Damon Albarn Irish Times interview mentions Morrissey

Damon Albarn: ‘Brexit has revealed terrible truths about the mental health of the English’ - The Irish Times
The Blur frontman on ‘Merrie Land’, Britpop, Oasis, Morrissey and John Lydon

Excerpt:

When The South Bank Show profiled Blur in 1999, Albarn revealed that when Morrissey claimed there will never be another important British band after The Smiths, his teenage self wanted to prove Morrissey wrong, while also harbouring the fantasy to say the exact same thing when he got to be on The South Bank Show himself.

“Oh, I was absolutely mortified that he said that,” Albarn howls in horror at his younger, cockier self. “You can’t do that! I’ve adored The Smiths and Morrissey my whole life.”

Recently, Morrissey endorsed a far-right fringe party, For Britain. “I don’t understand it at all,” Albarn says. “I think you have to talk to the individual to understand what they’re trying to say, but he’s a tricky fellow. My only communication with him was a series of hilarious emails when I tried to get him on the Gorillaz album, Humanz. I’d a great tune for him called Circle of Friends, but I couldn’t convince him, so he was one of those that got away. I don’t agree with his politics at all, but it doesn’t mean that when a Smiths song comes on that it doesn’t move me.”


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The only thing I know is you're being a bit of an asshole to me for reasons unknown. I merely interpreted it that way when I heard it between the title and several of the lyrics.
The Ronnie Kray line is intriguing (as are the 'charmless' and 'nosebleeds' references), but some of the other stuff doesn't seem to stack up: 'educated the expensive way', 'those family shares will protect him,' etc. To a middle class boy like Damon, Morrissey is as working class as they come, so it's not like he could have wrongly assumed his background. But then, most of Morrissey's lyrics have multiple meanings so I suppose it's possible he mashed up various references. Has Damon ever admitted it was about Morrissey?
 
The Ronnie Kray line is intriguing (as are the 'charmless' and 'nosebleeds' references), but some of the other stuff doesn't seem to stack up: 'educated the expensive way', 'those family shares will protect him,' etc. To a middle class boy like Damon, Morrissey is as working class as they come, so it's not like he could have wrongly assumed his background. But then, most of Morrissey's lyrics have multiple meanings so I suppose it's possible he mashed up various references. Has Damon ever admitted it was about Morrissey?
Damon Albarn is a Mother f***er, a useless f***er, even Tesco wouldn't give him a job, he should jump in bed with Diane Abbott, and produce a family of Tesco rejects, stupid Posh Git, :barf:
 
The Ronnie Kray line is intriguing (as are the 'charmless' and 'nosebleeds' references), but some of the other stuff doesn't seem to stack up: 'educated the expensive way', 'those family shares will protect him,' etc. To a middle class boy like Damon, Morrissey is as working class as they come, so it's not like he could have wrongly assumed his background. But then, most of Morrissey's lyrics have multiple meanings so I suppose it's possible he mashed up various references. Has Damon ever admitted it was about Morrissey?
No, he said it was about Brett Anderson.

It’s all about being educated the expensive way, public school boy anyway. So defo not about Moz.
 
The Ronnie Kray line is intriguing (as are the 'charmless' and 'nosebleeds' references), but some of the other stuff doesn't seem to stack up: 'educated the expensive way', 'those family shares will protect him,' etc. To a middle class boy like Damon, Morrissey is as working class as they come, so it's not like he could have wrongly assumed his background. But then, most of Morrissey's lyrics have multiple meanings so I suppose it's possible he mashed up various references. Has Damon ever admitted it was about Morrissey?
I feel he said that it wasn't anything to do with Morrissey, because I remember feeling disappointed at the time, as I'd assumed it was. He could have just said that for the sake of being awkward though. He often used to get into scrapes in local bars for going on about Morrissey and winding up hard cases when he was drunk, by acting daft. I think he lost a few teeth. The others had to look after him, he was a liability.
 
Read it again, f***-knuckle. In your defend-at-all-costs stance you've missed him not actually saying he has a lot of respect for Morrissey.

In fairness, I agree with him. Morrissey is a disgraceful racist, but Hatful Of Hollow is a masterpiece.

And as far as Blur go, Leisure is a product of it's time, but still wonderful, viz Sing and She's So High.

Skinnybob, Morrissey isn't racist. You have to stop saying that he is. People voted for Brexit. Does that make those people racist? Yes or No Skinnybob?


001
 
I feel he said that it wasn't anything to do with Morrissey, because I remember feeling disappointed at the time, as I'd assumed it was. He could have just said that for the sake of being awkward though. He often used to get into scrapes in local bars for going on about Morrissey and winding up hard cases when he was drunk, by acting daft. I think he lost a few teeth. The others had to look after him, he was a liability.

Maybe it's a composite character based on a few people and not literally line for line about one person? As an example, I don't see how the Ronnie Kray line applies to Brett Anderson ... but the Morrissey application is obvious.
 
Morrissey will shortly (should he be saved) be entering into his fifth decade of making music so it might be nice to hear him move away a little from the furrow he’s been ploughing all that time, however successfully.

If the version of Circle of Friendz [sic] Albarn had in mind for Morrissey is the one which appears on the album then Morrissey made the right decision though. Circle Of Friendz is the title and pretty much the lyric. It’s a shame Albarn didn’t try to get Morrissey for the wonderful Dare...



A proper pop classic.

