Przemek Wojcieszek writes:

Maybe you'll be interested. I wrote and directed a full length feature film titled LOUDER THAN BOMBS. The main character is a Smiths devotee and we quote Smiths iconography (among other things: album covers) several times. The movie (my debut) is a low budget production. Some time ago it was accepted to the forthcoming edition of the Slamdance Film Festival.

The movie's from Poland so I don't know if it will gain a distribution deal in the US, anyway, it's the film's first festival, so it should fall into the worldwide film festival circuit.

If you're interested in any details - visit www.louderthanbombs.pl (forgive its not too good English, but it's not my first language) or "Louder Than Bombs" info at the Slamdance Festival site.


For any other info, feel free to e-mail me. I've got a flight to Salt Lake City on Jan 10th. Until that day, I'm home in Poland.

Przemek Wojcieszek

Jason Brown sends the link to the review in The Boston Phoenix (Jan 3 - 10 issue):

The Best Of Morrissey review by Matt Ashare

If you can make it past the lethally pretentious liner notes by Michael Bracewell - which compare our hero with everyone from Noël Coward and Montgomery Clift to Henry James and Alan Bennett and predict that 'One day there will most probably be a Faculty of Morrissey Studies in more than one distinguished seat of learning' - then what you've got here is a pretty-much flawless 21-track collection of solo work. There have been Morrissey compilations before - the rarities collection My Early Burglary Years and the disappointing World of Morrissey - but this is the first one that spans his entire solo career and goes to the trouble of ferreting out the idiosyncratic singles that have made him such a special and, in England at least, successful artist.

As several others have noted, this has the exact same tracklisting as the "Centenary Edition" released in March 1997. sideburn was first with the link:

Just pulled this off of NME.com.

Morrissey solo debut re-released
2002-01-04 10:51:00

"MORRISSEY's debut solo album 'VIVA HATE' is to be re-released next month with eight bonus tracks. The 'Centenary Edition' of 'Viva Hate' is released on February 11 via EMI. The album will be backed by previously unreleased tracks and B-sides, as well as a live version of the track 'Disappointed'."

---
Related items:

• Viva Hate: re-issue re-issued (UK, Feb. 11) - Dec. 20, 2001
• Martin Rossiter reviews the reissue of Viva Hate (Melody Maker, Apr. 12, 1997)

charles byron writes:

Nothing really new or interesting, but at least she's being nice to him.

Best of Morrissey review by Deanna Romero, Nov. 16, 2001

Long the champion of the underdog, Morrissey's solo career is presented here in a manner in which even he must be happy with.

Steven Lomas writes:

Its F.A. Cup time again on Football Focus, BBC Televisions only remaining sport programme of any worth. I become strangely comforted by the site of John Motson at a snow covered Non-League ground in his familiar sheepskin. Today Dagenham and Redbridge are competing in the F.A. Cup. People in Dagenham were interviewed being asked what indeed, if anything, Dagenham was famous for. Most replied by saying Ford cars as there is a Ford Factory there. However, one noted individual when asked what Dagenham was famous for said, "That song by Morrissey"!!!

Nice to see even the cockney man in the street still remembers the Great One!

George Formby writes:

Bizarre news here -
The BBC are currently running an online drama of Doctor Who called Death Comes to Time.

Episode 2 is due to be webcast on February 14th, with the announced cast including "Andrew Paresi (drummer for the 80's indie musician Morrissey) playing Captain Carne".

• Related item: Comedy with Suggs and ex-Morrissey drummer (Andrew Paresi) - July 11, 2001

charmer writes:

according to the Annanova news sites, "How Soon Is Now?" made it to number 5 in XFM's (a London indie radio station) top ten singles of all time. The full top ten was:

1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
2. Radiohead - Creep
3. Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
4. The Clash -London Calling
5. The Smiths - How Soon Is Now
6. David Bowie - Life On Mars
7. Blur - Song 2
8. Beatles - Revolution
9. Radiohead - Just
10. The Strokes - The Modern Age

www.xfm.co.uk

An anonymous person writes:

This happened a week or so ago, but I haven't seen it on this site, so...

MTV2 was doing a top 100 bands of all time as voted by MTV2 viewers, so I didn't expect much.

Anyway, The Smiths entered at number 91. MTV2 showed the following videos - "This Charming Man", "Panic" and "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out".

Shocking.

Lancaster writes:

There are flyers around apparently, though I haven't seen one yet. The club's resident DJ (Amable) is the source of the information, which was posted on the Yahoo "Smiths in Spanish" list.

Andy and Mike will give us a clue on their own lives' soundtrack and then DJ Amable will deliver his own session of The Smiths and solo Morrissey works and Marr's different projects (Electronic, The The, etc).

The place: Razz Club, Almogàvers 121, Barcelona
The date and time: January 18th, starting 1 am
The ticket: 9 euros
More information: (+34) 93.272.09.10