Daily Mail Morrissey article "Bonfire Of Teenagers" & Manchester Bombing (October 27, 2022)

Richard LittleJohn best know as the conservative poster boy reviews Morrissey Bonfire of teenagers.

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Why should we go easy on Islamist killers? Singer Morrissey rejects the ubiquitous 'turn another cheek' response. And quite right, too - dailymail.co.uk

But sadly I feel it misses the point & makes him out to be some sort of pop star for the Far Right.

But again what do you expect from the Daily Mail.

October 29, 2022:
Now a Central post:

TURNABOUT: - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - TURNABOUT:

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

 

[Les Tameside]

I don’t know about that the death warmed up bit, but I’ve cried at shows I’ve seen many cry at Morrissey shows.

Yes crying and the above too.



don’t we all? No one’s perfect. He’s a big boy, he’ll, as always, carry on.

No one’s perfect. He’s a big boy, he’ll, as always, carry on. If you feel that you’ve matured to the point where you find it harder to ‘play along’, if playing along is what you’ve always been doing (and why?) then I guess you’re smarter now ( a clever swine?) or more evolved than the rest (lol) and maybe, just maybe, it’s time for you to move on. Maybe your kids can advise you on this.

And miss out on brilliance like I am Not a Dog on a Chain, and dreamy performances of Our Frank? Not on your Nelly.

But nor will I remain unstirred when he frustrates. Or people try and advance an idea that Morrissey advocated a party called For Britain, with a leader who’d moved on from a UKIP leadership challenge, without knowing that this party held certain positions on immigration: I accept him being represented as an imbecile.

Misguided—possibly. Self defeating—seems like it. Isolated—probably. A little dizzy on fame—inevitably. But he’s not the stupidest person on the planet.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

And miss out on brilliance like I am Not a Dog on a Chain, and dreamy performances of Our Frank? Not on your Nelly.

sarcasm?

But nor will I remain unstirred when he frustrates. Or people try and advance an idea that Morrissey advocated a party called For Britain, with a leader who’d moved on from a UKIP leadership challenge, without knowing that this party held certain positions on immigration: I accept him being represented as an imbecile.

Sure, stick around if it gives you a reason to be stirred. I can’t imagine anything else in your life stirring you up as much as Morrissey does.

Misguided—possibly. Self defeating—seems like it. Isolated—probably. A little dizzy on fame—inevitably. But he’s not the stupidest person on the planet.

k

 

[gashonthenail]

And, of course, at Morrissey gigs when very real and raw themes of pain and loss are addressed everyone clasps there hands, looks down, sheds tears and generally looks like death warmed up?

Or is there a shared sense of occasion, a mutual warmth, and (god forbid) swapped smiles and some moronic swaying? And perhaps the odd scrap when the injury of a spilt pint evidently becomes more emotive and important than (say) 23 fatalities in an avoidable Munich plane crash?

When discussing the themes of BOT with my kids, I mentioned that Morrissey believed that a re-release of Throwing my Arms Around Paris was an appropriate response to the massacre in France. Their jaws then dropped at the audacity of his current complaints about the use of the Oasis song. But they also recognised the feeling of an unraveling as increasingly indicative of ‘The World of Morrissey’.

Redacted mentioned that Morrissey makes his own problems; he does indeed set his own traps and throws himself on them. It always makes for a curious ride (and he’s always done this), but as one gets more mature it gets harder to play along and pretend not to notice that you saw him personally laying the snare earlier. Ultimately, the only person who is really out to get Morrissey is Morrissey.

How lovely that you discuss Morrissey with your kids. A friend of mine recently took his young son to the London Palladium gig. It's like handing the baton on. His son loved it.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

it’s tricky, and not recommended

 

[Les Tameside]

How lovely that you discuss Morrissey with your kids. A friend of mine recently took his young son to the London Palladium gig. It's like handing the baton on. His son loved it.

Yes: it’s curious seeing what they pick up on. My 14 year old attended with ‘Marry Me’ inked (temporarily) on his chest. He feels Hatful of Hollow is just about the most fantastic thing ever committed to record. And the gender bending (perhaps surprisingly) still strikes him as daring.

Stockton was his second Morrissey gig, after Leeds 2018. I’m delighted we got there (complex due to train strikes), as Morrissey recovered an enthusiasm, spontaneity and ‘magic’ that was missing at the Leeds gig.

Earlier this year, I got to see Rick and The Blossoms at Manchester with my sixteen year old. There’s a back and forth about which night was the best: Curiously, it wasn’t as ‘odd’ for him as it was for me. He unproblematically sees Rick and The Smiths as comparable (and equally great) 80s pop representatives. Ultimately, he’s probably right.

