Post Millennial: "Morrissey: How did the ultimate anti-establishment artist make it against all odds?" by Fiona Dodwell (October 17, 2020)

"We have become acclimatized to safe public figures who brand themselves as a commodity like a soft drink, palatable at first but devoid of any substantial nourishment."

Morrissey: How did the ultimate anti-establishment artist make it against all odds?

We have become acclimatized to safe public figures who brand themselves as a commodity like a soft drink, palatable at first but devoid of any substantial nourishment.

thepostmillennial.com

FWD.

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UPDATE Oct. 18:

Posted by Nerak:

It's now linked on Central.

THERE IS A PLACE - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - THERE IS A PLACE

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

With a Linder photo.

 

[Anonymous]

Marr's last album achieved massively higher critical acclaim than Morrissey's too. 78/100 compared with Dog on a Chain's 62.
He's out performing Morrissey in pretty much every area - sales, airplay, critical acclaim, size of fanbase.
It's incredible, really, that the guitarist from the Smiths is now a more successful singer than the singer from the Smiths.

Indeed. And he's much more talented musician than Morrissey.

 

[snoddywilko]

You seem very immature irrespective of what your profession is. I mean, do you ever post anything that isn't either an abusive, insulting attempt at putting down people with whom you don't agree, or some sort of tantrum? Your recent posting history suggests that you don't, therefore your accusing someone else of immaturity is at best a bit rich.

I suggest you analyse your own posting history.

There’s a reason I put you on ignore a long while back...

 

[Deleted member 29235]

There’s a reason I put you on ignore a long while back...

Well it didn't work apparently.
But I'm not wrong, am I? You rarely post on here but to slag off someone else. If you think that's a mature way to conduct yourself then there's no helping you really.

 

[Anonymous]

The irony of Johnny's career being that, even though he is a musical genius, he demonstrably can't write songs - as evidence by his solo stuff. Johnny didn't write the songs of The Smiths. Nobody 'wrote' them. Johnny recorded a backing track, generally mailed it to Morrissey, who then coined a vocal melody using some of his pre-written (or perhaps sometimes made up on the spot) lyrics. Once the backing track had a vocal melody and lyrics, it became a song. At a push therefore you say that Marr co-created the songs. But strip away the backing music from the end product, to leave nothing but the vocal melody, and you'd still effectively have the song. So in my book, Morrissey effectively created the songs by creating the lyrics/vocal melody. Marr created the music (along with Rourke).

Stop repeating the ridiculous argument. The fact is, except what other band members were supposed to do like vocal lines and bass lines, Marr did all of the songs. He wrote the chords and riffs from the scratch. He leaded the band. He made the wall of the sounds with the guitar. He was the main producer who directed end-product. He was the start and the end of the writing process, creating the harmony of the songs. If you don't know about these, go see some articles on their working process. The 'backing track' was just a little part of his work.
And creating a song doesn't mean writing vocal melody and lyrics. It usually means much more than that. Get out of your own delusional dictionary.

 

[Angelito]

Stop repeating the ridiculous argument. The fact is, except what other band members were supposed to do like vocal lines and bass lines, Marr did all of the songs. He wrote the chords and riffs from the scratch. He leaded the band. He made the wall of the sounds with the guitar. He was the main producer who directed end-product. He was the start and the end of the writing process, creating the harmony of the songs. If you don't know about these, go see some articles on their working process. The 'backing track' was just a little part of his work.
And creating a song doesn't mean writing vocal melody and lyrics. It usually means much more than that. Get out of your own delusional dictionary.

This needed to be said — thank you! It never ceases to amaze me just how many Moz fans feel the need to denigrate Johnny and minimize his role in the success of the band. He’s unquestionably one of the most important and influential songwriters of his (or any other) generation. Marr’s contribution was equal to that of Morrissey — Johnny’s music provided the perfect mood, feeling, and atmosphere for Moz’s lyrics. One of the things that makes The Smiths so special is that you can strip the songs of the lyrics and still be left with gorgeous music. Likewise, you can strip the songs of music and still be left with brilliant poetry. And when I think of Marr’s studio wizardry and all that he accomplished in The Smiths’ short life, I actually think he played a much larger role than Morrissey in terms of sheer contributions.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

And when I think of Marr’s studio wizardry and all that he accomplished in The Smiths’ short life, I actually think he played a much larger role than Morrissey in terms of sheer contributions.

Well as far as ‘studio wizardry’ goes, let’s not forget the producers Stephen Street and of course John Porter who played a big role in shaping the music and Marr learned a lot from him.

It’s too bad he never found such a great vocalist and front man with a vision that would take his guitar music and raise it to the heights in the same way that Morrissey raised and help create with Marr the songs of The Smiths.

Then again with all the session work Marr has done and his solo work, it seems maybe he made a personal vow to himself to never work with another madman (genius) again.

 

[Dagher Al Sakr (Cairo)]

What really upsets me is the self-righteousness of my former lyrical idol. And even worse, there are people who praise him for thoughts no one else expresses and label that as honesty or a perfect example for freedom of speech which he so often sees as a non-existent thing. When he said that the slaughtering of almost 90 people on a Norwegian island was "nothing compared to what happens in McDonald's and Kentucky Fried shit every day" he practiced freedom of speech, hurting people who lost their children in an act of blind hatred by a racist madman who saw "our Western Culture" threatened by immigration. No single Morrissey apologist seems to think that his words were not appropriate and that he would not have said such things in the wake of the Manchester-killings. It is disgusting. It is like Trump voters from the Evangelical circuit. He can do and say whatever he wants, there are people defending him. After the SPIEGEL incident ("Berlin is the rape-capital, because of refugees") I was shocked by his following video. It showed someone who once fascinated me with songs about self-pity and made his songs mine. If you think that the world rejects you for no reason, I identify with you completely. If people criticize you for what you say, because what you say is wrong or shows a lack of empathy for anyone but yourself, there IS a reason for being rejected. In Germany we had to witness the existence of a large group of pedophiles, doing things to children you don`t even want to imagine. It had nothing to do with immigration. Evil is a part of human nature, no matter where you come from. If Morrissey ever took responsibility for what he has ever said or done, instead of complaining like a stubborn child, you could still take him seriously and feel with him when he sings "I know I`m unloveable", which now, at least to me , he is. I will never stop listening to THE SMITHS and his best solo-stuff (Alain Whyte was his best co-writer after THE SMITHS), but I`m truly disappointed and I spent my whole life in ruins because of someone who I thought was nice. Honestly, I never wanted him to be nice: I wanted him to be someone to look up to, morally. He has turned into the opposite, but the music can`t be destroyed. If only someone could make him see.....The one who shuts all people up who criticize him even if they COULD be right has no right to complain or to consider himself a supporter of the freedom of speech, exercising the opposite! Articles like that make me sick. Why do I come here? People who say that should know that Morrissey hates this site, so stay away yourselves. It is liking checking on an old friend, hoping for things to get better. But, no, he`ll never change and this is a bad thing!

You perfectly summed up my feelings, up and including coming here occasionally to check up on things. Thank you Sir.

 

[Deleted member 29417]

If you can write a screed about 2 half sentences Morrissey is supposed to have said & you come here to see if he'll ever change, then you can check your sources. He didn't say Kentucky Fried Shit & he blamed policies, not refugees.