Morrissey Central "Column." - Fiona Dodwell: ""The Smiths Do Not End" - And Never Will, Thanks To Morrissey" (August 18, 2024)

"The Smiths Do Not End"— And Never Will, Thanks To Morrissey.

Excerpt:

The Smiths were great for the same reason Morrissey as a solo artist is — yet, as he quite rightly points out — he has been demonised for the same qualities his seminal pop group were praised for. Nothing has changed for Morrissey, from the 80’s when he fronted the acclaimed group, up until the present, where he continues to challenge the narratives that overshadow society and the mainstream media.

These thoughts bring to mind the divisive flock who often rear their ugly heads on social media to proclaim their love of The Smiths, all the while saying they refuse to support the Morrissey of today. Such beliefs, founded on very shaky ground, are easily dismantled when one realises that The Smiths are the essence of Morrissey and one cannot divide him from their releases and cultural importance.



More ramblings from Diddy Dodders.

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Link shared as a Central post the same day via:

Column. - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - Column.

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

 

[Musician]

This is all water under the Speigel, but...
Morrissey's statement was that they hadn't 'conveyed [his] views fairly'.
In the interview he doesn't defend Harvey Weinstein.
Read the interview again. Listen to the interview again.
He talks about wider issues around #MeToo and how there has been a negative effect of making people more anxious about making a pass at others. The interviewer doesn't appear shocked by anything he says, appears to agree with him, and talks about ignoring someone for 5 years because she fancies them.
The only point the interviewer does seem shocked is when Morrissey says that Berlin is the rape capital of Europe. That is when the interviewer appears to change. Tells you everything you need to know about why the interview was written up the way it was. Everything.
Ok, we need to make people think this guy is mad, bad, and dangerous. So what's our headline? Lunatic Morrissey defends Rapist Weinstein.
They know no one can defend open borders. No one wants open borders. Open borders are just crazy. So their only option is to play the man, not the ball.

But again: I am not going to dwell on the content of the interview. We might agree completely or disagree on certain topics of it. I can only repeat: Morrissey claimed he did not say the things printed in the Spiegel interview. Audio posted, turned out he did say exactly the things that were printed/posted online. He is a liar who (like Redacted wrote) is not man enough to stand by what he says. Whatever they may be. End of story.

 

[gashonthenail]

What Moz really needs to do is give a proper hour long sit down interview with one of the Youtube set. There are so many great people around now who would interview him fairly and give him every opportunity to put the record straight, whilst being his usual charming and witty self. A hundred times more beneficial for him than any encomium from Ms Dodwell. Youtube is now the only place where you can get balance and free discussion. I'm sure he watches interviews on Youtube himself on occasion. He must do. It's 2024, Morrissey.

 

[BookishBoy]

Or, just do something totally non-controversial like be the subject of a show like "Who Do You Think You Are?" on the BBC, where they delve into the deep family history of one celebrity each week. I watched the ones about Vicky McClure and Joe Lycett last night, both genuinely interesting and moving. (I'm willing to bet £100 that Johnny will be on this show in the next year or two...)

 

[gashonthenail]

Or, just do something totally non-controversial like be the subject of a show like "Who Do You Think You Are?" on the BBC, where they delve into the deep family history of one celebrity each week. I watched the ones about Vicky McClure and Joe Lycett last night, both genuinely interesting and moving. (I'm willing to bet £100 that Johnny will be on this show in the next year or two...)

Are you serious? The BBC are 'enemy propaganda' incarnate. They would edit it and make him look mad, bad, and dangerous. He should avoid the mainstream media like the plague. Not to be trusted.

 

[Redacted]

All this defense would not be needed for someone who didn't do anything wrong.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Or, just do something totally non-controversial like be the subject of a show like "Who Do You Think You Are?" on the BBC, where they delve into the deep family history of one celebrity each week. I watched the ones about Vicky McClure and Joe Lycett last night, both genuinely interesting and moving. (I'm willing to bet £100 that Johnny will be on this show in the next year or two...)

