Morrissey Central "BONFIRE OF TEENAGERS, RIP" (February 13, 2023) - Morrissey vs Capitol Records

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Capitol Records (Los Angeles) proudly promotes Sam Smith’s ‘satanism’; yet they consider the honest truth of Morrissey’s factual ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’ to be their biggest threat and they will not release it despite their contractual obligation and promise to do so.


Media coverage:
 
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Can anyone post any of the posts Moz made?
Here is the statement, which was posted 10 days after the announcement that Capitol/Harvest had ended their contract (it's a bit strange that he went back to Capitol after this):

PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND ME - true-to-you.net
20 August 2014

Morrissey statement

In response to 77 million questions I can only say this much on the subject of the Harvest drama. It is quite true that Harvest initially appeared like a saintly beacon of light, and they instantly packed us off to France where we recorded World peace is none of your business. The universe was back in balance, and we all considered this to be the very best Morrissey recording ever, and even the boo-hoo-suck-it-off elements of the press appeared to want to agree. At last I am born.

It all seemed too good to be true. It was. I believed that the rich soil of the album had several strong hit singles. Frayed tempers began when Harvest arranged the 'spoken word' films, none of which gave any clue as to what World peace is none of your business intended to be, or is. The films were OK, but they went nowhere and stayed there.

With every nerve alert, we pushed the label for a proper video for Istanbul to precede the album, not least of all because a single ahead of the album release might inch the album to a higher chart position. The label backed off, even though Istanbul received 55 radio plays in just seven days on a major US station. Instead, the label requested a fifth spoken-word film, which naturally had me fumbling around for an axe: no independent thought required. The UK label, meanwhile, created a quite fantastic television advertisement to transmit during the week ahead of the album release. I could taste excitement once again. The TV ad never appeared and my hackles bristled as my bristles heckled. The label responded with frosty aloofness, and I suddenly realized that we were not, after all, of the same species. I ploughed into them insisting upon "proper band videos, where the band play and I sing" - an evidently confusing concept that required seven weeks of explanation, detailed graphs and several drawn up maps.

The label suggested I come to Los Angeles and read passages from Autobiography in front of selected audiences. As frightening as that idea was, I hung on, desperate to believe that Harvest were not as cheap as they now looked. I hope to finish this statement whilst I'm still clean-shaven, so I will jump to the final curtain: during the weeks of the album release, the label were minus one single structural idea, and it appeared evident that each member of the team was acting in separate rooms without doors or windows. Mutual mistrust exploded between Harvest and I, and with fashionable pessimism, the label boss yawned and ordered the surface smartness of dropping World peace is none of your businessthree weeks after its release. There, now! This would not have happened to the Teletubbies.

Sorrily botched the project may now be, but it's worth it to get Morrissey out of our Inbox. Yes, I can be intensely persistent, and I certainly have an over-active fantasy-life, but the Harvest experience tells us that despite the blinding flash of teeth and smiles, it doesn't take much for the coin to flip and suddenly we're all compromised and shattered. All you need to do is disagree with the vanity of the label boss and your beheading will be slotted in between bottles of the most average champagne on the market. Just one weak-chinned drone can assert the fist of injustice and all of our efforts are flushed away. And thus ... they were.

I might be wrong, but I think World peace is none of your business will instantly disappear from iTunes and record stores and every download-upload-offload outlet on the planet, because Harvest technically have no right to sell it.

Most of the Harvest team are very nice, and I sincerely thank them for trying and caring so much - even if their promotional duties were fully undertaken by the Morrissey audience themselves, whose You Tube videos for World peace is none of your business fully provide the art that the label could not muster. The listeners instantly understood how entertainment could also be art. Staggeringly, I still believe that there's a label out there with my name on it, and one that will issue World peace is none of your business, and afford it the respect it deserves.

Thanks for reading this (rashly assuming that you have), and thanks once again to the Harvesters who tried.

