Is Morrissey on a self-sabotage mission?

[Irregular Regular]

Having seemingly alienated the vast majority of the music industry, is he now intent on doing the same with what's left of his loyal fanbase?
If so, why?
Answers on a postcard...

Golden lights displaying your name
Golden lights it's a terrible shame
But oh my darling
WHY did you change?

 

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8uC0DZNLzU

I think it's a sort of curse that the lyrics of many songwriters come true in some form. He's got several in this vein as I'm sure you know.

 

[Anonymous]

Having seemingly alienated the vast majority of the music industry, is he now intent on doing the same with what's left of his loyal fanbase?
If so, why?
Answers on a postcard...

Golden lights displaying your name
Golden lights it's a terrible shame
But oh my darling
WHY did you change?

I was thinking the same thing a couple of days ago. He has turned to the golden lights guy

 

[Anonymous]

I think he has always had an element of self-destruction about him ("I know what's expected of me now, veering cliffwards..."). HOWEVER, I think the main problem is that since 1988 he has been surrounded only by his mum, paid Yes-Men and parasitic cling-ons, who feed his narcissism by giving him nothing but praise, obeying his every whim, and convincing him that everything he does is genius. I think being cocooned in that fashion would f*** most people up, even if they didn't have a massive narcissistic streak to begin with.

Morrissey is used to demanding things, and they happen. Instantly and without question. He can't quite work out why when he steps outside his inner circle, and experiences things like record company bosses, they don't all jump at his command. I think he genuinely believes that he is the most important artist, nay, human being, on the planet. This fuels a way of acting like an egotistical prick, which in tern alienates him from people who would otherwise help him.

I don't think it's a deliberate act of self-sabotage, just an unfortunate effect of his narcissistic/victim mentality, and having enough money not to engage with reality as we understand it.

 

[Anonymous]

So, the choice I have made
It may seem strange to you
But who asked you, anyway?
This is MY LIFE to destroy
My own way!

 

[Anonymous]

destroying his life while marinating in the hot tub of a 5 star hotel. LOL
if his career is destroyed he already has sad sack boz to blame it on.

 

[Skylarker]

Having seemingly alienated the vast majority of the music industry, is he now intent on doing the same with what's left of his loyal fanbase?
If so, why?
Answers on a postcard...

Golden lights displaying your name
Golden lights it's a terrible shame
But oh my darling
WHY did you change?

I think it's less an exercise in intentional self destruction than it is just part and parcel with his particular persona and career running their natural course.

This song, more than anything I can think of, sums up Morrissey's journey as far as I am concerned.

 

[Irregular Regular]

I think it's less an exercise in intentional self destruction than it is just part and parcel with his particular persona and career running their natural course.

This song, more than anything I can think of, sums up Morrissey's journey as far as I am concerned.

I am not familiar with this song but just looked up the lyrics.
Rather sad.

 

[Uncleskinny]

I am not familiar with this song but just looked up the lyrics.
Rather sad.

That last line. Bit of a breaker.

"But the time has come the Walrus said, to call your fans by name"

 

[bhops]

I think it's less an exercise in intentional self destruction than it is just part and parcel with his particular persona and career running their natural course.

This song, more than anything I can think of, sums up Morrissey's journey as far as I am concerned.

I think you are spot on. Morrissey will always have touring career if he wants it because the yearning to see a legend in action will always remain but he has alienated so many industry figures along the way that it is very conceivable he will never release another album which is really sad as I thought his last body of work was amongst his strongest.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but this thread is utter bollocks.

How has Morrissey mistreated fans this year? Extensive touring? Signing fans books on stage? Reaching out to fans to shake their hands and rebuking security where it is excessive. Providing a proper merchandise outlet for the first time? Working Battersea Cats & Dogs Home to run a charity event and allow fans to get signed items. Playing longer sets, mixing the setlist up...look at the March vs September UK setlists for evidence of that.

As a fan, can I remember a twelve month period in which Morrissey was so active considering the lack of a deal or promotion? You know the answer.

I can't blame Morrissey for railing against the major labels. They continue to push the same old shit, with full support of the BBC as last week's free advertising for Adele proved.
It's geared towards a thick-as-pigshit audience consumed with TOWIE, I'm A Celebrity and X-Craptor that can have no affinity with Morrissey who embodies individuality and eccentricity and is scornful of the herd.

The minority Morrissey audience is therefore crushed, even if it amounts to a few hundred thousand people globally.

SSOB

 

[Irregular Regular]

Sorry, but this thread is utter bollocks.

How has Morrissey mistreated fans this year? Extensive touring? Signing fans books on stage? Reaching out to fans to shake their hands and rebuking security where it is excessive. Providing a proper merchandise outlet for the first time? Working Battersea Cats & Dogs Home to run a charity event and allow fans to get signed items. Playing longer sets, mixing the setlist up...look at the March vs September UK setlists for evidence of that.

As a fan, can I remember a twelve month period in which Morrissey was so active considering the lack of a deal or promotion? You know the answer.

