Are you a Morrissey Fanatic?

If you're not, forget about this contest. The prize is a rare sampler of Morrissey hits. Only a few were manufactured and they were all sent to radio -- except 50 that Jack Mack snagged for this contest. So answer these 3 easy questions (correctly) and send them to [email protected] with your name and mailing address.

1. Lou Reed was the first rocker to ever play a concert at a White House state dinner. Name 4 of the songs he performed.

2. Why did Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks do a video together?

3. Morrissey did a Timi Yuro duet with someone a few years ago. Name that person's band.

Consumable MEBY review

Thanks to Thierry Mellon for the link to the Sept. 21 issue of Consumable, which features a review of My Early Burglary Years. An excerpt:

In the same spirit as fellow Britoners including the Beatles, Oasis and Mansun, Morrissey has always used the flipside of singles - better known as B-sides - to highlight some of his best material. Far surpassing his last B-sides collection ( World of Morrissey ) and even his most recent full length on Mercury ( Maladjusted ), My Early Burglary Years contains sixteen tracks which vary in style, yet remain true to the career path which Morrissey has long since paved...

In the same issue, there is also a Smiths reference in the Belle & Sebastian review.

"Urban Legend"

First with the spotting is Huy Phan:

In the new movie "Urban Legend" that came out today (the 25th) here in the USA, there is a scene where you can see the words, "unite and take over" penned into a dorm wall of one of the characters. Later, you can see in the background in the hallway (or somewhere I can’t really remember) a flyer tacked up that’s yellow and says "Moz Fest" and also has a picture of Morrissey. Thought that that was pretty cool.

"Dream For An Insomniac"

From Dickon Edwards:

Tonight I rented this recently released (in the UK anyway) straight-to-video film tonight called "Dream For An Insomniac", starring Ione Skye, Jennifer Aniston and Mackenzie Astin. You can get the details from uk.imdb.com ...

It’s principally 90 minutes of twentysomethings nattering on about Life and Love over coffee, swapping quotations and the like.

At one point Ms Skye ventures: "I am now an essential part of your mind’s landscape whether you care or do not"

And Mr Astin retorts correctly: "Morrissey. Steven." (from "The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get", of course)

Just thought you might be interested.

Ally Sheedy and Music Jeopardy

Another movie reference, from Gibby:

In the latest issue of Alternative Press, there is an interview in the back with Ally Sheedy where she's asked about her character in The Breakfast Club, Allison. The question was (this isn't a quote, I dont buy AP, I just flip through it at the market when I'm waiting for my sandwich to be made --- so this is basically what the interviewer asked): "Allison appeared rather gothic and mysterious, did you consider her to be a Cure or a Smiths fan" ?

Ally replies: "Smiths, no... but maybe Patti Smith..." She then went on to discuss early art-school years and the ragged androgenous girls she knew who were deeply moved by their Patti....

Also: On Music Jeopardy on VH1 last week one of the questions in the "Rhymes with Star" category during the second round was "This guitarist played in The Smiths, fronted by the singer Morrissey" --NOBODY HIT THE BUZZER-- :)

Nick Drake comparison

From Jens Wittmann:

...in Nick Drake - the biography by Patrick Humphries

about the Nick Drake compilation Way To Blue:

"Way to blue was compiled and designed with an eye to attracting potential young buyers - those who were drawn to Nick because of his comparison with Ian Curtis and Morrissey, or because Peter Buck and Matt Johnson dropped his name."

Not that it is very important; I just hope this makes someone buy a Nick Drake record. Or Ian Curtis (Joy Division).

Rerun: Moz on SNL, Oct. 4

A lot of people let me know that the rerun of the 1992 Morrissey appearance on Saturday Night Live is repeated on Comedy Central, Sunday Oct. 4, 11am. Brian was the first to let me know.

Tribute party in Lima, Peru, Oct. 3

From Otto:

Here in Lima on Saturday Oct. 3 there will be a Morrissey‘s Tribute Party in 182 Santa Sabina St. in Pueblo Libre.

* Thanks (again) to Carson for a scan of the flyer advertising the Albuquerque in-store from a couple weeks ago.

* The server will be going down for a while later this week as it changes locations along with my work. Hopefully the downtime will not be too long. The line will be the same so there shouldn't be much of a difference speedwise.

New Morrissey book in October (?)

Thanks to Nashen Moodley for this info:

...here are the details concerning a new Morrissey book set to be published in October this year (this date may be subject to a delay) by Little, Brown UK. It is called "Saint Morrissey" and is written by Mark Simpson. US rights for publication are with David Higham Assoc., the British price is almost 17 pounds. Hereafter is the blurb from the publisher's Forthcoming Titles brochure.

SAINT MORRISSEY
by Mark Simpson

Appearing on Top of the Pops with The Smiths, Steven Patrick Morrissey launched himself on an unsuspecting public, bludgeoning the air with a bunch of gladioli, a hearing aid dangling from his ear. Scrawled across his chest in eyeliner pencil were the words ‘Marry Me’. The nation immediately divided between those who would have crawled on bended knee to comply, and those who would have crawled over broken glass to escape.

