What has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers? - media request

[Mimi Ramone]

It would be great, if the album would be getting released finally. I am curious for the studio versions of the songs played live and I'm looking forward to also finally hear the feature with Iggy Pop and the other songs on the list not played live by now. We have been waiting a few years already and it has been a real drama roller coaster with unexpected turns along the way (Miley, plane guy, record company, etc.). Fans have discussed his options to death already but he explicitly doesn't want to go the self release route, which seems to be his only option at the moment.

 

[Johnny]

I've said it since year dot. Don't hold you're breath waiting on this being released.
Moz won't self release. No label will touch him with a barge pole and the absolute shambles of the Capitol deal will put off any brave souls who may have been lurking in the shadows.
All for the sake of having backing vocals on an album that 99% of his fan base would have zero interest in.
It's Morrissey. Self sabotage is the name of the game.

 

[robertw93]

I don't buy the "no label will touch him" stuff, people have been been saying that since 2009 and yet we've had three record deals since then including the BMG deal which allowed him to put 3 albums and god knows how many singles out on vinyl.

Not including working with labels for re releases like Beethoven, Cosmic Dancer, Interlude, and the one off best of This Is Morrissey album.

He has plenty of options and Bonfire will come out one way or another.

 

[gordyboy9]

Hello everyone,

I'm a freelance music journalist (I've written for Telegraph, Times, FT, Sunday Times, Independent, Guardian) and I've been commissioned to write a feature for the Telegraph on what has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers. I know that Morrissey bought it back from Capitol in April (as per his Morrissey Central post and "long, hard, bloody war" comment). As a big Smiths and Morrissey fan, I'm intrigued. He has said it's the best album he has made, and certainly Rebels Without Applause is a fantastic song.

I'd love to know what people in the fan community have heard about a possible release, and also hear about levels of intrigue/ frustration out there about what has happened. Please also say in any replies whether you're happy to be quoted in my feature.

Many thanks,
James

jamesy as well as the feature on bonfire you should tie it in with cancel culture because the two are linked and the nonsense that cancel culture is.
we will forgive you for working with the guardian,but just this once,hope your feature goes well.

 

[gordyboy9]

would be interesting to know if Michelle Jubelirer leaving Capitol had anything to do with M finally getting Bonfire back, or maybe it was just a strange coincidence.

think it definitely had something to do with it,when you take over a corporation like capitol your paw-prints will be all over it.

 

[Redacted]

I think the story is accurately told in the tweets and correspondence provided by Scott Rodger, which has never been disputed by Morrissey. We all know how petty Morrissey is and he would not let that stand if it wasn't true and he could provide the 'real' story.
He has no one to blame but himself. Caught in his own lies and deception again.
My own thought on this is that he refuses to remove Miley's vocals and therefore cannot legally release the album. His child-like proclamations that the press would go crazy, radio would go crazy, the charts would go crazy and Miley would be helping him 7 million percent are just desperate rantings of a has-been. MC is the exact kind artist he rails against, but does not hesitate to try to tap into her considerable fan base for his own benefit, because he knows he's a flop on his own now.
The songs I have heard from Bonfire are insipid, depressing, repetitive, conspiratorial, nonsensical - in short, the worst songs I have ever heard from him. The album was recorded in 2020-2021, it's horribly outdated now given the themes of the Manchester bombing and Notre Dame.
I think Alain sounded really good singing Miley's part during the live shows, so maybe he could have replaced her vocals with his.
The best thing he could do is put it on the internet for free, for his fans who have been waiting for it and to try in some small way to make up for his many cancelations and inconveniences the fans have endured. He would still have to remove MC's vocals or omit the song entirely.
Also, his attempts to sic his fans on Michelle Jubelirer are borderline criminal.
It's really kind of sad to have been a fan of his for so long and see what he's become.

 

[robertw93]

Can't agree with the above, as I've said before this is the most varied interesting album we've had for years from him. From the upbeat jangly Smiths style Rebels Without Applause, the angular Ramones punk of Sure Enough The Telephone Rings there's so many different styles here. I Live In Oblivion is maybe the saddest most gut wrenching thing I've heard him sing.

I Am Veronica really is perfect single material, so catchy and upbeat. It's like First of the Gang or Irish Blood, custom made for radio. The versions on YouTube aren't great quality sadly. The studio snippet we have I must have played 40 times, it sounds so punchy and energetic!

Saint In A Stained Glass Window is a throw back to something from Vauxhall or Maladjusted, slide guitar and a more acoustic sound.

Kerouacs Crack reminds me of something from Kill Uncle, another ridiculously catchy one.

What I love about the album going from what we've heard so far is how varied they are not only lyrically but sound wise. It's like a mix of all the styles throughout his career. I've never been so excited for a Mozza album, honestly.