I can't blame Morrissey for railing against the major labels. They continue to push the same old shit, with full support of the BBC as last week's free advertising for Adele proved.
It's geared towards a thick-as-pigshit audience consumed with TOWIE, I'm A Celebrity and X-Craptor that can have no affinity with Morrissey who embodies individuality and eccentricity and is scornful of the herd.

The minority Morrissey audience is therefore crushed, even if it amounts to a few hundred thousand people globally.

SSOB

Mistreated? I never said anything about mistreating.
I asked if he is intent on alienating his loyal fans, these are two very different things.
I think you are missing the point, don't worry.

 

[Anaesthesine]

Having seemingly alienated the vast majority of the music industry, is he now intent on doing the same with what's left of his loyal fanbase?
If so, why?
Answers on a postcard...

Not only has Morrissey alienated most (if not all) of the people inside the music industry, but his last record didn't sell at all well, and his book was the most universally reviled "literary" offering of the year (if not the decade). He's become a laughing-stock who has burned every bridge. As a result he finds himself backed into a very dark corner, he's increasingly desperate, and desperation makes for very poor judgement.

As much as people loathe Morrissey, the most damning words against him have always come from his own mouth (or his own keyboard). I was hoping that there would be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel but after his Paris tantrum, it all looks pitch black. Truly a personal and professional low.

His talent, however, is still astounding. He's still the greatest singer I've ever heard. He spent decades spinning great beauty from great sickness. He made countless people very, very happy, changed (and even saved) many lives and inspired generations of creative types to do their own great work. He connected with so many people on the most intimate, emotional level, and he was rewarded with the most intense adoration any artist has ever squandered. No one can summon such empathy out of thin air - there has to be goodness buried deep down in there, somewhere.

 

[Cornflakes]

I don't think it's a deliberate thing or a subconscious thing. It seems to me that the (deserved) success of Autobiography has caused a ballooning of his arrogance to such an extent it's practically a mental illness and he's living in a psychological bubble. I'm seriously not trying to be spiteful, but I think he needs badly to take a step back and deal with it.

 

[Irregular Regular]

Not only has Morrissey alienated most (if not all) of the people inside the music industry, but his last record didn't sell at all well, and his book was the most universally reviled "literary" offering of the year (if not the decade). He's become a laughing-stock who has burned every bridge. As a result he finds himself backed into a very dark corner, he's increasingly desperate, and desperation makes for very poor judgement.

As much as people loathe Morrissey, the most damning words against him have always come from his own mouth (or his own keyboard). I was hoping that there would be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel but after his Paris tantrum, it all looks pitch black. Truly a personal and professional low.

His talent, however, is still astounding. He's still the greatest singer I've ever heard. He spent decades spinning great beauty from great sickness. He made countless people very, very happy, changed (and even saved) many lives and inspired generations of creative types to do their own great work. He connected with so many people on the most intimate, emotional level, and he was rewarded with the most intense adoration any artist has ever squandered. No one can summon such empathy out of thin air - there has to be goodness buried deep down in there, somewhere.

Dear Anaesthesine,

I could not agree more, especially with the last paragraph.
The present does not negate the past, however unpleasant it may be, as someone (Manuel? ) once said 'the past never dies'.
As for the future, well that one is always uncertain, so who knows?
Let's just hope he can get through this current predicament, even if self-inflicted, and come back stronger for it.
Strange as it may seem to some around here, I wish Moz all the best.

 

[Anonymous]

Dear Anaesthesine,

I could not agree more, especially with the last paragraph.
The present does not negate the past, however unpleasant it may be, as someone (Manuel? ) once said 'the past never dies'.
As for the future, well that one is always uncertain, so who knows?
Let's just hope he can get through this current predicament, even if self-inflicted, and come back stronger for it.
Strange as it may seem to some around here, I wish Moz all the best.

I'd like to think that was just another ramble and he wasn't indulging that little hobbit with no neck, Manuel.

 

[BrummieBoy]

Morrissey is collapsing under an avalanche of cognitive dissonance. The only explanatory framework he can access for his current situtation is that he is the victim of a vast conspiracy to stop him gaining a global audience. This allows him to ignore or disregard any personal failings or mistakes which may have limited his appeal to consumers of popular music. He is trapped in a cul-de-sac of a diminshing cult following, many of whom now only go to see him to vicariously re-live their memories of youth. This is evidenced by the need to sprinkle his set-list with songs from "The Smiths" in order to draw that crowd who have his name on their 'bucket-list' of 'must see' Legacy artists. However, Morrissey still thinks he is a 'radical Outsider' even as he intuits that the only reason record companies have had anything to do with him recently is in the hope that he will be forced to re-form The Smiths and they will be part of that pay-day.

The success of Adele must be unbearable for him. The fact that a plus-size woman from Tottenham on an independent label has the global audience he imagines he deserves must torment him. She has changed the rules and her success shows his 'conspiracy theory' to be totally absurd. She is The Voice. He eulogises Piath whilst dissing Adele. At some level he must know he merely demeans himself. He contorts himself into outlandish designer outfits which no man of 56 can look dignified in. The recent film premiere being the most absurd example of his alienation from public perceptions. But his bizarre clothing choices are nothing compared to his unhinged public outbursts which have culminated in the egregious #ProfitFromParis email which one cannot help but wonder was merely dictated to his underling, Boz Boorer.

