Morten Harket on Morrissey

UPDATE Apr. 6, 11:45PM PT:

Article is online, link from Uncleskinny:

Morten Harket: - Morrissey hadde store ereksjonsutfordringer i mitt nærvær - vg.no

---

Morten is asked about fandom, and is also asked what he thinks about other musicians who’re inspired by his voice and a-ha.

Other famous artists are also known fans (of a-ha), Morrissey from the influential band The Smiths introduced himself as “Morten” at the Quart festival in 2004 (Kristiansand, Norway), after he’d entered the stage singing his own version of “The Sun Always shines on TV”?

"I’ve met him, he almost had an erection around me! We met up in New Orleans some time in the eighties."

Did you speak with the whole band, or just him?

"It’s him I remember. He thought it was a bit difficult I think, the whole thing. He said something… I thought he was decidedly on the gay side."

He’s never confirmed that he is?

"Well, then I don’t know. Then you can only speculate."

From an article to be published in the Norwegian newspaper VG (Verdens Gang)

 

[DAVIE]

Obviously you haven't listened to them. To the general public they are considered one hit wonders, which is criminally underrating them. I defy anyone to listen to Stay On These Roads (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWey1DBAchM&ob=av2n) and still claim they were fluff.

Listened to it....It sounds terrible. I understand Morrissey liking epic bands like Suede and Echobelly etc, but THIS?

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Yeah, do that.
They were a great band. Really. They've made some of the best melancholy atmospheric pop I know.

 

[DAVIE]

Yeah, do that.
They were a great band. Really. They've made some of the best melancholy atmospheric pop I know.

Pop cannot be taken seriously. Geroge Michael, Lady Gaga and Madonna cannot be taken seriously. The word "pop" itself cannot be taken seriously. Even a genius like David Bowie, I cannot take seriously.

 

[wayneclooney]

Morten meets Morrissey.

Fantastic anecdote, will Morrissey's account be in his upcoming auto-hagiography? Utterly predictable and hysterical overreaction to Morten's musings by Moz's myrmidons.

It's funny to think of a relaxed, confident Moz shamelessly and trollopisciously discomforting Morten by lasiviously giving him 'the eye'. I imagine if Morrissey was temescent it was because he had just dragged himself away from the mirror. Or maybe he was aroused by the extraordinary physicality of Morten's spoken voice, if it's anything like his miraculous singing.

Once again the gormless aim a pistol to their heads, proving they cannot handle complexity and ambiguity, although Morten respectfully does:

"Well, then I don’t know. Then you can only speculate."

"he said something...." erm, Morten, what did he say?

@Amy 'Moz said in one of the South Bank Show interviews that he'd been to see A-ha in '86, and thought the musicians and the whole show were overshadowed by screaming teenage girls.'

Oh dear. One can imagine the cerebral poise of Morrissey 'not getting it' at an A-ha gig. Equally, the mind's eye can see him 'not getting it' at an Elvis or Beatles gig? Why are these girls screaming at these 'unintelligent' lyrics?
Julie Burchill was right: the teenage girls just get the ecstatic exuberance of 'pop' whilst the teenage boys just want to cerebrally rock and 'think about the lyrics' .

Morrissey has spent his whole life trying to escape to Dionysian raptures. Morten just has to sing and it happens. Sometimes it happens when Morrissey sings. That's why he'll never stop singing until he croaks. Which is good or bad, depending on your point of view.....

It's sad that no duet ever came of this meeting. Morrissey could usefully make his next album less boring than the last by inviting Morten to a rematch, 'on mike'. I think they'd make great 'vocal sex' together. I'm pretty sure that's what Morrissey had in mind. It would be wonderful if he could actually follow through on these intuitions, fly his freak flag, step outside his comfort zone and tell his anal fanbase to drop dead.

regards
BrummieBoy




'

 

[wayneclooney]

Pop cannot be taken seriously. Geroge Michael, Lady Gaga and Madonna cannot be taken seriously. The word "pop" itself cannot be taken seriously. Even a genius like David Bowie, I cannot take seriously.

erm, keep practising the guitar scales, Davie. Hope someone recognises your 'serious' Cd collection one day. I'm sure Bowie would be bereft that you cannot take him 'seriously'. If you take Morrissey's lyrics 'seriously' you've missed the whole point of his tragi-comic genius.

'Oscar Wilde subtitled his play as “A serious play, for trivial people”; however, he suddenly changed it, with no apparent reason, for: “A trivial play, for serious people”. Here is where the question appears, what did move him, in order change that subtitle?'

http://www.articlesbase.com/book-reviews-articles/a-trivial-essay-for-serious-people-1325062.html

'In matters of utmost importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing.' O.W

This site is well rubbish nowadays. I was only tempted to comment again by a nostalgic rush of homosocial longing for Morten's presence.....

regards
BrummieBoy

 

[Anonymous]

Why are we discussing this? Why wasn't this posted in "Strange unexpected Moz references"? Was it moved to the main board because it was posted by a moderator? Surely 6 lines of a translated extract doesn't even warrant it's own thread, never mind main page escalation?

