Guardian / Zoe Williams: "A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy" (July 30, 2024)

Today sees a fairly pointless "opinion piece" from dear old Zoe Williams, who'll happily write 400 words about ANYTHING. If you can't be arsed to click through, here's the text of it:

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy​

On Saturday night, I went to the Dublin Castle, a pub and music venue in Camden, north London, the fabled birthplace of Britpop. I definitely wasn’t there when Blur were born; I feel sure I would have remembered. But I was there the night a guy set his hair on fire because he was trying to make a girl smell his shampoo and he accidentally leaned over someone lighting a cigarette. So that’s going back a few years.

Covers band Viva Morrissey speak straight to the hearts of those of us with an unarguable passion for Morrissey the genre, but an inveterate dislike of Morrissey the man. It’s an ambivalence deeper than the standard question “can you love the art while finding the artist ‘problematic’?”.

Picasso, for instance, was of his time. He died before society figured out that locking women in studios was bad, actually. Who knows, if he hadn’t died, he might have apologised. Morrissey, by contrast, lives his life as a constant provocation, peddling tired far-right tropes (Hitler was leftwing, actually) and dumb, crotchety attacks on Sadiq Khan, which is just not-quite-deniable Islamophobia for the basic.

Want to say something racist, but don’t want to be challenged on it? Say something irrelevant and unkind about the mayor of London. It’s so simple even Donald Trump can do it.

I could never pay to see Morrissey; but I’d still always watch a guy who looks and sounds a bit like him, especially if he didn’t get into the choppier waters of ethno-nationalism, which it’s technically possible to avoid. But Viva Morrissey had elected to play You Are the Quarry in full, so Irish Blood, English Heart couldn’t be skirted. It’s nothing like as nasty as Bengali in Platforms, but listening to the lyrics, live – “I’ve been dreaming of a time when / To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful / Racist or partial”, followed by a swipe at mainstream politics – it described, quite economically and, OK, also tunefully, the full political programme of the Reform party. All English politics is rubbish because it’s not proud enough to be English. You can imagine Lee Anderson singing it, with Farage and Tice on guitars, at the karaoke from hell.

Released in 2004, it was a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics would become. While it wouldn’t have been possible, then, for anyone to take Morrissey as seriously as he takes himself, we could have got a heads up for the future if we’d listened a fraction more closely.

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy | Zoe Williams

His 2004 song Irish Blood, English Heart turns out to have been a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics was going to become, writes Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

www.theguardian.com

 

[BurgerButt]

Today sees a fairly pointless "opinion piece" from dear old Zoe Williams, who'll happily write 400 words about ANYTHING. If you can't be arsed to click through, here's the text of it:

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy​

On Saturday night, I went to the Dublin Castle, a pub and music venue in Camden, north London, the fabled birthplace of Britpop. I definitely wasn’t there when Blur were born; I feel sure I would have remembered. But I was there the night a guy set his hair on fire because he was trying to make a girl smell his shampoo and he accidentally leaned over someone lighting a cigarette. So that’s going back a few years.

Covers band Viva Morrissey speak straight to the hearts of those of us with an unarguable passion for Morrissey the genre, but an inveterate dislike of Morrissey the man. It’s an ambivalence deeper than the standard question “can you love the art while finding the artist ‘problematic’?”.

Picasso, for instance, was of his time. He died before society figured out that locking women in studios was bad, actually. Who knows, if he hadn’t died, he might have apologised. Morrissey, by contrast, lives his life as a constant provocation, peddling tired far-right tropes (Hitler was leftwing, actually) and dumb, crotchety attacks on Sadiq Khan, which is just not-quite-deniable Islamophobia for the basic.

Want to say something racist, but don’t want to be challenged on it? Say something irrelevant and unkind about the mayor of London. It’s so simple even Donald Trump can do it.

