Morrissey / The Smiths books

lol am i posting in some altered unaware state? thats like exactly how i feel and did except i donated the book to the trash can. the mojo and uncut collections are really good
 
Making some headway in “A Light That Never Goes Out”.
 
Must haves: Songs That Saved Your Life, Peepholism, Morrissey Shot, Mozipedia, The Visual Documentary
Interesting bits: The Severed Alliance, Meetings With Morrissey, Outlines: Morrissey (some brief, choice tidbits about Th'Lads circa Oye Esteban), Panic On The Streets
Most Objective: A Light That Never Goes Out
Not For All: Saint Morrissey, The Day I Met Morrissey
Steer Clear All Here: Landscapes of the Mind, Scandal & Passion

I have a copy of Pageant of His Bleeding Heart but have only skimmed it.
 
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Belligerent Ghoul said:
If a person only could own 5 books on Morrissey, they would be:

1. Autobiography

2. Peepholism: Into the Art of Morrissey

3. Morrissey and Marr: The Severed Alliance - the Definitive Story of the Smiths

4. Songs That Saved Your Life

5. Morrissey Shot

There is no consensus aside from that reading the above (granted 2 are largely visual but that fact in itself is telling) will make you a more informed fan. Oh, and when Green Day make into the H.O.F. maybe you could read Saint Morrissey as punishment. :thumb:
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Replace Songs That Saved Your Life with Mozipedia.
 
Anonymous said:
what didnt you like about scandal and passion jamie?
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I can't speak for Jamie, but I also rank that book as the lowest of the low, primarily because Bret's sole purpose in writing it seems to have been to drag Morrissey out of an imaginary closet. He had a very specific notion of who the "true" Morrissey is, plumbed the depths of Morrissey's life and work looking for anything that could remotely be construed as validation of his belief, and anchored his book around this presupposition. His single-minded determination to "prove" that Morrissey's every thought and action were indicative of profound homosexuality comes across as both pathological and perverse. I distinctly remember reaching one point in the text in which he misquotes the opening line of "I'd Love To" as, "Gay, I lay awake" and wanting to hurl the book across the room.
 
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Anonymous said:
what didnt you like about scandal and passion jamie?
Click to expand...

Detritus encapsulated it quite nicely, with the most egregious example of Bret's "plumbing" provided.

Recall how Morrissey ends "Now My Heart Is Full" on 'Introducing Morrissey' with "thank you from the heart of my bottom." This was filmed in Blackpool. Here's another prime example of Bret's tailored-to-suit context shifts from Landscapes of the Mind:

"Morrissey went on to play Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Ilford, Portsmouth, Hull and Bradford with seasoned verve. At the latter, despite having been 'kissed' by the dreaded flu bug, he gave a faultless performance. 'I'm afraid that I picked up something nasty in Hull,' he announced, and when someone yelled, 'Who was it - Jake?' he sniggered and said, 'Thank you, from the heart of my bottom!'"

Interestingly, the "interpretation" of "I'd Love To" didn't surface in Landscapes of the Mind. I guess it took nine more years of discerning listening to really form his agenda. I mean, accurately interpret the lyric. :rolleyes:
 
weirdly ive just come across the word detrius in the novel im reading right as you responded. i think its the first place ive ever seen it. interesting, i read that one as my first morrissey book when i just started listening to the smiths so i dont think i noticed any of that. i just found it be kinda blah and uninteresting as a whole.

cool fred, thast the one i think im gonna seek out. i dont really care for to many "rock bios" as they tend to suck a few exceptions aside like gram parsons a thousand roads or buckleys a pure drop. for instance dont go get the replacementsw one all over but the shouting as that ones horrible.

thanks for the reply
 
fredkocherpepsi said:
I’m into it so far. It takes a while to get going, as they delve into A LOT of the backstory. And by a lot I mean about the first 1/3 of the book.
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That's one of things I really liked about A Light That Never Goes Out. Fletcher recognized how much Morrissey and Marr's environment informed their creative output, and that understanding Manchester's turbulent history lends important context to what they were doing at the time.

