Bowie never made the mistake of advising people to vote for a 'controversial' political party. That will haunt Morrissey as an artist. He committed, and that was a mistake.
Bowie made the mistake of becoming a bleached plastic pop star. He served several years of purgatory in Tin Machine to absolve himself of the artistic sin, and managed to win back his integrity. But as a global pop star he didn't have to worry about a dwindling audience. The pop audience followed him on his journey back into 'cool' and 'alternative' again. Moz has never lost his artistic integrity. But he did lose a big chunk of his audience. I'm not sure if he can win much of that audience he lost back again. Those that still love / like him don't care about what he did in 2019, think it's been misunderstood, or admire him for it. Those that do care, who knows if they will ever come back. People are fickle. And no doubt the children of the woke generation will react against their parents and want something unsafe and dangerous again. But is this where Morrissey always should be? In the wilderness, struggling to get a record deal. The outsider's outsider?
Not sure why you would want to compare M to Bowie. As Bowie's influence outstrips M's by miles
Bowie lost his way, as all artists do. but he maintained respect and "integrity " in the long run because his 70s work was considered so f***ing special. More than that his cultural impact is huge compared to M's Bowie also started to find form again in the 90s and his last two LPs are the best example of life/death as art this side of Joy Division
M hasn't been respected for his art for a long time. Do you really think "What Kind of People live In These Houses? " or "That's How People Grow Up" or "All You Need Is Me" are considered brilliant bits of art? is " Last of the gang to die" considered great art? Do they really show integrity?
As pop songs they are fine but beyond that they aren't landmarks in art, at all. His lyrics over the last 15 to 20 years are often piss f***ing poor usually., If anyone else sang them you would LOL. Because you love M and because of his Smiths and 90s work and his voice you give it more weight but just read the lyrics on most of his LPs lately, they are really bad at times His new song uses f***ing voice trickery, for a singer, do you really think that shows integrity?
Do you think his cover art, something he considered vital, is any good, he said he gets other people to do it, does that show integrity? He often doesn't show up for his live gigs, does that show integrity?
Also, by his 50s Bowie had sorted himself out, he was hugely respected by friends and other artists
M doesn't seem to have that many good friends or that many people who speak well of him- or at least the ones that do, tend to be on the payroll. It could be argued the only people who bother to stay friends, do so for some kind of monetary gain
I'm, not even that much of a Bowie fan by the way.
The "interview" is just a means to an end. Things aren't happy in the Morrissey garden and he needs to get things off his chest. I would not be surprised in the slightest if Fiona was handed the questions as they entered the sitting area of the theatre.
I think he probably did hand her the questions. Especially, as the first half of the interview was him saying the same kinda crap he has said in interviews for 20 years. Image-enhancing rubbish, lots of which arent true. LIke when Oasis used to say they were the best band in the world.
say it enough and some people believe it
