“Los toreros son alimañas: se deberían matar entre ellos” (Bullfighters are vermin. They should kill each other.) - El País
DIEGO A. MANRIQUE Madrid 4 OCT 2014
Improved Google translation (the editorializing is the author’s, not mine):
Astonishment between the interviewer and the promoters. Morrissey (Manchester, 1959) has offered to respond to a questionnaire and, hours later, the answers arrive. Journalists distrust interviews done by mail: in theory, anyone can impersonate the interviewee. But the answers are unequivocally morrisseyesque. In their acute malevolence, their recognizable narcissism, their stubbornness in turning things to his advantage. The former leader of the Smiths will perform in Madrid on Thursday and in Barcelona on Friday.
There are inevitable subjects, obviously. Like his controversial Autobiography, published in the Penguin Classics collection. It’s nothing to do with the current wave of books written by rock stars, he insists: "It surprises me that there are so many who actually think they have something to say! When you read their books, it turns out that they don’t. My Autobiography exists, it is self-explanatory. So I am not going to talk about the book on television, radio or in written media."
He also wants to clear up his bolt from the Harvest label, three weeks after releasing his new album, World Peace is None of Your Business. He mainly denies it: “I didn’t leave, they threw me out! They tried to keep my record but they discovered that they did not have the rights. A very stupid mess, caused by an executive named Steve Barnett, who has less brains than an artificial flower. The fact that someone like that is in charge of a label is a sign of how bad things are in the musical world. "
He makes no distinction between the three multinationals and the abundant independents: "Rough Trade has gone down in history for having the Smiths, yet never inviting us to a meal to celebrate the success." According to Morrissey, it is not profitable either to go on tour, although tickets for his Spanish concerts cost 50 euros: "I do not get rich by touring. All the money that is generated is invested in doing things. Many people ask me what is the point of bothering with tours and I say, this is my life. "
A key part of his existence is to fight animal abuse. He assures that his opposition to bullfighting is nothing new. In the legendary Smiths concert in Madrid, during the festival of San Isidro 1985, broadcast by TVE, "I remember telling the public 'I've seen your national sport and it is not very nice'. Obviously killing bulls is no sport: it is torture."
Now, he is more hurtful. His latest album contains The Bullfighter Dies, a song – you will excuse me – musically and literarily tasteless, where he celebrates the death of any bullfighter. His argument is this: "My understanding is that those who attend want to see death: what is the difference between the death of the bull or the matador? Both are beings who want to live and which feel pain. The matador has the picador and other helpers that help him to torment the bull, who is alone and should have our sympathy. It is the matador who has decided that this occurs and the bull is the victim; human instinct should always be to protect the victim. Bullfighters are vermin: they should kill one another. "
Morrissey always comes to interviews with guns loaded. A question about social networks leads him to fire at monarchies: "The networks have good and bad points. Suddenly, everyone is an expert ... and no matter that he has never left his bedroom. But dictators and so-called royalty cannot do what they want anymore: the entire world is watching and can depose those who betray their trust. King Juan Carlos was shamed when they caught him killing endangered species. Elephants are wonderful, calm, wise ... it’s such a repulsive thing he did! How is it that he is not in jail?"
He explains his decision to leave the UK and live in California for similar reasons: "I cannot endure the British royal family and it pains me that part of my taxes end up in the hands of those embarrassing parasites. They offer nothing to the world and are always on vacation in exotic places, killing animals, all with public money. They do not represent England and are are as much dictators as the Assad family in Syria, so we cannot dismantle their platform (?) with good manners: they will throw you to the police. You only have to look what will happen in Hong Kong. "
In case there was any doubt, Morrissey insists that the world is heading for ecological destruction, if a nuclear apocalypse doesn’t happen first: "Industrial agriculture and animal breeders are destroying the planet. Every time I see the yellow M of McDonald's I think of death. Governments tolerate whatever brings money; they benefit from the inclination of the human race to suicide. It amuses me that there are countries where attempted suicide is punished while the governments spend millions on nuclear weapons, which facilitate collective suicide. They just have to use them once for us all to disappear from here. "
Meanwhile, Morrissey must confront vexing moral and aesthetic dilemmas. He opens his heart: "I have a problem with synthetic leather shoes. I stopped using fake leather jackets because people became confused and accused me of using real leather. It's easy to stop eating meat and forget about eggs and milk: immediately you feel better ethically and physically. But the synthetic leather shoes are more uncomfortable than genuine leather. It is the last barrier for those who do not want to exploit animals in any way. "
(Sidebar)
Secrets and lies of the industry
Morrissey agrees to list the main secrets of the record business.
Take note:
1. The number one position on the charts is normally bought.
2. A label can sign an artist to bury him.
3. A company issues a press release saying their new discovery has sold 30 million records, when the actual figure is 30,000, but the media make it official truth.