We are boot-camp ready for Lisbon in October, so with the will of many gods, hopefully at least 38 of you will turn up.

MORRISSEY
20 August 2014
 
Here is the statement, which was posted 10 days after the announcement that Capitol/Harvest had ended their contract (it's a bit strange that he went back to Capitol after this):

PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND ME - true-to-you.net
20 August 2014

Morrissey statement

In response to 77 million questions I can only say this much on the subject of the Harvest drama. It is quite true that Harvest initially appeared like a saintly beacon of light, and they instantly packed us off to France where we recorded World peace is none of your business. The universe was back in balance, and we all considered this to be the very best Morrissey recording ever, and even the boo-hoo-suck-it-off elements of the press appeared to want to agree. At last I am born.

It all seemed too good to be true. It was. I believed that the rich soil of the album had several strong hit singles. Frayed tempers began when Harvest arranged the 'spoken word' films, none of which gave any clue as to what World peace is none of your business intended to be, or is. The films were OK, but they went nowhere and stayed there.

With every nerve alert, we pushed the label for a proper video for Istanbul to precede the album, not least of all because a single ahead of the album release might inch the album to a higher chart position. The label backed off, even though Istanbul received 55 radio plays in just seven days on a major US station. Instead, the label requested a fifth spoken-word film, which naturally had me fumbling around for an axe: no independent thought required. The UK label, meanwhile, created a quite fantastic television advertisement to transmit during the week ahead of the album release. I could taste excitement once again. The TV ad never appeared and my hackles bristled as my bristles heckled. The label responded with frosty aloofness, and I suddenly realized that we were not, after all, of the same species. I ploughed into them insisting upon "proper band videos, where the band play and I sing" - an evidently confusing concept that required seven weeks of explanation, detailed graphs and several drawn up maps.

The label suggested I come to Los Angeles and read passages from Autobiography in front of selected audiences. As frightening as that idea was, I hung on, desperate to believe that Harvest were not as cheap as they now looked. I hope to finish this statement whilst I'm still clean-shaven, so I will jump to the final curtain: during the weeks of the album release, the label were minus one single structural idea, and it appeared evident that each member of the team was acting in separate rooms without doors or windows. Mutual mistrust exploded between Harvest and I, and with fashionable pessimism, the label boss yawned and ordered the surface smartness of dropping World peace is none of your businessthree weeks after its release. There, now! This would not have happened to the Teletubbies.

Sorrily botched the project may now be, but it's worth it to get Morrissey out of our Inbox. Yes, I can be intensely persistent, and I certainly have an over-active fantasy-life, but the Harvest experience tells us that despite the blinding flash of teeth and smiles, it doesn't take much for the coin to flip and suddenly we're all compromised and shattered. All you need to do is disagree with the vanity of the label boss and your beheading will be slotted in between bottles of the most average champagne on the market. Just one weak-chinned drone can assert the fist of injustice and all of our efforts are flushed away. And thus ... they were.

I might be wrong, but I think World peace is none of your business will instantly disappear from iTunes and record stores and every download-upload-offload outlet on the planet, because Harvest technically have no right to sell it.

Most of the Harvest team are very nice, and I sincerely thank them for trying and caring so much - even if their promotional duties were fully undertaken by the Morrissey audience themselves, whose You Tube videos for World peace is none of your business fully provide the art that the label could not muster. The listeners instantly understood how entertainment could also be art. Staggeringly, I still believe that there's a label out there with my name on it, and one that will issue World peace is none of your business, and afford it the respect it deserves.

Thanks for reading this (rashly assuming that you have), and thanks once again to the Harvesters who tried.

We are boot-camp ready for Lisbon in October, so with the will of many gods, hopefully at least 38 of you will turn up.

MORRISSEY
20 August 2014
I loooove how he writes. Why is he so lazy with his lyrics (sometimes) I don't understand.
 
