Rumor Scott Rodger (Maverick/Quest): Bonfire of Teenagers scheduled for Feb. 23, delayed by featured artist

Scott Rodger of Maverick/Quest management took to Twitter responding to claims about BOT’s cancellation. According to Rodger what’s going on behind the scenes is legal trouble with a featured artist (must be Miley?) who was supposed to go uncredited for legal reasons. Morrissey announced their feature on his blog, which led to a delay as they have to scrub the vocals from the album and replace them.

Rodger gives a release date of February 23rd 2023 and no indication that that is off.

“Morrissey’s album was due for release in Feb 23. It will come out but Morrissey himself put out a statement in his blog that the album “featured” another artist who didn’t want to be credited and thus the artist’s label blocked the release. Nothing to do with Capitol.”

“The artist who did backing vocals will be taken off and replaced. That takes time especially as you hit Christmas. When you say fight, sadly it doesn’t work that way. The other label, Columbia, legally blocked it. They’re within their rights to do so.”

 

[Malarkey]

(Psst, I know - I'm just returning the patronising chatter back to Malarkey)

I wasn't being patronising. I was trying to have a chat about his music.

 

[Luxo]

I wasn't being patronising. I was trying to have a chat about his music.

"But, maybe a classic Indie fan wouldn't be in to it."

This one line was very patronising, and very presumptive.

 

[Amy]

Dog was just a bad album, and it wasn't a Morrissey album. It was a poor attempt at doing what other artists have done better and for many more years, with greater degrees of success. It wasn't innovative in the slightest. It was hackneyed, lacking originality and just generally lazy.

Look what came before it though - Low in High School (strong contender for his worst album IMO), a half-arsed covers album, World Peace which sank without trace. Poorly-received stuff seemingly without memorable songs, vocal melodies and no sign of a 'hit' in years. Dog was considered a return to form because it had some good, storytelling lyrics (Hurling Days, River Clean) was Smithsy in places (What Kind of People...), his voice was still good. Even if the album was half-great and half-dire, that's a better ratio than we've had from Moz in a long time. I wasn't keen on Moz 'going electronic' but Dog was still miles ahead of the guff he'd been releasing for the 10 years before it.

 

[Luxo]

Look what came before it though - Low in High School (strong contender for his worst album IMO), a half-arsed covers album, World Peace which sank without trace. Poorly-received stuff seemingly without memorable songs, vocal melodies and no sign of a 'hit' in years. Dog was considered a return to form because it had some good, storytelling lyrics (Hurling Days, River Clean) was Smithsy in places (What Kind of People...), his voice was still good. Even if the album was half-great and half-dire, that's a better ratio than we've had from Moz in a long time. I wasn't keen on Moz 'going electronic' but Dog was still miles ahead of the guff he'd been releasing for the 10 years before it.

I liked the first half of Low (My Love was nice), but the second half was boring and just downright bad in some spots (Police is just urgh). World Peace was boring, but there's some fun (if lyrically repetitive) songs in there , with much better b-sides than the album itself.

I honestly think Morrissey could just do with new collaborators (bar Alain). With the exception of Once I Saw the River Clean, I think Dog suffers from the same issues Low and World Peace do, as well as just awful music, which is much worse than its predecessors. Lyrics that just aren't particularly interesting and are repetitive. It's like he writes one verse (plus the chorus), then just changes a couple words here and there for the 2nd (and third) verse, rather than something even slightly different. The title track for Dog itself is just filled with weird 4chan, red-pilled tropes, almost as if it was written by Sam after watching a few too many Alex Jones videos.

 

[Malarkey]

"But, maybe a classic Indie fan wouldn't be in to it."

This one line was very patronising, and very presumptive.

The elements I'd described aren't prevalent in albums that are categorised as Indie & as he's categorised as an Indie singer, I can see why it wouldn't be hitting that market.

 

[Amy]

I liked the first half of Low (My Love was nice), but the second half was boring and just downright bad in some spots (Police is just urgh). World Peace was boring, but there's some fun (if lyrically repetitive) songs in there , with much better b-sides than the album itself.

I honestly think Morrissey could just do with new collaborators (bar Alain). With the exception of Once I Saw the River Clean, I think Dog suffers from the same issues Low and World Peace do, as well as just awful music, which is much worse than its predecessors. Lyrics that just aren't particularly interesting and are repetitive. It's like he writes one verse (plus the chorus), then just changes a couple words here and there for the 2nd (and third) verse, rather than something even slightly different. The title track for Dog itself is just filled with weird 4chan, red-pilled tropes, almost as if it was written by Sam after watching a few too many Alex Jones videos.

I don't think collaborators can be blamed, really. He just got lazy. Lazy in terms of quality control, lazy in his lyrics, artwork, promotion, everything. He has a lot of money and no-one to challenge him and that leads to "recording for the sake of recording", as he once he described Kill Uncle. At least "Dog" was him trying to get out of that rut and do something a bit different.

 

[Luxo]

The elements I'd described aren't prevalent in albums that are categorised as Indie & as he's categorised as an Indie singer, I can see why it wouldn't be hitting that market.

Which elements? "gothic"? "Camp"? The Cure have been there and done it, many times over. Morrissey isn't the only one to have done that, and he won't be the last. It's barely innovative.

Like I said before, Morrissey isn't a "classic Indie (sic)" artist. His music spans genres. To categorise him as indie is to completely misunderstand his music and it's inspirations. His music from 1988-1997 was far more innovative and interesting than anything that has been released by him since 2014, especially Dog. In fact, I'd argue that Dog is a "classic Indie (sic)" in that it emulates a sound that multiple bands in the 00s were pumping out there, albeit 15 years late, hence the comparison to the Killers.

