Kristeen Young interview at Ask Me

Originally posted at All You Need Is Morrissey:

There's a very interesting new interview with KY here:
http://www.askmeaskmeask.me/kristeen-young/

via Twitter: @AskMeX3

It also says Johnny Marr will be interviewed next.



Excerpts:

...Do you get nervous before a performance?
Maybe. I get more nervous about talking than singing. Morrissey is always encouraging me to talk more. Hmm. I don’t know why that is……because I go see bands all the time and they rarely speak.

...“Life’s Not Short, It’s Sooo Long” is one of my favorite songs. It touches me because I read the lyrics as being about pining for a different life, wanting to be rescued from one’s circumstances, which I relate to. What were you longing for and have you found it?
Well, that feeling goes way back and has been consistent in my life. Morrissey says it’s my life’s theme song, but I don’t know. I do know that nothing has been quick in my life and I’ve always felt imprisoned by something. When I was living at home it was home and waiting to get the hell out of there, then, as an adult, it turned into other things — waiting to be acknowledged, waiting for kindness. I finally feel like things are starting to open up a bit for me for the first time after all this time.

...Your last two videos, “Fantastic Failure” and “I’ll Get You Back”, were shot in Missouri? How did it feel to be shooting at home? Are you a local celebrity?

No, I’m not a local celebrity. I’m known other places a lot more. I think the press there has issues with me that I don’t understand. When I lived there they treated me like such a joke — making fun of me all the time. Then, when I left and started working with artists they respect, they seemed like they resented it. I remember one time Tony Visconti guested at one of my shows there (in St. Louis). He played bass on a couple of songs. The press said “Are we supposed to be impressed and feel privileged that she brought some big time producer to play with her.” Umm, maybe I just thought it would be a treat because so many tours skip St. Louis completely. So, I guess, YES, you were meant to enjoy it. I learned my lesson. Never again.

It’s puzzling. In 2009, I think, Morrissey played there. I wasn’t opening, but he complimented me (on stage) and the press reported it as being sarcastic. I mean, it was such a leap to say that it was sarcastic. That’s the old hometown. Everyone has one. I can deal with it. There are worse things.

...You’ve toured quite a bit with Morrissey. How have you changed since first meeting him? Has he influenced your work?
Oh, gosh. I was a mess when I met him. I don’t know what he saw in me and I’m sure many feel the same way. He’s taught me so much — how to talk to people, how to talk at all. I was always a decent writer, but I had problems with actual speaking. Also, life had been so hard for so many years — I was always on the defensive — just ready for the shit to be slung — always ready for the fight. I was a wild thing. He dealt with me in a very loving way and I became warm again. Strange how that works. Also, the validation I feel from him has changed my life. I am stronger.
 
Last edited:
So are we to assume that KY will be Moz's permanent opening act until he retires in two years?
 
It's actually a pretty touching interview. I haven't seen her as an opening act, but will soon.
 
Poor Kristeen. Sounds like she's been through a lot.
 
Poor Kristeen. Sounds like she's been through a lot.


Yes so sad. If it wasn't for Morrissey feeling sympathy for her or whatever the hell the link is here, she'd be washing dishes in some diner somewhere and perhaps will be soon enough
No musical ability, no voice, and the writing capabilities of an 8 yr old.

For amusement I looked up this song that "defines" her and says so much about her life.

"Life's Not Short, It's SOOOO Long"

Waiting to turn 18…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Waiting to be cut free…life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change this course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Waiting for 5:15…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Where is my childhood dream? Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change my course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Please, change my stars.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s…

Sorcery, intervene!
Hurry! I’m like glass.
Toad and Owl, Save me now!
Hurry! I’m just flesh.
Hurry! Flesh don’t last.
Hurry! Life’s not fast.


Really who can not see the talent here. The deep profound lyrics, the depth of her "pain". The "toad and owl" should have saved us instead.
 
Yes so sad. If it wasn't for Morrissey feeling sympathy for her or whatever the hell the link is here, she'd be washing dishes in some diner somewhere and perhaps will be soon enough
No musical ability, no voice, and the writing capabilities of an 8 yr old.

For amusement I looked up this song that "defines" her and says so much about her life.

"Life's Not Short, It's SOOOO Long"

Waiting to turn 18…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Waiting to be cut free…life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change this course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Waiting for 5:15…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Where is my childhood dream? Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change my course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Please, change my stars.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s…

Sorcery, intervene!
Hurry! I’m like glass.
Toad and Owl, Save me now!
Hurry! I’m just flesh.
Hurry! Flesh don’t last.
Hurry! Life’s not fast.