Yes, it is a gem indeed, and it's a shame most of his fans don't get it. Stupid songs on old albums (I avoid to mention the titles) are celebrated just because they were young.
I know! The B-sides are special too. World Peace is one of my Top 5 LPs from him, maybe top 3 (but it's really hard doing these lists!!!!) :)

Morrissey's sound has evolved over the years (as all great artists should), but his songs/music have stayed consistently good. I would say that 'Spent the Day' is about on par with 'Suedehead'.
 
Here is the statement, which was posted 10 days after the announcement that Capitol/Harvest had ended their contract (it's a bit strange that he went back to Capitol after this):

PLEASE CLOSE THE DOOR BEHIND ME - true-to-you.net
20 August 2014

Morrissey statement

In response to 77 million questions I can only say this much on the subject of the Harvest drama. It is quite true that Harvest initially appeared like a saintly beacon of light, and they instantly packed us off to France where we recorded World peace is none of your business. The universe was back in balance, and we all considered this to be the very best Morrissey recording ever, and even the boo-hoo-suck-it-off elements of the press appeared to want to agree. At last I am born.

It all seemed too good to be true. It was. I believed that the rich soil of the album had several strong hit singles. Frayed tempers began when Harvest arranged the 'spoken word' films, none of which gave any clue as to what World peace is none of your business intended to be, or is. The films were OK, but they went nowhere and stayed there.

With every nerve alert, we pushed the label for a proper video for Istanbul to precede the album, not least of all because a single ahead of the album release might inch the album to a higher chart position. The label backed off, even though Istanbul received 55 radio plays in just seven days on a major US station. Instead, the label requested a fifth spoken-word film, which naturally had me fumbling around for an axe: no independent thought required. The UK label, meanwhile, created a quite fantastic television advertisement to transmit during the week ahead of the album release. I could taste excitement once again. The TV ad never appeared and my hackles bristled as my bristles heckled. The label responded with frosty aloofness, and I suddenly realized that we were not, after all, of the same species. I ploughed into them insisting upon "proper band videos, where the band play and I sing" - an evidently confusing concept that required seven weeks of explanation, detailed graphs and several drawn up maps.

The label suggested I come to Los Angeles and read passages from Autobiography in front of selected audiences. As frightening as that idea was, I hung on, desperate to believe that Harvest were not as cheap as they now looked. I hope to finish this statement whilst I'm still clean-shaven, so I will jump to the final curtain: during the weeks of the album release, the label were minus one single structural idea, and it appeared evident that each member of the team was acting in separate rooms without doors or windows. Mutual mistrust exploded between Harvest and I, and with fashionable pessimism, the label boss yawned and ordered the surface smartness of dropping World peace is none of your businessthree weeks after its release. There, now! This would not have happened to the Teletubbies.

Sorrily botched the project may now be, but it's worth it to get Morrissey out of our Inbox. Yes, I can be intensely persistent, and I certainly have an over-active fantasy-life, but the Harvest experience tells us that despite the blinding flash of teeth and smiles, it doesn't take much for the coin to flip and suddenly we're all compromised and shattered. All you need to do is disagree with the vanity of the label boss and your beheading will be slotted in between bottles of the most average champagne on the market. Just one weak-chinned drone can assert the fist of injustice and all of our efforts are flushed away. And thus ... they were.

I might be wrong, but I think World peace is none of your business will instantly disappear from iTunes and record stores and every download-upload-offload outlet on the planet, because Harvest technically have no right to sell it.

Most of the Harvest team are very nice, and I sincerely thank them for trying and caring so much - even if their promotional duties were fully undertaken by the Morrissey audience themselves, whose You Tube videos for World peace is none of your business fully provide the art that the label could not muster. The listeners instantly understood how entertainment could also be art. Staggeringly, I still believe that there's a label out there with my name on it, and one that will issue World peace is none of your business, and afford it the respect it deserves.

Thanks for reading this (rashly assuming that you have), and thanks once again to the Harvesters who tried.

We are boot-camp ready for Lisbon in October, so with the will of many gods, hopefully at least 38 of you will turn up.