 

[BrokenFrame]

I don't think collaborators can be blamed, really. He just got lazy. Lazy in terms of quality control, lazy in his lyrics, artwork, promotion, everything. He has a lot of money and no-one to challenge him and that leads to "recording for the sake of recording", as he once he described Kill Uncle. At least "Dog" was him trying to get out of that rut and do something a bit different.

Why do you think he got lazy? Maybe he just peaked.

 

[Luxo]

I don't think collaborators can be blamed, really. He just got lazy. Lazy in terms of quality control, lazy in his lyrics, artwork, promotion, everything. He has a lot of money and no-one to challenge him and that leads to "recording for the sake of recording", as he once he described Kill Uncle. At least "Dog" was him trying to get out of that rut and do something a bit different.

I think there's a lot to be said for trying something different to get out of a rut, but it actually has to be executed well, and deliver something that is actually different.

Sometimes, it's better to stick to what you know and master it, rather than trying to be a jack of all trades and failing.

 

[Malarkey]

Which elements? "gothic"? "Camp"? The Cure have been there and done it, many times over. Morrissey isn't the only one to have done that, and he won't be the last. It's barely innovative.

Like I said before, Morrissey isn't a "classic Indie (sic)" artist. His music spans genres. To categorise him as indie is to completely misunderstand his music and it's inspirations. His music from 1988-1997 was far more innovative and interesting than anything that has been released by him since 2014, especially Dog. In fact, I'd argue that Dog is a "classic Indie (sic)" in that it emulates a sound that multiple bands in the 00s were pumping out there, albeit 15 years late, hence the comparison to the Killers.

The Cure get sold as Goth.

Morrissey's always branded Indie - though I think he needs rebranded.

 

[Luxo]

The Cure get sold as Goth.

Morrissey's always branded Indie - though I think he needs rebranded.

Robert Smith himself has said they aren't a goth band, and they certainly don't sell themselves as that (again, as with Morrissey, the layman misunderstands the Cure).

I get that Morrissey is labelled as indie, but he certainly doesn't market himself as that, and rightly so. He ceased being indie when the Smiths died.

 

[Malarkey]

Robert Smith himself has said they aren't a goth band, and they certainly don't sell themselves as that (again, as with Morrissey, the layman misunderstands the Cure).

I get that Morrissey is labelled as indie, but he certainly doesn't market himself as that, and rightly so. He ceased being indie when the Smiths died.

The Cure might not like it, but they are sold as Goth & it works quite well. Taps them into the horror/fantasy book/film market & that audience will have their expectations met by the Cure's look & sound.

 

[jmb066]

I will take Morrissey last 4 albums over anybody's. The Cure have not done anything worth listening to in a long time. Do I miss the run of YA thru Maladjusted, of course Quarry Thru Swords good, and the last 4 solid. Who has been more consistent I will go listen.

 

[Luxo]

I will take Morrissey last 4 albums over anybody's. The Cure have not done anything worth listening to in a long time. Do I miss the run of YA thru Maladjusted, of course Quarry Thru Swords good, and the last 4 solid. Who has been more consistent I will go listen.

You heard their new material?

 

[jmb066]

You heard their new material?

Just the live versions, which have the same Plainsong feel to them, pun intended. Boring

 

[Luxo]

Just the live versions, which have the same Plainsong feel to them, pun intended. Boring

Fair enough. Much better than Morrissey's more recent twaddle tho, and they actually have some meaning, which is nice (I long for the days when Morrissey wasn't writing lyrics like a 15 year old boy spending too much time on 4chan).

 

[Amy]

Why do you think he got lazy? Maybe he just peaked.

Well, I think you could make an argument that any 60+ artist peaked long ago in terms of commercial success and clout - we're decades past the Moz heyday. 'Peaked' to me, though, suggests he had something that he has now lost. Yet when you look at any Moz album (even the poor ones) - there tends to be a standout track or two that shows he's still got it, especially lyrically. When you put "Istanbul" or "River Clean" next to something like Kerouac's Crack, it's hard to think he hasn't just gotten lazy. He hasn't suddenly lost his ability to write or to recognise quality artwork, he just cares less. Maybe it's because he doesn't expect an album to sell well or expects it to be criticised so he just thinks "This will do" and takes the cash.

 

[terrancestamp]

Do you think Miley told Moz she didnt want to be credited on the track from the very beginning or she was naive about her own contract agreement with Columbia? The whole thing is probably true but still unbelievable.

Lots of artist try to pull it off. It's not uncommon. The artist usually wants no part of the business side of things. Morrissey announced she sang on the record. He announced that he was going to release the record. So of course, the label was going to find out. They own Miley and they want their cut! I am sure an amount was mentioned to keep her on the record and Capital did not agree. So she will have to be removed even if she wants to stay on. It's not Miley it's her label that owns her recordings. This person sending these dumb tweets needs to be more informed before popping off at the mouth. Do the research human being called RAT.

 

[Redacted]

As I said, it's a middle of the road album for middle of the road people, with poor taste in music. Either that, or they just uncritically support anything he produces, without a single sign of independent thought.

Read an article about U2 a while back and it was stated that people don't listen to new U2 music anymore because it's good, they listen to it because it's U2. I think it's the same here. I don't remember the year of the article but I do remember when U2 couldn't even give away an album.

 

[jmb066]

WPINOYB was very worldly with different musical styles. Most of it worked very well. LIHS is similar and I think that has to do with who was writing his music. CS and DOAC were attempts at something different with BOT the next progression from there. Alain is back, maybe Boz will rejoin and then the peak period could be revisited, however they have changed in time as well. U2, The Cure, R.E.M. Etc all faded out after there peak success, Morrissey can still surprise us and overall his body of work is very consistent.