Morrissey A-Z: "Asian Rut"

[Deleted member 29417]

Found an old documentary clip - the Bengali community went on strike in 1978. Must have been in the news a lot. ✊



Also came across an old clip of Northern Ireland.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

The problems start with the title. Rut - used in the sexual meaning, and you know Morrissey is always interested in the sexual side of words. And calling out a person by their race is not cool. As soon as he starts singing "ooo Asian boy" - it's so condescending. Is this a song you would feel comfortable playing for your Asian friends? Embarrassing.

Don't watch The Buddha of Suburbia, you'll have a heart attack.

 

[GirlAfraidWillNeverLearn]

Indeed. The atmosphere is very cinematic, but more in a woodcut-like way, like in them old silent movies.
The old cantastoria made use of pictures to illustrate their gruesome tales, and they actually, just as a sidenote, originated in India.
View attachment 67837

This is a GREAT comparison. Cantastoria and also shadow theatre is exactly what the mood reminds me of!

 

[Verso]

Not a song I think I've ever willingly cued up, but one I find interesting nonetheless. Like almost all of the Kill Uncle material, this one is better live. As @The.Truth. mentioned, the lyric is elevated at the very end with the "I'm just passing through here..." line, which takes the song from this third-person vignette to something more ambiguous and personal. Not unlike "Little Man, What Now" which also employs this same trick.

 

[SuedeMoz]

I never cared for the "dirgy" sound of this song - especially live - there really wasn't a good place for it in the set list. As with some other Morrissey lyrics, it can be hard to tell if he's being sympathetic or mocking (or a bit of both). But honestly my main gripe was just not caring for the sound of it.

 

[Mike Rourke]

A clearly anti-racism (or anti-racist violence) song, Morrissey's sympathies are entirely with the 'brave Asian boy'. The English boys 'must be wrong'. That this song is sometimes cited as evidence for Morrissey's alleged racism is madness. Presumably, it's simply because the song title includes the word 'Asian'.

 

[Anonymous]

A clearly anti-racism (or anti-racist violence) song, Morrissey's sympathies are entirely with the 'brave Asian boy'. The English boys 'must be wrong'. That this song is sometimes cited as evidence for Morrissey's alleged racism is madness. Presumably, it's simply because the song title includes the word 'Asian'.

Guess what? The "brave Asian boy" doesn't want his sympathy and wants to stop being singled out for being Asian. Whatever he's trying to say, he didn't have to bring race into it. It's just plain condescending and making them the "other".

 

[Anonymous]

Guess what? The "brave Asian boy" doesn't want his sympathy and wants to stop being singled out for being Asian. Whatever he's trying to say, he didn't have to bring race into it. It's just plain condescending and making them the "other".

The fact that Morrissey assumes this persons gender is also very triggering.

 

[Deleted member 28602]

The problems start with the title. Rut - used in the sexual meaning, and you know Morrissey is always interested in the sexual side of words. And calling out a person by their race is not cool. As soon as he starts singing "ooo Asian boy" - it's so condescending. Is this a song you would feel comfortable playing for your Asian friends? Embarrassing.

The most embarrassing thing about it is that there are still people who cannot understand that there is indeed a difference between the author of lyrics and the narrative voice created for the lyrics; it is also one the most fundamental differences between fiction and non-fiction. People who haven't read enough fictional texts in their lives, usually have difficulties grasping the difference between the two.
I think we can agree that there are condescending voices like that in real life. They do exist. And it's not cool, yes.
The job of the writer is to notice and observe these voices and then to utilize them for their fiction writing. Morrissey didn't use this condescending voice in a racist feature newspaper article on teenage gang violence in Britain.

 

[MrShoes]

The fact that Morrissey assumes this persons gender is also very triggering.

I think that's a horse of a different color.

 

[everydayslikesunday]

I think the end of the song when he sings about passing through is probably my favourite part of the whole album.