A
an old brown shoe
Guest
JAMES: Was it a suprise when you found yourself massively relevant?
Morrissey: Well, The Smiths were never played on daytime radio.
JAMES: But still.....
Morrissey: Yeah, I suppose that we were, yes.
JAMES: You were on John Peel's show and Janice Long's Evening Session - that was about it.
Morrissey: Of course, those were different times - radio stations were playing this expensive ultra-pop, whereas we had a slightly ragged sound. I think programmers had a very strong idea of what sounded professional and what sounded amateur. And The Smiths sounded amateur.
JAMES: When I first heard the 12" of "This Charming Man," it sounded really rough and punk. But listening to it now, it's actually rather beautiful.
Morrissey: These days, we're used to things that sound really batty. But nobody else was remotely similar to The Smiths at the time. We were far from accepted, so the fact that we were successful was itself punkish.
JAMES: What were you up against?
Morrissey: We were considered obnoxious, snooty, rude, dull, depressing, and sarcastic.
JAMES: Do you think you were misinterpreted?
Morrissey: Not at all. [laughs]
JAMES: You were on Sire records for a while, both as a solo artist and as -
Morrissey: - a trapped artist.
JAMES: and as part of The Smiths. But you had a lot of difficulties with them?
Morrissey: The reality of being with Sire was our BEGGING them to release a single from the album. It was humiliating. They never did any promotion. It's the same old story. The Smiths released "How Soon is Now?" and it got a great reception, but Sire just could not get a single in the charts.
JAMES: It must have been strange not getting airplay, but having fans who were utterly devoted.
Morrissey: Well, The Smiths became popular simply because of our songs. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I never just hear a song. Everything that's released has weeks or months of promotion behind it.
JAMES: You're working on a new album now. Who's producing it?
Morrissey: Jerry Finn. He's produced Bad Religion, Green Day, Blink 182.
JAMES: How did you two get together?
Morrissey: His manager approached my manager. It doesn't matter to me that the music he's made is very LA, for want of a better description. Often porducers are desperate to break out of what they've been doing.
JAMES: What do you look for in a producer?
Morrissey: It's important to be able to speak openly without measuring your words. And I'm not hte type of person who hangs around in the studio and jams. I won't sing just any old thing, beacuse it feels to personal. I'm nervous about what's going to come out. It's important for the producer to understand that I"m not a technical singer. But I'm not precious - I don't spend a great deal of time doing take after take.
JAMES: Are you hard on yourself?
Morrissey: You have to be. It helps to be you own worst critic.
JAMES: When you're working on an album, do you worry about how it will be received?
Morrissey: Well, I've never made music in order to please. It's always been a very personal thing, and it still is. I know I don't fit in - nothing has changed for me in that regard. I don't fit in, and I don't want to.
JAMES: Yet you still make records that other people want to hear.
Morrissey: By some quirk of fate, a lot of people like my music. Lots of people want to talk about it and talk to me. But I've never even remotely tried to court publicity.
JAMES: Do you ever think that you should?
Morrissey: No, morally, I couldn't do it. Every artist being marketed now is a "ground-breaking, earth-shattering phenomenon."
JAMES: But that hype creates performers who sell millions and millions of records.
Morrissey: They're reaching the nonthinking people who will just buy any CD that's familiar to them. All they're buying is the picture they remember seeing. When I see a huge billboard while I'm driving along Sunset boulevard, I'm instantly turned off.
JAMES: Are you still living in LA? I heard you moved there in the early 90's.
Morrissey: Yes. I know what you're going to say before you even say it - and you're absolutely right.
JAMES: That it's a weird place?
Morrissey: Yeah. People always say it's a very peculiar place, and I agree - but it has it's good qualities. It's very glamorous visually, which is always inviting. In LA, you can choose which elements of city life you wish to take part in, whereas in New York you have no choice, really. I back away from practically everything. I find the whole idea of celebrity terribly embarrassing.
JAMES: But Los Angeles it'sself is a hugely embarrassing place, where celebrity is valued about all else.
Morrissey: It's disgraceful. Celebrities' opinions on everything count, even if they clearly have no viewpoint whatsoever.
JAMES: But it's that just part of the modern obsession with fame? People want to know everything about a famous person. You can log onto an artist's website and read what he ate for breakfast.
Morrissey: I feel sad that there's so much stuff that I've theorectically "signed" on eBay. And you can watch the bidding climb and climb.
JAMES: You're in a position where you can refuse the trappings of promotion. You can say, "No billboards, please." You have fans who are waiting to hear your next release.
Morrissey: Well, there's generally an extreme reaction when my name is mentioned. Thankfully, enough people buy my records. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here - I'd be working at Kingdom of Leather.