I could never pay to see Morrissey; but I’d still always watch a guy who looks and sounds a bit like him, especially if he didn’t get into the choppier waters of ethno-nationalism, which it’s technically possible to avoid. But Viva Morrissey had elected to play You Are the Quarry in full, so Irish Blood, English Heart couldn’t be skirted. It’s nothing like as nasty as Bengali in Platforms, but listening to the lyrics, live – “I’ve been dreaming of a time when / To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful / Racist or partial”, followed by a swipe at mainstream politics – it described, quite economically and, OK, also tunefully, the full political programme of the Reform party. All English politics is rubbish because it’s not proud enough to be English. You can imagine Lee Anderson singing it, with Farage and Tice on guitars, at the karaoke from hell.

Released in 2004, it was a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics would become. While it wouldn’t have been possible, then, for anyone to take Morrissey as seriously as he takes himself, we could have got a heads up for the future if we’d listened a fraction more closely.

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy | Zoe Williams

His 2004 song Irish Blood, English Heart turns out to have been a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics was going to become, writes Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

www.theguardian.com

55% of Liberal women in the USA are on some form of meds for being mentally ill.

MSN

There's at least 1 in the uk

I despise these snidey illiterate morons

 

[JerryCan]

Just seems the same old same old really. Now tribute bands can fill in for when M himself isn't available to fuel this sort of piece.

I remember the impact IBEH had when it came out. It was so striking, but it seemed less troublesome than NF disco, or BIP. This was Ms personal unambiguous statement and you couldn't fail to agree with at least something there - like the Lab/Tory line.

There's another story here I care about more. I do hope the shampoo guy was ok. His girlfriend must have made a remark re personal hygiene and he wanted to impress her. Hours in the bathroom getting ready ends with fire brigade and a trip to A&E. What a disaster.

 

[Juan Dulces]

These are like opinion pieces on Tom Waits' bathing habits. Do we all have to care about the 'Morrissey Minutia'? My opinion of his songs may fluctuate from time to time, but I could care less about what online 'zines he subscribes to or which political bumper stickers are stuck on his luggage!

"I KNOW him, I wear loafers too!"

 

[Seymour Glass]

Total rubbish from a small minded idiot who also has no writing skill to speak of. "I won't pay to see Morrissey". Good, I'll never have the displeasure of laying eyes on you! Nice to see the band disassociate themselves from this garbage article.

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Great piece! So raw, so vital.

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Total rubbish from a small minded idiot who also has no writing skill to speak of. "I won't pay to see Morrissey". Good, I'll never have the displeasure of laying eyes on you! Nice to see the band disassociate themselves from this garbage article.

The need to defend this man is bordering on homoerotic.

 

[Seymour Glass]

The need to defend this man is bordering on homoerotic.

Your need to visit a website devoted to a singer you dislike is absolutely pathetic.

 

[DearGodPleaseHelpHim]

I do agree that Morrissey says some dumb-ass shit. I mean, it's frighteningly embarrassing. (Maybe he doesn't consider himself "racist" because he likes Black Americans?) At some point, he went from "John Stewart for President" to ... to the National Front party or whatever the hell "For Britain" is.

That all said, this was weird to me:

"All English politics is rubbish because it’s not proud enough to be English. You can imagine Lee Anderson singing it, with Farage and Tice on guitars, at the karaoke from hell."

The basic gist here is that to be proud of your country is to be racist.

Is that true? Or is it just racist to be proud to be English? Is it okay to be proud to be British? Very confusing. If you're a Spice Girl, the Union Jack is good. If you're Morrissey, it's racist. I guess.

In any case the British press, overwhelmingly white, likes to use race like they used to use boobs on page 3. To get people all riled up to make money.

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Your need to visit a website devoted to a singer you dislike is absolutely pathetic.

Not as simple as that. He was my favorite singer/performer from 1985 to 2014--so the vast majority of his career. All the music he made up until World Peace is still my favorite music. Life is complex, not simple and black and white. You must be able to think critically. You must be able to call it as you see it, no matter how difficult.

