Vulture article: Johnny Marr on the Best of the Smiths, His Solo Career, and Fever Dreams Pts 1–4 (February 2, 2022)

Johnny Marr on the Best of the Smiths and His Solo Career

“Sure, there was drama, but what you hear was a result of stone-cold love.”

www.vulture.com

Excerpt:

Something about making The Queen Is Dead you’ve never shared publicly

The Smiths have been pretty much done to death really by everyone who was involved, and plenty of people who weren’t. It’s a shame that so much was said without the benefit of maturity and hindsight and that there were so many agendas going around for so many years. But I guess it’s all part of the band’s kind of complicated story [annotation].

The truth was that there was loads of love in it. So maybe that’s the story that everybody is missing. Maybe that’s a surprise that everybody who is still interested needs to be reminded of: One of the reasons why they liked the sound of it and why it sounds the way it does is because there’s so much love in it. And there was love in the making of it. There was love in the writing of it. And sure, there was drama, but what you hear was a result of stone-cold love.

 

[Vitreous Humor]

cute, but did Morrissey have the power to give Marr the permission to speak about him in the first place? well then, Morrissey also does not have the power to not allow Marr to speak about him again or anything.


Nowhere in the open letter did he say ‘Johnny is not allowed to..’

The open letter was a request, and the why behind it. It was not a demand, or a threat.


It’s up to Marr, and Morrissey knows that.

Just a sad, attention-seeking ploy then.

 

[The.Truth.]

Of course Morrissey is/was losing fans but I think it probably hit rock bottom. He must occasionally gain a new fan through a youtube recommendation or something and he hasn't said anything seriously infuriating for the past couple of years I think?
Every time his name comes up where casual listeners hang out someone is there to inform everyone that he is a fill-in-the-blank but I think everyone has already heard it all? Plus remember he had a pretty big surge of support from people that had probably never heard of him before but decided that he is "based" at least if you were paying attention to the posting trends on this site. All of those people seem to have disappeared though.

 

[gordyboy9]

The way some of the remaining Morrissey hardcore fans are behaving and expressing themselves on Twitter already resembles an unpleasant cult. Everything that stands in the way of their idol is verbally attacked. It's pathetic for a The Smiths and Morrissey fan to personally attack Johnny Marr and to think, you have the right to insult him loudly, as the small Smiths fan you are. What do you little lights know about the real relationship between Morrissey and Marr? Nothing @ all! Some of you really haven't had an upbringing and are blaring your crude opinions into the Twitter bubble. A few years as a fan, otherwise no purpose in life and no manners. In the end, everyone has the fans they deserve.

the reason people know the relationship status between M and marr is because johnboy cant stop telling us.

 

[gordyboy9]

Johnny is compelling and classy, per usual.

compelling,geez peace,his interviews would force most people into a coma,he has very little to say.
got get got,masterful lyricist.

 

[Phranc & Open]

I haven't posted to him but I have read some of the posts and people are just reacting to what he said, even people who love him think he's wrong.
They absolutely have a right to respond to what he said on his social media where he posted it. That is what twitter is for. I personally don't like it, but he does and uses it to blast people, so he should be prepared for some blowback. He can block people he feels are too aggressive.

You think he should be at least as prepared for backlash and headwinds as Morrissey, who doesn't see criticism of certain attitudes as justified in any way and whose remaining army now has nothing to do but aggressively target others? What do you think that does to his popularity in general? Do you think everyone is now so stupid as to recognise Johnny Marr as a demon and Morrissey as innocence personified? If people think Johnny Marr does nothing but constantly bashing Morrissey (which he certainly hasn't done over the last 35 years) then they should stop listening to The Smiths or just enjoy isolated vocal tracks of their lord and master or even feast on his late solo work.

P.S.
And to be clear. I could only get into Johnny Marr's music outside of the Smiths at the beginning with Electronic and The The. His solo stuff is unlistenable (edit: not my cup of tea), but Morrissey's latest outpourings (No IANADOAC isn't great, it's OK) are also miles away from his best form, so a creative feat would be desirable here.

