> I meant crass to add a Smiths song soley to boost ticket sales.
On what are you basing it on that he added a song to boost ticket sales?
>If he just
> wants to play them that's one thing, but if it's a desperate attempt to
> get people to buy tickets, I think that's crass. He should have enough
> faith in his own material to just add more Morrissey songs.
> Well then why not add some more of his solo songs to the set instead of
> more Smiths songs.
But as Morrissey has said repeatedly, to HIM the solo songs and The Smiths songs are all Morrissey songs.
In fact, that may be one of his real agenda, if we must look for one. To make it clear that those are all his songs, and he'll sing them when he damn well feels like it. But, really, I think he just felt it's been awhile since he last toured, so he thought he'd get out there and enjoy himself.
>Although personally I loved hearing the new songs and
> would like to hear more. He has 24, so they probably won't all be released
> anyway.
If they're all GOOD they'll be released...eventually. Although it bums me out that Born To Hang wasn't released, because I love that one.
> I agree, I never said anything to the contrary.
> Fine, you don't want to hear more new ones, but lots of people do. And a
> lot of people would rather hear more of his own songs than more Smiths
> songs, how about adding a song from Vauxhall, Your Arsenal, Southpaw, even
> Kill Uncle instead?
You'd have to ask him. But again, I don't see where the crassness is. He sold more tickets when he was playing just Kill Uncle/YourArsenal/BonaDrag/VivaHate songs. He's played most of those a ton. This tour he broke out a couple "Viva Hate songs I hadn't heard live before.
> It's not a band playing their own "old favourite" songs - It's
> Morrissey and his band "covering" Smiths songs.
Rubbish. See this just proves why he SHOULD be playing those Smiths songs.
You call it "covering" when he sings HIS OWN SONGS?!???!!!!? Who's life, observances, and feelings do you think are in all those Smiths songs?
And he's not allowed to sing them?
>Contrary to what
> you may think, Morrissey wasn't the Smiths on his own and his band are
> certainly not either.
Gee, really, The Smiths weren't just Morrissey? Are you serious?
But you should notice something. There's only one person in the world who CAN sing Smiths songs and not have them be covers. And that is Morrissey. Johnny Marr could play a Smiths song, but he'd have to get a different singer, and that is completely different from just getting a different guitarist.
Morrissey didn't tack the label "The Smiths" on this tour. That would be wrong.
But those are more his songs than anybody's, and he should sing them. They're good ass songs.
>I don't even want to hear them play the songs from
> Viva Hate,
Yeah, well you're weird.
>I would rather hear them play their own songs that they wrote
> themselves. I want him to play my favourites too, who doesn't? But I want
> to hear the faves that they can do well. If there were songs that
> Morrissey couldn't hit the notes on anymore I wouldn't want to hear them.
> I don't want to hear songs I love at all costs, if the band can't fulfil
> those songs, leave them out. There are so many songs that Morrissey and
> the band wrote together that I would love to hear, and that I'm sure the
> band would rather play than Smiths ones.
> Whether or not you realise it, there are quite a few people who only go to
> Morrissey shows now that he plays Smiths songs, especially in England. You
> only have to talk to people in the crowd to find out that a significant
> number wouldn't bother going if he only played solo material. I don't
> understand that myself, but it's true. And I know quite a few people who
> went to RAH and didn't buy tickets to any of the next British shows
> because they thought he would only play the same songs again, who will
> most likely go to another show or two when they find out he's playing a
> new Smiths song. I guarantee it will have an effect on ticket sales, much
> more so than if he added another song from one of his solo albums. And
> he'll be well aware of this too. Sadly though I think if the tickets
> hadn't been quite so expensive he wouldn't have to do that to sell these
> shows out. (I don't know where you are but if you're not in the UK, the
> tickets cost £25 plus fees, which while it may not seem like a lot to see
> Morrissey, is incredibly expensive for the places he's playing, I've never
> seen anything like it) He would have sold out the entire tour by now if
> he'd charged what most bands do when they play these places. But those
> prices, combined with the "set" setlist makes people think
> twice. An extra Smiths song that hasn't been heard for 15 years or more
> will tip the scales for some people.
> It must be disheartening for the band to be given a set with so few of
> their songs in it - they have so many great songs of their own, and
> they're barely playing any of them on the tour anyway, and then Morrissey
> pulls one of them to add another song that is nothing to do with them. The
> Smiths and Viva Hate and Bona Drag songs may be Morrissey's, but none of
> them are the bands'.
Get it straight. When you buy a ticket for this tour, it says: "MORRISSEY."
>I'm sure they'd rather play their own stuff, and
> they'd probably do a better job of it. I know they're employed by him to
> do what he asks, but it's clearly having a negative effect on their
> performance, and that has a negative effect on the whole show. I'm sure
> they would rather live in the present, and *their* past, not someone
> else's.
I don't know what your deal is. When I went to see Shane Macgowan and the Popes, they did Pogues songs, and I loved him for doing that. And I love that
Morrissey still sings his classics. All music performers should play their classics. It makes people happy.
As far as whether or not he's "moving backwards," we simply have to wait and hear the next album. This tour is not supporting a new album. This tour is just to get off on some music. It seems to me refreshing that someone will tour just for the heck of it. It shows he just loves to sing on a stage and connect with an audience. A lot of bands just tour for the money and the moving of product.