 

[DagenhamDan]

Silly cow, who cares what she thinks

 

[Who Rattled Your Cage]

Today sees a fairly pointless "opinion piece" from dear old Zoe Williams, who'll happily write 400 words about ANYTHING. If you can't be arsed to click through, here's the text of it:

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy​

On Saturday night, I went to the Dublin Castle, a pub and music venue in Camden, north London, the fabled birthplace of Britpop. I definitely wasn’t there when Blur were born; I feel sure I would have remembered. But I was there the night a guy set his hair on fire because he was trying to make a girl smell his shampoo and he accidentally leaned over someone lighting a cigarette. So that’s going back a few years.

Covers band Viva Morrissey speak straight to the hearts of those of us with an unarguable passion for Morrissey the genre, but an inveterate dislike of Morrissey the man. It’s an ambivalence deeper than the standard question “can you love the art while finding the artist ‘problematic’?”.

Picasso, for instance, was of his time. He died before society figured out that locking women in studios was bad, actually. Who knows, if he hadn’t died, he might have apologised. Morrissey, by contrast, lives his life as a constant provocation, peddling tired far-right tropes (Hitler was leftwing, actually) and dumb, crotchety attacks on Sadiq Khan, which is just not-quite-deniable Islamophobia for the basic.

Want to say something racist, but don’t want to be challenged on it? Say something irrelevant and unkind about the mayor of London. It’s so simple even Donald Trump can do it.

I could never pay to see Morrissey; but I’d still always watch a guy who looks and sounds a bit like him, especially if he didn’t get into the choppier waters of ethno-nationalism, which it’s technically possible to avoid. But Viva Morrissey had elected to play You Are the Quarry in full, so Irish Blood, English Heart couldn’t be skirted. It’s nothing like as nasty as Bengali in Platforms, but listening to the lyrics, live – “I’ve been dreaming of a time when / To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful / Racist or partial”, followed by a swipe at mainstream politics – it described, quite economically and, OK, also tunefully, the full political programme of the Reform party. All English politics is rubbish because it’s not proud enough to be English. You can imagine Lee Anderson singing it, with Farage and Tice on guitars, at the karaoke from hell.

Released in 2004, it was a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics would become. While it wouldn’t have been possible, then, for anyone to take Morrissey as seriously as he takes himself, we could have got a heads up for the future if we’d listened a fraction more closely.

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy | Zoe Williams

His 2004 song Irish Blood, English Heart turns out to have been a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics was going to become, writes Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

www.theguardian.com

Yet more proof, were it needed - it's not - that no opinion held by a creepy Guardian hack is worth having. It's just the usual pretentious middle-class female misandry (literal paid hate speech against men) mixed in with self-righteous posturing.

Every few months some anguished Guardian writer does an article like this about Moz, weeping and rending their garments and gnashing their teeth. It's because they still secretly love the man, but need to proudly show in public how 'progressive' they are and how they don't agree with their crush's political views.

It's totally risible. If Morrissey so much as looked at this woman she's faint dead away, to this day. Sad. Just sad. Then again, the Guardian has never been a fan of white working class people, especially men. And Irish Blood, English Heart is a great song.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

The need to defend this man is bordering on homoerotic.

why ya such a homophobe? I imagine much conflict in the choice of artist that you continue to follow.

 

[Seymour Glass]

Not as simple as that. He was my favorite singer/performer from 1985 to 2014--so the vast majority of his career. All the music he made up until World Peace is still my favorite music. Life is complex, not simple and black and white. You must be able to think critically. You must be able to call it as you see it, no matter how difficult.

What singer/band improves with age? None. I highly doubt anyone thinks the new Rolling Stones material is up there with their old classics . I know his best days are behind him, but I'm excited to see him this Friday in Vegas and to sing along to some of the songs that saved my life.

 

[Seymour Glass]

Not as simple as that. He was my favorite singer/performer from 1985 to 2014--so the vast majority of his career. All the music he made up until World Peace is still my favorite music. Life is complex, not simple and black and white. You must be able to think critically. You must be able to call it as you see it, no matter how difficult.

And I agree that World Peace is unlistenable. I actually threw the CD out of my car.

