is morrissey selling out?
- Thread starter blackdog
- Start date
bagface
Member
ugh. when i saw the title of this thread i thought finally somebody is thinking what i'm thinking. not that i necessarily think he's selling out at all but it could be considered along those lines. i feel that he actually is a pretty happy, normal guy and has been for a while but that the songs and performances might be what is a bit more fake. i can't put my finger on it but i have a sense that he's not being himself completely. his lyrics, in my opinion, have gone downhill and it seems to be that he just doesn't really have much else to say. of course it's a bit silly to examine and ridicule him so thoroughly but i just like to know what it is i'm being sold.
See I don't know if selling out is really correct either. Selling out entails a form of commercialism and break from any real seriousness. A good recent example for this that'd I'd site Regina Spektor's career in the last 2 years. That being said I do think Morrissey's persona has changed a bit. Then again thats to be expected with age. I dont know if any of us here would want to see an almost 50 year old man trying to do what he did in the eighties. As per socializing in bars with friends....thats just what he enjoys.
dunya
.
To me "selling out" suggests that there is a standard of behavior generally agreed as required to maintain esteem.
However, each of us has our own standards. It is unrealistic and perhaps wrong to expect others to live up to our own standards. This is the kind of behavior exhibited by people who want to impose religious constraints on non-believers for one example. It is a chief cause of misunderstanding and falling out with people. We assume, wrongly, that the persons action has been designed to hurt us when in fact it has been the other person acting in their own self-interest, doing what they feel to be the best in the circumstances.
There are things Morrissey has said and done I would mildly or strongly disagree with, but I would not insist "you must not" or conclude he is a bad person because of it. At the same time I have never endorsed him as an example or had any expectation that he would conform to my values.
So far as his career is concerned, he will do what he perceives to be best in his present circumstances. I may like the songs, I may not. Morrissey's concern is not my opinion, but that enough people are going to enjoy and to buy. Then he can continue doing what he enjoys, and do it well enough to persuade a record company to support and promote him.
However, each of us has our own standards. It is unrealistic and perhaps wrong to expect others to live up to our own standards. This is the kind of behavior exhibited by people who want to impose religious constraints on non-believers for one example. It is a chief cause of misunderstanding and falling out with people. We assume, wrongly, that the persons action has been designed to hurt us when in fact it has been the other person acting in their own self-interest, doing what they feel to be the best in the circumstances.
There are things Morrissey has said and done I would mildly or strongly disagree with, but I would not insist "you must not" or conclude he is a bad person because of it. At the same time I have never endorsed him as an example or had any expectation that he would conform to my values.
So far as his career is concerned, he will do what he perceives to be best in his present circumstances. I may like the songs, I may not. Morrissey's concern is not my opinion, but that enough people are going to enjoy and to buy. Then he can continue doing what he enjoys, and do it well enough to persuade a record company to support and promote him.
Anaesthesine
Angel of Distemper
Yes, Morrissey seems to be a bit more well-adjusted these days, at least to those obsessives who hang out on Solo and keep up with his social life.
As for his "performances" (for shame
), I find him to be absolutely genuine. Live he seems confident, bemused, and very, very happy (for the most part). Emotionally he has consistently knocked it way out of the park. How he summons up those feelings is a great mystery, but I think he's still the most emotionally truthful and resonant singer I've ever heard. I like his maturity, and I'm glad he's not wallowing in the past. Perhaps with Morrissey being a bit, er, more mellow comes off as fake. Exactly - his adolescence and early adulthood are a distant memory. It would be just too creepy and sad if Morrissey didn't evolve like the rest of us.
1. Morrissey has never had to resort to gimmickery to sell his records. He doesn't give a shit about "units sold" or pandering to any celebrity institutions to make his way as a singer. He knows he's got this cultish, slightly insane following of fans who will always pay to hear and see him, and it's enough to keep him afloat, emotionally and financially.
2. Let's be real here: the man is approaching 50 and he's intelligent. At that age, a lot of intelligent people "get over" two things: themselves, and The Bullshit. I reckon he is very much immersed in this process these days. He's friends with who he wants to be friends with, drinks where he wants to drink, and says whatever he pleases to the media, because he's at a stage of development in life where most people truly Grow The f*** Up and Don't Care What You Think Anymore. He's earned it.
3. Even if he did "sell out," would that be the end of the world? My god, he's been industriously saving people from jumping to their deaths and slashing their wrists for 25+ years now, and beautified the world with his music and looks in the process. If he wants to suck celebrity cock at the pub and then talk about it, are you really going to lose sleep over it? Or delete/trash all your Smiths/Moz recordings? Really?
The whole concept of "selling out" is an antiquated, archaic, post-60's/post-punk, terribly conventional and obselete idea anyway. The fact that you are here, using the Internet and a digital medium to communicate about this says you've "sold out." So put that in your juice box and suck it.
2. Let's be real here: the man is approaching 50 and he's intelligent. At that age, a lot of intelligent people "get over" two things: themselves, and The Bullshit. I reckon he is very much immersed in this process these days. He's friends with who he wants to be friends with, drinks where he wants to drink, and says whatever he pleases to the media, because he's at a stage of development in life where most people truly Grow The f*** Up and Don't Care What You Think Anymore. He's earned it.
3. Even if he did "sell out," would that be the end of the world? My god, he's been industriously saving people from jumping to their deaths and slashing their wrists for 25+ years now, and beautified the world with his music and looks in the process. If he wants to suck celebrity cock at the pub and then talk about it, are you really going to lose sleep over it? Or delete/trash all your Smiths/Moz recordings? Really?
The whole concept of "selling out" is an antiquated, archaic, post-60's/post-punk, terribly conventional and obselete idea anyway. The fact that you are here, using the Internet and a digital medium to communicate about this says you've "sold out." So put that in your juice box and suck it.
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