Morrissey A-Z: "Earth Is the Loneliest Planet"

[BookishBoy]

We kick off the weekend with the first of five "E" songs in the Morrissey catalogue, this track from World Peace Is None of Your Business.

What do we think of it?

 

[MrShoes]

Not a fan. Musically interesting but didn't seem to match the lyrics well. Its almost as if the song whisks Morrissey away, never allowing him a chance to control the pace or catch up.

"But you're in the wrong skin
And the skin that you're in says..."

 

[Famous when dead]

As it's off YouTube:
Morrissey & Pammy on the Capitol Records roof:



Very Gustavo n'est-ce pas?
Like the cadence in his singing at times.
Not a frequent player though.
Kristeen is tolerable as the emphasis vocal in the background.
FWD.

 

[BookishBoy]

That clip has the same smouldering sexual chemistry as Winslet and DiCaprio in Titanic.

 

[SuedeMoz]

That clip has the same smouldering sexual chemistry as Winslet and DiCaprio in Titanic.

Weren't all those spoken word pieces slightly cringeworthy? I thought the song was just OK on WPINOYB. On hearing it again after a few years, I agree with @MrShoes - it's almost as though the music overpowers Morrissey on this one. I recall it working a bit better live.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Musically, it’s all over the place, going nowhere. Of course, it’s a Gustavo composition. However, Moz does the best he can with what he’s got and at the end of the day there are far worse moments on the LP.

 

[MrShoes]

That clip has the same smouldering sexual chemistry as Winslet and DiCaprio in Titanic.

You mean in a "draw me like one of your French girls" sorta way?

 

[gordyboy9]

first time in a while listen to it,dont think its as bad as some people make out,another abrupt ending,thats a few we have had,wonder why they dont just fade out like most songs.

 

[Janice]

Interesting that this track was heft carried over into any gigs in 2015-16
It reminds me of that whole 7 months, May-Dec 14, and has probably remained there for me Average.

 

[Light Housework]

We kick off the weekend with the first of five "E" songs in the Morrissey catalogue, this track from World Peace Is None of Your Business.

What do we think of it?

I like the off key guitars.

 

[Mike Rourke]

It's not up there with Gustavo's best compositions (e.g. Bobby, Israel, One of our own) but it's pretty good and it signalled a new non-indie style of song-writing. A breath of fresh air after nearly 20 years of indie-guitar plod as the default musical setting (with a few gems thrown in along the way).

 

[Mike Rourke]

Just actually listened to the song for the first time in a couple of years. Love the arrangement - the accordion, the harp, the acoustic intro etc. We just weren't used to hearing these things in a Morrissey song. The title is great - the idea that the planet we live on, the only known inhabited one in the universe, is actually the loneliest. Clever!
I think the main problem is the lack of musical sections i.e. there's just the one. It doesn't really have a chorus (or alternatively, it doesn't really have a verse). So, some of the ingredients are there for a great song - just needed an extra musical bit.

 

[Flibberty]

A very solid album track, but it was a mistake to select it as one of the promo singles. Kiss Me a Lot, despite not being to everybody's tastes, should have been the lead single as it was by far the most commercial song as some of the reviewers commented at the time.

I don't have an issue with the music on this track or on the album, as a change was needed.

I think the spoken word track works better than some.

It ranked 184 from 264 solo songs in the poll on the other board.

 

[Trans]

Just actually listened to the song for the first time in a couple of years. Love the arrangement - the accordion, the harp, the acoustic intro etc. We just weren't used to hearing these things in a Morrissey song. The title is great - the idea that the planet we live on, the only known inhabited one in the universe, is actually the loneliest. Clever!
I think the main problem is the lack of musical sections i.e. there's just the one. It doesn't really have a chorus (or alternatively, it doesn't really have a verse). So, some of the ingredients are there for a great song - just needed an extra musical bit.

Really like this song and yeah the music is pretty great how all the rhythms overlap drop out and come back in. The musicality on world peace was upped from the refusal years imo. I agree with the above poster about the clever lyrical subject matter. I also believe it to be true

 

[The.Truth.]

I haven't listened to this in a long time but I kind of like it now. I can see now how this was leading to the music on IANADOAC. This has instrumental sections highlighting different players and that reminds me of "Bobby, Don't You Think They Know?"
I'm not sure about all of the lyrics. They're better than "Kiss You A Lot," but I agree that the music is stronger. The vocal performance is pretty good but kind of buried. I like the arrangement but I think it would be interesting if it sounded more organic. It sounds kind of artificial and that doesn't always bother me. I like the retro electro sound of the latest record.
Sometimes I would like to hear the band sound like they're all in the same room at the same time and I think this song would benefit from that. Most of the individual sections sound very present but it doesn't ever sound like one thing. It sounds like a collection of things that aren't really united.
Anyway, I am glad I listened again.

 

[Anonymous]

First time I've listened to this song in a while. Seem to remember this being one of the stronger tracks on 'World Peace', but listened to in isolation it seems a bit...meh. There's nothing hugely wrong with it, but nothing much right about it, either. The musical direction is a nice change-up, but it doesn't really go anywhere interesting beyond the opening riff/groove, and the lyrics similarly never really progress anywhere beyond the opening statement. Kristeen Young pops up at the end to try and add some interest, but can't do much with it either. It's not unpleasant, it just seems so bland and forgettable next to anything of 'Bona Drag', or 'Your Arsenal' etc. A thoroughly average 5 out of 10.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

I like the off key guitars.

Actually, the guitars are on key, it’s the rest of the song that’s off.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

And how does Morrissey really know that earth’s the loneliest planet? Has he been to other planets?

Though I guess if you’re a lonely planet boy, then of course that’s how the world will be perceived by you.


Again, don’t care for the overall sound, but I do think the choice of instruments and arrangements are interesting. What genre category would this fall in ? Be nice now.

I liked the spoken word promos, something different is always good.

Tomorrow is another song. I don’t know what it is, but still I look forward to it. Is it really so strange? No, but still.

 

[Mayfly]

A great Morrissey title, I like these lines:
Earth is the loneliest planet of all
live with aloneness that no one else knows

I also like the use of different instruments (like the accordion and the harp) and the arrangements. But I somehow feel some dissonance between his singing style and the music, or is it just the notion of mixing flamenco style of music with bleak words about solitude? That holds back the potential of the song in my opinion. Still a decent album track and its place on the album, first in the row of a generally lighter middle part, also seems appropriate.

 

[Mayfly]

Actually, the guitars are on key, it’s the rest of the song that’s off.

Do you mean his singing is off key? I do perceive some disjointedness between the music and the vocal harmony.