It is difficult to name any other contemporary artist who is simultaneously so enigmatic, so famously difficult and so passionately, religiously loved by his fans as Morrissey. And yet despite the fanzines, the endless articles, very little is known about this most private and sexually ambivalent of stars. Mark Simpson explores the inner workings of Britain’s wittiest and most complex pop star, and examines his iconic status as the symbol of suburban alienation and bedsit angst.

About the author:
‘Mark Simpson is one of the brightest gay writers around’

Time Out

Mark Simpson’s journalism has appeared in magazines and papers such as the Guardian and Attitude. He is the author of ‘Male Impersonators’ and ‘It’s a Queer World’.

Moz on MTV News

From Scott:

Here is something funny I saw today on MTV "1515", the news show. They did a run down on this week's new releases. They show the album cover and put a brief description next to it. They showed "MEBY" and the caption said "...includes cover of T. Rex’s ‘Cosmic Girl’". Close enough for MTV I guess.

Elliot Smith on Morrissey

Info from Stefan Sahlander:

Two weeks ago there was an interview, done by Johan B Hansson, with Elliot Smith in the local Swedish newspaper Dala-Demokraten. Here’s an extract (English version from Johan):

"Compared with what’s played on radio today, I guess I can be seen as very sad and melancholic. But what a lot of people miss is that there’s also a lot of humour. Like Morrissey. Some of his lyrics are hilarious, yet some people say that 'Morrissey is so morose'. To me it’s like they don’t get it".

Jarmon covers "Please Please Please..."

From Adam Lupercio:

...I went to the Roxy (Los Angeles - 9/19) to go see a good band called Far. The first opening act was some guy named Jarmon - a solo act just him and his acoustic guitar... the last song he played was The Smiths’ "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want".

Strangeways' locks

Strangeways is the cryptic "HMP M60 9AH" in the MEBY insert. From Rick:

Just a small news item I noticed the other day, from an AP news short in The Boston Globe:

Prison in Britain to change locks

MANCHESTER, England - The high-security prison in this northern city plans to change all its locks - including those on cells - after it was learned that a video made to initiate new inmates included close-up shots of prison keys. Officials at Her Majesty’s Prison Manchester, better known as Strangeways, said they feared the videotape could be paused, details of the keys noted, and replicas made to aid escape. The film shows a chaplain doing rounds and features a close-up of his keys. (AP)

MEBY release party in San Diego - Sept. 23

From Rob:

..on Wed Sept 23rd, the Brit Pop/80’s club His N’ Hers will be having a record release party for MEBY. They’ll be giving away cd’s-posters-and shirts. They plan on spinning a lot of Moz and Smiths that night, so I hope to see you there.The club is located at:

4225 30th St
San Diego, CA

619-640-8689
it’s 18+with ID and it’s $6 to get in

Living Well Is the Best Revenge

Morrissey had a perverse reason for going solo. "I felt that [Smiths guitarist] Johnny [Marr] and others thought I would take an overdose . . . so that they could sit back for years and watch the record sales escalate," he tells RockNews.com. "I was just determined to make sure life goes on."

RockNews.com Feature

"Morrissey Sampler" promo cd

Thanks to Josh for the following:

...I just received a new promo from Reprise. It’s called Morrissey Sampler. No front cover with semi-generic back art.

1. Jack The Ripper
2. Cosmic Dancer
Short Description Of MEBY

3. The More You Ignore Me...
Short Description Of Vauxhall & I

4. We Hate It When...
5. Tomorrow
Short Description Of Your Arsenal

6. Suedehead
7. Everyday Is Like Sunday
8. November Spawned A Monster
9. Interesting Drug
10. The Last Of The Famous...
11. Hairdresser On Fire
Short Description Of Bona Drag

Manics mention Moz on NME.com

Thanks to Joe Moss for the following:

I noticed a reference to Moz by the Manics in an interview on the NME homepage... claiming he made them feel "less awkward":

Is there any point in having a social conscience in your records when the industry is increasingly opting for style over substance?

(Chris Guzzwell, New Zealand)

Nicky: "I think what the industry is doing is very scary. It's all about targeting younger and younger kids and dampening their imaginations and giving them heroes who are useless. They are pretty and well-formed and they are sad f**king thick bastards. Put all those boy and girl bands together and you'd struggle to get a brain cell out of all of them. We had Johnny Rotten and Morrissey to make us feel less awkward about ourselves, and I hope we had that effect on people when we were younger. I haven't heard Clinic at all, but the fact that they wear surgical masks makes me want to buy their record. It might be a crock of s**t, but it's very rare that anyone makes an effort any more."

Well well. Here we are asking ourselves why once again. I am sad to report that he has backed out of our interview. Here is the official story. Before the signing, Moz went to Sante Fe to "see an old friend, a tour manager from his days in The Smiths." When he returned to the hotel he was "interviewed out." Needless to say I was ready to reschedule but he went home on Thursday. I’m sorry to all of you who were looking forward to this. I know I was as well. Is this really that surprising to anyone? Take care.