Incidentally, he rates George Benson as the best live performer I’ve ever took him to see.

 

[goinghome]

He hasn't commented on the Daily Mail piece. It's a relative who posts on Central.

The NME/Melody Maker was out to get him in 92.

He has spoken out about climate change, in April 2015. PETA & veganism is his thing though.

We already know that raising animals for food is a leading cause of climate change and that moving toward a vegan diet is necessary to combat climate change’s worst effects. Animal agriculture severely affects the world’s freshwater supply and is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, and air and water pollution, among many other harmful effects.

Not commented? Oh, I really don’t know. Have we all lost it? What about Malarkey’s opening fury at the idea of pissing a great tour up against the wall by the endorsement of the Daily Mail article?! But I still love you, all of you, even laser-minded Aubrey who unbelievably made a mistake. A MISTAKE! He erred, by accusing someone else of running a visual analogy I used! You especially are forgiven, my friend!! As hopefully am I, for whatever it is ; )

Final solutions flourish in the bedrock of consistency. Questioning nothing and never changing opinions means not learning or adapting. That’s death, in a way.

Point being, we’re all human, thinking fast and slow, taking shortcuts through limited information. Even poor Sam, a young man who’s presumably busy trying to live his own life, doing his best, taking flack for helping out. ‘Guilty by implication, by association.’, according to some. But then is it likewise for fans?

Is the main answer at the moment for Morrissey to be signed up to a record company in England as soon as possible too? Would they look after the media side of things then? Or is there another solution? Perfection was never his schtick. Making sense of living, is more like it. Few have played such mesmerising and overall wholesome rebels with such lasting far-flung appeal and applause.

Who knows how long we’ll be able to discuss topics like these anyway? Already something is making more and more of us inclined to turn on messengers instead of wrongdoers. If wheels in motion pick up speed and no brakes put on, information control will become ubiquitous. As usual, Caitlin Johnstone is great on trends.

Let us stay on fire and giddy anyway for as long as we can! There’s so much destruction, all over the world…

Also, here is another Irish radio interview, by Dave Fanning again, from back in 1987, which reveals a realist Morrissey worthy of a Nobel peace prize with all the radical causes he and the Smiths were supporting!

 

[goinghome]

The summary below of the various reactions to the Manchester bombing is interesting. The concert raised at least £10 million. I bloody hope that went to the families. I'm just not sure why the sentiment that it's best not to hold on to negative emotions was so objectionable. The bombing was an act of pure horror. People needed to find healing. It's just a song, after all, about a woman looking back on her life without recrimination.

Reactions to the Manchester Arena bombing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The worker bee symbol for Manchester is lovely

 

[goinghome]

The 'climate change' issue is another interesting one. It does feel like it has become an absolute article of faith for the woke. The end of the world is nigh! It is taught to our kids in school now in the same way we used to teach kids about religion. Not sure if that is progress?
Morrissey is a vegetarian, as we all know. I am too. I think most people who are vegetarian think about what they eat, what is in our food, what is being dumped into our rivers, and pumped into out air, how we treat our planet. To be honest I think plastics in the oceans, falling male fertility, and anti-biotic resistance are more pressing issues for human civilisation than climate change.
The whole 'carbon neutral' agenda is a total scam. I think most people watch world leaders flying off to Cop27 in their jets and realise they are being played. Prince Charles, sorry, King Charles, is due to make billions from renting coastal seabeds to wind-farm operators. There is huge money to be made by switching investment to renewables - and the same people preaching about the end of the world are the same people who will be reaping the profits. And we will all be paying more for our energy bills to fund their profits. Total scam.
And as for the people gluing themselves to buildings and throwing soup over Van Gogh? Religious zealots. I'm reminded of a quote by Bertrand Russell: I would never die for my beliefs. I might be wrong.
We should teach that to kids in school.

Very good. I get a lot of what you're saying there. Nassim Taleb also thinks pollution is a bigger problem than carbon, though of course they overlap.

This article links both topics, of immigration and climate chaos -https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/europes-war-refugees-belies-its-claim-be-addressing-climate-chaos

I sometimes join events at a chapter of an international organisation, World Beyond War, and one of the coordinators came up with the idea of a 2 -prong approach in which, alongside the likes of awareness-raising and protests, she advocates that people turn to community-centred and eco-friendly lifestyles as a form of positive resistance to the dominant destructive systems, deemed just as important as the activism, and to have the groundwork done for if and when those systems flip.

 

[gashonthenail]

Yes: it’s curious seeing what they pick up on. My 14 year old attended with ‘Marry Me’ inked (temporarily) on his chest. He feels Hatful of Hollow is just about the most fantastic thing ever committed to record. And the gender bending (perhaps surprisingly) still strikes him as daring.

