LIHS review 3*s - The Scotsman

[Famous when dead]

A very brief review in amongst Mavis Staples & Sharon Jones.

Morrissey shares the rage on his new album, but allows a little light into his gloomy world, while Mavis Staples and the late, great Sharon Jones put love centre stage.

"Bigmouth strikes again this week, as Morrissey releases his first new album in three years. Low In High School is titled for all the disaffected teenagers who have long been his constituency and its forthright sleeve keeps up the anti-monarchy agitation. But there are more pressing global themes to address and Morrissey goes for the jugular even by his anti-authority standards with a brawny, bilious and bombastic takedown of abuse of power in its many forms, including police brutality in Venezuela, modern Middle Eastern dictatorships, oil wars and indeed all wars. The album is shot through with cutting rage but there is also a black humour in some of the stark musical and lyrical contrasts. The temperate tango backdrop transforms The Girl From Tel Aviv Who Wouldn’t Kneel into a satirical cabaret, while the tender torch ballad In Your Lap is among his more audacious juxtapositions of the personal and the political (“they tried to wash us clean off the map and I just want my face in your lap”). This ambivalent sense of simultaneously confronting and retreating from the political maelstrom crops up repeatedly, from Spent the Day In Bed to his sly Brexit comment that “everybody’s running to the exits” on Jacky’s Only Happy When She’s Up On Stage. But there is a flicker of hope among the gruesome lyrics of All The Young People Must Fall In Love which suggests that even a misanthrope like Mozzer appreciates that it is impossible to completely crush the human spirit."

http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/c...orrissey-mavis-staples-sharon-jones-1-4611858

Bonus points to ANY journalist that refrains from using the Bigmouth... cliché.

Regards,
FWD.

 

[gordyboy9]

pope of mope is the one where if I see it anywhere at the start of a review or interview I will not read it,lazy journalism.

 

[Uncleskinny]

But it's not about Brexit, is it, according to the unthinking drones here. Which puts the lyric in the song "Scene Two: Everyone who comes must go! Scene Four: Blacker than ever before! Scene Six: "This country is making me sick!" into even darker focus, especially the line about 'blacker than ever before'. So, if you didn't think that the man who called Nigel Farage a Liberal educator, who was disappointed that Anne-Marie Waters didn't become UKIP's leader, is railing against the blackening of Britain...how much more evidence do you need of his real feelings? How much more? Maybe you like to keep giving money to a bigot. But don't just take my word for it, or this particular reviewer, or the Nordbuzz reviewer, or ...anyone...

https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics
https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics

 

[Similar2Sunday]

pope of mope is the one where if I see it anywhere at the start of a review or interview I will not read it,lazy journalism.

Seconded. Also, headlines or articles that start with "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and journalists who think that Morrissey singing something upbeat that isn't about loneliness and gloom is a big surprise.

 

[gordyboy9]

But it's not about Brexit, is it, according to the unthinking drones here. Which puts the lyric in the song "Scene Two: Everyone who comes must go! Scene Four: Blacker than ever before! Scene Six: "This country is making me sick!" into even darker focus, especially the line about 'blacker than ever before'. So, if you didn't think that the man who called Nigel Farage a Liberal educator, who was disappointed that Anne-Marie Waters didn't become UKIP's leader, is railing against the blackening of Britain...how much more evidence do you need of his real feelings? How much more? Maybe you like to keep giving money to a bigot. But don't just take my word for it, or this particular reviewer, or the Nordbuzz reviewer, or ...anyone...

https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics

doctor- skinny come on in and have a seat.now what is the problem.
skinny-doctor I hate a pop singer called Morrissey.
doctor-is there a reason why you hate this pop star called smith.
skinny-doctor his name is Morrissey the group he was in whom I'm obsessed with was called the smiths.
doctor-strange case indeed,take two of these and come back and see me in a week if it hasn't cleard by then.
skinny-I'm sure it wont have doc.