Really who can not see the talent here. The deep profound lyrics, the depth of her "pain". The "toad and owl" should have saved us instead.

Simple. And a little bit beautiful. I like it.
 
Yes so sad. If it wasn't for Morrissey feeling sympathy for her or whatever the hell the link is here, she'd be washing dishes in some diner somewhere and perhaps will be soon enough
No musical ability, no voice, and the writing capabilities of an 8 yr old.

For amusement I looked up this song that "defines" her and says so much about her life.

"Life's Not Short, It's SOOOO Long"

Waiting to turn 18…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Waiting to be cut free…life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change this course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Waiting for 5:15…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Where is my childhood dream? Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change my course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Please, change my stars.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s…

Sorcery, intervene!
Hurry! I’m like glass.
Toad and Owl, Save me now!
Hurry! I’m just flesh.
Hurry! Flesh don’t last.
Hurry! Life’s not fast.


Really who can not see the talent here. The deep profound lyrics, the depth of her "pain". The "toad and owl" should have saved us instead.

The song you quoted is one of her best, and it's a great song in general. Because she writes music and words; a lot of her lyrics are so tied to her piano that taking them out and laying them naked on a blank page is kind of unfortunate, because it robs them of their original context. With some artists, the lyrics can stand alone, but with her, the words and the tune are one organism. That doesn't make either weak by itself, it just means they are more potent when together.

I disagree about her "lack of talent," I think she's very gifted and intelligent however I do agree that if not for Morrissey and Visconti she'd be doing hair at Cost Cutters by now, or something. That isn't really a knock against her; I just think that what she does -love it or hate it- just doesn't connect commercially. Five or six albums in, nearing age 40, having kicked out her drummer who was with her from Day 1, and having changed her sound significantly time and again...and yet, she is still basically where she was in 2006...I'm just not sure what she expects is gonna happen at this point. What's she gonna do when Visconti keels over and dies? I know that sounds shitty, but I seriously think about that stuff.

It's not a bad interview but it's sad that every other word is Morrissey. Morrissey Morrissey Morrissey. All her interviews are like that. Same thing happens with Johnny Marr interviews. I wonder if this bothers her.

I suppose she is in a catch 22, in a way...she'd gain so much independence, artistically and in how people see her, by branching off from Morrissey and doing things on her own...and yet if she split from Morrissey; she'd be killing a major outlet of exposure, and the press would lose most of their interest in her.

But I guess it's better than waiting tables in St. Louis.
 
Yes so sad. If it wasn't for Morrissey feeling sympathy for her or whatever the hell the link is here, she'd be washing dishes in some diner somewhere

Thanks for the analisys, nostradamus.

What if Marr never knocked on morrissey's door?

The absurd of this kind of thinking is that you can say that about anybody. What if andy warhol had not put the Velvet Underground together? Loud Reed would be a bus driver. What if Dee Dee didn't talk to Joey? the Ramones would be cab drivers. And so on.

Maybe it's specifically because of her talent that she broke her through obscurity and reached both Morrissey and Visconti? Perhaps it's because of her talent she's touring the world playing her music while you and I (aka, people with no talent and no voice) are at home, washing our dishes and writing stuff about her on an internet forum.
 
Yes so sad. If it wasn't for Morrissey feeling sympathy for her or whatever the hell the link is here, she'd be washing dishes in some diner somewhere and perhaps will be soon enough
No musical ability, no voice, and the writing capabilities of an 8 yr old.

For amusement I looked up this song that "defines" her and says so much about her life.

"Life's Not Short, It's SOOOO Long"

Waiting to turn 18…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Waiting to be cut free…life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change this course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Waiting for 5:15…life’s not short; it’s so long.
Where is my childhood dream? Life’s not short; it’s so long.

Please, change my course.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Please, change my stars.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s so long.
Life’s not short; it’s…

Sorcery, intervene!
Hurry! I’m like glass.
Toad and Owl, Save me now!
Hurry! I’m just flesh.
Hurry! Flesh don’t last.
Hurry! Life’s not fast.


Really who can not see the talent here. The deep profound lyrics, the depth of her "pain". The "toad and owl" should have saved us instead.
Quite. Pass the sick bag. For the love of God when will you GROW UP MORRISSEY? You are such an arse.
 
