Morrissey: The most important artist of our generation

[Fiona]

When I think about the music industry as a whole and the many artists within it, I feel confident in saying that Morrissey is surely one of - if not THE - most significant and important.

This is not measured in terms of album sales or the volume of media exposure (as many wrongly believe that these things somehow are intrinsic to being a great artist), but instead is a reflection on Morrissey's work and career as a whole.

I believe his longevity is testament to his talent: Whereas audiences are quick to dismiss or forget, there are a select few artists that stand the test of time because of the quality of their work, and Morrissey's long-standing position within the music industry - which has been strong since the early 80s - has not decreased or diminished with time, purely because the quality and value of his work has continued on the same trajectory in which it started. That is to say, his voice, lyrics, originality and distinction have continued unfalteringly throughout his career so far. This may be, in part, because Morrissey has never TRIED to be anything other than himself - it seems with the passing of music trends and fashions, certain artists may quickly descend into the trap of following whatever sells, whereas it appears that Morrissey never has, with no obvious attempts at following anyone or anything, instead content in being who he is - and allowing that to give shape to his music career.

Lyrically, Morrissey could be twinned to a poet. I have often said - and genuinely believe - that Morrissey has a talent for capturing poems within his music. An example of this could be Neal Cassadey Drops Dead; Dear God Please Help Me and I have Forgiven Jesus - to name just a few. There is a depth to Morrissey's lyrics that I find many other artists (even other artists that I rank amongst my personal favourites) do not quite reach. I believe this is why Autobiography was articulated and expressed so well as a journal - because he has a way with words that seem to surpass what is expected from a lyricist, and infringes instead upon what most would expect from a novelist of great standing.

It is apparent that here we have an artist who explores his ideas about life in front of his audience with truthful and unapologetic lyrics, someone who has remained true to himself musically while ignoring what is considered popular and selling well at the time - in order to allow his fans a transparent glimpse of the man himself. There is little veiling in Morrissey's work - his strong opinions, sometimes unpopular ideas and moral positions - seep out of the pores of his music. This is probably why he is both adored and disliked in equal measures - some will see these traits in him and his work and be drawn to such refreshing honesty - or be sickened by such a display of raw, untethered honesty in what is largely a barren, unexciting and sanitised modern-day music industry.

Some will agree with me, others will not. I haven't written this to either gain approval or to argue my standing, but rather to express what I have been thinking about for some time now. I consider myself to be open minded, and I have a very wide range of music in my collection, but so far, I remain faithful to my belief that Morrissey really is one of the most important and significant artists of our time, and I for one am glad to be experiencing his career while he is still out there, actively creating. So many greats seem to be from the far-off ages, where we can only witness their work from old recordings and shaky video footage. It seems that there was a glitch in the matrix, and we are lucky to be experiencing one of those greats in the here and now.

 

[Anonymous]

i agree. his influence alone among those who haven't even heard the music still know him and use him as influence. his influence is so multifaceted and enduring in so many fields. one of the most important yes i agree

 

[NealCassidy]

Great article!

Neal-Cassidy-drops-dead

 

[Amy]

Depends which generation you mean, doesn't it?

Every great musical artist achieved their place in history partly because they captured a moment in time. Morrissey crowned himself king of 1980s bedsit land, the voice of disaffected youth, whatever else you want to call it - that is who he is in the public mind and what his career has been built on. Anti-Thatcherism and Right to Buy and Red Wedge, that’s Morrissey to most people and that is how he will always be remembered. He has had some great periods in his solo career, and some staggering albums (if we forget Kill Uncle, he was peerless until Southpaw Grammar), but I don’t think you can really say that his career has been consistent and hasn’t faltered in 30 years. We had a long seven-year “wilderness” from 1997 and we’ve been having the same one now since about 2009. There have been times in the last couple of decades where Morrissey completely fell off the map. Now? He isn’t the same person who made Vauxhall, or even Quarry or Ringleader. He changes all the time, sometimes not for the better.

