The Smiths added to Trump rally music (January 23, 2024)

Not sure if this is a joke: tweet says Trump added Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want to his pre-rally music in Laconia, New Hampshire.

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UPDATE 12:34PM PT:

Surface posted the link:

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Media coverage:

• The Hill: Smiths guitarist rips Trump for using band’s music: ‘Consider this s‑‑‑ shut right down’. Link from shoplifterromo.
• Billboard: Johnny Marr Rips Donald Trump For Playing Smiths Songs at Rallies. Link from shoplifterromo.
• The Guardian: Johnny Marr blasts Donald Trump for playing the Smiths song at rally. Link posted by goinghome.
• From shoplifterromo:
  
  
  
  Stephen Colbert mentions Trump playing The Smiths at his rallies during his Late Show opening monologue Thursday on CBS - YouTube.
  
  Scroll to 5:32-7:01 to watch Colbert discuss Trump “treating his folks to an unlikely warmup act” before playing a snippet of “Please, please, please, let me get what I want” at a rally and then ending with Johnny Marr’s response.
• Spectator: "Why Trump loves The Smiths" (February 9, 2024)
• Vanity Fair: Why Is Donald Trump Playing the Smiths at His Rallies? Link posted by NealCassady.

 

[gordyboy9]

Possible reasons why he hasn't said anything:

* He simply doesn't care
* Despite hating Trump, he quite possibly hates him less than Biden
* He's still secretly in love with Johnny and is doing everything he can to ensure that the Smiths legacy is seen as Johnny's, and not his
* He's jet-lagged
* He's hungover
* He's drunk
* He's hoping it will lead to an increase in royalties, from a new Trump-loving audience
* He's a contrary bastard and he viscerally hates doing what's expected of him

Any others?

he has better things to do,like prepare for a show which is happening in 36 hours.

 

[gashonthenail]

Hmm, still nothing from Camp Morrissey. I don't know, it slightly feels like he chickened out of this discussion and I really don't know why. It's like @Phranc said, he's been given a penalty without a goal keeper, he just has to score the goal. I mean, he clearly doesn't like Trump if we take into account his past statements. So it seems to be a no-brainer, really. A few weeks ago, he stated "Hand in Glove, I stake my claim! I'll fight to the last breath!" in regards to the Smiths legacy. I'm curious as to why he stays so silent. Has he changed his mind? Is it really, because he doesn't want to agree openly with Johnny or does he want to avoid any political discussion before his Quarry-shows? I'm at a loss here.

I think it's mainly because he doesn't want to be seen as following Johnny's lead. He's not a dog on a lead, and all that.

 

[Mimi Ramone]

I think it's mainly because he doesn't want to be seen as following Johnny's lead. He's not a dog on a lead, and all that.

Yeah, as he obviously can write obituaries before the show in 36 hours , I think now it's safe to say that the moment has gone. I too think, the most likely reason for him not reacting must be the Johnny-connection. After the open letter bitch fight it may seem very hard to jump over one's shadow...still, he then should stop complaining so fiercely if he hands Johnny the sole custody.

 

[Roman Holiday]

Trump isn’t for free speech, catch him mentioning it and you’ll quickly recognise he actually referring to impunity—generally for himself.

Right. The litmus test for free speech support has long been whether burning the American flag is covered by the first amendment. Trump thinks it should be criminalized.

 

[Les Tameside]

Right. The litmus test for free speech support has long been whether burning the American flag is covered by the first amendment. Trump thinks it should be criminalized.

McCarthyism is his model of free speech advocation: shut down, imprison, and if necessary execute. No arguing that the subsequent lack of resistance might make one’s pronouncements feel free. But it’s not free speech.

 

[hand in glove]

To be fair though I don't think he ever claimed to be involved in composition. The claim of both Joyce and Rourke was that they were more involved in the whole endeavour of The Smiths than was suggested by their 'cut'.

I see your point. But my point is he was in the Smiths and he should be just as outraged, but instead he’s flippant.

I was being snarky with my comment. Yes - he went to court to be acknowledged as a valid member of the band and not just a sessions musician so that he could get his cut. So, yeah, I would have thought he’d have spoken out against it. That he would have been truly insulted…

 

[Les Tameside]

I see your point. But my point is he was in the Smiths and he should be just as outraged, but instead he’s flippant.