I don't think it's productive to fuel the dispute between the two heads of The Smiths here as if it were a boxing match. They should come to an agreement beyond the media.

 

[Redacted]

You think he should be at least as prepared for backlash and headwinds as Morrissey, who doesn't see criticism of certain attitudes as justified in any way and whose remaining army now has nothing to do but aggressively target others? What do you think that does to his popularity in general? Do you think everyone is now so stupid as to recognise Johnny Marr as a demon and Morrissey as innocence personified? If people think Johnny Marr does nothing but constantly bashing Morrissey (which he certainly hasn't done over the last 35 years) then they should stop listening to The Smiths or just enjoy isolated vocal tracks of their lord and master or even feast on his late solo work.

 

[Phranc & Open]

Mozzer, it's you?

 

[Phranc & Open]

the reason people know the relationship status between M and marr is because johnboy cant stop telling us.

Come on. He isn't just like that. You know it. Some things have gone off the rails in recent years. Not only this!

 

[The.Truth.]

You think he should be at least as prepared for backlash and headwinds as Morrissey, who doesn't see criticism of certain attitudes as justified in any way and whose remaining army now has nothing to do but aggressively target others? What do you think that does to his popularity in general? Do you think everyone is now so stupid as to recognise Johnny Marr as a demon and Morrissey as innocence personified? If people think Johnny Marr does nothing but constantly bashing Morrissey (which he certainly hasn't done over the last 35 years) then they should stop listening to The Smiths or just enjoy isolated vocal tracks of their lord and master or even feast on his late solo work.

P.S.
And to be clear. I could only get into Johnny Marr's music outside of the Smiths at the beginning with Electronic and The The. His solo stuff is unlistenable, but Morrissey's latest outpourings (No IANADOAC isn't great, it's OK) are also miles away from his best form, so a creative feat would be desirable here.

I don't think it's productive to fuel the dispute between the two heads of The Smiths here as if it were a boxing match. They should come to an agreement beyond the media.

I hardly support Morrissey n everything or consider myself part of an army of attackers but Marr has pretty much started a whole separate career trashing Morrissey. Morrissey let it go on for a very long time without a response and then made what I consider to be a devastating reply.
It doesn't even matter who is right or wrong about various issues. It is more a question of how long Johnny Marr is going to keep using Morrissey's name to get headlines and sell his latest projects.
I think saying "you don't know me," and "please stop talking about me" is very fair and his response to it just made him look stupid and showed how much he really does need to keep it going.

 

[Phranc & Open]

I hardly support Morrissey n everything or consider myself part of an army of attackers but Marr has pretty much started a whole separate career trashing Morrissey. Morrissey let it go on for a very long time without a response and then made what I consider to be a devastating reply.
It doesn't even matter who is right or wrong about various issues. It is more a question of how long Johnny Marr is going to keep using Morrissey's name to get headlines and sell his latest projects.
I think saying "you don't know me," and "please stop talking about me" is very fair and his response to it just made him look stupid and showed how much he really does need to keep it going.

Until the current escalation, nothing about Marr's remarks had boiled up here to the point where people were completely enraged. I would like to say it again. To my mind, Marr's attempts at demarcation became clearer when Morrissey openly promoted For Britain. Not before to that extent and with that clarity.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

Until the current escalation, nothing about Marr's remarks had boiled up here to the point where people were completely enraged. I would like to say it again. To my mind, Marr's attempts at demarcation became clearer when Morrissey openly promoted For Britain. Not before to that extent and with that clarity.

I think it's been simmering the whole time.

But best of all, though, is Johnny Marr’s healthy relationship with his past. He has refused to let it haunt or hinder him. Nor is he cramped, like some, by an undue reverence for Morrissey. Indeed, he (like all the Factory mafia) now refers to his former soulmate as ‘Dorissey’ and has re-christened the limpid lad’s last 45 (‘Our Frank’) as 'Alf Wank’.