No, no, don’t you get it? It must controversial, on YouTube and conducted by a conspiratorial and extremely opinionated alt-right chatterbox. They’re the only ones who get it.

 

[BookishBoy]

Are you serious? The BBC are 'enemy propaganda' incarnate. They would edit it and make him look mad, bad, and dangerous. He should avoid the mainstream media like the plague. Not to be trusted.

You're confusing BBC News with BBC Entertainment. There is no way for anyone to look bad on a show like that, unless they're incapable of showing emotion when it's revealed that their great-great-great-great grandmother was a murderess driven to crime by poverty and squalor.

[The broader point here being that if Wall to Wall, the show's production company, were to suggest Morrissey as a possible subject, the BBC's Head of Entertainment would almost certainly veto the idea because of his views...]

 

[gashonthenail]

You're confusing BBC News with BBC Entertainment. There is no way for anyone to look bad on a show like that, unless they're incapable of showing emotion when it's revealed that their great-great-great-great grandmother was a murderess driven to crime by poverty and squalor.

[The broader point here being that if Wall to Wall, the show's production company, were to suggest Morrissey as a possible subject, the BBC's Head of Entertainment would almost certainly veto the idea because of his views...]

The whole BBC is biased, even with regard to the programming they farm out to other production companies.

BBC hits out at research accusing it of peddling ‘diet of woke bias’ to viewers

Supposed research conducted by the Campaign for Common Sense claimed the UK broadcaster failed to uphold its ‘high standards of impartiality’

www.independent.co.uk

 

[gashonthenail]

No, no, don’t you get it? It must controversial, on YouTube and conducted by a conspiratorial and extremely opinionated alt-right chatterbox. They’re the only ones who get it.

Did I say the interviewer should be opinionated and alt-right? Not many of those on Youtube. For me the main criteria would be 'fair'. In 2024 do we remember what that word means? He won't be treated fairly on any mainstream channel. But sitting down with a fair and open minded interviewer, respectful but inquisitive and insightful, and over at least an hour, would be magical. Morrissey being Morrissey for 60 minutes. Just wonderful.

 

[BookishBoy]

The whole BBC is biased, even with regard to the programming they farm out to other production companies.

BBC hits out at research accusing it of peddling ‘diet of woke bias’ to viewers

Supposed research conducted by the Campaign for Common Sense claimed the UK broadcaster failed to uphold its ‘high standards of impartiality’

www.independent.co.uk

Well yes, but there you're using an Independent article which is reporting on a piece of research by an organisation called Campaign for Common Sense, which counts among its "champions" figures like Kemi Badenoch and Katharine Birbalsingh, both of whom have their own very distinct agendas and biases. (I just skimmed their 2023 report into BBC Drama output and it's... OK but not exactly rigorous in an academic sense.)

So to leap from that to "The whole BBC is biased" is a bit of a stretch, in my view. Which is, of course, the problem with our current age: we have one form of bias (on the "left") knocking heads with another form of bias (on the "right") and it just descends into hyperbole, slanging, and anger - from both sides - every single time.

And to bring this back to the original point: yes, Morrissey has absolutely always said controversial things. He was vilified for it in the early days (by The Sun, the Daily Mail, Tory MPs, etc) and he's vilified for it now (by The Guardian, The Simpsons and everyone else on "that side"). And he was, and always will be, the key driving force behind the genius of The Smiths.

 

[gashonthenail]

Well yes, but there you're using an Independent article which is reporting on a piece of research by an organisation called Campaign for Common Sense, which counts among its "champions" figures like Kemi Badenoch and Katharine Birbalsingh, both of whom have their own very distinct agendas and biases. (I just skimmed their 2023 report into BBC Drama output and it's... OK but not exactly rigorous in an academic sense.)