 

[joe frady]

What is the source of this report?
I know the quotes are from a forthcoming VG article, but what is the source for this spoiler?

 

[lg_br]

Delightful post! Thank you for that.

Morten meets Morrissey.

Fantastic anecdote, will Morrissey's account be in his upcoming auto-hagiography? Utterly predictable and hysterical overreaction to Morten's musings by Moz's myrmidons.

It's funny to think of a relaxed, confident Moz shamelessly and trollopisciously discomforting Morten by lasiviously giving him 'the eye'. I imagine if Morrissey was temescent it was because he had just dragged himself away from the mirror. Or maybe he was aroused by the extraordinary physicality of Morten's spoken voice, if it's anything like his miraculous singing.

Once again the gormless aim a pistol to their heads, proving they cannot handle complexity and ambiguity, although Morten respectfully does:

"Well, then I don’t know. Then you can only speculate."

"he said something...." erm, Morten, what did he say?

@Amy 'Moz said in one of the South Bank Show interviews that he'd been to see A-ha in '86, and thought the musicians and the whole show were overshadowed by screaming teenage girls.'

Oh dear. One can imagine the cerebral poise of Morrissey 'not getting it' at an A-ha gig. Equally, the mind's eye can see him 'not getting it' at an Elvis or Beatles gig? Why are these girls screaming at these 'unintelligent' lyrics?
Julie Burchill was right: the teenage girls just get the ecstatic exuberance of 'pop' whilst the teenage boys just want to cerebrally rock and 'think about the lyrics' .

Morrissey has spent his whole life trying to escape to Dionysian raptures. Morten just has to sing and it happens. Sometimes it happens when Morrissey sings. That's why he'll never stop singing until he croaks. Which is good or bad, depending on your point of view.....

It's sad that no duet ever came of this meeting. Morrissey could usefully make his next album less boring than the last by inviting Morten to a rematch, 'on mike'. I think they'd make great 'vocal sex' together. I'm pretty sure that's what Morrissey had in mind. It would be wonderful if he could actually follow through on these intuitions, fly his freak flag, step outside his comfort zone and tell his anal fanbase to drop dead.

regards
BrummieBoy




'

 

[singyourlife]

Do you blame Morrissey for wearing a 'F*** Morrissey-solo" shirt? Why are these idiotic irrelevant articles being printed on him? This site is like 'True to You's' drunk adultering unemployed brother

*deletes account*

 

[Anonymous]

Regardless of Morrissey's sexuality...a friend of mine's mother worked in radio in the UK/Northern Ireland in the mid 1980s...she died suddenly in 1985 at age 40...leaving my friend without a mother or any sense of immediate family at 15 years old..i'll just never forget how she told me how Morten treated her just a few weeks after the fact...very pretentious and cold...oh my friggin God how those other two members could stick by him after the way he treated my friend after her mother's death is beyond me...

 

[wayneclooney]

Do you blame Morrissey for wearing a 'F*** Morrissey-solo" shirt? Why are these idiotic irrelevant articles being printed on him? This site is like 'True to You's' drunk adultering unemployed brother

*deletes account*

'drunk adultering unemployed brother': That's a very Morrissey type of scenario. He could update 'driving your boyfriend home' or whatever it was called. 'driving your drunk adultering unemployed brother home'. He's always been very good with radio friendly titles, has Morrissey. It would be a good opening scene for an episode of 'Shameless' with Noel Gallagher's High-Flying Birds droning on remorselessly in the background.

I don't blame Morrissey for wearing a 'F*** Morrissey-solo" shirt, but I think if he was a genuine genius (like me) he would have created a t-shirt saying 'Morrissey F***s-Solo' celebrating the autosexuality he appears to have flaunted in front of a confused and scared Morten. Sadly, Moz ain't half as clever as he thinks he is. I still love him, but he needs to up his game or retire.

I wonder who the ghost-writer of his autobiography is?

Singyourlife: I'm glad you have deleted your account. *rolls eyes*. Hopefully you will set a trend and 99% of people on this site will follow your example and despatch themselves to oblivion. Leaving these pages free for the graceful cognoscenti of the 1%, such as myself.

 

[CrystalGeezer]

Why are we discussing this? Why wasn't this posted in "Strange unexpected Moz references"? Was it moved to the main board because it was posted by a moderator? Surely 6 lines of a translated extract doesn't even warrant it's own thread, never mind main page escalation?

Ummm, because the story involves a boner? I dunno. Good question.

 

[Uncleskinny]

Article is now online...

http://www.vg.no/musikk/artikkel.php?artid=10049667

 

[billy scissors]

Morten meets Morrissey.

Fantastic anecdote, will Morrissey's account be in his upcoming auto-hagiography? Utterly predictable and hysterical overreaction to Morten's musings by Moz's myrmidons.

