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

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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.
 
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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.

I think he should set up in Las Vegas and do a greatest hits show. His voice is still wonderful and I would pay top dollar to see that - as would many, I would think.
 
Comparing solo Moz to the Smiths is pointless and not really fair, but I miss the days when even his B-sides were gold. Vocal melody on this is wonderful.

 
There was that embarrassing interview in Rome, though, when Jesse was unveiled and Morrissey was practically dribbling over him.

I think that was done as much to cock a snoot at Alain and send a message to the fans who were of the mindset that he should return to all facets of his old Morrissey job, i.e., both songwriting/recording and live performance.

The hype felt unjustified considering how "one geared" Jesse's compositions remained until World Peace.
 
Comparing solo Moz to the Smiths is pointless and not really fair, but I miss the days when even his B-sides were gold. Vocal melody on this is wonderful.


Yes, that and I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, which just breaks my heart every time.
 
I think that was done as much to cock a snoot at Alain and send a message to the fans who were of the mindset that he should return to all facets of his old Morrissey job, i.e., both songwriting/recording and live performance.

The hype felt unjustified considering how "one geared" Jesse's compositions remained until World Peace.

Agreed. I don't think he was "dribbling", but I think it was a way of making it clear that Alain was out of the fold in that sense. I also think Jesse is more a Yes-Man.
 
I think that was done as much to cock a snoot at Alain and send a message to the fans who were of the mindset that he should return to all facets of his old Morrissey job, i.e., both songwriting/recording and live performance.

The hype felt unjustified considering how "one geared" Jesse's compositions remained until World Peace.
To be fair, they are fairly 'undergeared' since as well - although I guess that's my personal view coming into play there.
 
Yes, that and I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, which just breaks my heart every time.

Such a powerful song - a "Johnny song" and a mourning for the end of the band, I always thought.
 
I missed the Smiths when they broke up, but loved Shavehead, and by the time Volvo Hat came out I was hooked all over again. Then came The Toast of the Fatuous International Flatbreads and Urinating Dog. Hit after hit.

As perfect a start to a solo career since Jackie Kennedy.
 
There is more in this Rome interview than Jesse. Actually I think it's a great interview because Moz looks beautiful, feels quite comfortable in Rome and is reflective.

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]

[video]https://youtu.be/qZakZK8Ouc8[/video]

[video]https://youtu.be/_TLndahzBzU[/video]

Nice to see that again. It occurred to me while watching that this is one of the last interviews where 'old Moz' - his physical mannerisms and gentle meanderings - are on display. In certain moments you almost get a glimpse of him as he was, as a young man.
 
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I notice the link for my whole dvd rip of this interview from:
42324_MORRISSEY_MORRISSEYTHESMITHSDVD-360527.jpg

is now dead. If people want this as a full interview to download - I will upload it again.
Regards,
FWD.
 
Never seen those Italian videos before though have the CD of the album. The camera shots made me laugh was it filmed by someone from the Frink thread


Jesse looked bored or subdued in the film.
 
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Should Morrissey and Richard Ashcroft Just Give It Up, Already? - PopMatters
By David Selsby

View attachment 44526

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.

Oh, my! The arrogance! To think he can declare that Morrissey has nothing important left to say!
 
Never seen those Italian videos before though have the CD of the album. The camera shots made me laugh was it filmed by someone from.the Frink thread? Jesse looked bored or subdued in the film.

He looks like he'd been told, "Shut up, I'll do the talking, just sit there..." :lbf:
 
Give it up? Not necessarily. But we also know he's not willing to scrap the current band, do a reboot with fresh and hungry musicians and tour with setlists his fans actually want to hear. So he'll continue to be a frustrating figure in these later years, showing glimpses of former glory but falling short.

I'm not trying to be critical, he has nothing left to prove. But if he's going to continue to record music, give appalling interviews, etc. then it's fair game to discuss what we like/don't like about it.
 
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.
Morrissey is John and Jesse is Yoko.
 
STAY IN BED ALL DAY,is that a new single.twat,these people should do their homework.
 
The web is awash with garbage sites like PopMatters. If the author cannot Google the correct title of a recent single the rest of his opinion is irrelevant.
 
I wonder if this person feels that marr should give it up for the same reasons
 

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