So to leap from that to "The whole BBC is biased" is a bit of a stretch, in my view. Which is, of course, the problem with our current age: we have one form of bias (on the "left") knocking heads with another form of bias (on the "right") and it just descends into hyperbole, slanging, and anger - from both sides - every single time.

And to bring this back to the original point: yes, Morrissey has absolutely always said controversial things. He was vilified for it in the early days (by The Sun, the Daily Mail, Tory MPs, etc) and he's vilified for it now (by The Guardian, The Simpsons and everyone else on "that side"). And he was, and always will be, the key driving force behind the genius of The Smiths.

You may not have noticed, BB, but getting on for a million people have cancelled their TV licence over the past year and a half. No one trusts the BBC any more. The recent Huw Edwards scandal, and the riots, will only increase the mass switch off. No one under the age of 45 goes to the BBC or Sly News for news. They go online.

 

[BookishBoy]

You may not have noticed, BB, but getting on for a million people have cancelled their TV licence over the past year and a half. No one trusts the BBC any more. The recent Huw Edwards scandal, and the riots, will only increase the mass switch off. No one under the age of 45 goes to the BBC or Sly News for news. They go online.

You're doing it again, though: "Getting on for a million people have cancelled their TV licence over the past year and a half" - true, and a useful fact. But then: "No one trusts the BBC any more." Where's your evidence for this sweeping assertion? If you were to say "Trust in the BBC has been eroding since the 1980s" (or whenever) I'd have no argument with that - but why the hyperbole?

Agree with your last point about people under 45, broadly, although I know a lot of younger people who use the BBC Sport website, a lot - so it's still seen as trusted and authoritative in some areas of life.

 

[Detective Smith]

What Moz really needs to do is give a proper hour long sit down interview with one of the Youtube set. There are so many great people around now who would interview him fairly and give him every opportunity to put the record straight, whilst being his usual charming and witty self. A hundred times more beneficial for him than any encomium from Ms Dodwell. Youtube is now the only place where you can get balance and free discussion. I'm sure he watches interviews on Youtube himself on occasion. He must do. It's 2024, Morrissey.

Brilliant idea gash.

 

[Detective Smith]

Did I say the interviewer should be opinionated and alt-right? Not many of those on Youtube. For me the main criteria would be 'fair'. In 2024 do we remember what that word means? He won't be treated fairly on any mainstream channel. But sitting down with a fair and open minded interviewer, respectful but inquisitive and insightful, and over at least an hour, would be magical. Morrissey being Morrissey for 60 minutes. Just wonderful.

We need that. Something easy to find and current without dramatic concert lighting, music and people screaming and shouting, and excited (which excites me but tone it down and choose your fights carefully would ya)
I wrote this while riding the bus for a dude who had dared to look me in the eye as I made my way to my preferred unoccupied seat. He then obliged my move to fist bump. I sat back down and repacked everything into my knapsack, and as I stood up to leave I made a slight detour back to him and asked him if he liked Kurt Cobain. He said no and I said he probably wouldn't like Morrissey either. He offered the note back and I enjoyed a gentle fist bump with him and I gave the note outside the exit to a smallish young white man who I'm guessing from his accent is Russian or something like that, but he understood well enough on key points and I hope he'll find himself inspired by hearing Morrissey to learn English better.

 

[BrummieBoy]

Why did Der Spiegel feel obliged to portray Morrissey as some crazy loon?

...because he's a crazy loon...

 

[Redacted]

...because he's a crazy loon...

You would think it's obvious by now. I don't understand why people think he is 'normal', you know, besides being an outlaw badass who stuns the world with his shocking and truthful truthiness. He is daring and bold and dangerous

 

[Detective Smith]

You would think it's obvious by now. I don't understand why people think he is 'normal', you know, besides being an outlaw badass who stuns the world with his shocking and truthful truthiness. He is daring and bold and dangerous

You just spurred me on to desperate measures. I’m now looking to Simply Red to provide an appropriate response to your comments above.

I’ve not had time for him until now.