Therapy Group for the Embittered and Disillusioned.

[Amy]

I think "bitter and disillusioned" sums up my attitude to Morrissey in recent years, and I don't think I'm alone: the songs are getting worse, his political comments are as inane and ill thought-out as ever, the re-issues are a shoddy money-making exercise in revisionism and he's dressing his band up like extras from the Rocky Horror Show. Yet I'm still here, so I might as well face the facts - regardless of all this dribble, no matter what he does to put me off, I adore the man. I hang on his every word, for better or worse; I bore my friends shitless talking about him at every opportunity, and I spend a unhealthy amount of my free time thinking, listening and writing about the man and his work. Come on - 'fess up, fellow bitter Moz apostles. You love the old devil and you know it.

[VivaGil]

I can't ever be bitter at the man. seeing morrissey off the stage is absolutely thrilling even if just for a second. He's not completely lost and I cannot say I've been pashernate or even felt the same way about an artist. Cheers to all those with passions just like mine

[Torieger]

I think "bitter and disillusioned" sums up my attitude to Morrissey in recent years, and I don't think I'm alone: the songs are getting worse, his political comments are as inane and ill thought-out as ever, the re-issues are a shoddy money-making exercise in revisionism and he's dressing his band up like extras from the Rocky Horror Show. Yet I'm still here, so I might as well face the facts - regardless of all this dribble, no matter what he does to put me off, I adore the man. I hang on his every word, for better or worse; I bore my friends shitless talking about him at every opportunity, and I spend a unhealthy amount of my free time thinking, listening and writing about the man and his work. Come on - 'fess up, fellow bitter Moz apostles. You love the old devil and you know it.

Hi Amy,
Great topic!
Although I'm new to this Forum (but am loving it so far!), I have been a Morrissey/The Smiths Fan for the better part of 20 years. In the small rural town in Texas, (USA) where I grew up, I was the only person at my high school who had ever even heard of Morrissey, let alone proudly wore his t-shirts. His music, both solo and with the Smiths has gotten me through some intense times in my life. When I was in college, I worked overtime to be able to afford to go and see him perform in concert (Chicago Theater, 2000), and it was one of the best concerts I've ever attended.
That being said, I agree with your comments wholeheartedly. I also cringe at his public persona as of late, the onstage band antics, "management" with a gmail account, as well as the more lackluster records, etc..., but I am exactly the same in that I have tried to find other artists who I am as passionate about, and while I am a huge fan of many bands and artists, none of them are the same to me as Morrissey is. Of course, that makes this cognitive dissonance, so to speak, all the harder to deal with. Oh well, what's a fan to do? I suppose the best we can do is hope that things will turn around for him in the future. I hate to think that such a brilliant career would end on a low point.

--Tori
Fellow Embittered and (Somewhat) Disillusioned Moz Fan

[Cornflakes]

I'm disappointed at the recent songs (PATSE is just about OK), but hopefully something better is around the corner. Don't forget that the follow-up to Kill Uncle was Your Arsenal.

I don't really agree with him about the Falklands, but lots of sensible people hold his opinion and it's a massive leap forward compared to endorsing John Redwood.

He obviously loves touring and it's likely to be commercially viable for him for as long as he is physically able. Good for him.

I'd love there to be ten more fantastic Morrissey albums to come, but he's given me enough and he doesn't owe me anything. If he's not happy to release the Wolverhampton gig, why should he? If he doesn't want to sign to a label run by a geography graduate in Coventry, then he shouldn't. He certainly shouldn't gather together a bunch of sub-standard songs and have them poorly-produced and slammed out without any proper promotion just because it's possible.

[Orson Swells]

This recent clip of him signing autographs and posing for pictures really makes me smile. The twinkling warmth of the man shines through in it, I think.

[joe frady]

I can take anything Moz throws at me...

Except that plaid/tartan man-bag
I'm off.

[alabamy]

I'd love there to be ten more fantastic Morrissey albums to come, but he's given me enough and he doesn't owe me anything. If he's not happy to release the Wolverhampton gig, why should he? If he doesn't want to sign to a label run by a geography graduate in Coventry, then he shouldn't. He certainly shouldn't gather together a bunch of sub-standard songs and have them poorly-produced and slammed out without any proper promotion just because it's possible.

