He may be right, or he may be wrong. I haven't heard the song.

However, why do mnusic journalists always rip into Morrissey with *so much* relish?

Given the contributions Morrissey has made to music and the fact he still makes credible music in 2006, why do they let Oasis and 50 Cent off with "it's just oasis/50 cent/usher.. but hey it's not bad stuff?" Yet they always savage Morrissey if - in their view - it isn't The Queen is Dead quality.

I think this is where Morrissey's persecution complex comes in - the man IS being persecuted, for some strange reason.

broken

an underwhelming single, a p***-poor opening track. rubbish song titles. looks like Ringleader may be destined for the record shop bargain bins by mid-April!

Pitchfork tends to be very finicky and harsh, but they really like Morrissey for the most part. They gave Maladjusted and YATQ very high ratings.

but what he says can't really be faulted. I love Mozz to death, and was excited to hear the song, but I admit my love for him keeps my view of the song rose-colored. It is, admittedly, certainly more pedestrian than most stuff from YATQ.

to me it sounded a lot like a so/so Morrissey song - a very standard melody the lyrics were okay - what can i say, just okay go ajead - troll me, i dear you

The thing is this song could have been a great song.

1. First, any reference to the Middle East should have been removed (music, lyrics). Most people have no tolerance for Middle East empathy. I personally am sick of the Middle East and the last thing I ever expected or wanted was a Morrissey song that reminds me of the Middle East.

2. Changed the lyrics slightly to more of a general sense, so more people could relate.

3. Toned down the overproduced instruments.

I think Morrissey tried to hard to make a political statement and he has his political views all wrong. He needs to go back to just singing about general generic subjects.

Morrissey needs to understand that his audience has grown up and we don't what to hear what his political views are. Most of us have are own political views and don't buy Morrissey records for political insight.

Morrissey's songs are becoming far to self absorbed.

Combine this with a horrible band and you have the beginning of the ending.

But I must say I don't take Visconti's comments too seriously. He also commented on the release of "Do It Yourself" by the Seahorses "it's one of the best things I've been involved in... heartbreaking in places.."

Hmm, right.

broken

RABMOZZER tells it like it is.

Morrissey has been living in Morrissey-land for too long. He has lost touch with reality.

What a sad ending.

this review is by a fan not liking the song. he or she posted it for our review on the general message board a few days ago. i couldn't disagree more with the reviewers take on the song and interpretation of the lyrics. it' sjust another fan wishing the album sounded something safe like YATQ.

Pitchfork takes submissions by fans...they are not journalists. not saying anything wrong with that, just that some people think this is an official review.

i love the openning track because it's different and a great song.

...to visit this site.

i'm just an idiot and don't like when artists express themselves and their feelings... i'm ignorant and proud and like my artists to be the same. Why can't morrissey deliver the goods?

sincerely,
ROBMOZZER and The Idiots from Hell.

That Robmozzer (and to a degree, the author of the original critique piece) gets blasted for stating his opinion by many posters here whose primary defense of Morrissey is that he has every right to state his own opinion.

pay absolutely no attention to anything pitchfork writes about. they're the ones who place kelly clarkson and kanye west in the top 5 of their year end polls.

besides, i think it's a little silly to review a non-single off the lp. from everything i've read, this new morrissey album seems like it's going to be something of a packaged album with subtle common threads running through each song. "far off places" might be take on a different meaning once the album is heard in its entirety.

I often find reviewers make strange assumptions:

"then Moz might actually be offensive here, presuming everyone's heaven is the same."

I don't get this at all. Does it mean that assuming everyone goes to the same heaven is offensive? Perhaps it is to someone, but everything is probably offensive to someone. So what? And why assume that the lyric means that anyway? Weird.

Is NOT just a fan cold-submitting a review. He is a regular contributor and indeed has the lead review today of Beth Orton's new album if anyone cares to check.

He did not sumbit his review for consideration on the forum - a review WAS submitted but it was a review of Dear God Please Help Me, and the review was positive.

The reason for this review being so bad is that IWSYIFOP is, err, so bad. That's all.

...is specifically addressed to Muslims? It certainly could be, and there's no harm in interpreting in that way if you fancy, but come on, 'if the USA doesn't bomb you' is an extraordinarily vague line. The song could be about anyone. No need to slate Morrissey for addressing a song to Muslims with apparent inelegance, when the song could quite honestly be about anyone. The USA bombs everybody!

love
math+

I know journalists aren't too bright but accusing Morrissey of being "potentially racist" - or whatever the latest charge is - because he talked about heaven.. well that's fucking hilarious!

