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Re: Everyone who wants to participate in my dissertation research please click on thi
1. Do you find listening to particular popular music has any effect on your identity and creation of self, if so how?
@ Yes, definitely. It’s complex though. Fun, socialising, street cred have been some reasons to ‘get into’ popular music in the past. Pressure has been felt, through derision or association/exposure, to listen to one performer over another. Some songs, especially the lyrics, have spoken to me at several times about situations I’d also have found myself in, or acted like a soothing lullaby. They might be a lazy routine of letting someone else think for me at times. In sum they certainly influence my identity and creation of self, but not necessarily always in a positive or participative way.
2. When did you first get into Morrissey and why?
@In 2004 I first saw him, selecting him as a consolation suggestion for various issues of grief I’d recently endured. I remembered how devoted my then-troubled teenage brother had been to him in the late Smiths era, speaking of him with reverence and love, as if he was one of his closest and certainly one of his best friends. He played some songs to me then and I used some lines in my own poems at the time. I felt thankful to Morrissey since for continuing to be true and authentic in his messages. I had never got into the whole fandom phenomenon otherwise, and didn’t mean to after the concert in 2004 either, except for a number of intense accidental follow-up incidents that led back to Morrissey
3. Do you feel Morrissey has formed a different social identity for you, opposed to the one you had before you started listening?
@ Yes I think so, though the basis was already there in me and in my life, which is to say, a sense of impossibility no matter what I did, about ever being satisfied with most things that in the beginning showed promise, whether that be people, organisations, ideologies, experiences, possessions. It is a relief and rare enough to feel just fine about quietly complaining!
4. “My decision to stop eating meat wasn't entirely due to Morrissey & The Smiths, though they was certainly a factor.” Do you agree with this quote? Has anything of the Smiths or Morrissey’s lyrics changed you in any way like this?
@I do agree. This is a difficult question. Words are dense and rich; they need to be chewed, masticated, ingested and digested slowly and over and over again where these lyrics are concerned. This is one aspect that most people agree about. Given that amount of conscious or unconscious impact, a subsequent psycho-neurological effect is to be expected. Courage to consider alternatives to the mainstream as truly valid both in thought and practice, appreciation of the freeing value of an observational kind of humour, and an odd connectivity with surviving rebels, have been traits expanded in me with this music.
5. Do you believe by being part of an online forum, an imaginary community is created and if so how?
@ Yes. I would not even need consent to imagine this so long as I would wish it and I was allowed to express myself amongst some other posters. Beyond that, I believe there are as many different types of community imagined as there are people registered on the forum, from quite a few lurkers who watch and do not input, to the spew of trolls. In between a good cross-section of fans is represented, moreso on the forums than the main page, due I think, to a better holding structure. Definitely the forum has enabled direct communication with members which seems often to have been desired and convivial.
6. “I believe the NME have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview in order to boost their circulation. I abhor racism and cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass.” – Morrissey 2007.
With this quote in mind, would you consider Morrissey and The Smith’s work to cover racist or unstable political ground? If so, has this changed your view of your individual uniqueness and the way in which you perceive your national heritage and an identification with that?
@ Yes, they do cover unstable political ground, quite strongly sometimes, often from a Labour/socialist/ viewpoint but are also individualistic, even anarchic elsewhere, and even more so, swinging 360 degrees in views at times e.g. Sweet and Tender Hooligans versus Shoplifters…Reader meets Author versus The Headmaster’s Ritual. Various remarks and scenes in songs reflecting personal-political dilemmas have made me think about the correctness or otherwise of the viewpoint in the context of what I know of these issues in my own life, so yes, it has intensified and cautioned my evaluation in such matters with a recognition that real people are always involved.
7. Do you experience a general sense of communality with other Morrissey fans as a group, including ones you have never met or communicated with?
@ Again this is not easy, but broadly yes. I feel this more whenever either I’ve not been surfing online forums for a few days, or I encounter immovable ultra-conservative attitudes in my life, which sends me eagerly back down underground to scurry around with my fellow cultural creatives. Occasionally due to the fairly common intrusion of abusive offensive posts, and due to time I spend, I swear off the community, but this hasn’t worked for long so far. Because all this is often so tenuous, the connection can seem excessively virtual even to myself and possibly terribly myopic. But as a friend said, most people have hobbies and interests, and this is one of mine.
8. If so, what do you think underlies this sense? To what extent do you think it depends on shared characteristics beyond a common liking for Morrissey, such as common values, views, personalities or aesthetics? For example: participating in the same activities etc. to some extent
@I think to a large extent whatever communality that exists depends on a common fascination about Morrissey, pop culture, art, life and spirit. I also think that Morrissey’s career is not just about being a singer-songwriter but being a living sign that unites many of those fans who have paid more than passing attention to his work, despite their individual daily activities being often poles apart. Some go to great lengths to look and behave as much like him as possible; others objectively admire his craft and act. He seems to have a lot to offer to all types. Values that attract are covered by two songs in particular: My Way, and That’s Life.
9. Is there such a thing as a typical Morrissey fan to you? If so, how would you describe him/her?
@Essentially in my opinion, it would be the ones who think for themselves, act responsibly for themselves and by extension, for their decisions, and accept themselves. They make the most of their circumstances without compromising, as much as possible. Mostly the discovery of Morrissey is a happily-overlapping reinforcer of their own journey; sometimes he may start people on the road. The typical Morrissey fan is being him-/her-self, not afraid to be a-typical.