This!

[King Leer]

Nice video. He's very gracious.
I think he keeps quiet to save his voice for shows. Or maybe there's just nothing to say, hah.

The way the gives the biro back to the female fan made me laugh.

I get the whole frustration on wanting Morrissey to be as brilliant as we know he can be, and to put out records with the utmost respect for the material itself and the fans.
That's the ideal.
But...

[Worm]

I don't know if I'm "embittered" or "disillusioned", but I'll say this much: I've been a fan for a long, long time, and never, at any point, did I not feel a sense of frustration with him. The only time I was ever completely satisfied with Morrissey was when I was first introduced to his music, liked it, but wasn't yet a fan, as such. Over my years of fandom, I've realized that disappointments, frustrations, and annoyances are just the way it is with him. Morrissey is a true original, totally free-spirited and deeply uncompromising. He is also inconsistent, which means there will always be something to complain about. The fact that he can still annoy me and so many others is proof that he's still got his genius intact, somewhere in there.

[King Leer]

Yes, yes and 50 more yesses.
We love our friends and family members despite all of their flaws (and they us).
Morrissey is the artistic equivalent of that.

There are artists I admire, sometimes greatly, that do everything "perfectly" if you know what I mean, but they're missing a "+alpha" that nobody can create, buy, nor learn.

I don't know if I'm "embittered" or "disillusioned", but I'll say this much: I've been a fan for a long, long time, and never, at any point, did I not feel a sense of frustration with him. The only time I was ever completely satisfied with Morrissey was when I was first introduced to his music, liked it, but wasn't yet a fan, as such. Over my years of fandom, I've realized that disappointments, frustrations, and annoyances are just the way it is with him. Morrissey is a true original, totally free-spirited and deeply uncompromising. He is also inconsistent, which means there will always be something to complain about. The fact that he can still annoy me and so many others is proof that he's still got his genius intact, somewhere in there.

[joe frady]

Just to add another jaundiced veteran viewpoint ~ in one quarter of a century of following the man there has always been a significant portion of his fans that have viciously criticised him. From fanzines and Smiths&Moz nights back in the day, to twitter and...Smiths&Moz nights now, these people have always been there. I wasn't around for The Smiths years so I can't be sure on this, but given the type of people that Morrissey seems to attract (hyper critical shall we say?) I don't believe that there was ever a 'golden period' for Moz, where the fans were anything near universal in their appreciation. Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not sure. I just wonder sometimes if Cave and Weller get some of the shit that's been on here in recent years.

All I know is that I remember a friend of mine, a huge, long-time Smiths fan, saying that Morrissey was too fat at Wolverhampton '88. And that he was getting 'thuggish'. Ever since then I've always taken other fans judgement with a smidgin of salt.

[Orson Swells]

Just to add another jaundiced veteran viewpoint ~ in one quarter of a century of following the man there has always been a significant portion of his fans that have viciously criticised him. From fanzines and Smiths&Moz nights back in the day, to twitter and...Smiths&Moz nights now, these people have always been there. I wasn't around for The Smiths years so I can't be sure on this, but given the type of people that Morrissey seems to attract (hyper critical shall we say?) I don't believe that there was ever a 'golden period' for Moz, where the fans were anything near universal in their appreciation. Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not sure. I just wonder sometimes if Cave and Weller get some of the shit that's been on here in recent years.

All I know is that I remember a friend of mine, a huge, long-time Smiths fan, saying that Morrissey was too fat at Wolverhampton '88. And that he was getting 'thuggish'. Ever since then I've always taken other fans judgement with a smidgin of salt.

This is absolutely true. I became a fan towards the tail end of The Smiths and I remember all those great post-Queen Is Dead singles, from Panic onwards, garnering great criticism from fans I knew, usually because "it's not as good as How Soon Is Now?". The internet has just given such people an arena to vocalise more vociferously. There's never been a time when he's not been criticised. Likewise, I pay little attention to the whims of fandom.