MORRISSEY
20 August 2014
At least he seems fairly reasonable in that essay. Baffling why he signed with them a second time, although the promotion for Rebels made World Peace look like an old Michael Jackson album campaign.
 
At least he seems fairly reasonable in that essay. Baffling why he signed with them a second time, although the promotion for Rebels made World Peace look like an old Michael Jackson album campaign.
And equally baffling why he still only wants to release his music through traditional record companies.
 
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And equally baffling why he only wants to release his music through traditional record companies.
I suppose if it were to flop he'd be solely to blame. He has mentioned before why he doesn't self release but that was years ago now. He's unaware how much things have changed.
 
I know! The B-sides are special too. World Peace is one of my Top 5 LPs from him, maybe top 3 (but it's really hard doing these lists!!!!) :)

Morrissey's sound has evolved over the years (as all great artists should), but his songs/music have stayed consistently good. I would say that 'Spent the Day' is about on par with 'Suedehead'.
I don't like "Spent the day", but I agree with you
 
I don't like "Spent the day", but I agree with you

I actually really like most of that album, but of course we don't need to agree on what specific tracks are great --- just that Morrissey, the musical artist, is great :) And we don't NEED to agree on that either, but we should.
 
Album might not leak for a while but you think more opinions on it/allusions to it would. Just how many folk have heard this thing?
 
In 2014, Morrissey had a falling out with Harvest Records. It resulted in World Peace being withdrawn and deleted from their catalogue three weeks after the release of the album. This includes availability on all official digital platforms. So while a solid quantity of physical copies were released and may still be circulating, they are all from original pressings.

Why did this happen? Morrissey publicly moaning about lack of promotion from the label. So, his own doing, as usual.
Thanks for the info.

One can say it's his fault for publicly criticising the label, but it also seems really petty for the label to end the contract over that. AND take the album off everywhere (though according to Moz in that statement above they apparently had no right to sell it anymore... which makes one wonder why is Rebels still up in that case now)
 
Do you guys reckon that the album not being leaked, Moz not re-recording it and not playing the remaining songs live either, might point to him still thinking it might get released by Capitol?? Being optimistic here
 
I actually really like most of that album, but of course we don't need to agree on what specific tracks are great --- just that Morrissey, the musical artist, is great :) And we don't NEED to agree on that either, but we should.
I think Low in high school is very, very strong in its first half and not bad in its second half. I don't care much about the middle east / Israelian subject, but that's just me. Some songs towards the end are weak (not bad, but weak and lyrically lazy): young people, 4 am and Venezuela.
 
It can totally be done --> it seems that with literally ANY type of electronic media - there is no 'ultimate' protection from leaking anymore.
Indeed. It's not like Chinese Democracy leaking and Guns n Roses and the label taking the guy to court, I think the leaker ended up getting a 12 month suspended sentence and the FBI raiding his house. Crazy.
 
I think Low in high school is very, very strong in its first half and not bad in its second half. I don't care much about the middle east / Israelian subject, but that's just me. Some songs towards the end are weak (not bad, but weak and lyrically lazy): young people, 4 am and Venezuela.
It's a very strong album when taken track by track but as a whole it has a very bitter vibe to it, anyone else have that issue with it?
 
Do you guys reckon that the album not being leaked, Moz not re-recording it and not playing the remaining songs live either, might point to him still thinking it might get released by Capitol?? Being optimistic here

It's possible that he's listening to some good advice here, and that's why he's not playing these tracks live right now. Additionally, if the band wants to play 'new material', they should be playing the material they just created/recorded as a 'new' lineup - like they are doing.
 
Indeed. It's not like Chinese Democracy leaking and Guns n Roses and the label taking the guy to court, I think the leaker ended up getting a 12 month suspended sentence and the FBI raiding his house. Crazy.

You know, it doesn't have to leak NOW anyway. I wouldn't mind first hearing it in a year or two as long as the one recorded a month ago comes out before BOT.
 

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