It's quite simple. St Louis hates K Young because she is a pretentious no-talent hack. Good riddance. I am certain that Moz retains her as an opener only to be sure that his fans pay their just penance before his shows. I certainly would not tolerate her screeching for anyone else.
 
It's quite simple. St Louis hates K Young because she is a pretentious no-talent hack. Good riddance. I am certain that Moz retains her as an opener only to be sure that his fans pay their just penance before his shows. I certainly would not tolerate her screeching for anyone else.

I'll grant you that she's not everyone's cup of tea, but the "pretentious/screeching" accusation is really overused. She isn't Diamanda Galas.

Most of her records are not radically far in formula from your basic rock and roll/pop structure. But, you know, you'd have to actually hear her music in order to know that, instead of just basing your criticism on what everyone else says, or on some 25 minute live set you heard her play while you were distractedly rubbing yourself raw over whether or not Morrissey would be playing You Have Killed Me for the 3,619th time.
 
My only complaint of her set is that you can't hear the words of her songs. That probably has more to do with the sound guy having the dials tuned into Morrissey's instruments instead of hers, but her songs are kinda too reverb-y or something. She could be singing about the coolest shit ever and all I hear is la la la.
 
i believe this is the site and work of Scarlet_Ibis, a former prodigious frink poster here.



































































































isn't this the site and work of Scarlet Ibis, a former prodigious frink poster on here.
 
Thanks for the analisys, nostradamus.

What if Marr never knocked on morrissey's door?

The absurd of this kind of thinking is that you can say that about anybody. What if andy warhol had not put the Velvet Underground together? Loud Reed would be a bus driver. What if Dee Dee didn't talk to Joey? the Ramones would be cab drivers. And so on.

Maybe it's specifically because of her talent that she broke her through obscurity and reached both Morrissey and Visconti? Perhaps it's because of her talent she's touring the world playing her music while you and I (aka, people with no talent and no voice) are at home, washing our dishes and writing stuff about her on an internet forum.

You just described a close circle of interconnected people. Would you have ever paid attention to the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol with Niko and the other Chelsea Girls who were abused by him and others, the Ramones, Iggy Pop or Visconti if you had not heard about them from Morrissey? Or asked otherwise: do you really, really like what they are doing and would you do so if you never liked The Smiths first? I personally only paid attention to the likes of The Clash because I went to concerts of a band whose social commentary made sense and they played cover versions of those bands at concerts but now that I understand what they are really about I do not see anymore why I went to their concerts in the first place, am not attracted to their music anymore and cannot be bothered about their influences. The other month I watched a documentary on Andy Warhol on Arte and they called him incredibly innovative and such and I found that these people who do so are incredibly unimaginative in order to be so fascinated by what he was doing.

A varied melody of la la la is something that I can also easily get together. It is actual words that I cannot think properly. In her case the pure evil lyrics are not worth hearing. It is always fascinating that people who claim to have a refined sense of "beauty" find ugly and distorted things so incredibly ... beautiful. At least those who produce these things admit that they were on drugs. The others cannot be honest one way or the other.

I grant Morrissey that he first liked the people and then whatever they come up with. When I watched another documentary with a lengthy interview with Iggy Pop on Arte, he was at least interesting to listen to in how he reflected on himself. I would not exactly call his having pulled his pants down on stage and having seen his ... for a full minute... art but ... would he have done so if he had not been on drugs?
 
She isn't Diamanda Galas.
while I agree that there are many difference between KY & DG :straightface:
the first and foremost coming to my mind, especially given I have heard both of them in concert more than once
is that, while Diamanda is incredible to hear perform live, better than her CDs :)
Kristeen Young is just the opposite :cool:
granted, I have not heard her(KY) in a few years, maybe she has gotten better :confused:
I really hope so :thumb:
 
After six years or maybe more we are writing all the same things about her...She's talented, o not she got no talent, she's on the stage just for Morrissey, oh no Morrissey belives in her talent...What is the true? Will you buy some of her discs? Do you listen to her music daily? I'm italian and the first time that I listened a Smith's song any word was impressed in my brain...and I must confess, sometimes having my shower I sing some Gaga's song and truly I'm not a fan.... I respect KY, she's brave, but I saw her on the stage and she's more an actress than a singer and I got no more to say! Romina.
 

Trending Threads

Back
Top Bottom