The Seeker of Good Songs
Well-Known Member
...has alleged opinions. He won't even play the songs. What a world.
from: https://thenewvinylvillain.com/2023/01/13/dear-readers-can-you-help-me-out/
dilemma : noun
a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.
As I said yesterday, I got thinking a while back that, once the calendar turned over into 2023, I could have some fun out of creating a new series for the blog, turning the clock back 40 years to look at some of the great music that was released in 1983, perhaps throwing in a few stories/recollections/memories of the era. And judging from the responses to the Wah!/Echo and The Bunnymen offerings, it’s a series that would be popular.
My dilemma is that it feels it would be almost impossible to look at 1983 without considering The Smiths, a band who, other than one instrumental song, haven’t featured on TVV in more than five years.
The reason for all this doesn’t have to be over-analysed today. I abhor the views that have been increasingly aired by Morrissey, and it goes beyond not posting stuff on the blog as I’ve not played any of his solo records, or those from his former band, for what feels like an eternity.
The thing is, I really miss The Smiths records. They were a huge part of my life back in 1983 and over the next few years. It is fair to say that I placed a lot of faith in the band, arguing long and hard into many a small hour of about their merits and greatness. I invested greatly into things (but never to the extent of going vegetarian!), and defended Morrissey to the hilt when many of the controversies emerged, including when some of the solo songs hit raw nerves.
Jez, over at A History of Dubious Taste, penned this, interesting article on Morrissey last October which I read at the time when I was pondering a potential series on 1983. He posed the question….
“So what to do? Do we deny our experience and love of The Smiths on the basis of what Morrissey patently is, or at best, has become.”
That’s been my position for the past five years. But I can say, in all honesty, it is making me increasingly miserable now. Johnny Marr was every bit as important to me when I immersed myself in the band….and to a lesser extent, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce (and Craig Gannon) also made me very happy thanks to the way they contributed to the songs and the live shows and TV appearances. It feels increasingly wrong to be cutting them out of the picture on the basis of what one other, admittedly important and high-profile, band member has become.
So, I’m turning to the TVV community for your thoughts, views, opinion and advice. Do I stay on the current path, or do I gently bring The Smiths back in from the cold at an appropriate point in time over the coming months? It’s not any sort of vote or survey….I’m simply trying to read the room.
Here’s another song from 1983 that has long stayed with me since I first heard it.
mp3: The Special AKA – Racist Friend
As I said, it’s a dilemma.
from: https://thenewvinylvillain.com/2023/01/13/dear-readers-can-you-help-me-out/
dilemma : noun
a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.
As I said yesterday, I got thinking a while back that, once the calendar turned over into 2023, I could have some fun out of creating a new series for the blog, turning the clock back 40 years to look at some of the great music that was released in 1983, perhaps throwing in a few stories/recollections/memories of the era. And judging from the responses to the Wah!/Echo and The Bunnymen offerings, it’s a series that would be popular.
My dilemma is that it feels it would be almost impossible to look at 1983 without considering The Smiths, a band who, other than one instrumental song, haven’t featured on TVV in more than five years.
The reason for all this doesn’t have to be over-analysed today. I abhor the views that have been increasingly aired by Morrissey, and it goes beyond not posting stuff on the blog as I’ve not played any of his solo records, or those from his former band, for what feels like an eternity.
The thing is, I really miss The Smiths records. They were a huge part of my life back in 1983 and over the next few years. It is fair to say that I placed a lot of faith in the band, arguing long and hard into many a small hour of about their merits and greatness. I invested greatly into things (but never to the extent of going vegetarian!), and defended Morrissey to the hilt when many of the controversies emerged, including when some of the solo songs hit raw nerves.
Jez, over at A History of Dubious Taste, penned this, interesting article on Morrissey last October which I read at the time when I was pondering a potential series on 1983. He posed the question….
“So what to do? Do we deny our experience and love of The Smiths on the basis of what Morrissey patently is, or at best, has become.”
That’s been my position for the past five years. But I can say, in all honesty, it is making me increasingly miserable now. Johnny Marr was every bit as important to me when I immersed myself in the band….and to a lesser extent, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce (and Craig Gannon) also made me very happy thanks to the way they contributed to the songs and the live shows and TV appearances. It feels increasingly wrong to be cutting them out of the picture on the basis of what one other, admittedly important and high-profile, band member has become.
So, I’m turning to the TVV community for your thoughts, views, opinion and advice. Do I stay on the current path, or do I gently bring The Smiths back in from the cold at an appropriate point in time over the coming months? It’s not any sort of vote or survey….I’m simply trying to read the room.
Here’s another song from 1983 that has long stayed with me since I first heard it.
mp3: The Special AKA – Racist Friend
As I said, it’s a dilemma.