1991 04 20 Johnny Marr NME

New Order, Joy Division and Factory Records related cuttings

mycuttings.blogspot.com

 

[Anonymous]

I think it's been simmering the whole time.

But best of all, though, is Johnny Marr’s healthy relationship with his past. He has refused to let it haunt or hinder him. Nor is he cramped, like some, by an undue reverence for Morrissey. Indeed, he (like all the Factory mafia) now refers to his former soulmate as ‘Dorissey’ and has re-christened the limpid lad’s last 45 (‘Our Frank’) as 'Alf Wank’.

1991 04 20 Johnny Marr NME

New Order, Joy Division and Factory Records related cuttings

mycuttings.blogspot.com

That’s hilarious, you just posted a 30 year old article with no direct quotes from Marr as “evidence”. On Marr’s Twitter he just addressed attacks from a For Britain/Moz supporter. Not a good look for Moz.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

That’s hilarious, you just posted a 30 year old article with no direct quotes from Marr as “evidence”. On Marr’s Twitter he just addressed attacks from a For Britain/Moz supporter. Not a good look for Moz.

Marr quote tweeted For Britain deliberately to fit the Morrissey is rightwing narrative - which is why he linked him to Trump & changed his profile pic to the Simpsons cartoon.

So it's not unlikely he was calling Morrissey Dorrissey when that was fashionable.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

That’s hilarious, you just posted a 30 year old article with no direct quotes from Marr as “evidence”.

The interviewer confirmed that Marr resorted to and took part
with friends/associates in name calling, and Marr did criticize Morrissey’s ‘Our Frank’ single.

If the comments were not true, I’m sure Marr would have corrected him, or stated the truth in a following interview.


I don’t see this as much to do with ‘evidence’ as it has to do with pointing out Marr’s behavior over the years, that Morrissey surely took note of, but didn’t say much.

On Marr’s Twitter he just addressed attacks from a For Britain/Moz supporter.

and a very ‘witty’ reply it was.

 

[Vegan Cro Spirit 555]

I think it's been simmering the whole time.

But best of all, though, is Johnny Marr’s healthy relationship with his past. He has refused to let it haunt or hinder him. Nor is he cramped, like some, by an undue reverence for Morrissey. Indeed, he (like all the Factory mafia) now refers to his former soulmate as ‘Dorissey’ and has re-christened the limpid lad’s last 45 (‘Our Frank’) as 'Alf Wank’.

1991 04 20 Johnny Marr NME

New Order, Joy Division and Factory Records related cuttings

mycuttings.blogspot.com

what would you expect from this mini

How the F can LePepePew make fun of anyone or anyone song FFS? has he peeked at himself in the mirror lately? Wig botox and tats?

what is incredible is that he would make fun of ANY song, having written 'masterpieces' like "CALL THE COMET DONT BOTHER HES HERE"


or "ANATOPIA"

or "EUROPEAN ME" im european hes european shes european too. OI

 

[Morrissey's left nut]

Oh, we're still hate-wanking on Johnny?

Morrissey should give his nephew more softball ego-stroking questions to read back to him so we have something new to talk about. Or a journalist- but yanno... Supply, demand.

 

[Anonymous]

Marr quote tweeted For Britain deliberately to fit the Morrissey is rightwing narrative - which is why he linked him to Trump & changed his profile pic to the Simpsons cartoon.

So it's not unlikely he was calling Morrissey Dorrissey when that was fashionable.

You realise that For Britain still has Morrissey mentioned on their website. I think that fits into his right wing narrative. Yet he sues Nile for posting memes and writes to Johnny?

 

[CrazyFaceGenes]

How the F can LePepePew make fun of anyone or anyone song FFS? has he peeked at himself in the mirror lately? Wig botox and tats?

Sounds like Morrissey's dream guy.

 

[Anonymous]

Sounds like Morrissey's dream guy.

Always has been, always will be.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

You realise that For Britain still has Morrissey mentioned on their website. I think that fits into his right wing narrative. Yet he sues Nile for posting memes and writes to Johnny?

This website still has Morrissey's name & he hates it.

Sue Niles for a meme?