Morrissey: Well, The Smiths were never played on daytime radio.
JAMES: But still.....
Morrissey: Yeah, I suppose that we were, yes.
JAMES: You were on John Peel's show and Janice Long's Evening Session - that was about it.
Morrissey: Of course, those were different times - radio stations were playing this expensive ultra-pop, whereas we had a slightly ragged sound. I think programmers had a very strong idea of what sounded professional and what sounded amateur. And The Smiths sounded amateur.
JAMES: When I first heard the 12" of "This Charming Man," it sounded really rough and punk. But listening to it now, it's actually rather beautiful.
Morrissey: These days, we're used to things that sound really batty. But nobody else was remotely similar to The Smiths at the time. We were far from accepted, so the fact that we were successful was itself punkish.
JAMES: What were you up against?
Morrissey: We were considered obnoxious, snooty, rude, dull, depressing, and sarcastic.
JAMES: Do you think you were misinterpreted?
Morrissey: Not at all. [laughs]
JAMES: You were on Sire records for a while, both as a solo artist and as -
Morrissey: - a trapped artist.
JAMES: and as part of The Smiths. But you had a lot of difficulties with them?
Morrissey: The reality of being with Sire was our BEGGING them to release a single from the album. It was humiliating. They never did any promotion. It's the same old story. The Smiths released "How Soon is Now?" and it got a great reception, but Sire just could not get a single in the charts.
JAMES: It must have been strange not getting airplay, but having fans who were utterly devoted.
Morrissey: Well, The Smiths became popular simply because of our songs. That doesn't seem to happen anymore. I never just hear a song. Everything that's released has weeks or months of promotion behind it.
JAMES: You're working on a new album now. Who's producing it?
Morrissey: Jerry Finn. He's produced Bad Religion, Green Day, Blink 182.
JAMES: How did you two get together?
Morrissey: His manager approached my manager. It doesn't matter to me that the music he's made is very LA, for want of a better description. Often porducers are desperate to break out of what they've been doing.
JAMES: What do you look for in a producer?
Morrissey: It's important to be able to speak openly without measuring your words. And I'm not hte type of person who hangs around in the studio and jams. I won't sing just any old thing, beacuse it feels to personal. I'm nervous about what's going to come out. It's important for the producer to understand that I"m not a technical singer. But I'm not precious - I don't spend a great deal of time doing take after take.
JAMES: Are you hard on yourself?
Morrissey: You have to be. It helps to be you own worst critic.
JAMES: When you're working on an album, do you worry about how it will be received?
Morrissey: Well, I've never made music in order to please. It's always been a very personal thing, and it still is. I know I don't fit in - nothing has changed for me in that regard. I don't fit in, and I don't want to.
JAMES: Yet you still make records that other people want to hear.
Morrissey: By some quirk of fate, a lot of people like my music. Lots of people want to talk about it and talk to me. But I've never even remotely tried to court publicity.
JAMES: Do you ever think that you should?
Morrissey: No, morally, I couldn't do it. Every artist being marketed now is a "ground-breaking, earth-shattering phenomenon."
JAMES: But that hype creates performers who sell millions and millions of records.
Morrissey: They're reaching the nonthinking people who will just buy any CD that's familiar to them. All they're buying is the picture they remember seeing. When I see a huge billboard while I'm driving along Sunset boulevard, I'm instantly turned off.
JAMES: Are you still living in LA? I heard you moved there in the early 90's.
Morrissey: Yes. I know what you're going to say before you even say it - and you're absolutely right.
JAMES: That it's a weird place?
Morrissey: Yeah. People always say it's a very peculiar place, and I agree - but it has it's good qualities. It's very glamorous visually, which is always inviting. In LA, you can choose which elements of city life you wish to take part in, whereas in New York you have no choice, really. I back away from practically everything. I find the whole idea of celebrity terribly embarrassing.
JAMES: But Los Angeles it'sself is a hugely embarrassing place, where celebrity is valued about all else.
Morrissey: It's disgraceful. Celebrities' opinions on everything count, even if they clearly have no viewpoint whatsoever.
JAMES: But it's that just part of the modern obsession with fame? People want to know everything about a famous person. You can log onto an artist's website and read what he ate for breakfast.
Morrissey: I feel sad that there's so much stuff that I've theorectically "signed" on eBay. And you can watch the bidding climb and climb.
JAMES: You're in a position where you can refuse the trappings of promotion. You can say, "No billboards, please." You have fans who are waiting to hear your next release.
Morrissey: Well, there's generally an extreme reaction when my name is mentioned. Thankfully, enough people buy my records. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here - I'd be working at Kingdom of Leather.
