Fiona Dodwell: "Why An Unsigned Morrissey Proves A Lack Of True Diversity In Music" (February 5, 2023)

"An Opinion Piece by Fiona Dodwell"

Excerpt:

"What was to become of the unreleased 14th solo album? Fans desperately wanted the songs then, as they do now. Morrissey evidently remains committed to releasing them. So, why is there still a barrier, even today, preventing the release of this much sought after project? Who or what stands between the fans and the songs? Why has Bonfire Of Teenagers not been signed, sealed and distributed across the world? The answer might be more unsettling than we like to think."

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Regards,
FWD.

 

[Jocky Thomas]

Moz could sell tens of thousands of albums if he released them on his own self funded label. He's got the cash. He could even get Sam to pop them into envelopes and take them to the Post Office.

Loads of bands do this, they add in interesting bundles, add a t-shirt, signed copies, coloured vinyl, all sorts of price points. And perhaps add in the extra track and a tacky badge. I've not bought an album since World Peace as I thought it was terrible, but I would buy BoT if he self released it.

 

[cat on a train]

Ms Dodwell is the polar opposite to any hysterical unhinged borderliner. I can see what he likes in her at this point in his career.

We are bombarded daily by a proclamation of a “new diverse world” — a world in which we (apparently) want to hear from a wide range of voices.

What I perceive is a focus on outward appearances when it comes to diversity. It's not so much about "the content of the character" that matters nowadays, the content of the character has actually become invisible to most, or it has become silenced by the narcissists.

I always liked Morrissey best when he gave voice to the narcisstically abused. I haven't listened to You Have Killed me that way yet. But it makes sense somehow. Why he lends his name to this website though, puzzles me from time to time.

 

[ThePoliticalRevolution]

Moz could sell tens of thousands of albums if he released them on his own self funded label. He's got the cash. He could even get Sam to pop them into envelopes and take them to the Post Office.

Loads of bands do this, they add in interesting bundles, add a t-shirt, signed copies, coloured vinyl, all sorts of price points. And perhaps add in the extra track and a tacky badge. I've not bought an album since World Peace as I thought it was terrible, but I would buy BoT if he self released it.

You are correct.

 

[ThePoliticalRevolution]

Ms Dodwell is the polar opposite to any hysterical unhinged borderliner. I can see what he likes in her at this point in his career.



What I perceive is a focus on outward appearances when it comes to diversity. It's not so much about "the content of the character" that matters nowadays, the content of the character has actually become invisible to most, or it has become silenced by the narcissists.

I always liked Morrissey best when he gave voice to the narcisstically abused. I haven't listened to You Have Killed me that way yet. But it makes sense somehow. Why he lends his name to this website though, puzzles me from time to time.

He doesn’t lend it. It’s a public forum led by a person he has banned from attending his concerts. Comical and unfortunate, but not irreversible.

There aren’t really significant enough numbers of users on this site to make it important.

Users would happily migrate if presented with an alternative.

That said, I personally happen to really enjoy the “post whatever you are listening to” thread.

 

[gashonthenail]

Moz could sell tens of thousands of albums if he released them on his own self funded label. He's got the cash. He could even get Sam to pop them into envelopes and take them to the Post Office.

Loads of bands do this, they add in interesting bundles, add a t-shirt, signed copies, coloured vinyl, all sorts of price points. And perhaps add in the extra track and a tacky badge. I've not bought an album since World Peace as I thought it was terrible, but I would buy BoT if he self released it.

It does seem pretty clear though that just ain't happening. It's either the traditional way of signing with a record label or nothing. And it's looking more and more that it's the latter.

 

[Light Housework]

I feel like I have read this same article 50 times before, and I could not make it all the way through, again.

I agreed with you before reading the article, but now that I've read it, I found it a worthwhile read, but then, I'm in an unusually positive mood.

 

[overthemoors]

Ms Dodwell is the polar opposite to any hysterical unhinged borderliner. I can see what he likes in her at this point in his career.