Jamie said:
Detritus encapsulated it quite nicely, with the most egregious example of Bret's "plumbing" provided.

Recall how Morrissey ends "Now My Heart Is Full" on 'Introducing Morrissey' with "thank you from the heart of my bottom." This was filmed in Blackpool. Here's another prime example of Bret's tailored-to-suit context shifts from Landscapes of the Mind:

"Morrissey went on to play Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Ilford, Portsmouth, Hull and Bradford with seasoned verve. At the latter, despite having been 'kissed' by the dreaded flu bug, he gave a faultless performance. 'I'm afraid that I picked up something nasty in Hull,' he announced, and when someone yelled, 'Who was it - Jake?' he sniggered and said, 'Thank you, from the heart of my bottom!'"

Interestingly, the "interpretation" of "I'd Love To" didn't surface in Landscapes of the Mind. I guess it took nine more years of discerning listening to really form his agenda. I mean, accurately interpret the lyric. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
That book reveals the landscape of someone's mind all right, but not Morrissey's.

Since we're on the subject of David Bret, I was just reminded of his recent and bizarre anti-Morrissey outbursts:

http://www.davidbretbiographer.blog...-capitol-records.html?m=1&zx=89ae8f8285050744

http://www.davidbretbiographer.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-typical-day-in-life-of-morrissey.html?m=1

(these are possibly NSFW due to the blog's background wallpaper)
 
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Jamie said:
Detritus encapsulated it quite nicely, with the most egregious example of Bret's "plumbing" provided.

Recall how Morrissey ends "Now My Heart Is Full" on 'Introducing Morrissey' with "thank you from the heart of my bottom." This was filmed in Blackpool. Here's another prime example of Bret's tailored-to-suit context shifts from Landscapes of the Mind:

"Morrissey went on to play Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Ilford, Portsmouth, Hull and Bradford with seasoned verve. At the latter, despite having been 'kissed' by the dreaded flu bug, he gave a faultless performance. 'I'm afraid that I picked up something nasty in Hull,' he announced, and when someone yelled, 'Who was it - Jake?' he sniggered and said, 'Thank you, from the heart of my bottom!'"

Interestingly, the "interpretation" of "I'd Love To" didn't surface in Landscapes of the Mind. I guess it took nine more years of discerning listening to really form his agenda. I mean, accurately interpret the lyric. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Did that Jake thing really happen?
 
Detritus said:
That's one of things I really liked about A Light That Never Goes Out. Fletcher recognized how much Morrissey and Marr's environment informed their creative output, and that understanding Manchester's turbulent history lends important context to what they were doing at the time.


That book reveals the landscape of someone's mind all right, but not Morrissey's.

Since we're on the subject of David Bret, I was just reminded of his recent and bizarre anti-Morrissey outbursts:

http://www.davidbretbiographer.blog...-capitol-records.html?m=1&zx=89ae8f8285050744

http://www.davidbretbiographer.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-typical-day-in-life-of-morrissey.html?m=1

(these are possibly NSFW due to the blog's background wallpaper)
Click to expand...

Goodness. He blogs poorly, too - and bad slash fiction for the hat trick. Detritus, you've provided a community service with these examples: they should dissuade most readers from looking into his Morrissey books.

I agree with your comment on Fletcher's book. He provides the background on Manchester more skillfully (and, clearly, with a better editor) than Rogan did in The Severed Alliance. It needs to be covered, but not to the extent that it chokes the narrative.
 
rogans severed alliance was alright but his other book was really really good and informative. its just a straight research book with no, that i can see, author agenda and was really informative about the music. i guess people wont try it because of the name rogan but its really really good.

if anything it would seem morrisseys father probably played a big part in who he is now. i mean what kind of man brings his elvis records, and his elvis hair, to get a pic taken with them in a special spot. the especially devoted kind thats who. that to me, that one image, seemed like morrissey all over.
 
Ok, it took a while because I left it sit for months but I finally finished "A Light That Never Goes Out". I have to say I quite enjoyed it. The backstory was definitely necessary to the book as well, highly recommend.
 
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