Morrissey interview: "I Prefer It When They Don't Understand" by Caroline North / Dallas Observer

Morrissey: "I Prefer It When They Don't Understand" - Dallas Observer

A brief interview.
The relevant part of the article:

"In our email exchange with Morrissey he answers questions about everything from his public image to his favorite vegan recipe, and we see a more gracious side to the artist than has typically appeared in the media as of late.

Who are you reading right now?
I'm following the daily flood of reports on Predicament Trump and his administration. He's very exhausting, isn't he? Mad magazine finally comes to life.

Is there something you wish people knew or understood about you?
I prefer it when they don't understand.

Which song are you most proud of? Are there any you dislike and would prefer to never play again?
I'm proud of most of them. There's only three or four which I think are ridiculous — which isn't a bad percentage.

One thing your lyrics quickly became known for was their melancholiness. Have you ever felt confined by that?
I feel elevated by this because life is, in actual fact, absolutely melancholic, so therefore there's instantly a common truth in expressing melancholia, whereas not many people can relate to the assumption of compulsive happiness. We all die ... which, on the face of it, isn't terribly funny.

If you were a teenager today, what kind of band do you think you'd be in? Or would you be in a band at all?
I wouldn't feel hopeful enough to start a band if I were a teenager today. It all seems so fixed and censored and restricted. I think this is because the artists must now serve the music industry, whereas in the '70s and '80s the music industry served the artists.

This made an incredible difference whereby just about anything could happen in the singles chart. Now, everything has a cast-iron predictability about it. We know exactly whose sales will be hoisted to 10 million, and we know exactly who will be showered with Grammys. Surprise is no longer possible.

How do you conceive of the role of politics in music?
I think it's urgent and essential, but many artists won't touch it because any declaration might lose sales if a certain faction of society disagrees with you. When McDonna [Madonna] recently slammed Trump, she instantly apologized. But what was sincere? Her apology, or her hatred of Trump? She obviously heard that a music store in Gooseneck, Arkansas, would no longer stock her albums.

Is there anything you haven't accomplished yet, whether inside or outside your career, that you would like to?
I have surpassed my own expectations many, many, many times.

Are there any new bands or musicians you like?
Not passionately.

What do you think about the new biopic coming out, England Is Mine? Do you have any hopes for it?
I wasn't approached or consulted by the filmmakers, so I think it's safe to make all the logical assumptions that arise from that. Yikes, I believe, is the common expression.

Do you have a favorite vegan recipe you can share?
I absolutely recommend vegan milk alternatives, which are fantastic. As we all now know, dairy farms are hell if you happen to be a cow. There's enough misery in the world without adding to it by buying cow's milk. Amen and hallelujah."

Regards,
FWD.
(Thanks to RF for the heads up).

I'm off to take cover as I'm sure there will be 'lolz'-a-plenty with the vegan milk comment.

 

[Raphael Lambach]

Morrissey's preference to be interviewed via e-mail spoils the game.

In this interview, particularly, the girl who interviewed him doesn't seem to know him very much... only obvious questions.

 

[Layne]

He seems to have disavowed everything from Kill Uncle.

Didn't he also reply, when an audience member requested "Sing Your Life," "that's what I'm doing?" Something along those lines. It's a very strong song, especially the live EP version with the new band (at the time), but yes it does seem that he has no regard for that record at all (he mentions this in his autobiography as well).

Surely, then, it's more than three or four songs that he's no longer fond of, in truth.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Trump is everyone's obsession. He is by far the most famous person on earth. Quite astounding.

not mine ! My mind is a trump free zone !

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

In 2005, he answered something similar when I asked the question on TTY:


Q:

Of all your songs, from both Smiths and solo material, which song are you most proud of lyrically?

Best wishes,

Peter Finan
Haworth, West Yorkshire, England

A:

hello Peter
It's impossible to answer this because I'm proud of most of them. There are only a few that make me shudder – such as "Get Off The Stage," "Journalists Who Lie," "I Don't Owe You Anything".... But most of them, I think, somehow stand the test of time. Of course, some songs are better than others...

that's like asking a parent who their favorite child is.

