Morrissey Central "MELANIE SAFKA, RIP" (January 25, 2024)

"I heard of Melanie Safka's death with a white-knuckle shiver. Her lyric poetry arrested me at the age of 11, and it made me whatever it is I became. She was one of those now extinct songwriters who encouraged you to see the truth … long before this 2024 … where people are suddenly petrified of opening dialogue. Melanie Safka immediately earned the status of Art, and none more deservedly so. I pray that she went to sleep in peace, and that she can hear my words of deathless gratitude."
MORRISSEY.

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

 

[Mimi Ramone]

Wow beautiful song thanks for posting, he should definitely cover this

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

 

[gashonthenail]

I was thinking that, some of his most laugh out loud and poetic and moving words have come from his obituaries.
A Best Of paperback sounds right.
Bit tasteless yes, but id read it.
You could call it 'All those people, all those lives, where are they now?'. .

Death brings out the best in Moz in many ways. Perhaps as it does for any artist. It's the ultimate goad to create and leave something behind. Obviously there's Cemetry Gates, and those long walks with Linder in Southern Cemetery, alluded to in The South Bank Show documentary. Wasn't the cover of Viva Hate also originally planned to be a photo of Moz at Charles Hawtrey's grave? There are lots of pics out there of Moz hanging round a grave, including his own, photoshopped of course.
And Moz's first book was called James Dean Is Not Dead. I love that Moz wrote in the post on Central: I pray that she went to sleep in peace, and that she can hear my words of deathless gratitude.
Well said.

 

[bedlam breakout]

Morrissey needs to get involved with BOOM radio in the UK - FULL OF HIS 60s idols and real intelligent stuff

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Death brings out the best in Moz in many ways. Perhaps as it does for any artist. It's the ultimate goad to create and leave something behind. Obviously there's Cemetry Gates, and those long walks with Linder in Southern Cemetery, alluded to in The South Bank Show documentary. Wasn't the cover of Viva Hate also originally planned to be a photo of Moz at Charles Hawtrey's grave? There are lots of pics out there of Moz hanging round a grave, including his own, photoshopped of course.
And Moz's first book was called James Dean Is Not Dead. I love that Moz wrote in the post on Central: I pray that she went to sleep in peace, and that she can hear my words of deathless gratitude.
Well said.

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These will go nicely with a book, if of course he’d care to do a collection of his obits.

 

[The Queen of Batons]

Sad, I bought her 1983 LP, loved it. Not sure what it was called and all my LP vinyl went the journey in the summer.

 

[gashonthenail]

Sad, I bought her 1983 LP, loved it. Not sure what it was called and all my LP vinyl went the journey in the summer.

Seventh Wave?

 

[The Queen of Batons]

Seventh Wave?

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That listed most of the tracks I remember but the piece I read said that it was released in Germany. I loved singing along to the french bit in Look What they've done to my Song, Ma...C'est la seule chose que je peux faire etc

 

[gashonthenail]

Is this why Moz was tempted to go the extra Miley?

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

probably didn’t hurt.

 

[smiler]

Great tribute. Love the unofficial video. Wonder who made that?

 

[Anonymous]

If only he gave us as many sentences about the shows this weekend. All he's said is he is doing YATQ. That's 12 songs. Lets not forget that in the late 90's he would routinely do 14/15 song sets.

Why is an upfront itinerary needed? Do you expect to know the set list beforehand of all concerts you attend or is it just Morrissey who simply cannot live up to everyone’s demands on this site?! Do you know something else we had in the late 90’s…just a little bit of mystery.
Ps. come & play You Are The Quarry in London Town please

 

[goinghome]

Really? Dialogue? Groups like Stonewall have a 'no debate' policy. Discussion and free exchange of ideas is seen as cis white Euro-centric colonialism, and all that bollocks.
Moz is absolutely spot on. Dialogue is only to be found on the internet in 2024 - it is nowhere to be found in mainstream media or the arts. Philosophers like Peter Boghossian make the same point as Moz. In this world of woke, values are turned on their head. Diversity = conformity. Inclusion = exclusion. Equity = discrimination.

Melanie ignored an injunction against attending Powder Ridge Rock Festival, one of many cancelled as a backlash in 1970 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_Ridge_Rock_Festival

The sixties promptly over.

Re. dialogue, criminalisation of dissent is going on across the West including Germany - https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/the-verdict

At least in this case, the accused, a satirist, was acquitted and made a strong statement, ending thus:

We are, once again, at a crossroads. Not just here in Germany, but throughout the West. People went a little crazy, a little fascist, during the so-called Covid pandemic. And now, here we are. There are two roads ahead. We have to choose ... you, me, all of us. One road leads back to the rule of law, to democratic principles. The other road leads to authoritarianism, to societies where authorities rule by decree, and force, and twist the law into anything they want, and dictate what is and isn't reality, and abuse their power to silence anyone who disagrees with them.

 

[gashonthenail]

Melanie ignored an injunction against attending Powder Ridge Rock Festival, one of many cancelled as a backlash in 1970 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powder_Ridge_Rock_Festival

The sixties promptly over.

Re. dialogue, criminalisation of dissent is going on across the West including Germany - https://cjhopkins.substack.com/p/the-verdict

At least in this case, the accused, a satirist, was acquitted and made a strong statement, ending thus:

We are, once again, at a crossroads. Not just here in Germany, but throughout the West. People went a little crazy, a little fascist, during the so-called Covid pandemic. And now, here we are. There are two roads ahead. We have to choose ... you, me, all of us. One road leads back to the rule of law, to democratic principles. The other road leads to authoritarianism, to societies where authorities rule by decree, and force, and twist the law into anything they want, and dictate what is and isn't reality, and abuse their power to silence anyone who disagrees with them.

Melanie said this about her politics:

I'm a total Libertarian. I'm not a Democrat, a Socialist, or a Republican.

Libertarian is a word that isn't so popular now in the 21st century. It's an important word. We seem to have forgotten the importance of individual liberty and freedom in these troubled times.

I'm with Melanie. But don't tell Malarkey.

 

[celibate]

Godspeed Melanie Safka.

 

[j*e*t]

That is sad news, especially as she only recently got a new manager and was enthusiatic about being musically active. Morrissey mentions her song I Really Loved Harold (as well as a few others) in his autobiography and her line 'I left myself open for the whole world to see' reminded me of Morrissey's song I Couldn't Understand Why People Laughed': 'Spotlit on the stage for the whole world to see'.

 

[goinghome]

Both Moz and Miley get mentions in UK Country News' obit.
https://www.instagram.com/ukcountrynews/reel/C3X7fPDtQz9/