The person who wrote the review probably has a 90 IQ and was extremely proud of the piece.

broken

...is a worthwhile site, you just have to take it with a gigantic salt lick. They are wildly inconsistent and entirely too full of their hipster hip-hip happeningness, thinking it's charming when it's really just empty blathering at times. Still, they post some great stuff and seem at heart to be Moz supporters, at least in the sense that they recognize his unquestionable place in music history.

Their review of YATQ surprised me for how positive it was, and stands as a great take on Morrissey in general. Fittingly esoteric. However, and more to the point of this thread, it's funny how the reviewer of IWSYIFOP falls into the trap of so many other journalists who've misinterpreted his songs. Things are never quite as they seem, yet the reviewer here claims that the song offers "allegiance" to "the world's religions." Not necessarily so, and that opinion seems to me a far too literal-minded take on these Moz lyrics.

This is one self-admittedly very baffled reviewer who, because he tried at his level to dissect and relate to the song, is left frustrated. Other reviewers might be more holistic in their appraisals.

This morning I informed some colleagues who I’ve not seen for a few days about the YHKM single’s radio play, after one saying to me in a resigned fashion, as if to get the inevitable out of the way: “So what’s happening with Morrissey?!” When they asked me for the song-title, the other exclaimed: “Does he think he’s God?” Flummoxed I asked why, to be reminded of Nietsche’s famous remark that “God is dead and we have killed Him”. Amazing what people take out of a song.
The only comment Irish DJ Tom Dunne made after playing YHKM on Today FM was: ”If Morrissey can forgive us, then we should forgive Morrissey!” Then he went on to promise to play it again in his top 5 tomorrow.

One of the world’s most influential and creative musical thinkers and a 20th century cultural icon, the brilliant American composer Steve Reich, explains it thus: “It’s the music that comes first always and then on the whole if you’re interested you’ll go further [to explore words, people etc]. If you don’t care about the music, you don’t care what they’re saying”.
He should know.

Finally I inquired today in Dublin’s HMV store about the ROTT formats available, only one listed so far, but I was assured that there would be no need to order as the shop would be awash with copies of the album, because they were so sure it would be one of the biggest sellers of the year. Morrissey’s fans are apparently hiding out and proliferating all over the place!!

Morrissey is a singer/songwriter, thats it.

I love his music more because of his voice than anything else. I'd like it rocked up a bit more, but I know that slow he can sound even better. Every record he has made reflects these dilemnas, but changes nothing; he is the only person trying to make this kind of stuff.

If you dont like your illegal downloads, then don't buy the record. I can't find a better reason for mp3s than to save people money.

If you like an event with like minded individuals every now and again then you'll be a MOz gig this spring, singing along and enjoying the moment. Thats a truth.

To the Americans, I understand your rapture and disappointment when you feel it, but I think you have to start getting constructive about the country you live in and the government that controls you and the rest of the world. Quite frankly, I would be happy to hear a whole Morrissey album made up of arabic folk songs with "mystic sounds" rather than anything that sounds like it was"made in America". I don't expect Morrissey to stand up for what I believe in, he's not a god, he's not even brilliant, but he fits with me more often than not. Thats good enough for me for the time being.

This is actually my favorite of the 3 I've heard. I like it when Moz does something different and "rocks" a little more than usual. I mean don't get me wrong... the weeping and wailing is great and all... but I like it when he does something besides that. 'Satan rejected my soul' for instance, is one of my favorite Mozzer songs.

hope not........

pointless review from the people at pitchfork media.

Regardless of personal dissatisfaction at any criticism of Morrissey's work, there is in fact nothing in this short review that isn't true.
They are incontestable observations.

just listened to i will see you... and dear god, please help me. the former is hilarious - it actually seems to use the stereotypical middle-eastern tune from 'carry on up the khyber' which is completely moz! it's just a pity he didn't use an excerpt of bernard bresslaw's brilliant indian impersonation instead of all that ya da da da dum business at the end. 'dear god' sounds lovely - very simple and atmospheric. that reference to exploding kegs is a bit carry on as well come to think of it. sheer genius! p.s. anyone fancy a little bit of how's your father?

don't deserve music.

There have been some shitty comments. I've heard the three leaked tracks and the demo for "on the street were i ran". And i am very excited about the new album.
Indeed 'dear god' is up there with his best.
'you have killed me' is soooo catchy (its going around and around in my head as i write)- i don't even know all these italian names he speaks of.
'i will see you in far off...' is an album track and certainly not filler.
'streets ...' has a catchy pleasant rift.
i have detested certain Morrissey songs so i am not one who thinks he can do no wrong, just what i have heard of ringleader is quite fine.
i still hate the cover though!

