'I feel like I've been had': Morrissey's collaborators respond to his politics - The Guardian

Link retweeted by @ericacalil:

'I feel like I've been had': Morrissey's collaborators respond to his politics - The Guardian
The former Smiths singer’s new album features guest spots from Billie Joe Armstrong and Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste. Are they not put off by his increasingly unpleasant right-wing stance?

Excerpt:

As US music magazine the Fader asked: “What possible reason could any of these people have for lining up behind Morrissey now?”

Droste declined to comment. The only artist willing to speak with the Guardian was Canadian vocalist Ariel Engle, who performs with cult indie outfit Broken Social Scene. She received a call from the American producer Joe Chiccarelli asking her to contribute backing vocals for a cover of Joni Mitchell’s Don’t Interrupt the Sorrow. “I thought, ‘Oh the Smiths, sure’,” she says. “It was $500 for two hours’ work.”

Engle says she didn’t become aware of Morrissey’s political views until the album was announced and a friend emailed to question her involvement. “It’s a very weak argument to claim ignorance,” she says, “but it is my argument. It’s not an excuse but it happens to be the truth.”

Morrissey’s manager, Peter Katsis, says he is unaware of statements made by any guest vocalists, but that the intention of the covers album was supposed to be fun. “This is where his head is at,” he says. “Maybe enough has been said with the last few albums being political.” Of Morrissey’s political views, Katsis says: “I manage his artistic career and sometimes I have to deal with things he says, but it’s not for me to comment.”

Chiccarelli echoes Katsis’s sentiment. “I can’t speak to Moz’s politics,” he says. “I’m a record-maker. I’ve known him 10 years and he’s been a gentleman and a pleasure. I consider him a friend.” When asked about the far-right figures for whom Morrissey has expressed support, Chiccarelli says: “I’d really have to research it and see if it crossed a particular line for me.”

Engle says that learning of Morrissey’s political opinions has left a “bad taste”, and that she stands in opposition to his views. “The inflammatory things he says are not my politics. I think he’s completely out of line. I grew up around multiculturalism and I am the product of multiculturalism and immigration. I feel like I’ve been had, but it’s my fault.”

The American singer LP offered a statement through a PR representative: “As I’m a huge fan of his music and poetry, I was honoured to be asked to collaborate on the album.” Representatives for Lydia Night of California band the Regrettes offered no comment, but the 18-year-old told punk magazine Kerrang!: “I’ve grown up loving the Smiths – my cat’s name is Morrissey!” Representatives for Armstrong said he was in the studio and therefore unreachable.

The guest stars on California Son are all North American, suggesting a difference between perceptions of the former Smiths frontman in the US and UK. Katsis, who is American, sees the critical focus on Morrissey’s politics as a British preoccupation.

“I don’t think they know enough about it to care about it,” he says of Morrissey’s US fans. “I don’t feel knowledgable enough to comment on British politics, therefore it’s probably not as important to me or the international fans as it is to UK fans. This whole thing has had me perplexed. The subjects are very complicated and dividing.”

The figures bear out Morrissey’s enduring support across the Atlantic. He ended 2018 with arena shows in North and South America, and has announced his first Canadian tour in 20 years for this April. In November 2017, Los Angeles City Council declared 10 November “Morrissey Day”.

“In America, he tends to be seen as the rock star who sang about queer life and spoke openly about feminism when nobody else did,” says Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield. “These two images define him, and he’s still seen in terms of his pioneering place in history. His grumpy old age is not really held against him. Americans tend not to follow UK politics very closely, so when he makes mind-blowingly offensive statements there might be outrage or humiliation for a few days, or hours, but then it’s back to listening to The Queen Is Dead”.




Media coverage:
 
Last edited:
Yes ‘stand back and be more objective’ all you want, but the Guardian will never forgive you for being human, neither will Mother Teresa, but she’s dead, so no worries there.

I think I'm inclined to blame 'foreigners' for all my problems with what I'm going through at home. I need to stand back and be more objective.
 
Considering what the British Empire did for the world, England deserves all the Muslims they get (rape and bombs and all).


A Namedroppingsockpuppet (Surface) sock puppet admirer.:lbf:
A double dipping SP!!:rolleyes:
 
Considering what the British Empire did for the world, England deserves all the Muslims they get (rape and bombs and all).
Since you did nothing for the world you deserve to get nothing back. The brits tried to make the savages civilised but most of them preferred to live in shit. I think the project to teach africans to play cricket was good but mankind always failed to teach the lower civilisations how to develop.
Therefor the project now is all about forcing them to develop by moving them to the developed countries. But it seems this is failing on a large scale.
Intelligence is what it all comes down to.
There will always be people like you who complain about those that at least tried to make the world a better place. The african americans are all a direct result of white people helping them do develop.
Only white people have tried and even managed to make the world civilised but maybe you prefer that the monkey stays in the jungle?
 
The English Barmy invaded Ireland and killed everyone in sight. They only ever leave a country when they are kicked out. Colonial colonic c***s. That doesn't justify violence, but they are far from angels.
Although a pacifist, I hope they resurrect Oliver Crombad via DNA cloning just so he can be blown into tiny rancid pieces.

