Morrissey - has his light finally gone out? by Andrew Harrison (The Guardian / Shortcuts blog)

"foam-flecked fundamentalists"

 

[Girlmostlikely]

Re:

Watch out for Diana conspiracy theory guy, he's busy adding that Morrissey predicted future king's name (Certain People I Know).

Good grief! What a nut. Do you know if Morrissey has ever commented on that "theory" ?

 

[Girlmostlikely]

Yes - the light HAS gone out. For now. The last few posts on TTY made me sick because they were so silly. Hey Moz, stop quoting your own lyrics ("Oh black cloud" - oh please, will you just shut up?). If the inspiration to write great songs is not there right now, fine. When it comes back and it can & should, then get writing and then come back & perform. Otherwise, stop producing this useless drek that has been your MO for the last 3 years +.

The idea of a Smiths reformation is just silly. It should not ever happen and for me if Moz were to go down that fetid path, my respect for him would diminish greatly. I think SPM still has a lot to offer, but he needs to step back, write some great songs (which clearly he has the capability of doing) and hit the road when fans have been waiting for a good, long while to see him.

There was an interview in September 2000 (also with the Guardian) where he said something to the effect of he "doesn't phone it in". Well, since after 2009, that's all he's done. Can you blame the promoters for being reluctant to have him perform? The man takes ill frequently and cancels, the shows of late (what few there have been) offer up nothing new and exciting. From a purely business perspective Morrissey today is a liability, not an asset. The one not phoning it in is Kristeen Young. She's actually writing and producing something. You may not like her, but at least she's not "phoning it in". She's doing her job which clearly is the exact opposite of what SPM is doing right now.

He's got it in him to make another fine return. I believe that 100%. But if the inspiration isn't there today to write good songs, he needs to stay home until he finds it. He's got it in him to create an entirely new fan base and enhance the already existing one if he produces a quality product.

I don't know if a new band is the answer. Maybe dump everybody except BB. Boz knows what he's doing; he always has. If I were Moz, I'd shut up about the royal family (who cares really), Margaret Thatcher (she's dead), shut up about EVERYTHING. Shut up and go away until you have something to say. It will come in due course, I'm convinced it can.

I agree with (what i think is) your overall point. Morrissey still has greatness and the ability tl "come back" but he needs a break to reaccess and be reinspired. He has talked so much about how many great songs he has waiting in the wings, he should record!

However, his TTY statements are fine, as far as im concerned. They have been classic Morrissey. I always enjoy them, if they were straight forward, we'd all.be disappointed! I think its cute when he quotes his own songs. "Oh black cloud!" Is my favorite! Its my new "oh shit!" Hahaha

As far as Moz phoning it in, I completely disagree! I was lucky enough to see him several times this year and he was amazing! It was intense, i was right up front for 4 of the shows and he was very in the moment, emotional and sounding better than ever!

I hope a break does him well, and he comes back to wow us all!!

 

[Camden]

It's been years since I've seen him in concert, but the three times I saw him in the '90s were all wildly different in quality, even from one night to the next. I saw him give a brilliant show one night in Chicago, followed by a half hour ending with a walk off mid song the next night, so I'm not surprised to see health and other issues still plaguing him. My most recent attempts to see him in Texas ended with not one but two cancellations.

He obviously needs to rethink how he approaches things. Personally, I wish he'd focus more on recording music and a little less on touring, as it seems like he simply doesn't have the stamina for it these days. At least not at the pace he's been attempting.

But touring is where the money's at. Recording won't give him the dough he wants/needs. He wouldn't be planning such exhaustive tours (planning, not actually doing, sadly) if this weren't the case. Maybe now that recent events have rendered him uninsurable he will be forced to explore other options.

 

[Anonymous]

But touring is where the money's at. Recording won't give him the dough he wants/needs. He wouldn't be planning such exhaustive tours (planning, not actually doing, sadly) if this weren't the case. Maybe now that recent events have rendered him uninsurable he will be forced to explore other options.

His tour schedules aren't actually that exhausting. He has toured more in recent years than he ever has, but not an unfeasible amount.

