Should Morrissey and Richard Ashcroft just give it up, already? - Popmatters.com

Should Morrissey and Richard Ashcroft Just Give It Up, Already? - PopMatters
By David Selsby

The biggest problem with being a faded genius is that nothing he or she ever produces again can be analysed, critiqued, or appreciated in a vacuum. It all comes in the wake of their prior transcendental music.

Excerpt:

"But the music that Morrissey and Ashcroft are turning out now is so bad that we clearly hear they have nothing left to say in the medium. Writing perhaps? Sure. Large swaths of Morrissey's memoir, Autobiography (Putnam 2013) were delightful. But not in rock 'n' roll or pop or whatever you'd like to call it. Morrissey and Richard Ashcroft have said everything of import on record that they were ever going to say. Accordingly, I've never understood the rock fan that likes the entire corpus of a particular musician or band. Actually, I understand it, but I'm irked by the lack of honesty. Morrissey has developed a legendary following. His fans will buy whatever he produces, and if he's touring in a region where his following is strong, they will turn out in droves time and time again to support him. That's fine. In fact, it's very kind. But if you can't tell the difference between "Rusholme Ruffians" and "Stay in Bed All Day", then you never understood the man's genius."

Regards,
FWD.

 

[Anonymous]

I can see the difference between rusholme ruffians, a weird song to use as an example though imo, and spent the day and can say I like one more perhaps, though rusolme ruffians isn't exactly singing my life and doesn't really move me much beyond a small giggle, but I can also say I still really enjoy spent the day and that Morrisseys style, singing style, is still unique and immensely enjoyable. Love songs don't go out of fashion and even though his musical style has changed a bunch despite people never mentioning this it's still very much worth while. I find it harder to see how a fan of music would ever want anyone to give it up no matter who they are. It makes me think they don't understand the point of music and are thinking of musicians as pop stars only. Or they simply don't like the artist anymore and are trying to justify they anger in some passive aggressive manner

 

[Deleted member 25370]

holy shit, david selbsby, it's "spent the day in bed" not "stay in bed all day". just do your homework before writing shit. would you, perhaps? not even knowing the titles is indeed unprofessional.

 

[Anonymous]

holy shit, david selbsby, it's "spent the day in bed" not "stay in bed all day". just do your homework before writing shit. would you, perhaps? not even knowing the titles is indeed unprofessional.

I'm a Morrissey fan, but does it actually matter what it's called?

 

[Try Anything Twice]

Doesn’t seem he thinks very highly of the fans. Maybe it’s not so much that we don’t understand the difference but that we do.

 

[g23]

Comparing The Smiths at their weakest to LIHS, The Smiths still come out on top. I think where it started with me, was when the songs got embarrassing.
I think first felt it with lazy shit like "There is no such thing in life as normal" being considered a good chorus, and it only got worse from there.

I'm a little torn when I think about aged acts. If they don't release anything, they're a legacy act milking the teats of nostalgia. If they release anything new, it'll be scrutinized and compared to their old material. Sometimes a band surprises you, but if the singer has nothing left to draw from their own life, and own experiences, it's either a by the numbers lazy affair, or they go outward to the world for inspiration and shout VENEZUELA! VENEZUELA!
And nobody loves old boring political f***heads like Roger Waters. Or increasingly, Morrissey. They want to hear some old Pink Floyd jam, or in Morrissey's case, stuff that wasn't on his last two albums.

And sure, I think they should probably both hang it up. Morrissey had a nice lengthy career. Go sip bubbly drinks poolside somewhere nice
and try writing another book. The old fella is all riled up most days and should probably just relax for his health. Besides, his band is f***ing insufferable and has been.

 

[Peppermint]

Comparing The Smiths at their weakest to LIHS, The Smiths still come out on top. I think where it started with me, was when the songs got embarrassing.
I think first felt it with lazy shit like "There is no such thing in life as normal" being considered a good chorus, and it only got worse from there.

I'm a little torn when I think about aged acts. If they don't release anything, they're a legacy act milking the teats of nostalgia. If they release anything new, it'll be scrutinized and compared to their old material. Sometimes a band surprises you, but if the singer has nothing left to draw from their own life, and own experiences, it's either a by the numbers lazy affair, or they go outward to the world for inspiration and shout VENEZUELA! VENEZUELA!
And nobody loves old boring political f***heads like Roger Waters. Or increasingly, Morrissey. They want to hear some old Pink Floyd jam, or in Morrissey's case, stuff that wasn't on his last two albums.

And sure, I think they should probably both hang it up. Morrissey had a nice lengthy career. Go sip bubbly drinks poolside somewhere nice
and try writing another book. The old fella is all riled up most days and should probably just relax for his health. Besides, his band is f***ing insufferable and has been.

It does seem like he was very distracted by Jesse's arrival.