 

[scumbag]

But it's not about Brexit, is it, according to the unthinking drones here. Which puts the lyric in the song "Scene Two: Everyone who comes must go! Scene Four: Blacker than ever before! Scene Six: "This country is making me sick!" into even darker focus, especially the line about 'blacker than ever before'. So, if you didn't think that the man who called Nigel Farage a Liberal educator, who was disappointed that Anne-Marie Waters didn't become UKIP's leader, is railing against the blackening of Britain...how much more evidence do you need of his real feelings? How much more? Maybe you like to keep giving money to a bigot. But don't just take my word for it, or this particular reviewer, or the Nordbuzz reviewer, or ...anyone...

https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics

And you're still here, on MORRISSEY-solo.com?

 

[bhops]

But it's not about Brexit, is it, according to the unthinking drones here. Which puts the lyric in the song "Scene Two: Everyone who comes must go! Scene Four: Blacker than ever before! Scene Six: "This country is making me sick!" into even darker focus, especially the line about 'blacker than ever before'. So, if you didn't think that the man who called Nigel Farage a Liberal educator, who was disappointed that Anne-Marie Waters didn't become UKIP's leader, is railing against the blackening of Britain...how much more evidence do you need of his real feelings? How much more? Maybe you like to keep giving money to a bigot. But don't just take my word for it, or this particular reviewer, or the Nordbuzz reviewer, or ...anyone...

https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics

Honestly how you get that from the lyrics to a song that's called Jacky's Only happy When She's Up On Stage is beyond me, truly beyond me. You have advanced stage Derangement Syndrome and I suggest you seek help.

 

[tivvissey]

Honestly how you get that from the lyrics to a song that's called Jacky's Only happy When She's Up On Stage is beyond me, truly beyond me. You have advanced stage Derangement Syndrome and I suggest you seek help.

hmm no i can definitely see it. if the you listen to the lyrics with that in mind. it is somewhat unnerving. Despite this i am not sure what the song is about.

 

[bhops]

hmm no i can definitely see it. if the you listen to the lyrics with that in mind. it is somewhat unnerving. Despite this i am not sure what the song is about.

I really took it to be a potshot at wasshername? The shrieker that used to open for him. Sort of a Girl Least Likely To Part 2 song. It's like every time Morrissey used to write about a broken relationship everyone assumed that it was about Johnny Marr. I honestly think that applying this song to Brexit is drawing an INCREDIBLY long bow, but feel free to do so if you wish

 

[Orson Swells]

Well, I can see Exit rhymes with Brexit. And I can see the name Jacky echoes the Union Jack. But the lyric really doesn't lend itself to this reading. Even if it did, the audience heading for the exit (Brexit) is portrayed as a bad thing for Jacky (the UK): therefore Brexit is bad for Britain. Which would make it an anti-Brexit song actually.

If Morrissey wrote a song about Brexit you would know about it. On an album where every other song is very politically direct it seems strange he would write an ambiguous and oblique song about Brexit. If anything the lyric reads as an autobiographical comment, a somewhat unflattering portrait of himself.

But then clearly I am an "unthinking drone" for thinking this...

 

[Irregular Regular]

Well, I can see Exit rhymes with Brexit. And I can see the name Jacky echoes the Union Jack. But the lyric itself really doesn't lend itself to this reading. Even if it did, the audience heading for the exit (Brexit) is portrayed as a bad thing for Jacky (the UK): therefore Brexit is bad for Britain. Which would make it a pro-Brexit song actually.

If Morrissey wrote a song about Brexit you would know about it. On an album where every other song is very politically direct it seems strange he would write an ambiguous and oblique song about Brexit. If anything the lyric reads as an autobiographical comment, a somewhat unflattering portrait of himself.

But then clearly I am an "unthinking drone" for thinking this...

I mentioned on another thread that Jacky is Morrissey, my opinion remains unchanged.

 

[bhops]

Well, I can see Exit rhymes with Brexit. And I can see the name Jacky echoes the Union Jack. But the lyric itself really doesn't lend itself to this reading. Even if it did, the audience heading for the exit (Brexit) is portrayed as a bad thing for Jacky (the UK): therefore Brexit is bad for Britain. Which would make it a pro-Brexit song actually.

If Morrissey wrote a song about Brexit you would know about it. On an album where every other song is very politically direct it seems strange he would write an ambiguous and oblique song about Brexit. If anything the lyric reads as an autobiographical comment, a somewhat unflattering portrait of himself.