 

[bhops]

Well it will always be a contentious statement Fiona but I'd say he's certainly right up there. What I find interesting about Morrissey is just how far his influence reaches. Yes he has been very influential in the world of music. Not such much stylistically as his style of both writing and singing is very unique and impossible to replicate but certainly as an inspiration for up-and-coming artists. Morrissey has been very influential in the way he presents his art. He his often name by young musicians as being one of the reasons they wanted to start making music.

It is the other spheres that I constantly see Morrissey name checked that interests me most. Your hear of writers, painters, poets, fashion designers, comedians, actors, directors often talk about Morrissey being a big influence in their youth in a way that you often don't of other musicians especially as Morrissey is not really a massive mainstream name like Madonna for instance. This is where I find his 'influence' if you can call it that the most wide ranging. the only other artist that I can think of that gets name-checked across such abroad spectrum of the arts is Bowie.

'Sing Your Life' called out to those who want to sing to just go ahead and do it, but in many ways it is calling out to those who are creative in any way to go ahead and find an outlet for that creativity.

 

[Anonymous]

Depends which generation you mean, doesn't it?

Every great musical artist achieved their place in history partly because they captured a moment in time. Morrissey crowned himself king of 1980s bedsit land, the voice of disaffected youth, whatever else you want to call it - that is who he is in the public mind and what his career has been built on. Anti-Thatcherism and Right to Buy and Red Wedge, that’s Morrissey to most people and that is how he will always be remembered. He has had some great periods in his solo career, and some staggering albums (if we forget Kill Uncle, he was peerless until Southpaw Grammar), but I don’t think you can really say that his career has been consistent and hasn’t faltered in 30 years. We had a long seven-year “wilderness” from 1997 and we’ve been having the same one now since about 2009. There have been times in the last couple of decades where Morrissey completely fell off the map. Now? He isn’t the same person who made Vauxhall, or even Quarry or Ringleader. He changes all the time, sometimes not for the better.

lmao i agree with this comment 100% Nothing against you op, but Morrissey's career hasn't been consitent at all. Also let's be honest here, his career has indeed decreased and diminished with time. Currrently, the only thing he relevant for is because he says controversial stuff. It's hard to say it, but is the truth. He has become a nostalgia act at this point. However, he was great once and nothing can take that away from him

 

[Anonymous]

I think suggest he's a nostalgia act is really naive. He doesn't rely on playing classics and still receives good crowds, his most recent efforts in terms of writing were patchy in pasts, sure, but in other parts I was really impressed (Mountjoy, Smiler with Knife, Neal Cassady, Staircase, Art-Hounds, Drag the River) and his singing and skilful use of intonation has become increasing better throughout his career. He still offers interesting subjects in his writing and gives interesting contributions, if not always totally accurate or well though-out.

He still puts on a very good show as you can see just by searching YouTube for videos from the American tour, and the ability to drop in covers such as 'Are you sure Hank done it this way' helps to add a twist. That song wasn't just plucked out for no reason as others have mentioned; the verse starting "I've seen the world with a five piece band" is likely to be a very interesting observation about his thirty years as a singer and writer.

 

[Anonymous]

but the most important artist award goes to James Maker and Noko 440.

 

[Qvist]

I agree with the general conclusion, but I must admit I'm surprised by the examples you cite to underpin Morrissey's qualities as a lyricist, all of whom I would rather consider to represent some of his least impressive work in that regard. Well, the latter two at least, I don't really know "Neal Cassady" well enough to judge. Anyway, "Dear God" is frequently ridiculed even by fans for heavy-handed lines such as "There are explosive kegs/between my legs", while "Jesus", though an effective and powerful lyric in my opinion, gets by more on bombast than lyrical proficiency.

 

[Fiona]

I suppose lyrics, much like music itself, is very subjective. I love the words he uses in the tracks I listed

As for nostalgic - Morrissey does not rely or tour only using his older work. He is constantly moving forward