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ROTT jukebox reviews in New York Magazine
posted by davidt on Tuesday July 25 2006, @10:00AM

 xbongo writes:
Tiny reviews of Ringleader Of The Tormentors
in my beloved New York magazine.

---

Ringleader of the Tormentors
Morrissey
The onetime Smiths front man’s latest assembly of morose ballads.

Katherine [Rating: 8]: Love has apparently paid a visitation to Moz, and the clouds are a tad less gray, though couplets like “Pasolini is me / Accattone you’ll be” still provide the damp but pleasurable jolt we’ve come to expect from him.

Sarah [Rating: 5]: I think it would be unethical to play songs like “I’ll Never Be Anybody’s Hero” for 9-year-olds. And the melodies and guitars are flat to me (I can’t get over Johnny Marr’s absence, no matter how long it’s been).

John [Rating: 3]: Oh, good grief! Tracks on this disc include “Dear God Please Help Me,” “You Have Killed Me,” “The Father Who Must Be Killed,” and “Life Is a Pigsty”—that last of which features ostentatiously weepy lyrics actually set to a backdrop of drizzling rain.

 
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ROTT jukebox reviews in New York Magazine | Log in/Create an Account | Top | 22 comments | Search Discussion
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The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Katherine, I don't get it! (Score:1)
Once again I'm confused...it the comment about it being unethical to play "I'll never be anybody's hero now" to a 9-year-old a joke (not funny, stupid), otherwise I have no bloody idea what the hell that means! hehe
defari -- Tuesday July 25 2006, @10:51AM (#229666)
(User #10050 Info)
[ Reply to this comment ]
    Casting Pearls Amongst Swine (Score:2, Funny)
    Absence of Johnny Marr and his jingly-jangly guitar? Songs inappropriate for children? Ostentatiously weepy lyrics set to a backdrop of drizzling rain (and thunder, you forgot the thunder, John.)

    My God, if this is not the most delightfully-ringing endorsement of ROTT I have ever read, I don't know what is! This silly review is like a shout from off the rooftop, "Morrissey has once again failed to appeal to the common tastes of the average music listener!"

    For that, he may be truly destined for eternal greatness. Well done, ol' boy!
    mozmic_dancer -- Tuesday July 25 2006, @11:38AM (#229677)
    (User #11277 Info)
     "I am the fun and the fair, on a Mozsite for the criminally insane..."
    [ Reply to this comment ]
    Nope - Confused... (Score:1)
    Where's the 9 year olds??? Am I missing something??? Can someone please explain what this is???

    That said, one of my friends has a 8 year old daughter who adores Morrissey... He was forced to explain what 'exploding kegs' meant, so it's educational if nothing else! hehe!
    Elsie -- Wednesday July 26 2006, @01:05AM (#229724)
    (User #16918 Info)
     "The more scholastically educated a man is generally, the more he is an emotional bore"
    [ Reply to this comment ]
    • Re:Nope - Confused... by mozmic_dancer (Score:1) Wednesday July 26 2006, @08:36AM
      • Re:Nope - Confused... by Anonymous (Score:0) Wednesday July 26 2006, @08:53AM
          Re:Nope - Confused... (Score:2, Insightful)
          Did I overreact? I thought my response was rather rational and direct.

          If she meant that the song is too mature for some 9 year olds, i.e., that the feelings expressed or subject matter in the song go beyond their comprehension, that's fine. I really don't know what she meant; I can only go by what she said or what she was quoted as saying.

          She specifically used the word "unethical". Ethics deals with choices of right or wrong based on morality and/or accepted standards of conduct. But by who's standards? Who decides? By saying that it would be "unethical" to allow a nine year old to listen to that song; she is making a moral judgement and that those who allow a nine year old to listen to that song, based on her argument, lack sound moral judgement.

          From that interpretation, I went on to cite historical examples of mistreatment and persecution of American artists and writers based on the "accepted standards" of their time. There, I admit, I went overboard. I really didn't need to do that. But, what's done is done and I'll drop the subject.