XfM's Ian Camcorder discussed ROTT on his show the other night. He’s obviously heard it a few times. Said it sounded like a more complete album than Who Ate Me Curry. Mark Radcliffe also played You Have Killed Me last night. Strangely he didn’t make any comment about the song itself (he normally raves about Moz stuff; even Roy’s Keane!) but he said how great Moz looked these days even though he looked his age…
Maurice

"This song is a humble cry of allegiance to all the world's religions, specifically Muslims"

Bollocks.

"It's so easy for us to sit together, but it's so hard for our hearts to combine"

and

"I will see you somewhere safe looking into the camera and pulling faces"

It's possibly about being with someone who's going off to war, or someone of a different faith, but it's addressed to one person. I also think it's someone from Morrissey's personal life. Although lyrics are there to be interpreted, and some interpretations on here that I disagree with are entirely valid, I do believe this writer's interpretation is wildly off the mark.
Whatever the song is, it's not a 'humble cry of allegiance'. What Muslims does the writer know that look into the camera and pull faces ... and where are the cameras in heaven for that matter?
A hastily written review from someone that's heard the song maybe once.

Ah, well, another ill-informed, illiterate, unimaginative reviewer!

> I was going to write this review in hypothetical Moz song titles, but that
> seemed a little cheap. Besides, I could only think of two: "My Best
> Stuff, Unlike You, Is Behind Me" and "God Is on Your Side But I
> Stand Alone, Don't I?"

What an incredibly bad idea? What an imagination this guy has!

> The former isn't necessarily true (Moz can
> still pull a few gems out of his pompadour)

A few? Whilst reviving his entire career single-handledly...

> but the second still applies:

No, it doesn't.

> This song is a humble cry of allegiance to all the world's religions

No, it isn't.

> specifically Muslims ("If your God bestows protection upon you/ And
> the U.S.A. doesn't bomb you/ I believe I will see you someplace
> safe").

Why Muslims and nobody else? A ludicrous statment.

> Thing is, Moz's empathy is undermined; if "far off places"
> really does mean the afterlife (as he seems to intend),

In no way does it mean the afterlife, of course.

> then Moz might actually be offensive here, presuming everyone's heaven is
> the same.

He's not saying that at all, of course... so therefore he's not being offensive.

> Even more baffling is the song's dated industrial beat
> and, worse that sub-"Kashmir" riff

Yes, that whole dated industrial-Middle Eastern musical genre.

that always signifies Middle Eastern
> mysticism to Western ears.

Not to mine - maybe his.

> When "Far Off Places" reaches its
> climactic finale and Moz starts burbling "ya-da-da-da-dum" over
> and over, the entire enterprise finally descends into the utterly
> ridiculous.

The babbling, warbling crescendo is a fantastic, classic piece of Moz vocal trickery. Love it.

> Still, I appreciate that he's trying. [Stephen M. Deusner] 1
> 1/2 stars

Not as trying as this reviewer. An almost vintage mis-reading of a song. It's clearly a personal statement to a specific person couched in almost transcendental terms. The reviewer is a twerp.

It amazes me how many posters have taken the Pitchfork review at face value. Duesner attempts some labored "analyis" of the lyrics, and so many immediately proceed as if his opinions are established fact.

Morrissey is politicizing the Middle East issue! Morrissey is obviously on a downward spiral, what with a negative review of one song from the new album that isn't being released as a single!

What a fucking joke.

Think for yourselves.

i wouldn't be surprised if Stephen M. Deusner is a pro-war american and thus he wrote such a horrible, ill-managed, review to 'get back' at morrissey for something he sees as a political anti-american song.

notice him calling morrissey being offensive (racist) to world religions. it's a right-wing tactic.

it's pathetic

Morrissey: "I Will See You in Far Off Places" - Pitchfork track reviews
genre: rock

I was going to write this review in hypothetical Moz song titles, but that seemed a little cheap. Besides, I could only think of two: "My Best Stuff, Unlike You, Is Behind Me" and "God Is on Your Side But I Stand Alone, Don't I?" The former isn't necessarily true (Moz can still pull a few gems out of his pompadour), but the second still applies: This song is a humble cry of allegiance to all the world's religions, specifically Muslims ("If your God bestows protection upon you/ And the U.S.A. doesn't bomb you/ I believe I will see you someplace safe").

Thing is, Moz's empathy is undermined; if "far off places" really does mean the afterlife (as he seems to intend), then Moz might actually be offensive here, presuming everyone's heaven is the same. Even more baffling is the song's dated industrial beat and, worse, that sub-"Kashmir" riff that always signifies Middle Eastern mysticism to Western ears. When "Far Off Places" reaches its climactic finale and Moz starts burbling "ya-da-da-da-dum" over and over, the entire enterprise finally descends into the utterly ridiculous. Still, I appreciate that he's trying. [Stephen M. Deusner]

* 1/2 out of *****

Has anyone noticed that whenever Morrissey releases a critically acclaimed album, there's generally a consensus about which are the stand-out tracks; while whenever he releases a so-so or poor album, there seems to be little or no agreement about the stand-out tracks, and people all seem to have a different opinion.

