Here's an experiment to try to explore building empathy and compassion. Watch the latest news from Syria or Nigeria on mute with headphones pumping out "WPINOYB" and "Istanbul". What emotional effect does The Voice Of Morrissey have on you whilst you watch the torture/slaughter infotainment disguised as 'news'? When you see the footage of the young girls stolen from their homes and enslaved or used as sex slaves by "Boko Haram", can you still remain numb whilst listening to these songs? We can't and we've done it several times with increasingly distressing emotional responses.
The strongest revulsion we have encountered regarding 'Boko Haram' is on the streets of B9/B10, Sparkhill and Small Heath, Birmingham, the supposedly fundamentalist areas where "BrummieBoy" grew up in a Little Ireland now long vanished. In the leafy Shires, the anger is more restrained, but it's there. "Boko Haram" means "Western Education is Forbidden"
"they seized more than 200 girls last month, in a case which shocked the world and prompted foreign powers to send military advisors to assist Nigeria's army tackle the insurgency."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-27465113
'Istanbul' isn't just about the city of Istanbul. It isn't just about that prostituted lost boy and his distraught father. It's about Boko Haram, about each and every one of those lost girls and their grieving despairing parents. And this song will one day be heard in Kano city and Borno province when Morrissey steps on stage to rapturous applause. As we said an hour after the song was released, this is Morrissey's finest moment, and a pinnacle of artistic achievement which it's hard to see anyone matching. And there is absolutely no equivocations or reservations 11 hours later.
Now, it's time to get in the car and drive to Istanbul, we mean Birmingham, to the late-night casbah coffee shops and and the Lebanese and Somali restaurants. It's 'edgy' baby, if you're a tourist but we're. We're Peaky Blinder homeboys and girls, it's our hood and we've only ever encountered racism or threats of violence from disturbed fanatics of which there are very few.
ensh'Allah
"BrummieBoy"
NB: A note on the use of 'I' and 'We'. We are not royals and use the plural as this is a group effort communicated through a single person. It is a process of 'channeling', txt msgs and Social Media PMs. And there is the ouija board and the Automatic Writing technique which Morrissey also uses. We trust that this answers the queries raised in recent emails. It's obvious that that old email address from years ago is being circulated afresh to avoid using this site's internal communication system. Yes, we monitor it but don't expect a reply as we are overwhelmed with projects and crises. If it's important, don't worry.....we'll let you know.
