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| Panel discussion at Seattle conference includes topic on Morrissey (Apr. 16) |
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posted by davidt
on Friday April 15 2005, @09:30AM
Becky Newman writes:
I heard about this conference at the Experience Music Project in Seattle and found a description of a panel which included a piece on Morrissey called "Sister, I'm A ____: Morrissey's Artful Evasions" which will be presented by the singer from the band Harvey Danger.
For more info.
2005 Pop Conference Bios/Abstracts
Panel(s):
Art School of Rock
Saturday, April 16, 2005, 5:30 - 7:00
Abstract:
"Sister, I'm A ____: Morrissey's Artful Evasions"
Sister, I’m A ______: Morrissey’s Artful Evasions. Morrissey’s reputation as a pop icon has everything to do with despair. A throaty, plaintive singing style, acutely shy off-stage persona, and song titles like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now,” “Everyday is Like Sunday,” and “Half A Person” have reinforced this idea throughout his 20 year career as lead singer of the Smiths and solo artist. As his true fans will gladly tell you, however, the miserablism trope is only camouflage for Morrissey’s true musical character. As Colin Meloy of the Decemberists observed in a recent interview with The Believer, “‘Morrissey’ the character tends to outshine what he’s created. I think of his literary allusions, the flaws of his characters, his self referential tone… he gets a lot of criticism for being this sort of egomaniacal character in songs when in fact there’s heaps and heaps of irony there—I’m talking strata upon strata.”
Among those strata upon strata lies the stratum of sexuality, and specifically, the sexual preference of the singer—or, if you insist, the narrators—of these songs. While a huge part of Morrissey’s cult has devoted itself to speculating on his orientation—gay, celibate, bi—the man himself has devoted a major share of his lyrical energy to the task of coming out without sacrificing the one essential thing every gay person has as his birthright: the privilege of not declaring himself. While I’m not overly interested in assessing the relative merits of the closet, I am fascinated by the degree to which Morrissey has made homosexuality (be it his own or his characters’) the dominant thrust of so many of his songs, and more to the point, the degree to which his cult has either refused to recognize the theme, or simply missed the boat altogether.
Moreover, the artful code in which the singer structures his confessions—a kind of quantum double entendre that offers every verse, chorus, and even song title up for scrutiny—practically qualifies as its own language, or at least its own slang, along the lines of the secret tongue he evokes in “Picadilly Palare.” Drawing on the venerable tradition of open secrecy in polite homosexual society, he basically says it all without ever actually saying it; “Will Never Marry,” “(I’m) The End of the Family Line,” “I Want the One I Can’t Have,” et al.
Morrissey’s collected lyrics comprise a litany of artfully confessional evasions (or artfully evasive confessions). In the presentation of this paper, after a brief introduction, I plan to (as songwriters like to say) let the work speak for itself, mining every Smiths and Morrissey record and most of their singles for cues and clues, with a particular emphasis on the shift in his tone from swooning romantic agonist in The Smiths to mischievous solo queen.
Sean Nelson
The Stranger, Harvey Danger
Sean Nelson is a writer and musician who lives in Seattle. He sings in the band Harvey Danger, who recently reunited after a three-year hiatus to capitalize on the Year of the Big Comeback. They had a hit one time. He is the Associate Editor of The Stranger, a Seattle alternative weekly in which he writes a lot. In addition, Nelson recently taught the inaugural class in the songwriting program at the University of Washington (in conjunction with EMP)—a particular thrill given that he dropped out of the UW to be a musician. He is also a partner in Seattle indie label Barsuk, home to Nada Surf, John Vanderslice, The Long Winters, and until just the other day, Death Cab for Cutie. Some time between now and October, Nelson will write a small book about Joni Mitchell’s Court and Spark for Continuum Press’33&1/3 series. As if all that weren’t enough, he is also a sometime DJ on KEXP, the best radio station ever.
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