But then clearly I am an "unthinking drone" for thinking this...

Exactly, I think that is a really fair assessment. Morrissey has never really attempted to hide his political messages in oblique references, folks were getting too hung up on Exit rhyming with Brexit, and of course there are others on these boards who simply run with a preformed agenda to see evil in every little thing Morrissey does.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I can see Exit rhymes with Brexit. And I can see the name Jacky echoes the Union Jack. But the lyric itself really doesn't lend itself to this reading. Even if it did, the audience heading for the exit (Brexit) is portrayed as a bad thing for Jacky (the UK): therefore Brexit is bad for Britain. Which would make it a pro-Brexit song actually.

If Morrissey wrote a song about Brexit you would know about it. On an album where every other song is very politically direct it seems strange he would write an ambiguous and oblique song about Brexit. If anything the lyric reads as an autobiographical comment, a somewhat unflattering portrait of himself.

But then clearly I am an "unthinking drone" for thinking this...

Agreed. I mean he’s got song called Isreal on here. It’s not likely that he’s feeling the need to be obscure about touchy political subjects. If he wrote a song about brexit it’d likely be boldly titled brexit. Also agreed about the reading making it an anti brexit song which doesn’t make sense with his stated views on brexit though I sure some would stretch it even farther to “see the pro brexit meaning” (sexual neglect is of course about the native British birth rate). It seems pretty clear that many of those here reading it as being about brexit are also those that have brexit constantly on the mind and have he most issue with morrisseys praise for the brexit vote. Same with the reviews that all mention his recent public comments even though it’s hard to see there relevancy towards the album despite them taking up half the column space

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

' the dark nights are drawing in and your humor is as black as them'

wtf !?

 

[Emma]

I too think that Jacky is Morrissey's female alter ego, it makes sense with the lyrics...

 

[ThatCharlieHill]

I've given it another listen and I can 100% get behind the idea that Jacky is about himself! Filling the page with lonely day?! Sexual neglect? 'this country is making me sick' - it's about his Morrissey persona that he puts on when he's up on the stage

 

[Shyness 1s nice]

Can somebody please tie Morrissey to a chair (or whatever takes your fancy) and demand WE know what this song is truthfully about

 

[countthree]

But it's not about Brexit, is it, according to the unthinking drones here. Which puts the lyric in the song "Scene Two: Everyone who comes must go! Scene Four: Blacker than ever before! Scene Six: "This country is making me sick!" into even darker focus, especially the line about 'blacker than ever before'. So, if you didn't think that the man who called Nigel Farage a Liberal educator, who was disappointed that Anne-Marie Waters didn't become UKIP's leader, is railing against the blackening of Britain...how much more evidence do you need of his real feelings? How much more? Maybe you like to keep giving money to a bigot. But don't just take my word for it, or this particular reviewer, or the Nordbuzz reviewer, or ...anyone...

https://genius.com/Morrissey-jackys-only-happy-when-shes-up-on-the-stage-lyrics

"Everyone who comes must go" makes me think about "my life is a succession of people saying goodbye" and other songs about the same topic. "Blacker than ever before" seems to be about depression, like "black is how I feel in the inside". "This country is making me sick" is probably about USA on account of the presidential election and the lack of true alternatives. Maybe it's related to watching the news and feeling bad about them, too. The results of Brexit election didn't disgust Morrissey, so why should he feel sick about Brexit? During the last interview with Larry King he said he loves playing live shows, then it's obvious he's happy when he is up on the stage.

Well, that's my personal interpretation and it's similar to the interpretation of some other people here, but for every song in the world there are many different interpretations. The song is on the air, when you listen to it, it's not Morrissey's song anymore, it's a little yours too and your mind and your soul both complete the meaning. That's why people like some artists more than others, some songs more than others.

 

[Shyness 1s nice]

Just remember, to the people possibly still in denial about his political views, you are just putting off the inevitable. It's ok to be incorrigible

 

[Ugly Devil]

Can somebody please tie Morrissey to a chair (or whatever takes your fancy) and demand WE know what this song is truthfully about

View attachment 42785

Lol who's that?