1. Do you find listening to particular popular music has any effect on your identity and creation of self, if so how?
@ Yes, definitely. It’s complex though. Fun, socialising, street cred have been some reasons to ‘get into’ popular music in the past. Pressure has been felt, through derision or association/exposure, to listen to one performer over another. Some songs, especially the lyrics, have spoken to me at several times about situations I’d also have found myself in, or acted like a soothing lullaby. They might be a lazy routine of letting someone else think for me at times. In sum they certainly influence my identity and creation of self, but not necessarily always in a positive or participative way.
2. When did you first get into Morrissey and why?
@In 2004 I first saw him, selecting him as a consolation suggestion for various issues of grief I’d recently endured. I remembered how devoted my then-troubled teenage brother had been to him in the late Smiths era, speaking of him with reverence and love, as if he was one of his closest and certainly one of his best friends. He played some songs to me then and I used some lines in my own poems at the time. I felt thankful to Morrissey since for continuing to be true and authentic in his messages. I had never got into the whole fandom phenomenon otherwise, and didn’t mean to after the concert in 2004 either, except for a number of intense accidental follow-up incidents that led back to Morrissey
3. Do you feel Morrissey has formed a different social identity for you, opposed to the one you had before you started listening?
@ Yes I think so, though the basis was already there in me and in my life, which is to say, a sense of impossibility no matter what I did, about ever being satisfied with most things that in the beginning showed promise, whether that be people, organisations, ideologies, experiences, possessions. It is a relief and rare enough to feel just fine about quietly complaining!
4. “My decision to stop eating meat wasn't entirely due to Morrissey & The Smiths, though they was certainly a factor.” Do you agree with this quote? Has anything of the Smiths or Morrissey’s lyrics changed you in any way like this?
@I do agree. This is a difficult question. Words are dense and rich; they need to be chewed, masticated, ingested and digested slowly and over and over again where these lyrics are concerned. This is one aspect that most people agree about. Given that amount of conscious or unconscious impact, a subsequent psycho-neurological effect is to be expected. Courage to consider alternatives to the mainstream as truly valid both in thought and practice, appreciation of the freeing value of an observational kind of humour, and an odd connectivity with surviving rebels, have been traits expanded in me with this music.
5. Do you believe by being part of an online forum, an imaginary community is created and if so how?
@ Yes. I would not even need consent to imagine this so long as I would wish it and I was allowed to express myself amongst some other posters. Beyond that, I believe there are as many different types of community imagined as there are people registered on the forum, from quite a few lurkers who watch and do not input, to the spew of trolls. In between a good cross-section of fans is represented, moreso on the forums than the main page, due I think, to a better holding structure. Definitely the forum has enabled direct communication with members which seems often to have been desired and convivial.
6. “I believe the NME have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview in order to boost their circulation. I abhor racism and cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass.” – Morrissey 2007.
With this quote in mind, would you consider Morrissey and The Smith’s work to cover racist or unstable political ground? If so, has this changed your view of your individual uniqueness and the way in which you perceive your national heritage and an identification with that?
@ Yes, they do cover unstable political ground, quite strongly sometimes, often from a Labour/socialist/ viewpoint but are also individualistic, even anarchic elsewhere, and even more so, swinging 360 degrees in views at times e.g. Sweet and Tender Hooligans versus Shoplifters…Reader meets Author versus The Headmaster’s Ritual. Various remarks and scenes in songs reflecting personal-political dilemmas have made me think about the correctness or otherwise of the viewpoint in the context of what I know of these issues in my own life, so yes, it has intensified and cautioned my evaluation in such matters with a recognition that real people are always involved.
7. Do you experience a general sense of communality with other Morrissey fans as a group, including ones you have never met or communicated with?
@ Again this is not easy, but broadly yes. I feel this more whenever either I’ve not been surfing online forums for a few days, or I encounter immovable ultra-conservative attitudes in my life, which sends me eagerly back down underground to scurry around with my fellow cultural creatives. Occasionally due to the fairly common intrusion of abusive offensive posts, and due to time I spend, I swear off the community, but this hasn’t worked for long so far. Because all this is often so tenuous, the connection can seem excessively virtual even to myself and possibly terribly myopic. But as a friend said, most people have hobbies and interests, and this is one of mine.
8. If so, what do you think underlies this sense? To what extent do you think it depends on shared characteristics beyond a common liking for Morrissey, such as common values, views, personalities or aesthetics? For example: participating in the same activities etc. to some extent
@I think to a large extent whatever communality that exists depends on a common fascination about Morrissey, pop culture, art, life and spirit. I also think that Morrissey’s career is not just about being a singer-songwriter but being a living sign that unites many of those fans who have paid more than passing attention to his work, despite their individual daily activities being often poles apart. Some go to great lengths to look and behave as much like him as possible; others objectively admire his craft and act. He seems to have a lot to offer to all types. Values that attract are covered by two songs in particular: My Way, and That’s Life.
9. Is there such a thing as a typical Morrissey fan to you? If so, how would you describe him/her?
@Essentially in my opinion, it would be the ones who think for themselves, act responsibly for themselves and by extension, for their decisions, and accept themselves. They make the most of their circumstances without compromising, as much as possible. Mostly the discovery of Morrissey is a happily-overlapping reinforcer of their own journey; sometimes he may start people on the road. The typical Morrissey fan is being him-/her-self, not afraid to be a-typical.