Stockton was his second Morrissey gig, after Leeds 2018. I’m delighted we got there (complex due to train strikes), as Morrissey recovered an enthusiasm, spontaneity and ‘magic’ that was missing at the Leeds gig.

Earlier this year, I got to see Rick and The Blossoms at Manchester with my sixteen year old. There’s a back and forth about which night was the best: Curiously, it wasn’t as ‘odd’ for him as it was for me. He unproblematically sees Rick and The Smiths as comparable (and equally great) 80s pop representatives. Ultimately, he’s probably right.

Incidentally, he rates George Benson as the best live performer I’ve ever took him to see.

George Benson is a cool cat. I can understand any teenager enjoying one of his shows. Talent is ageless.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Very good. I get a lot of what you're saying there. Nassim Taleb also thinks pollution is a bigger problem than carbon, though of course they overlap.

This article links both topics, of immigration and climate chaos -https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/e/europes-war-refugees-belies-its-claim-be-addressing-climate-chaos

I sometimes join events at a chapter of an international organisation, World Beyond War, and

one of the coordinators came up with the idea of a 2 -prong approach in which, alongside the likes of awareness-raising and protests, she advocates that people turn to community-centred and eco-friendly lifestyles as a form of positive resistance to the dominant destructive systems, deemed just as important as the activism,

Lol. I would deem that our personal simple everyday choices are the true protest, our diets, etc are a far more important form of activism. But all the Jacky’s are only happy when they’re up on the stage protesting. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy seeing a bunch of trouble makers make a point, but it just comes off as ego stroking to me.

and to have the groundwork done for if and when those systems flip.

 

[Redacted]

When discussing the themes of BOT with my kids, I mentioned that Morrissey believed that a re-release of Throwing my Arms Around Paris was an appropriate response to the massacre in France. Their jaws then dropped at the audacity of his current complaints about the use of the Oasis song. But they also recognised the feeling of an unraveling as increasingly indicative of ‘The World of Morrissey’.

I forgot about that, he just looks stupid and petty now. I've always thought he was some kind of narcissist, tbh.

 

[gashonthenail]

Yes: it’s curious seeing what they pick up on. My 14 year old attended with ‘Marry Me’ inked (temporarily) on his chest. He feels Hatful of Hollow is just about the most fantastic thing ever committed to record. And the gender bending (perhaps surprisingly) still strikes him as daring.

Stockton was his second Morrissey gig, after Leeds 2018. I’m delighted we got there (complex due to train strikes), as Morrissey recovered an enthusiasm, spontaneity and ‘magic’ that was missing at the Leeds gig.

Earlier this year, I got to see Rick and The Blossoms at Manchester with my sixteen year old. There’s a back and forth about which night was the best: Curiously, it wasn’t as ‘odd’ for him as it was for me. He unproblematically sees Rick and The Smiths as comparable (and equally great) 80s pop representatives. Ultimately, he’s probably right.

Incidentally, he rates George Benson as the best live performer I’ve ever took him to see.

Your post about your son's favourite live performance - I know Moz doesn't like that word - got me thinking about who I would put in that category, other than Morrissey, of course. I really would put his recent Brixton Academy show up there as one of my favourites of all time. But other than Morrissey, it's a difficult one. Clearly different performers can move us in very different ways. But if I was to say which show was most memorable for me and really stands out - I would have to say two: The Libertines at the Kentish Town Forum in 2005, supported by Chas and Dave no less; and the great Linton Kwesi Johnson, with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band, who played as part of Lee Scratch Perry's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in 2003. I think everyone in the audience really did feel they were in the presence of genius. A modern day poet / singer, who sees the world through the eyes of a poet - and there are few I would put in that category, but Morrissey would definitely be another. Linton told several stories in between songs about 'Johnny Rotten and those young boys from the Sex Pistols' back in the 1970s, much to the delight of the crowd. It was at the Royal Festival Hall, so all seated, but there was no one who wasn't on their feet and dancing - the Royal Festival Hall was dubbed out that night.
No more recent show has moved me any where near as much as those two, other than Morrissey.