 

[Banbury Moz Army]

Today sees a fairly pointless "opinion piece" from dear old Zoe Williams, who'll happily write 400 words about ANYTHING. If you can't be arsed to click through, here's the text of it:

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy​

On Saturday night, I went to the Dublin Castle, a pub and music venue in Camden, north London, the fabled birthplace of Britpop. I definitely wasn’t there when Blur were born; I feel sure I would have remembered. But I was there the night a guy set his hair on fire because he was trying to make a girl smell his shampoo and he accidentally leaned over someone lighting a cigarette. So that’s going back a few years.

Covers band Viva Morrissey speak straight to the hearts of those of us with an unarguable passion for Morrissey the genre, but an inveterate dislike of Morrissey the man. It’s an ambivalence deeper than the standard question “can you love the art while finding the artist ‘problematic’?”.

Picasso, for instance, was of his time. He died before society figured out that locking women in studios was bad, actually. Who knows, if he hadn’t died, he might have apologised. Morrissey, by contrast, lives his life as a constant provocation, peddling tired far-right tropes (Hitler was leftwing, actually) and dumb, crotchety attacks on Sadiq Khan, which is just not-quite-deniable Islamophobia for the basic.

Want to say something racist, but don’t want to be challenged on it? Say something irrelevant and unkind about the mayor of London. It’s so simple even Donald Trump can do it.

I could never pay to see Morrissey; but I’d still always watch a guy who looks and sounds a bit like him, especially if he didn’t get into the choppier waters of ethno-nationalism, which it’s technically possible to avoid. But Viva Morrissey had elected to play You Are the Quarry in full, so Irish Blood, English Heart couldn’t be skirted. It’s nothing like as nasty as Bengali in Platforms, but listening to the lyrics, live – “I’ve been dreaming of a time when / To be English is not to be baneful / To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful / Racist or partial”, followed by a swipe at mainstream politics – it described, quite economically and, OK, also tunefully, the full political programme of the Reform party. All English politics is rubbish because it’s not proud enough to be English. You can imagine Lee Anderson singing it, with Farage and Tice on guitars, at the karaoke from hell.

Released in 2004, it was a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics would become. While it wouldn’t have been possible, then, for anyone to take Morrissey as seriously as he takes himself, we could have got a heads up for the future if we’d listened a fraction more closely.

A Morrissey tribute band separates the art from the artist – but I still end up feeling queasy | Zoe Williams

His 2004 song Irish Blood, English Heart turns out to have been a massively leading indicator of how ugly politics was going to become, writes Guardian columnist Zoe Williams

www.theguardian.com

The blankety blank of prizes awaites this cnut

 

[Per]

The opinion piece grapples with the dichotomy of appreciating Morrissey’s music while rejecting his political views, ultimately painting Morrissey as a provocateur whose recent statements overshadow his artistic contributions. However, this critique oversimplifies the complex interplay between art and artist, reducing a multifaceted issue to a binary choice and failing to engage with the deeper nuances of artistic consumption and historical context.

While the piece dismisses Picasso’s flaws as a product of his time, it neglects to acknowledge that all art, including Morrissey’s, is situated within its cultural and temporal context. Condemning Morrissey without recognizing this continuity risks anachronism and ignores the evolution of societal values.

Furthermore, the critique of Morrissey’s lyrics, particularly “Irish Blood, English Heart,” as emblematic of right-wing nationalism is overly simplistic. The lyrics reflect a complex identity struggle and critique of British politics, not a straightforward endorsement of ethno-nationalism.

Moreover, the piece fails to consider the role of audience interpretation in the consumption of art. Listeners bring their perspectives and contexts to the music, allowing for a plurality of meanings. Dismissing the entire body of Morrissey’s work because of his political statements not only undermines the agency of the audience but also ignores the possibility of engaging with the art critically, separating the personal views of the artist from the thematic richness of the work.

In addition, the assertion that Morrissey’s provocative statements are a continuous provocation lacks nuance. While his comments can be contentious and offensive, they should be analyzed within the broader landscape of public discourse and freedom of expression. The call to completely boycott Morrissey’s music risks fostering an environment where art is policed according to prevailing political sentiments, stifling artistic diversity and dialogue.