4. The label strives to pay nothing and move all expenses to the artist, so that its income is clean profit.
5. Before listening to a record, the executives have already decided if it will triumph or not in the market.
6. The bosses are all men; the women who work in the industry are eternally girls, even if they are 52 years old.
7. Grammy Awards are previously divided between the labels, so that its executives can boast that they are au courant.
DIEGO A. MANRIQUE Madrid 4 OCT 2014
Improved Google translation (the editorializing is the author’s, not mine):
Astonishment between the interviewer and the promoters. Morrissey (Manchester, 1959) has offered to respond to a questionnaire and, hours later, the answers arrive. Journalists distrust interviews done by mail: in theory, anyone can impersonate the interviewee. But the answers are unequivocally morrisseyesque. In their acute malevolence, their recognizable narcissism, their stubbornness in turning things to his advantage. The former leader of the Smiths will perform in Madrid on Thursday and in Barcelona on Friday.
There are inevitable subjects, obviously. Like his controversial Autobiography, published in the Penguin Classics collection. It’s nothing to do with the current wave of books written by rock stars, he insists: "It surprises me that there are so many who actually think they have something to say! When you read their books, it turns out that they don’t. My Autobiography exists, it is self-explanatory. So I am not going to talk about the book on television, radio or in written media."
He also wants to clear up his bolt from the Harvest label, three weeks after releasing his new album, World Peace is None of Your Business. He mainly denies it: “I didn’t leave, they threw me out! They tried to keep my record but they discovered that they did not have the rights. A very stupid mess, caused by an executive named Steve Barnett, who has less brains than an artificial flower. The fact that someone like that is in charge of a label is a sign of how bad things are in the musical world. "
He makes no distinction between the three multinationals and the abundant independents: "Rough Trade has gone down in history for having the Smiths, yet never inviting us to a meal to celebrate the success." According to Morrissey, it is not profitable either to go on tour, although tickets for his Spanish concerts cost 50 euros: "I do not get rich by touring. All the money that is generated is invested in doing things. Many people ask me what is the point of bothering with tours and I say, this is my life. "
A key part of his existence is to fight animal abuse. He assures that his opposition to bullfighting is nothing new. In the legendary Smiths concert in Madrid, during the festival of San Isidro 1985, broadcast by TVE, "I remember telling the public 'I've seen your national sport and it is not very nice'. Obviously killing bulls is no sport: it is torture."
Now, he is more hurtful. His latest album contains The Bullfighter Dies, a song – you will excuse me – musically and literarily tasteless, where he celebrates the death of any bullfighter. His argument is this: "My understanding is that those who attend want to see death: what is the difference between the death of the bull or the matador? Both are beings who want to live and which feel pain. The matador has the picador and other helpers that help him to torment the bull, who is alone and should have our sympathy. It is the matador who has decided that this occurs and the bull is the victim; human instinct should always be to protect the victim. Bullfighters are vermin: they should kill one another. "
Morrissey always comes to interviews with guns loaded. A question about social networks leads him to fire at monarchies: "The networks have good and bad points. Suddenly, everyone is an expert ... and no matter that he has never left his bedroom. But dictators and so-called royalty cannot do what they want anymore: the entire world is watching and can depose those who betray their trust. King Juan Carlos was shamed when they caught him killing endangered species. Elephants are wonderful, calm, wise ... it’s such a repulsive thing he did! How is it that he is not in jail?"
He explains his decision to leave the UK and live in California for similar reasons: "I cannot endure the British royal family and it pains me that part of my taxes end up in the hands of those embarrassing parasites. They offer nothing to the world and are always on vacation in exotic places, killing animals, all with public money. They do not represent England and are are as much dictators as the Assad family in Syria, so we cannot dismantle their platform (?) with good manners: they will throw you to the police. You only have to look what will happen in Hong Kong. "
In case there was any doubt, Morrissey insists that the world is heading for ecological destruction, if a nuclear apocalypse doesn’t happen first: "Industrial agriculture and animal breeders are destroying the planet. Every time I see the yellow M of McDonald's I think of death. Governments tolerate whatever brings money; they benefit from the inclination of the human race to suicide. It amuses me that there are countries where attempted suicide is punished while the governments spend millions on nuclear weapons, which facilitate collective suicide. They just have to use them once for us all to disappear from here. "
Meanwhile, Morrissey must confront vexing moral and aesthetic dilemmas. He opens his heart: "I have a problem with synthetic leather shoes. I stopped using fake leather jackets because people became confused and accused me of using real leather. It's easy to stop eating meat and forget about eggs and milk: immediately you feel better ethically and physically. But the synthetic leather shoes are more uncomfortable than genuine leather. It is the last barrier for those who do not want to exploit animals in any way. "
(Sidebar)
Secrets and lies of the industry
Morrissey agrees to list the main secrets of the record business.
Take note:
1. The number one position on the charts is normally bought.
2. A label can sign an artist to bury him.
3. A company issues a press release saying their new discovery has sold 30 million records, when the actual figure is 30,000, but the media make it official truth.
4. The label strives to pay nothing and move all expenses to the artist, so that its income is clean profit.
5. Before listening to a record, the executives have already decided if it will triumph or not in the market.
6. The bosses are all men; the women who work in the industry are eternally girls, even if they are 52 years old.
7. Grammy Awards are previously divided between the labels, so that its executives can boast that they are au courant.
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