 

[Les Tameside]

Your post about your son's favourite live performance - I know Moz doesn't like that word - got me thinking about who I would put in that category, other than Morrissey, of course. I really would put his recent Brixton Academy show up there as one of my favourites of all time. But other than Morrissey, it's a difficult one. Clearly different performers can move us in very different ways. But if I was to say which show was most memorable for me and really stands out - I would have to say two: The Libertines at the Kentish Town Forum in 2005, supported by Chas and Dave no less; and the great Linton Kwesi Johnson, with the Dennis Bovell Dub Band, who played as part of Lee Scratch Perry's Meltdown at the Royal Festival Hall in 2003. I think everyone in the audience really did feel they were in the presence of genius. A modern day poet / singer, who sees the world through the eyes of a poet - and there are few I would put in that category, but Morrissey would definitely be another. Linton told several stories in between songs about 'Johnny Rotten and those young boys from the Sex Pistols' back in the 1970s, much to the delight of the crowd. It was at the Royal Festival Hall, so all seated, but there was no one who wasn't on their feet and dancing - the Royal Festival Hall was dubbed out that night.
No more recent show has moved me any where near as much as those two, other than Morrissey.

The Sideboard Song, by Chaz and Dave, is an all time favourite of mine. They were one of those outfits that seemed to be reliably on the circuit all of the time, so I never made a focussed effort to go and see them. More fool me. You were blessed to catch them.

What perhaps distinguishes Morrissey’s current live shows, from his 90s heyday concerts (at least for me) is the absence of a good warm up act: I quite liked Marion on the ‘95 tour, and Sack in 2002. They set Morrissey up perfectly.

I saw The Sex Pistols at Finsbury Park in ‘95: the reunion had a mixed reception from fans—but it was one of my stand out gigs.

I’ve The Cure, Danny Elfman, Suede, The Go! Team, Del La Soul and Roger Waters coming up. That Chaz and Dave thing isn’t happening again: I’m not taking anyone’s presence for granted.

 

[Les Tameside]

I forgot about that, he just looks stupid and petty now. I've always thought he was some kind of narcissist, tbh.

Not his finest hour.

 

[gashonthenail]

The Sideboard Song, by Chaz and Dave, is an all time favourite of mine. They were one of those outfits that seemed to be reliably on the circuit all of the time, so I never made a focussed effort to go and see them. More fool me. You were blessed to catch them.

What perhaps distinguishes Morrissey’s current live shows, from his 90s heyday concerts (at least for me) is the absence of a good warm up act: I quite liked Marion on the ‘95 tour, and Sack in 2002. They set Morrissey up perfectly.

I saw The Sex Pistols at Finsbury Park in ‘95: the reunion had a mixed reception from fans—but it was one of my stand out gigs.

I’ve The Cure, Danny Elfman, Suede, The Go! Team, Del La Soul and Roger Waters coming up. That Chaz and Dave thing isn’t happening again: I’m not taking anyone’s presence for granted.

Suede were very definitely on my list of possible contenders too, along with Primal Scream, Bowie, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Placebo. But those two I mentioned were the stand outs. Plus Morrissey, of course.

 

[saintjimmy456]

Let's remember that in the Manchester bombing case, a security guard witnessed the killer and thought him suspicious, but didn't intervene as he was worried he'd be accused of being racist.

Or he didn’t want to risk his skin for the public, ignored it, then used this excuse after the fact. Either way, he was more worried about what would happen to himself than stopping dozens of people from dying. I’m more angry about that tbh than people singing Oasis.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Or he didn’t want to risk his skin for the public, ignored it, then used this excuse after the fact. Either way, he was more worried about what would happen to himself than stopping dozens of people from dying. I’m more angry about that tbh than people singing Oasis.

Yes, but should one be angry at the security guard, or angry at a society that puts people in positions of fearing that they will lose their livelihood if they make a mistake?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, but should one be angry at the security guard, or angry at a society that puts people in positions of fearing that they will lose their livelihood if they make a mistake?

The security guard who was not doing his job, of course. Stop being so woke!

 

[Les Tameside]

Or he didn’t want to risk his skin for the public, ignored it, then used this excuse after the fact. Either way, he was more worried about what would happen to himself than stopping dozens of people from dying. I’m more angry about that tbh than people singing Oasis.

Given the upper echelons of MI5 dismissed the significant concerns raised about Abedi, in relation to his terrorist ambitions, it seems a bit harsh to blame a kid on minimum wage who’d been freshly brow beaten about ‘diversity’.

And in truth, if the security kid had’ve been the authoritative type, who would raise concerns, he simply wouldn’t have been employed at The Arena—it is (or at least was) that kind of ‘money first’, questions later, kind of place. As Abedi knew.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Given the upper echelons of MI5 dismissed the significant concerns raised about Abedi, in relation to his terrorist ambitions, it seems a bit harsh to blame a kid on minimum wage who’d been freshly brow beaten about ‘diversity’.

And in truth, if the security kid had’ve been the authoritative type, who would raise concerns, he simply wouldn’t have been employed at The Arena—it is (or at least was) that kind of ‘money first’, questions later, kind of place. As Abedi knew.

MI5 went … easy on the killer.