[King Leer]

In my message above I had another paragraph that I couldn't articulate well enough about imagining the net being around in Lennon's time etc.
The vitriol would've been much worse. But in modern times, Morrissey stirs it up more than any other pop star alive.

I guess even in the days of Vauxhall the compliments were still backhanded. "It's good, but it's still not The Smiths" etc.

When Morrissey is truly gone one day (hell, I could be first), I will cry, but it won't be because I took him for granted.

This is absolutely true. I became a fan towards the tail end of The Smiths and I remember all those great post-Queen Is Dead singles, from Panic onwards, garnering great criticism from fans I knew, usually because "it's not as good as How Soon Is Now?". The internet has just given such people an arena to vocalise more vociferously. There's never been a time when he's not been criticised. Likewise, I pay little attention to the whims of fandom.

[Amy]

...... I don't believe that there was ever a 'golden period' for Moz, where the fans were anything near universal in their appreciation. Maybe that's a good thing, I'm not sure. I just wonder sometimes if Cave and Weller get some of the shit that's been on here in recent years.

All I know is that I remember a friend of mine, a huge, long-time Smiths fan, saying that Morrissey was too fat at Wolverhampton '88. And that he was getting 'thuggish'. Ever since then I've always taken other fans judgement with a smidgin of salt.

Perhaps the Quarry comeback? That seemed to bring the diehards back in droves, and some new fans along the way.

To your friend saying Morrissey was too fat in '88... it sounds like he/she has body image problems.

[Kewpie]

Perhaps the Quarry comeback? That seemed to bring the diehards back in droves, and some new fans along the way.

Not really.

I was surprised to know some people were also disappointed with the production and the selection of the songs of Quarry.

When Smiths was around I wasn't living in the UK. I was only aware of some criticism from the press and their counterparts.

[Nikita]

Around me, there were no critics at all when Vauxhall and I came out, whereas all his other albums were more or less "discussed".

[smiler]

Lolz at this thread - you all really do need a thearapy group, I think this thread is a very good idea. Congratulations by the way you have turned into "that" type of fan. The song "all you need is me" was written for you. Some of you are right to notice that "that" type of fan has always been around even at the begining and regardless of the "quality" of the songs. More often than not your current state of mind is actually due to some kind of crisis in your personal life rather than a genuine reaction to Morrissey's actions or output.
Why not hang about this thread for a while and talk it through with each other? See if you can make each other feel better, find some common group. Please don't leave here until you do feel better and you are ready to interact with other humans. Say it loud....My names is .............. and i don't like Morrissey but I really do love him.

[Orson Swells]

Around me, there were no critics at all when Vauxhall and I came out, whereas all his other albums were more or less "discussed".

I remember when Vauxhall came out some people complained to me that Morrissey had "gone mainstream"!

[Amy]

Lolz at this thread - you all really do need a thearapy group, I think this thread is a very good idea. Congratulations by the way you have turned into "that" type of fan. The song "all you need is me" was written for you. Some of you are right to notice that "that" type of fan has always been around even at the begining and regardless of the "quality" of the songs. More often than not your current state of mind is actually due to some kind of crisis in your personal life rather than a genuine reaction to Morrissey's actions or output.
Why not hang about this thread for a while and talk it through with each other? See if you can make each other feel better, find some common group. Please don't leave here until you do feel better and you are ready to interact with other humans. Say it loud....My names is .............. and i don't like Morrissey but I really do love him.

Well, confession is the first step to recovery, right? What kind of fan are you (if not "that" type)? Please don't say "a real one".

[joe frady]

I remember alot of guff in fanzines of the day along the lines of 'Vauxhall and I' being way too MOR / AOR, and talk of this is the end, he's signed with Steiffel-Phillips (Rod Stewart's management), etc. For me, that always pricks the illusion bandied about these days that 'V&I'-era Moz was immaculate perfection.

I was browsing that Len Brown book at the weekend and he mentions how at the close of '86 'The Queen Is Dead' barely made it into the NME Top 10 critics picks, with SmoothFM shit like Anita Baker's 'Rapture' placing above it.

The past is a different country; But it were shit then too.