I was being snarky with my comment. Yes - he went to court to be acknowledged as a valid member of the band and not just a sessions musician so that he could get his cut. So, yeah, I would have thought he’d have spoken out against it. That he would have been truly insulted…

He just didn’t want three days of questioning about it, and was directing the energy elsewhere—including here—I expect.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, as he obviously can write obituaries before the show in 36 hours , I think now it's safe to say that the moment has gone. I too think, the most likely reason for him not reacting must be the Johnny-connection. After the open letter bitch fight it may seem very hard to jump over one's shadow...still, he then should stop complaining so fiercely if he hands Johnny the sole custody.

Maybe Morrissey was miffed at Johnny's non-response to his complaints of being erased from the Smiths. So he didn't reinforce Johnny's objections to Trump - all to Morrissey's own detriment as he could have publicized his shows on the back of it. Johnny's tweet now has over 7 million views and generated countless press articles. And here is Morrissey doing a Melanie obit. Puzzling. Maybe he is OK with Trump using his music?

 

[bedlam breakout]

Joe Biden to start using "asleep" as his walk on song next?

 

[JM🇬🇧]

Joe Biden to start using "asleep" as his walk on song next?

We all know he prefers the sex pistols.

 

[Anonymous]

Joe Biden to start using "asleep" as his walk on song next?

And Trump is switching to Ozzy's "Crazy Train"

 

[Orange Crush]

Yeah, as he obviously can write obituaries before the show in 36 hours , I think now it's safe to say that the moment has gone. I too think, the most likely reason for him not reacting must be the Johnny-connection. After the open letter bitch fight it may seem very hard to jump over one's shadow...still, he then should stop complaining so fiercely if he hands Johnny the sole custody.

I think Moz probably writes obits long before a star / celebrity dies; he's probably got hundreds written, ready to post when the time arises. It's not as if he's working 40 hours a week, then nipping out to get the shopping. The man's got time on his hands.

 

[gordyboy9]

Joe Biden to start using "asleep" as his walk on song next?

what abot joe joe falls,shouldnt laugh at the elderly but the elderly shouldnt be in charge of nuclear bombs.

 

[goinghome]

On twitter, and they're not terrible - they trusted the wrong people at a stressful time.

Online articles are churnalism - they copy each other, sometimes adding a spin from their previous coverage.

I guess those not in the news do not expect their every word to be picked apart either.

How can you say "his solo career has no cultural prestige whatsoever"? This is wrong. Also, it's mean and unhelpful.

There does seem to be a growing confusion about what if anything differentiates the political poles anymore e.g.

The Democratic Party’s shift to the right on issues of war, among many other subjects, which used to compose the political heart of the party, is no longer a matter of rearranging the garden furniture around anodyne political narratives. Today, many on the left are most definitely witnessing a rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic.

As many Democrats refuse to abandon a sinking ship of neoliberal and neoconservative alliances, evidence shows that in recent years not only are non-white voters abandoning the Democratic Party, but many Democrats are asking that the party ditch the “activist left,” especially on issues of gender and race.


Some more coverage of the Please Please Please crisis

Variety says similar to Guardian, Rolling Stones
https://variety.com/2024/music/glob...mp-the-smiths-song-campaign-rally-1235885684/

NewsHub is harsher on Morrissey https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/ente...-playing-their-songs-at-campaign-rallies.html

Cleveland gives Moz a voice without the cattiness - https://www.cleveland.com/nation/20...-trump-to-stay-away-from-his-bands-music.html

Neutral comments by ITV, and Express and Star - https://www.itv.com/news/granada/20...trump-over-use-of-the-smiths-songs-at-rallies , https://www.expressandstar.com/ente...ver-use-of-the-smiths-songs-at-trump-rallies/ ,

A looser warmer commentary from The Boston Globe - https://archive.is/EoTGr

 

[Malarkey]

I guess those not in the news do not expect their every word to be picked apart either.

How can you say "his solo career has no cultural prestige whatsoever"? This is wrong. Also, it's mean and unhelpful.

There does seem to be a growing confusion about what if anything differentiates the political poles anymore e.g.

The Democratic Party’s shift to the right on issues of war, among many other subjects, which used to compose the political heart of the party, is no longer a matter of rearranging the garden furniture around anodyne political narratives. Today, many on the left are most definitely witnessing a rearranging of the deck chairs on the Titanic.