 

[Anonymous]

1. Morrissey's preference to be interviewed via e-mail spoils the game.

Oh no no ! It just proves my argument that he's a dried up CrankFraud, 'Has Been' who can't accept the fact that he's no longer relevant in the rock and roll, pop music business.
His time is done now, the disability has finally taken its course, it's always been on the cards to those who have crossed his path. It was always just a case of when.
It's not over yet though ! The best is yet to come .
Buckle up kids.

Benny-the-British-Butcher

 

[Quando quando quando]

that's like asking a parent who their favorite child is.

And not getting a truthful answer.

 

[ACTON]

London? Are you crazy? That's a class.

Hmmmm. Class compared to most other bands songs but I don't rate it compared to other Smiths songs.

 

[Quando quando quando]

Hmmmm. Class compared to most other bands songs but I don't rate it compared to other Smiths songs.

I loved the fast, desperate and urgent feeling of it.
Just like with "Shakespeare's Sister".
Do you like that song?
There is a slight resemblance in tone with The Ramones.
Which I quite like too but I miss the enigmatic lyrics and vocal ambivalence of Moz.

But now in hindsight it feels as if it was totally immersed in expressing the inner world of adolescence. Which it did brilliantly.
Still like it but there is a nostalgic feeling now.
There is a development, a string that leads to WPINOYB, and I can relate to that now as much as I did with "The World Won't Listen".
Cheers Acton!

 

[Anonymous]

Not a single mention of Martin McGuinness from Hughlocaust Clark. Maybe living in Birmingham does something to ya.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm in the film as an extra. I play a Buzzcocks gig goer pogoing next to the young Linder and Moz.
I was disappointed to espy the actor playing Moz eating fish and chips on his dinner break.

Didn't seem to be a particularly big budget affair. We shall see.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm in the film as an extra. I play a Buzzcocks gig goer pogoing next to the young Linder and Moz.
I was disappointed to espy the actor playing Moz eating fish and chips on his dinner break.

Didn't seem to be a particularly big budget affair. We shall see.

'...the Smiths were not even strict lacto-vegetarians: Stuart James had been surprised to find Morrissey eating whole fish on the mid-1984 tours, and Marr had tuna sandwiches on his rider.'

Page 382
'A Light That Never Goes Out : The Enduring Saga of the Smiths' by Tony Fletcher (2012)

 

[Anonymous]

This whole thing about the actor needing to eat what Morrissey ate is the most funny and absurd thing I have ever heard. Like you guys are really still discussing this? So, if say, an actor was voicing an animated film and playing a dog would you expect the actor to only eat dog food while in production?

 

[Quando quando quando]

This whole thing about the actor needing to eat what Morrissey ate is the most funny and absurd thing I have ever heard. Like you guys are really still discussing this? So, if say, an actor was voicing an animated film and playing a dog would you expect the actor to only eat dog food while in production?

Yes.
But only if he wasn't a veggie.

 

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm. Class compared to most other bands songs but I don't rate it compared to other Smiths songs.

I would regard London as the original sound of the Smiths. To me, that song defines the roots of the Smiths, the post punk era. But that just my personal opinion which really doesn't matter to anyone else but me. Bottom line, Morrissey really doesn't have many bad songs. There are all uniquely beautiful in some way or another.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

 

[Anonymous]

What language was that? Wtf. So what if Morrissey used "big" words.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

subtitles please.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

Moz's favorite vegan recipe is vegan milk. That's The Wild Turkey style of cookin'. Put on the chef's apron, put on the chef's hat, and then you pour the vegan milk in the glass. Bon appetit!

i can see in all of this three steps you can cut to save time.

 

[The Wild Turkey]

i can see in all of this three steps you can cut to save time.

The Wild Turkey is in no hurry. Ya gotta follow all the steps to make the vegan milk recipe come out right.

 

[nicky wire's legs]

The Wild Turkey is in no hurry. Ya gotta follow all the steps to make the vegan milk recipe come out right.

ohhh that explains why mine never comes out right! im not wearing the hat!!