 

[g23]

It does seem like he was very distracted by Jesse's arrival.

I don't think it's just Jesse. Although he damaged his sound more than improved.

I honestly think that post-widerness years, the thorough media buns-kissing he got for the "comeback"
of Quarry went straight to his head and he started believing his own hype and was so convinced of his
own genius that he became complacent. Then when the wave broke again, he became convinced that it had
to be someone persecuting him, cursing him, trying to "get" and ruin him. It couldn't be that the songs sounded
like shit for the most part and had nothing interesting to say, or said them in a clumsy and crude way.

 

[Anonymous]

I wasn’t all that fond of years of refusal era, but the last two albums have been pretty decent in my opinion.

 

[Tibby the cat 93]

Looking forward to the release of 'Stay in Bed All Day '.

 

[Charlie Cheswick]

If Morrissey only surfaced in 2006 I'm sure he'd be viewed as an average songwriter at best and a f***wit off the stage.

Still, what's he gonna do? I'm sure he enjoys making mediocre music to working down Asda.

 

[William Blake's Seven]

For someone who has 'nothing left to say', Morrissey seems to inspire a lot of column inches.

 

[Peppermint]

I don't think it's just Jesse. Although he damaged his sound more than improved.

I honestly think that post-widerness years, the thorough media buns-kissing he got for the "comeback"
of Quarry went straight to his head and he started believing his own hype and was so convinced of his
own genius that he became complacent. Then when the wave broke again, he became convinced that it had
to be someone persecuting him, cursing him, trying to "get" and ruin him. It couldn't be that the songs sounded
like shit for the most part and had nothing interesting to say, or said them in a clumsy and crude way.

There was that embarrassing interview in Rome, though, when Jesse was unveiled and Morrissey was practically dribbling over him. And something continues to keep him there, because it's not the music. I do find it a bit odd that when Morrissey is snapped out on the town with Damon, Mr Webbed Fingers is frequently tagging along with them. Menage a trois?? Or maybe we've been fooled all along and Damon really is just the PA

I am inclined to attribute the paranoia and detachment from reality down to some kind of mental illness + his coterie of subserviant yes men, but you might have a point about the success of Quarry.

 

[g23]

There was that embarrassing interview in Rome, though, when Jesse was unveiled and Morrissey was practically dribbling over him. And something continues to keep him there, because it's not the music. I do find it a bit odd that when Morrissey is snapped out on the town with Damon, Mr Webbed Fingers is frequently tagging along with them. Menage a trois?? Or maybe we've been fooled all along and Damon really is just the PA

I am inclined to attribute the paranoia and detachment from reality down to some kind of mental illness + his coterie of subserviant yes men, but you might have a point about the success of Quarry.

There's always been some form of mental illness there, but it seemed that his comeback gave it wings, and here we are toward the end of things and it's a shame. It seems likely that even after his death his nonsense from recent years will always be mentioned along with the music.

 

[Flibberty]

It's a poorly written article and it is pretty ludicrous to compare Morrissey now with The Smiths. That is as pointless as criticizing a Paul McCartney album for not being as good as The Beatles.

Morrissey's albums since the "comeback" have certainly not been perfect, but it is still a very impressive body of work from this era. Especially when you consider that we had had the non-lyrics of Southpaw Grammar, the uneven Maladjusted and then seven years of nothing before YATQ.

 

[g23]

It's a poorly written article and it is pretty ludicrous to compare Morrissey now with The Smiths. That is as pointless as criticizing a Paul McCartney album for not being as good as The Beatles.

Morrissey's albums since the "comeback" have certainly not been perfect, but it is still a very impressive body of work from this era. Especially when you consider that we had had the non-lyrics of Southpaw Grammar, the uneven Maladjusted and then seven years of nothing before YATQ.

Sometimes though, nothing is better than something.

 

[Peppermint]

There's always been some form of mental illness there, but it seemed that his comeback gave it wings, and here we are toward the end of things and it's a shame. It seems likely that even after his death his nonsense from recent years will always be mentioned along with the music.

Absolutely. That's why I really wish he'd stop now and at least preserve some dignity. I can't see that happening any time soon, though... unless it became financially unviable to carry on. That, I think, would knock it on the head pretty quickly.

 

[Stephen Hofmann]

They could all retire......but there are no new bands of their equal. Rock and Roll is going the way of the Dodo and will probably be dead in it's current form in 20 yrs.

 

[AztecCamera]

Who the f*** is Dick Ashcroft? I reckon he is just another loser brittish singer who couldn't afford to live in LA like Uncle Steve and is now jealous. Reckon like Rusty Brand.

 

[William Blake's Seven]

There are so many songs, post-Quarry that I absolutely love, including much of World Peace and High School. Are the songs 'as good as' The Smiths. Who cares? It's music, it's art; it's not Top Trumps.