I feel like the main thing he likes about her is her complimentary commentary on his own self...

 

[Mimi Ramone]

What a lame read. It always sounds like he is ghostwriting that for her to put it out, because it just ruminates what he has said already...

 

[Nikita]

When Morrissey said bad things about diversity she agreed with him. Now she is in favor of it?
What a cun+.

She actually says exactly the same he did.

 

[Light Housework]

She actually says exactly the same he did.

She said that the music industry wants superficial diversity only. That's my take on it.

 

[BookishBoy]

What a lame read. It always sounds like he is ghostwriting that for her to put it out, because it just ruminates what he has said already...

It does sound like that, except without any of the remaining wit or wordplay that Morrissey still brings to his occasional prose. In other words, utterly pointless.

 

[Malc]

Ms Dodwell is the polar opposite to any hysterical unhinged borderliner. I can see what he likes in her at this point in his career.



What I perceive is a focus on outward appearances when it comes to diversity. It's not so much about "the content of the character" that matters nowadays, the content of the character has actually become invisible to most, or it has become silenced by the narcissists.

I always liked Morrissey best when he gave voice to the narcisstically abused. I haven't listened to You Have Killed me that way yet. But it makes sense somehow. Why he lends his name to this website though, puzzles me from time to time.

Hi Fiona.

 

[jmb066]

This is short sighted lol. I do not want to diminish the earnestness of your opinion here, but doing this would reduce his social capital significantly. Morrissey is not a failed 2nd tier indie artist that has been recently dropped by Sub Pop. Doing as you suggest would be akin to a band like Death Cab for Cutie coming in hot with 12k copies of a new 5 song EP because the band managed to hoodwink 4 to 6 investors with cash to spare and nostalgia for those days when they used to hang out in the band vip at Primavera.

What needs to happen first is reorientation of the narrative.

Totally disagree, Morrissey can turn the industry on its head with the amount of fans he could get to support this process. He has enough money to start his own label and sign like minded artist, allowing labels and media influencers to stop him is a mistake.

 

[NealCassidy]

Bless her. She's tried at least 5 times to say the same thing with slightly different words.

Not a jot compared to your 20,000

 

[marred]

When Morrissey said bad things about diversity she agreed with him. Now she is in favor of it?
What a cun+.

Well it's clear that point went straight over your head.
Morrissey said there is no true diversity in the music industry. She agreed with him and according to this article still does. How one can't work that out is beyond me.

 

[lutewhine]

Even by her standards that’s a bad stance, badly expressed, and with more or less zero substance backing it up.

Morrissey is having problems getting his record out because he is, as is widely chronicled and even admitted by Morrissey himself, a f***ing nightmare to work with.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the industry/media/world at large deciding he doesn’t fit into a suitable box. Loads of reasonably-high-profile and formerly-bigger artists have a perfectly fine time releasing albums without much in the way of airplay and media coverage. They put them out for their audience, and if the quality’s there to justify it finding new people, they’ll do that too.

It BoT’s release is tied up in legal issues, they’re almost certainly because he’s done something his contract said he wasn’t supposed to.

It’s like she heard him say the word diversity and decided to use it as many times as possible in a piece to placate him. Only she’s weirdly using it in direct conflict with the grim “diversity is conformity” angle that Paul Joseph Watson clamped himself to.

 

[bored]

Well it's clear that point went straight over your head.
Morrissey said there is no true diversity in the music industry. She agreed with him and according to this article still does. How one can't work that out is beyond me.

Then Morrissey was being a c*** as well since he said, "Diversity means conformity - it's a terrible word."

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

We cannot have this conversation yet again. People, do NOT indulge! It’s a dead-end road!

Fecking well said.
I do not see what the point is of FD's article
It's best to pretend you never saw it . Enough already .

 

[Eldritch]

How apt that the site suggests I read this article next:

 

[SeniorLife]

Morrissey needs to self-release his albums, but he'll never get over his pride and 20th-century perspective on music.

Bingo. This is all that needs to be said re: this.