Although Cromwell died of natural causes, his body was posthumously hung, drawn, and quartered. Not only that, but his severed head was placed on a 20 foot spiked pole above Westminster Hall where it remained for nearly 30 years. It's strange that you can be so mad at someone that you want to mutilate their body without being aware that that is actually what already happened. It's almost like you've never really looked into it or something...
Neither has Morrissey, which is why he inexplicably thought that the Royal Family salute Cromwell, and will do so forever :confused::confused:
Uhm, no, Morrissey, buddy; Cromwell committed regicide and his severed head was on a f***ing spike in public for 30 years, he's not exactly the sort of person the Royals speak about in hushed reverential tones.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell's_head
 
Ok so she died and you never reported it and is living on her pension and welfare, clever.

No basement mean you are toast when the war comes.

Not telling anyone what job you have tells me it is a shit job which in turn explains your huge chip on the shoulder but you probably have a right to be bitter about it.

I suspect you couldn't afford to have your dick sucked it you still have one Bobbitt the hobbit.

 
I'm following this back and forth with great interest as I've been on this isn't a long time and have a fairly decent memory. Robert you have been in the past, somewhat honest about your failings, maybe too honest for a public forum. So that being the case which part of Viva's claims that harassed your ex wife, hit on underage girls, threatened to murder people and followed a female member of this site after a Morrissey concert do you claim isn't true?

Notice how he didn’t reply to you? Lol.
 
Y’know, I consider myself moderately left wing - (left wing-ly moderate?!) and I’m sort of appalled at the attitudes displayed by media outlets such as the Guardian. Just because people like the Green Day dude and the Grizzly Bear dude (two people ultimately loved by predominantly young and therefore left wing) are choosing to collaborate with Morrissey, they feel it’s their obligation to run scathing articles about people feeling betrayed.
I don’t necessarily agree with everything Morrissey says these days but I am in agreement with the man about the so-called loony left. Nowadays it feels like unless we all exist in some Lego Movie ‘everything is awesome’ universe then you’re condemned to death on Twitter. The NME have been guilty of similar this week, having put Morrissey as one of this week’s losers. For releasing a track from a forthcoming covers album. Just because a couple of their left wing stalwarts decided to collaborate. Pathetic
And who are the 'loony left' - give some examples, and what they've said and done that you disagree with.
 
Politically correct twats afraid of saying the 'wrong thing'. If my 'friend' phoned me to tell me who not to work with I'd hang up after telling them to never call me again. This world is turning into a shittier version of Orwell's 1984.
It's all about the money. Watch Morrissey do a reverse ferret when he realises his career is irreversibly f***ed and he can't make money anymore. What will you say then?
 
The more I ignore it, the farer it gets :)

Only us, who who were there from the beginning can really understand what is going on in his mind. The World Won´t Change and that really pisses him of, I guess. I am german, and I can laugh about those "horrible" things he has said in the media. The Press just don´t get it! So I´m looking forward to the next record, the next concert..........until he´s gone someday. My loyalty (isn´t) stretched..........Cheers, Alex
 
"I feel like I've been had" what a ridiculous comment. Was Morrissey's political/social views part of the agreement to collaborate with him? If it was "hey come sing a song with Moz, its for the benefit of X thing" ... and then later found out it wasn't in aid of said thing, then you've been had. As it stands, Morrissey's views, whether you agree or disagree, have nothing to do with this. And if he's not someone you'd collaborate with based on your own views, then that's on the person to do some investigating and reading of who they are working with. It's not on Morrissey and his team to lay out all views before potential collaborators before working with them.
 
And who are the 'loony left' - give some examples, and what they've said and done that you disagree with.

It's not a term I'd naturally use in conversation. But there's no denying that there is something of a gang mentality when it comes to certain celebrities, and non-famous social commentators on Twitter. I would describe it as people that claim to embrace equality for all but for whom people that don't share their views are the subject of much maligning on social media. People who use terms like 'gammon' without taking any time to listen to the views of these people (even with the objective of countering arguments in a measured way) people who believe older Brexit voters are selfish because they'll die before much of Brexit is implemented... I find this the most hurtful.

I don't disagree with some of their views, being pretty centre-left myself; I just feel that some of the stuff these people say is a bit disrespectful.

People should stop hiding behind social media, being so melodramatic, respect other's views and be measured in their responses...
 
Strange thing to say - Katsis, who is American, sees the critical focus on Morrissey’s politics as a British preoccupation.

Seeing it was British politics Morrissey talked about, isn't that what you would expect?

I have no time for what Donald Trump is up to but I wouldn't go off an American band I like if they showed support for him, as its an American issue and I don't understand the complexity of American politics.

I still think that Morrissey misjudged the majority of peoples feeling in the UK when he made his comments.
Which comments, though? I think different groups of people are offended by different things he says.
 
So magnificent they want to push it out by two years. Ye Brits are masters at delayed gratification.
You need to read more about it. Who do you think ‘they’ are?
 
Raggy isn't racist, he's just pissed. Other than that, I'm not sure what your point is.
He stated numerous times that he is racist and "doesn't want to hurt them or anything." That is not a standard for "isn't racist."
It's nice to stick up for your friend but don't directly contradict everything he said repeatedly.
 
Tags
california son info

Trending Threads

Back
Top Bottom