You’d have lost the Shaun Ryder Shameless council estate feel, but it might have been fun seeing a giant disembodied Moz head in someone’s front room.

PS: Morrissey was nearly right in my opinion. The Smiths were the penultimate last truly great band of the amplified music era. Radiohead, I think, hold that honour having freed themselves artistically from the need to make a few quid. Hence the amount of plinky-plonky old sloblock you often have to wade through to get to the good stuff.
 
.




"I think you have to talk to the individual to understand what they’re trying to say "

:clap:

:clap:

:clap:

:clap:


this Albarn guy might be smarter than we thought.


Folks TAKE NOTE !





:cool:
 
Maybe it's a composite character based on a few people and not literally line for line about one person? As an example, I don't see how the Ronnie Kray line applies to Brett Anderson ... but the Morrissey application is obvious.
Yes. In the same way that Morrissey took random observations and fused them into one piece of poetry on This Charming Man. It baffled Nigel Havers on 'Never Liked Star Wars' He was made to watch and listen to things that were out of his usual remit, and then come back and give his appraisal. One of those things he had to digest was Hatful. It was funny to see him recite This Charming Man, and ask how all these disparate themes fit together... but it works. Each line or couplet is a self contained statement in itself, and Morrissey seems to have jiggled the pieces around and made them fit.
 
Morrissey will shortly (should he be saved) be entering into his fifth decade of making music so it might be nice to hear him move away a little from the furrow he’s been ploughing all that time, however successfully.

If the version of Circle of Friendz [sic] Albarn had in mind for Morrissey is the one which appears on the album then Morrissey made the right decision though. Circle Of Friendz is the title and pretty much the lyric. It’s a shame Albarn didn’t try to get Morrissey for the wonderful Dare...



A proper pop classic.

You’d have lost the Shaun Ryder Shameless council estate feel, but it might have been fun seeing a giant disembodied Moz head in someone’s front room.

PS: Morrissey was nearly right in my opinion. The Smiths were the penultimate last truly great band of the amplified music era. Radiohead, I think, hold that honour having freed themselves artistically from the need to make a few quid. Hence the amount of plinky-plonky old sloblock you often have to wade through to get to the good stuff.

I always sing 'in my life' to Damon's backing vocal, like Morrissey in Heaven Knows.
 
.






"I think you have to talk to the individual to understand what they’re trying to say "

:clap:

:clap:

:clap:

:clap:


this Albarn guy might be smarter than we thought.


Folks TAKE NOTE !





:cool:

I thought that was interesting. Perhaps because Albarn has been used to having his views reported on sometimes times correctly and sometimes not.

Mind you, I do watch Hitler’s Henchmen sometimes and think how biased it is.
 
The Ronnie Kray line is intriguing (as are the 'charmless' and 'nosebleeds' references), but some of the other stuff doesn't seem to stack up: 'educated the expensive way', 'those family shares will protect him,' etc. To a middle class boy like Damon, Morrissey is as working class as they come, so it's not like he could have wrongly assumed his background. But then, most of Morrissey's lyrics have multiple meanings so I suppose it's possible he mashed up various references. Has Damon ever admitted it was about Morrissey?

Dear lord, there are some absolute effing idiots around here. The character is nothing to do with Morrissey. It's about an arrogant, charmless public schoolboy. Just listen to the lyrics and watch the video for f***'s sake.
The song title is simply a pop-culture nod to the Smiths.
 
Maybe it's a composite character based on a few people and not literally line for line about one person? As an example, I don't see how the Ronnie Kray line applies to Brett Anderson ... but the Morrissey application is obvious.

I think it refers to Ronnie Kray's sexuality. It's also a slight dig, I think, at Brett being a Morrissey wannabe in Damon's eyes at least. So, rather than being a "charming man", he's a charmless one.
 
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Having listened to Circle of Friendz, I can see why Morrissey turned it down. It's a shame Damon didn't offer him a better song.
 
Have just purchased Merrie Land deluxe edition. Am going to enjoy. Its in my bag. Drink comes first and then home to listen.
 
Am listening to the album now. Have bought deluxe edition. Only 37 mins but then TQID was about the same length
 
I am enjoying this album. I am going to listen to it about 50 times. Then I will report unbiasedly about it. 'As I cum up again, I leave a little bit of England in a field in France' The poets hijacked war and did a disservice to the men who fought. We will forever.have their idealised view of war as a misappropriated record of what really happened. I think that's what Damon's trying to say. The young lads went out there and sat in trenches of fleas and shit and they were asking for it all to be over but they had no one knowing, or caring, how it was all going to end or be concluded. They'd gone out with spirit but were left wanting to come home, knackered and bereft of any direction. And what for? To be a man. To fight for your country. And then they missed their beds and the urbane comforts of home. The thrill of combat had dwindled and the thoughts of being a man and a compatriot died, and suddenly, cowardice seemed a reasonable option. Oh, just to get back home! I don't care, let me be a coward and let me live! Let me feel God's sunshine on my back and leave me alone. The trenches belong to you, but the sunshine is mine. It will shine on me, however deep you make me dig the trench. I will be a coward and forgo my friends and love God.
 
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Am listening to the album now. Have bought deluxe edition. Only 37 mins but then TQID was about the same length

Just listened to it on Spotify for the first time. Title track is really great.

I really admire Damon's musical versatility, even that I dislike some of his output. Oddly enough, it is the Gorillaz that I care the least for so I didn't mind Morrissey turning down the offer to sing on a Gorillaz song. I c
 

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