It's funny to think of a relaxed, confident Moz shamelessly and trollopisciously discomforting Morten by lasiviously giving him 'the eye'. I imagine if Morrissey was temescent it was because he had just dragged himself away from the mirror. Or maybe he was aroused by the extraordinary physicality of Morten's spoken voice, if it's anything like his miraculous singing.

Once again the gormless aim a pistol to their heads, proving they cannot handle complexity and ambiguity, although Morten respectfully does:

"Well, then I don’t know. Then you can only speculate."

"he said something...." erm, Morten, what did he say?

@Amy 'Moz said in one of the South Bank Show interviews that he'd been to see A-ha in '86, and thought the musicians and the whole show were overshadowed by screaming teenage girls.'

Oh dear. One can imagine the cerebral poise of Morrissey 'not getting it' at an A-ha gig. Equally, the mind's eye can see him 'not getting it' at an Elvis or Beatles gig? Why are these girls screaming at these 'unintelligent' lyrics?
Julie Burchill was right: the teenage girls just get the ecstatic exuberance of 'pop' whilst the teenage boys just want to cerebrally rock and 'think about the lyrics' .

Morrissey has spent his whole life trying to escape to Dionysian raptures. Morten just has to sing and it happens. Sometimes it happens when Morrissey sings. That's why he'll never stop singing until he croaks. Which is good or bad, depending on your point of view.....

It's sad that no duet ever came of this meeting. Morrissey could usefully make his next album less boring than the last by inviting Morten to a rematch, 'on mike'. I think they'd make great 'vocal sex' together. I'm pretty sure that's what Morrissey had in mind. It would be wonderful if he could actually follow through on these intuitions, fly his freak flag, step outside his comfort zone and tell his anal fanbase to drop dead.

regards
BrummieBoy




'

Pardon?

 

[billy scissors]

Yeah, do that.
They were a great band. Really. They've made some of the best melancholy atmospheric pop I know.

They were mediocre at best.

 

[Anonymous]

Really like their music - however I do concede that "the other two" were the talent and Morten is a bit up his own ....

 

[cornelius blaze]

Sorry, I find this gif stuff really boring and mind-numbing, but there are some really funny posts on here in the written word. No offence cornelius, just not for me.

Why are we discussing this? Why wasn't this posted in "Strange unexpected Moz references"? Was it moved to the main board because it was posted by a moderator? Surely 6 lines of a translated extract doesn't even warrant it's own thread, never mind main page escalation?

 

[[email protected]]

...Never fancied Morten meself, but I have quite a few a-ha albums....the man has an amazing voice, and he once winked at me from the stage of the Manchester Apollo...which is more than Morrissey ever did....

 

[Anonymous]

better translation

The translation in the fist post is not very good... here's a better effort:

ARTICLE READS:

Harket kommenterer Morrisseys spesielle hyllest på denne måten:
- Han har jeg møtt, han hadde store ereksjonsutfordringer i mitt nærvær! Vi møttes i New Orleans ved en anledning på 1980-tallet. (tilfeldighetene ville det slik at de to bandene begge spilte i byen 8. september 1986, journ.anm)

- Snakket du med hele bandet eller bare han?

- Det er han jeg husker. Han synes det var litt vanskelig tror jeg, hele greia. Han sa noe¿ Jeg trodde han var proklamert trygt på homsesiden, jeg.

- Han har aldri uttalt at han er det?

- Nei, da vet jeg ikke må jeg si. Da blir det å spekulere.

A BASIC/LITERAL TRANSLATION (with comments as to what he most likely meant, to Norwegian ears):

Harket comments on Morrissey's special homage [his onstage version of an a-ha song in 2004] as follows:
- This one I have met, he had serious erectional problems in my presence! [ = was having trouble covering up an erection] We met in New Orleans on one occation in the 80s.

- Did you speak with the whole band or just him?

- He's the one I remember. He found it a bit challenging, I think. He said something. I thought he was solidly proclaimed gay [ = I thought he was out/ self-proclaimed gay].

- He's never said that he was. [not really a question, as it appears in Norwegian - more like "You know, he's never said that he is"

-Oh, well then I have to say I don't know [= indicating, in the tone, a sort of "Right..."]. Then it's merely speculation.

 

[lastparty]

Pop cannot be taken seriously. Geroge Michael, Lady Gaga and Madonna cannot be taken seriously. The word "pop" itself cannot be taken seriously. Even a genius like David Bowie, I cannot take seriously.

I have seen A-ha in concert and they were pretty good. The guy has a stunning voice, quite emotionally charged really. They had a run of good albums in the 80's and I would agree with a few other posters in that they did melancholy very well.

Also as far as Moz not appreciating what was happening at an A-ha gig in the 80's ie screaming girls/kids etc, what do you think girls and boys were doing at the Marc Bolan concerts Moz atttended? Or the Bowie concerts, or the Mott The Hoople concerts? Sitting on their hands, quietly appreciating the music?

I have seen The Smiths and Moz in concert and there was a helluva lot of screaming at those gigs too.

Lastparty