Viva Hate: Suedehead, Everyday, Late Night Maudlin, Ordinary Boys

Your Arsenal: You're Gonna Need, Seasick, I Know It's Gonna Happen

Vauxhall: Now My Heart, The More You Ignore Me, Find Out, Spring-heeled Jim, Speedway

Now look at the other albums - almost everyone has their own opinion about the stand-out tracks on SG, Maladjusted and Quarry. Some love Boy Racer, others hate it; some think do your best is classic Moz, others (like myself) find it bland and indigestable; some love the 30s Berlin-influenced ambitious outsiders, others think it's terrible; just about every song on quarry was touted as both his "best work" and his "worst work." It's a strange phenomenon.

broken

I read the review and all the comments and without having listened to the song I must say that I was afraid the track and even the whole album would be a disaster… So, I downloaded it, thoroughly listened to it and since then I am enjoying it. Now I feel I betrayed him!

“Plagiarizing” Morrissey’s simple song lyrics I shout: “Why… and why… why… why…?”

So, allow me to add my own humble review, disregarding any cautious and ignorant comments I read.

Coming from a country that’s used to this eastern type of sound (Greece), I have to say that I am very strict when it comes to mixing eastern music with other kinds. And on this occasion the experiment was successful! It’s not like “Push the button” by Chemical Brothers, the result of which is a vulgar electronic westernised eastern sound, which I hate! On the contrary, it’s not at all clumsy and the best thing is that it suits perfectly Morrissey’s voice! Has anyone noticed that? This traction of the vocals in eastern songs is exactly what Morrissey voice needs to rise! Moreover, they have matched the guitars so well with the eastern instruments… I love it (and I was so afraid I would hated it, cause in general I hate these mixtures).

We all know that Moz rarely makes choices in his songs out of random. This is why I love him so much.. and I believe that this applies especially in this case. First of all the choice of the eastern sound is specifically related to the whole middle-eastern political issue and its origin. Secondly, if you analyze a bit the song and if you’ve been a moz fan for some years you can detect that at the beginning he chooses to speak in the face of an easterner, possibly a terrorist, whereas at the last stanza he changes the line (no more “I will see you in far off places”) and he now speaks for himself. This is a rather common practice for Morrissey, to change in the last stanza, but each time is different and absolutely GENIUS!

If I haven’t bored you by now, let’s see it more thoroughly.
The first two lines must be some kind of citation he presents to disdain later in the words of a terrorist. Don’t forget how strongly religious kamikaze attackers are and how they believe in life after death, in which they will be rewarded (“And yes one day I will close my eyes forever. But I will see you in far off places”).
The verse “It’s so easy for us to sit together. But it’s so hard for our hearts to combine” I believe that it's referring to terrorists who live their lives in the area they are going to attack but when they are being asked to go on with the task, duty, country and religion come first.

The verse “Destiny for some is to save lives. But destiny for some is to end lives” is my favourite, I find it BRILLIANT. It’s the two sides of the same coin. We have USA and their allies who say that they want to save the respective country and this is why they bomb it (!) and we have the terrorist who say they want to save their country therefore they put bombs. It depends on the perspective from which you see the subject.

The last stanza, where I believe speaks Morrissey for himself is the most difficult to analyze. Of course, in a usual ironic way he’s attacking USA. As for the last two verses… I must say they are “cloudy”. Still, I think he’s just referring to the aftermath of all this, which is what else? Surveillance, spies and globalised – legalised terrorism not only upon the “suspects”, but upon all of us, as state terrorism.

For all the above reasons I find the song brilliant and I am so proud as a Morrissey fan that after all these years he never fails to surprise me and he can still retain all those qualities for which I loved him at the first place.

And finally something else for those who worry about the album and its acceptance. I REALLY don’t care. The only thing you should worry about is the quality of songs our Morrissey is delivering you and he has never disappointed me. I would never expect from him a one-off hit like “I bet you look good on the dance floor”. Wouldn’t you be disappointed, despite the

Read the rest of this comment...

Why do americans get so touchy, when it comes to critize their affairs? Why can't an artist express his feelings, thoughts, points of view about a subject matter so importantat as the ameican goverment policies ruling half of the world?
It seems if you are rich and you're white, you think you're so right...

...I'm a fan...I like M even whe he suck.

-Johnny Arsenal

Some people just don't get it