As many Democrats refuse to abandon a sinking ship of neoliberal and neoconservative alliances, evidence shows that in recent years not only are non-white voters abandoning the Democratic Party, but many Democrats are asking that the party ditch the “activist left,” especially on issues of gender and race.


Some more coverage of the Please Please Please crisis

Variety says similar to Guardian, Rolling Stones
https://variety.com/2024/music/glob...mp-the-smiths-song-campaign-rally-1235885684/

NewsHub is harsher on Morrissey https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/ente...-playing-their-songs-at-campaign-rallies.html

Cleveland gives Moz a voice without the cattiness - https://www.cleveland.com/nation/20...-trump-to-stay-away-from-his-bands-music.html

Neutral comments by ITV, and Express and Star - https://www.itv.com/news/granada/20...trump-over-use-of-the-smiths-songs-at-rallies , https://www.expressandstar.com/ente...ver-use-of-the-smiths-songs-at-trump-rallies/ ,

A looser warmer commentary from The Boston Globe - https://archive.is/EoTGr

It's true. His solo work - at the moment - has no wider cultural cachet at all. You can't get it back if you don't acknowledge the problem.

There never has been a clear line between left & right - at its most basic the left is about improving the lives of ordinary people & the right is about doing what's best for business & the state.

There's a problematic idea that left & right don't matter because everything is controlled by the illuminati/cultural Marxists/communists/Jewish people - & I'm very wary of anything that might be going in that direction.

 

[goinghome]

It's true. His solo work - at the moment - has no wider cultural cachet at all. You can't get it back if you don't acknowledge the problem.

There never has been a clear line between left & right - at its most basic the left is about improving the lives of ordinary people & the right is about doing what's best for business & the state.

There's a problematic idea that left & right don't matter because everything is controlled by the illuminati/cultural Marxists/communists/Jewish people - & I'm very wary of anything that might be going in that direction.

That's interesting you think left and right are so close after all. Because you're always railing against the merest whiff of links to the perceived right.

The Smiths were often ignored by cultural outlets too. Morrissey's music remains as cherished as ever, overall, even with the political identity roadblock. I keep thinking of what the Bloomberg journalist Jason Leopold said: Morrissey is a lightning rod. His dramas mirror clashes going on in the wider world. While we're watching and judging Morrissey's difficulties, the ground of culture and of life is shifting beneath our feet. Who dares look up? Horrible, isn't it? I'll stick with Morrissey

 

[Malarkey]

That's interesting you think left and right are so close after all. Because you're always railing against the merest whiff of links to the perceived right.

The Smiths were often ignored by cultural outlets too. Morrissey's music remains as cherished as ever, overall, even with the political identity roadblock. I keep thinking of what the Bloomberg journalist Jason Leopold said: Morrissey is a lightning rod. His dramas mirror clashes going on in the wider world. While we're watching and judging Morrissey's difficulties, the ground of culture and of life is shifting beneath our feet. Who dares look up? Horrible, isn't it? I'll stick with Morrissey

There are actual, real, neo-Nazis meddling in the fanbase & their intentions are disgusting.

Plys - I would like him to be celebrated properly before he dies! And I would like his solo work to be re-released on vinyl, and his lyrics to be in a book, available in shops.

 

[JM🇬🇧]

There are actual, real, neo-Nazis meddling in the fanbase & their intentions are disgusting.

Name one and give evidence.

 

[Amy]

Possible reasons why he hasn't said anything:

* He simply doesn't care
* Despite hating Trump, he quite possibly hates him less than Biden
* He's still secretly in love with Johnny and is doing everything he can to ensure that the Smiths legacy is seen as Johnny's, and not his
* He's jet-lagged
* He's hungover
* He's drunk
* He's hoping it will lead to an increase in royalties, from a new Trump-loving audience
* He's a contrary bastard and he viscerally hates doing what's expected of him

Any others?

After Lettergate he'd look like a hypocrite to jump on this. I'm sure he also knows that it created bad blood to an extent that even if he now changes tack, there's more chance that JM would tell him to f-k off to the moon than thank him for 'support'. He's the last person anybody wants in their corner these days, sadly. What a mess.

 

[Redacted]

To reiterate, this is not a big deal, it had been going on for 6 months before anyone even brought it to Johnny's attention. Calm down.