There is no way back now. The best he can hope to achieve is damage limitation such that his legacy isn't just ridicule. As the bonfire of the vanities that was 'List of The Lost' consumed him, I found myself listening to The Smiths and finding it all rather baffling. All along Morrissey has traded on a covert claim to 'literary prowess' which has now been revealed to be utterly bogus. He must now realise that vast numbers of people only bought 'Autobiography' to laugh at his preposterous views and antics. Yet that doesn't explain why the excellent earlier lyrics still have such power and how they could have sprung fully-formed from such a young man. Perhaps it was just a fluke. I initially enjoyed his last album and saw it as a genuine attempt to engage with 'Occupy' era political concerns, but his outlandish behaviour after it's release poisoned it such that I choose not to listen to it anymore.

He claims that all he want to do is sing but that's clearly not true. He comes across as bitter and twisted with an entitlement agenda. There is absolutely no reason why he deserves the success that Adele has achieved, yet he protests that there is some 'injustice'. He truly believes that he deserves yet another deal with one of the Big 4 labels and their huge marketing push yet knows that Adele is on an independent label and the majors came begging her for distribution rights once she began to rise above that initial level. If Morrissey truly believed he had talent beyond the historic Hype Machines of the NME and major labels which gave him his limited success, then he would sign to an independent. He knows that without major label investment he cannot be foisted onto the public. And the failure of 'Kiss Me A Lot' has proved that. He knows he is a busted flush, hence his increasingly bizarre ravings.

The cognitive dissonance of his rump hardcore 'fans' remains fascinating. How they can accept his claims to want to offer a 'loving tribute' to the deaths in Paris whilst his unrevoked comments about similar death in Oslo remain on record is remarkable. All it shows it that they have a 'sunk investment' in his persona which is not yet painful enough to cast aside. But all that does is leave Morrissey singing to the mentally ill people in the front rows who are in 'The List'. This is a fate he richly deserves. I choose to see the humour in all this and this internet parlour game called 'Morrissey-Solo.com' is far more rewarding than his music these days! He is now in his late-career tragi-comedy phase but after #ProfitFromParis that troll joke isn't funny anymore.

There's a reason Adele is The Voice that the world has embraced in preference to the shrill discord of Morrissey. She exudes the Authenticity that Morrissey craves. She is Art, he is Artifice. She is The Voice of several generations and, for Morrissey, her ascendance must be almost unbearable. There's something deeply poignant in listening to Adele whilst ruminating on Morrissey's spectacular implosion. For once...a happy ending.

best
BrummieBoy

 

[Anonymous]

Mistreated? I never said anything about mistreating.
I asked if he is intent on alienating his loyal fans, these are two very different things.
I think you are missing the point, don't worry.

Ok, mistreated...not specific enough, but surely you understand the point. If you are saying he is doing something to alienate his fans, then there is only one thing I can point to as evidence of alienation is the decision to go state that he would no longer tour the UK without a label, but yet make no similar statement applying to other countries.

But what else? How does the Paris statement encourage fans to turn away? Going on the offensive against Harvest...again, how does that hurt the fan base? What hurts the genuine fans is the inability to hear new material in the face of an unimaginative music industry in which there is no space for anything different.

SSOB

 

[Irregular Regular]

Ok, mistreated...not specific enough, but surely you understand the point. If you are saying he is doing something to alienate his fans, then there is only one thing I can point to as evidence of alienation is the decision to go state that he would no longer tour the UK without a label, but yet make no similar statement applying to other countries.

But what else? How does the Paris statement encourage fans to turn away? Going on the offensive against Harvest...again, how does that hurt the fan base? What hurts the genuine fans is the inability to hear new material in the face of an unimaginative music industry in which there is no space for anything different.

SSOB

Look, I believe myself to be a fiercely loyal Morrissey fan. Have been following since the very early days, 30+ years, so I hope you understand that there is no rotten hidden agenda here.
Now let me spell this out to you, posting statements on his 'official' website that for all intents and purposes appear to indicate that he's thinking about # 1 chart positions in connection with an incident that has left 130 innocent people dead, it's just in bad taste, it's beneath him, he is better than that.
Posts such as the one I mention, and this is just one of several recent examples, is bound to alienate people, many people, even some of his most ardent defenders and loyal fans.
That is the point I was trying to address.

 

[Anonymous]

Look, I believe myself to be a fiercely loyal Morrissey fan. Have been following since the very early days, 30+ years, so I hope you understand that there is no rotten hidden agenda here.
Now let me spell this out to you, posting statements on his 'official' website that for all intents and purposes appear to indicate that he's thinking about # 1 chart positions in connection with an incident that has left 130 innocent people dead, it's just in bad taste, it's beneath him, he is better than that.
Posts such as the one I mention, and this is just one of several recent examples, is bound to alienate people, many people, even some of his most ardent defenders and loyal fans.
That is the point I was trying to address.

Out of curiosity, what is a "fiercely loyal" Morrissey fan? What does this entail?!