The United Smithdom

The United Smithdom by Jonathan Schofield on Virtual Manchester's Insider section. Thanks to Stefan Sahlander for the links. Description of the article:

These pages are dedicated to the great bands and individuals to have emerged from the eclectic Manchester music scene to grace the worldwide stage.

We receive a steady stream of e-mails complaining that many bands web sites are of poor quality and give little original information... particularly those covering The Smiths. We are therefore in the process of tracing down individuals who were particularly close to the bands in question as they broke and consequently have an interesting and original story to tell...

We start with a profile of The Smiths by Jonathan Schofield, which though low in graphical content due to copyright reasons, is packed with accurate information on the band itself.

* the site has been having some DNS problems lately which causes the site to be unreachable and e-mail to be delayed. It gets on my nerves just as I'm sure it does everyone else, hopefully the problem will be fixed soon. I hope some day to get my own server so I can take care of these things a little quicker.

Morrissey Frees The Ferrets He is such a nice guy. Morrissey always likes to do things his way --so why should the 39-year old self-proclaimed eccentric begin changing things now? That's why no one challenged him when he told them that he wanted to celebrate the release of his albumful of rarities and b-sides, My Early Burglary Years, in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday. No, not because he's a devotee of Tommy Hillerman novels, but because, as he told interviewer Julie Forman from station KTEG, this where he felt the greatest welcome when he toured the US last year. Besides a two hour live interview on the station on Sunday, the usually irascible singer also consented to an in-store session at Blockbuster Music at the stroke of 11 p.m. -- where he graciously signed autographs and chatted with fans from as far away as Iceland who came in for the event. How did they know? Morrissey's quasi-official website, www.morrissey-solo.com, printed the news last week, and since then fans have been flooding the great southwest in droves. "There was a line outside the door when I opened up the store at 7 a.m.," said store manager Lem Sylvest. "They've driven in as far away as Rhode Island, with fans coming from all over the country. Grand Rapids, Michigan, Salt Lake City, Houston, Dallas, and San Francisco. It's just incredible." When Morrissey pulled up to the radio station, he had to walk through a phalanx of adoring fans. "It was like something out of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, said one industry watcher." They were on a pilgrimage to see their hero, and they were content just to watch him as he walked by." But Morrissey did more than that. He stopped along the way to grasp a hand, sign a piece of paper, or accept a bouquet of flowers. And the new- and-improved Stephen Patrick Morrissey also extended his charm to the listening audience. Forman tells us he was "forthright, candid, and very polite, " and even went so far as to explain his last days in the Smiths. "I left because they kicked me out of the band," he claimed. "So you see, I was forced to become a solo artist." While Morrissey has been writing songs for a new studio album, it's unclear what label the record will be released on. The musician is adamant that he no longer wants to be associated with current label, Mercury Records, even though he still owes the company another record, and it may come to a court battle to extricate him from their clutches -- something he claims wouldn't bother him, just as long as he is free. Freedom, in fact, is something that seems foremost in Morrissey's mind, even on the subconscious level. He took a number of calls from listeners on Sunday, and one of them seemed to engage him when she asked what he dreamed about. "I have really, really vivid dreams" he enthused. "I just had a dream about rescuing some ferrets who were locked in a cage. I managed to get to them, and free them all. But as soon as I did that, some people came and tried to kill them, so I had to rescue the ferrets all over again." -Jaan Uhelszki

If anyone has any personal reports, please send them in.

Canadian MEBY release date - sometime in October

From Brad:

I was all set today to purchase My Early Burglary Years but unfortunately Canada has a later release date.

I spoke with a representative from Warner Music Canada and they said Tuesday October 13 would be the Canadian domestic release date, even though most stores told me Tuesday October 6.

Belle And Sebastian / Smiths reference

First to e-mail with the reference is Chris:

On the new Belle & Sebastian album there’s a song called "Seymour Stein" with the lyric:

"I heard dinner went well / You liked Chris’s jacket / He reminded you of Johnny / Before he went electronic"

Seymour Stein was was—is?--the head of Sire records and is a famed A & R man.

MEBY release party - Thursday at Cafe Bleu in W. Hollywood

From Dorian:

This Thursday (9/17) at the Cafe Bleu in W.Hollywood CA, They are having a MORRISSEY record release party. The address is 7323 Santa Monica Bl.

Cost is under 21 7$ - 18+ $5 The place gets pretty crowded. It happens every Thursday. The night is "brit pop, MOD, 6T’s soul & indie" The Cafe Bleu hotline (213) 951-7079.

Grand Theft Auto secret code

From Mike:

This is a real small item...

BUT... If you’re familiar with the popular Playstation/PC game "Grand Theft Auto", one of the secret codes in the game is to rename your character "HANGTHEDJ". Smiths fans create one of the bloodiest car/armageddon video games in the history of the universe!

* reminder - the Dallas, TX radio interview on Sunday at 7pm (central time) will be broadcast on The Edge, which can be listened to live over the internet. Morrissey will be doing the interview by phone and will not be appearing at the station.