After Swindon he changed his pattern - instead of doing 3 nights then 1 night off he moved to 2 nights then 1 night off. It would seem that that is also a struggle

 

[Anonymous]

I would not take his post on tty that literally. He is far too polite to point fingers. I would maybe reason the promoters were maybe turning a little shady. He may have seen something he didnt like, he does have very high morals. There is not enough credit given to him.

 

[Winston Legtight]

I never read articles, I'm only keen on interviews. I just want to know where his mind is at the moment. So, having not read this article but only the comments below I have to agree with the majority: something is happening. what is it? Honestly I think the only deal is, Morrissey needs a real great record producer. One who'll come in and say: "we're only doing the songs I like!".

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey becomes more attractive as he gets older, there are some photos of him that make this woman melt, the person he is with or will be with is extremely lucky, not sure what the unlovable heart comment is about, he is polite, fun, and intelligent, there isnt many if one that engages his audience like does,

 

[Anonymous]

the fact that there are only forty five responses to this article after several days probably answers the question in the article. the 2002-2004 comeback period was brilliant, exciting, celebratory even. the tickets were like gold dust and the hardcirw and faithful came from every corner of the earth to be there. for me, it went flat around 2006 I was at G-mex and the magic had gone, purely down to the band. when I heard them songs knowing that the playing was mostly wrong it wasn't the same. I'd even had reservations about Alain's take on smiths stuff but this was worse. sorry, I love live music and there us good and bad. if moz has any future this is a good opportunity to break ties with his current band and find something new. the embarrassing flip side of the coin is seeing johnny marr enjoying his highest respect and status for years with a band that are outstanding. not interested in smiths reforming, I bet johnny isn't either.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought Morrissey's last album was top notch and the last time I saw him live in Brixton he was still in fine voice so I don't see what all the fuss is about. You'll miss him when he's gone so stop being so mean-spirited. Thank you!

whats this? a Morrissey fan on solo??

 

[Anonymous]

"You are as a lone star, whose light does shine
on some frail bark in winters midnight roar.
You have like to a rock built refuge stood
above the blind and battling multitude.
In honoured poverty your voice does weave
songs consecrate to truth and liberty-
Deserting these, you leave me to grieve,
Thus having been, that you should cease to be."

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey has been utterly shite and a shadow of his Smiths and early solo self for many years now.

 

[Anonymous]

Lack of funding means many things, morrissey isnt going to invest his own money to get to south america, the promoters probably didnt want to take a chance. The movie will do well, spawning a new interest, I heard only playing one night in some places.

 

[123xyz]

Morrissey has been utterly shite and a shadow of his Smiths and early solo self for many years now.

Cranky much ?

 

[Anonymous]

Really? I think a song from 2009 doesn't even sound as good as 1997. I haven't heard anything as strong as Maladjusted (song) and Alma Matters in recent years. I'm surprised that someone so pridefully independent as Morrissey consistently rejects the idea of self-releasing an album. But anyway, what's the point of a self-release if it's just going to be the same lackluster material?

IMHO, if Morrissey releases any new music something needs to drastically change. New writing partners at least? If he won't call Johnny, can he bury the hatchet with Stephen Street? How about a special project with Noel Gallagher as some suggested after the Instagram pic?

He doesn't wanna release it himself, morrissey wants to get paid and get paid for the sub par quality songs he's been putting out, if he puts out the record himself and it sounds like the boys a looker and the other urecorded songs he wants to put out, the album will be a flop and since he put his own money into it, he won't turn out a profit. Where as if he had a record label he can get paid up front and if the album flops or doesnt sell well he can blame the record label for not promoting him or the album and hindering him with this or that, but hey he got his money for releasing sub par quality music.