          So, your 9 year old likes "First of the Gang to Die"? That's a great song. I'm glad you expose your child to great music. I was lucky to have taken formal study in Art and Music in school in the elementary and high school level. Sadly, the modern curriculum in most schools today have decided to remove them completely.
          mozmic_dancer -- Wednesday July 26 2006, @11:55AM (#229798)
          (User #11277 Info)
           "I am the fun and the fair, on a Mozsite for the criminally insane..."
          [ Reply to this comment | Parent ]
            Re:Nope - Confused... (Score:2, Interesting)
            Well, I hope that you don't go running away with the idea that England is much further on! We too have persecuted our artists and writers over the years... I was born in Nottingham, and yet Byron and Lawrence were not included in English Literature there - When I challenged that, I was told that the subject matter was 'inapropriate' and 'difficult for most pupils to understand'!!! How dare they! Lawrence ended up in exile in Italy (ah, don't they all?) but he detested it - he wanted to be back home in Nottingham, but he just wasn't welcome back... Byron obviously loved being anywhere where he could get laid! Ha!

            That said, here and now, we are far more broad minded than people in the US - TV programmes that land on us from across the water tend to prove that point and are generally less challenging and to my tastes, more boring than what we put out ourselves - I hope you can get a few copies of 'Shameless' off Amazon, compare and contrast with 'Friends' and I think you will see what I mean!

            Mozmic Dancer - You seem alright! Why don't you emigrate?
            Elsie -- Thursday July 27 2006, @05:50AM (#229859)
            (User #16918 Info)
             "The more scholastically educated a man is generally, the more he is an emotional bore"
            [ Reply to this comment | Parent ]
    Senseless, un-intelligent fools!! (Score:2, Interesting)
    The comments made about 'Ringleader of the tormentors' are so very, very out of touch!
    The three people who have reviewed the album clearly have no intelligence what so ever!
    The album is not morbid or depressing, Morrissey writes about real life, things he feels and experiences he has been through! Subject matters which you will never, ever hear in the charts. Let me guess these people probably follow artists (I use the word ARTISTS very loosely!!) such as kean, Snow Patrol, feeder..... I could go on..... but I won't through fear of collapsing!!They have nothing to offer.... and never will!!!!
    'Dear god please help me' is an uplifting song, about finding love and feeling free!!
    'you have killed me' is a song about Romany hero's and lost love!!
    And as for the comment about 9 year old's not being subjected to 'i'll never be anybody's hero now'.. well...... Morrissey will never cater for 9 year olds, so why the hell will they be listening, why the hell should they????
    Most bands, groups and so called artists always say - 'we're going to try and reach the people who don't listen to our music'.... WHY??????!!! i don't think anyone should cater for the people who aren't listening! Write music for the people who are listening, the people who have listened and the people who will continue to listen!! As MORRISSEY does!!! he caters for true fans!!
    Morrissey is the greatest poet / songwriter the world has ever come across. I think a statement that will be agreed with by most parts!
    He should be cherished and is by me!!
    These idiots - Sarah, Katherine and John... should never review Morrissey or the Smiths.. in fact they should never review anything!! They should feed themselves to death and dissapear!
    Thank you x
    andrewmorrissey3 -- Wednesday July 26 2006, @02:28AM (#229731)
    (User #16709 Info)
    [ Reply to this comment ]
      Re:Senseless, un-intelligent fools!! (Score:2, Interesting)
      Nice venting, andrew! Me,too, I play it so much exactly because it is uplifting, the ultimate expression of a pure, liberating kind of desire (just like If You Don't Like Me and Human Being). Sad trio indeed, these three, making money for just writing down any garbage that strikes their fancy. Wish I had a job like that! The scores curiously vary from 5 to 8, leaving readers disoriented in all this wheel spinning, unless they can buy ROTT and judge it for themselves. It's like telling about the smell of a flower never smelled before.
      Mrs. Woolf -- Wednesday July 26 2006, @05:10AM (#229746)
      (User #14157 Info)
      [ Reply to this comment | Parent ]
    • Re:Senseless, un-intelligent fools!! by Anonymous (Score:0) Wednesday July 26 2006, @07:37AM
      • Re: You are a Senseless, un-intelligent fool!! by Anonymous (Score:0) Thursday July 27 2006, @01:05PM
        Tiresome... (Score:1)
        Here we go again...
        bscrouch -- Wednesday July 26 2006, @02:52AM (#229734)
        (User #16812 Info | http://crouch.bravehost.com/ )
         I enjoy the music of Morrissey
        [ Reply to this comment ]

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