And certainly, when groups and artists have a certain footing and a large audience, they’re somewhat trapped. (Pause) God knows why…
DF: But when you were that teen person I was talking about, compared to now and nobody ever believes that life goes as fast as it does - it goes so slow, I suppose, in your teen years, compared to your 20’s, 30’s or 40’s - are you ok with that?
M: I feel fine, I mean..the older I get, the happier I feel and the prospect of a shock of grey hair, I think, is really quite nice..<-
-
https://www.morrissey-solo.com/threads/dave-fanning-interviews-morrissey-the-transcript.14327/
Hopefully negative reactions still don't bother him much, and he can observe with a healthy shot of detachment.
“The information age is actually a media age. We have war by media; censorship by media; demonology by media; retribution by media; diversion by media — a surreal assembly line of obedient clichés and false assumptions.” - John Pilger, 2014
That was 10 years ago. Things haven't improved. Fighting cancellation isn't easy, as people like
Graham Linehan are discovering. The control of the info net is being fine-tuned, with shadow-banning, memory-holing, and God knows, but how long can it go on for? Certainly people are falling for it and going along with sides, for an easy life or personal gain or whatever. Deserves its own thread really? Not everyone's happy though. I'm not sure if art is going there enough yet, to illuminate and debate.
The fuzzy thought that Morrissey might contract again with Rough Trade fizzles out with this message. He has such a rich legacy to be curated. He might enjoy shifting gear, coming down to earth, and living among us for a while. In an odd sense I think this silencing partly helps protect him in the long-term. They'll be knocking on the door for him again soon enough. But whichever it is,
boot the grime of the world in the crotch, dear
www.morrisseycentral.com