Morrissey and Smith fans have been very spoiled with his music because for the better half of his career he did brilliant f***ing music, and us old timer fans know the music he's putting out now is nowhere near the quality of the songs he use to put out back in the day, if people who are fans think these new songs are great and his best then you've must have became a fan in the last 10 years. Because these new songs he's trying to put out are nowhere near as good as his earlier work, if you disagree then I don't know what to tell you maybe it's a generational gap. Well anyways I think he knows he's putting out sub standard music now and that's why in these last few years he always seems to be very frugal with money and always putting out statements not to buy this or that because he doesn't see any of the money, so it seems he's really trying to get as much money as he can now a days.

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Lack of funding means many things, morrissey isnt going to invest his own money to get to south america, the promoters probably didnt want to take a chance.

Why not? He says the ticket sales weren't a problem and the promoters seemed surprised things weren't going ahead. He was due to pick up (and will now be invited to return) $300,000 in Peru, and it would be fair to think there might have been the thick end of a million in total for successful completion of the whole tour.

Why wouldn't you dip into your personal fortune to get your gear and entourage to where they had to be to get a big payout at the end? What could it cost to get perhaps fifteen people to Buenos Aires, Brasilia or Sao Paolo to pick up a large cheque? Would you spend maybe $50,000 in the certain knowledge you be walking off with perhaps a million in a month? Me too. If you had ten or twenty million in the bank it would be chickenfeed. It wouldn't if you were broke of course, but that couldn't possibly be the case, could it? That would be preposterous. It's not as if somebody was relying on the Peruvian 300k to bankroll the next part of the tour.

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey has been utterly shite and a shadow of his Smiths and early solo self for many years now.

Really? Quarry, Ringleader and Refusal are all better than Kill Uncle, Southpaw, and Maladjusted as far as I am concerned...

 

[Anonymous]

After reading Johnny Barleycorn's usual rubbish, I was reminded of this:

“All internet debates, without exception, are entirely futile... There's no point debating anything online. You might as well hurl shoes in the air to knock clouds from the sky. The internet's perfect for all manner of things, but productive discussion ain't one of them. It provides scant room for debate and infinite opportunities for fruitless point-scoring: the heady combination of perceived anonymity, random heckling and a notional 'live audience' quickly conspire to create a perfect storm of perpetual bickering. Stumble in, take umbrage with someone, trade a few blows, and within about two or three exchanges, the subject itself goes out the window. Suddenly you're simply arguing about arguing. Eventually, one side gets bored, comes to its senses, or dies, and the row fizzles out: just another needless belch in the swirling online guffstorm. But not for long, because online quarrelling is also addictive, in precisely the same way Tetris is addictive. It appeals to the "lab rat" part of your brain; the annoying, irrepressible part that adores repetitive pointlessness and would gleefully make you pop bubblewrap till Doomsday if it ever got its way. An unfortunate few, hooked on the futile thrill of online debate, devote their lives to its cause. They roam the internet, actively seeking out viewpoints they disagree with, or squat on messageboards, whining, needling, sneering, over-analysing each new proclamation - joylessly fiddling, like unhappy gorillas doomed to pick lice from one another's fur for all eternity” - CHARLIE BROOKER.

Remind you of any website in particular...?

 

[Anonymous]

Re: gloomy/pessimistic article in the Guardian

I think the Moz adorers need to accept that whilst they are able to sustain themselves with worshipping the guy simply for what he is, the rest of us can only see a great talent and career on the decline.
This saddens me because I think he has been a truly great artist.

I'm not an "adorer", but equally I see no evidence for stating "a great talent and career on the decline". People said the same thing about Judy Garland for the last fifteen years of her life, but even to the very end, she was one of the most compelling live performers of recorded history. Go to any Moz gig and you'll see the same kind of magic in action.

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey has been brought down by his own hubris.

What do you mean "brought down"? Brought down how, where? If we're talking about the cancellation of South America, that was illness and an (apparently) dodgy local management. I don't see any other evidence of anyone being "brought down" by hubris or anything else.

(Human verification code was "broken record" = ironic that this comes up when replying to a JB post)

 

[Uncleskinny]

Really? Quarry, Ringleader and Refusal are all better than Kill Uncle, Southpaw, and Maladjusted as far as I am concerned...

De gustibis non est disputandum.

P.