The piece’s conclusion, suggesting that the audience should have anticipated future political ugliness by listening more closely to Morrissey, presumes a linearity in cultural and political developments that is rarely so clear-cut.

Art does not predict politics; rather, it reflects and influences it in unpredictable ways. To place such predictive responsibility on music overlooks the complexity of societal changes and the multifaceted influences on political landscapes.

This journalist ultimately reduces a complex issue to a simplistic moral judgment. Engaging with art critically requires a nuanced understanding of historical context, audience interpretation, and the multifaceted nature of artistic expression.

 

[BookishBoy]

The opinion piece grapples with the dichotomy of appreciating Morrissey’s music while rejecting his political views, ultimately painting Morrissey as a provocateur whose recent statements overshadow his artistic contributions. However, this critique oversimplifies the complex interplay between art and artist, reducing a multifaceted issue to a binary choice and failing to engage with the deeper nuances of artistic consumption and historical context.

While the piece dismisses Picasso’s flaws as a product of his time, it neglects to acknowledge that all art, including Morrissey’s, is situated within its cultural and temporal context. Condemning Morrissey without recognizing this continuity risks anachronism and ignores the evolution of societal values.

Furthermore, the critique of Morrissey’s lyrics, particularly “Irish Blood, English Heart,” as emblematic of right-wing nationalism is overly simplistic. The lyrics reflect a complex identity struggle and critique of British politics, not a straightforward endorsement of ethno-nationalism.

Moreover, the piece fails to consider the role of audience interpretation in the consumption of art. Listeners bring their perspectives and contexts to the music, allowing for a plurality of meanings. Dismissing the entire body of Morrissey’s work because of his political statements not only undermines the agency of the audience but also ignores the possibility of engaging with the art critically, separating the personal views of the artist from the thematic richness of the work.

In addition, the assertion that Morrissey’s provocative statements are a continuous provocation lacks nuance. While his comments can be contentious and offensive, they should be analyzed within the broader landscape of public discourse and freedom of expression. The call to completely boycott Morrissey’s music risks fostering an environment where art is policed according to prevailing political sentiments, stifling artistic diversity and dialogue.

The piece’s conclusion, suggesting that the audience should have anticipated future political ugliness by listening more closely to Morrissey, presumes a linearity in cultural and political developments that is rarely so clear-cut.

Art does not predict politics; rather, it reflects and influences it in unpredictable ways. To place such predictive responsibility on music overlooks the complexity of societal changes and the multifaceted influences on political landscapes.

This journalist ultimately reduces a complex issue to a simplistic moral judgment. Engaging with art critically requires a nuanced understanding of historical context, audience interpretation, and the multifaceted nature of artistic expression.

There's more thoughtfulness in this than in several hundred Zoe Williams columns.

 

[gashonthenail]

There's No Denying the Socialist Roots of Fascism

The father of fascism himself literally said it. “Fascism is a form of socialism, in fact, it is its most viable form.”

fee.org

 

[Gregor Samsa]

What singer/band improves with age? None. I highly doubt anyone thinks the new Rolling Stones material is up there with their old classics . I know his best days are behind him, but I'm excited to see him this Friday in Vegas and to sing along to some of the songs that saved my life.

Bruce Springsteen’s two latest albums, Western Stars and Letter to You, are stellar and acclaimed by fans and critics alike. Willie Nelson released what is likely his best album, Spirit, when he was 63. The new and still unreleased material from The Cure is likely their best stuff since Disintegration. Nick Cave has released one masterpiece after another since 2016 (or perhaps 2013). Bowie bowed out with Blackstar. Johnny Cash did the same with the American Recordings. Cohen had a very impressive 2010’s, before passing away in 2016.

It’s lazy and ignorant to claim that artists don’t improve with age just because Morrissey doesn’t.

 

[Stephen Hofmann]

Not as simple as that. He was my favorite singer/performer from 1985 to 2014--so the vast majority of his career. All the music he made up until World Peace is still my favorite music. Life is complex, not simple and black and white. You must be able to think critically. You must be able to call it as you see it, no matter how difficult.

What happened in 2015?