 

[gashonthenail]

Can't agree with the above, as I've said before this is the most varied interesting album we've had for years from him. From the upbeat jangly Smiths style Rebels Without Applause, the angular Ramones punk of Sure Enough The Telephone Rings there's so many different styles here. I Live In Oblivion is maybe the saddest most gut wrenching thing I've heard him sing.

I Am Veronica really is perfect single material, so catchy and upbeat. It's like First of the Gang or Irish Blood, custom made for radio. The versions on YouTube aren't great quality sadly. The studio snippet we have I must have played 40 times, it sounds so punchy and energetic!

Saint In A Stained Glass Window is a throw back to something from Vauxhall or Maladjusted, slide guitar and a more acoustic sound.

Kerouacs Crack reminds me of something from Kill Uncle, another ridiculously catchy one.

What I love about the album going from what we've heard so far is how varied they are not only lyrically but sound wise. It's like a mix of all the styles throughout his career. I've never been so excited for a Mozza album, honestly.

Very well put. The album sounds magnificent from what we have heard. I always highly rated Dog on a Chain, maybe minus The Secret of Music. But Bonfire sounds better than Dog on a Chain. In many ways the crowning pinnacle of his solo career. Robbed of his crown.

 

[Johnny]

I don't buy the "no label will touch him" stuff, people have been been saying that since 2009 and yet we've had three record deals since then including the BMG deal which allowed him to put 3 albums and god knows how many singles out on vinyl.

Not including working with labels for re releases like Beethoven, Cosmic Dancer, Interlude, and the one off best of This Is Morrissey album.

He has plenty of options and Bonfire will come out one way or another.

A lot has happened since 2009 in Camp Morrissey. Very little of it is positive for Morrissey.
I hope you are right.

 

[Bulbous Salutation]

Have a feeling it will be leaked before it’s released.

 

[SuedeMoz]

Have a feeling it will be leaked before it’s released.

Considering it's been years already - the question is - why hasn't it already leaked?

 

[Dean.]

Miley sounds tremendous in that short snippet of Veronica that was used to promote the shows in Vegas - I'd definitely love to hear her contribution in full regalia and it'd be a shame should it be wiped, but there will be plenty more chanters out there that will do it justice.

I hope the album sees the light of day in the not too distant future and is supported and promoted by both whoever releases it and Morrissey himself - he owes it to himself to do so, creating the album during probably one of the most difficult periods of his life off the back of losing his old dear, it must have been incredibly difficult, though saying the finished result is the best of his career while it lays dormant is doing nobody any good as the years bundle on.

 

[Lionsy]

The information you require is not to be spoken in polite company, however, I am willing to stick my neck out -

The album is album one in the trilogy of unreleased albums Morrissey is working on. I am now convinced he is recording them to pass the time of day while the kettle boils at this point and that the artwork (I use that word in the loosest possible way) was accidently found by Sam and he uploaded it, it all got a bit carried away and Morrissey was forced to pretend they were real.

 

[bhops]

Thanks Zoom From Gloom. "What a mess" - that seems to sum up what many people feel. OK if I use that quote?
James

Annnnd this is why we already know it will be a hit piece.

 

[trans]

has anyone thought that he simply makes music because its a joy? just the physical euphoric feeling of doing it making it living in it is an amazing sensual experience. for themselves most of all for at its heart its a feeling only they will really know understand comprehend etc. theres so much joy in morrissey that people seem to just overlook

 

[goinghome]

Annnnd this is why we already know it will be a hit piece.

With friends like these...

has anyone thought that he simply makes music because its a joy? just the physical euphoric feeling of doing it making it living in it is an amazing sensual experience. for themselves most of all for at its heart its a feeling only they will really know understand comprehend etc. theres so much joy in morrissey that people seem to just overlook

 

[Lionsy]

The information you require is not to be spoken in polite company, however, I am willing to stick my neck out -

The album is album one in the trilogy of unreleased albums Morrissey is working on. I am now convinced he is recording them to pass the time of day while the kettle boils at this point and that the artwork (I use that word in the loosest possible way) was accidently found by Sam and he uploaded it, it all got a bit carried away and Morrissey was forced to pretend they were real.

Don't be sad, @goinghome

The truth is, and this IS the truth - it is the truth.

Morrissey is just playing with us and all three of his albums will be released as a set of three by the end of the year and each album will have a different recording of Kit on it as a hidden track - also Alain is back in the band. And Boz. Oh, and Jesse left.

 

[goinghome]

Armond White's recent film review of Trap for National Review is a good resource, drawing heavily and knowledgeably as it does, from songs already performed on Bonfire of Teenagers - https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/08/trap-goes-easy-on-our-ensnarement/

Complement with this little exploration of one of the same songs, whose pointed lyrics speak singularly to these days - https://beatcrave.com/w3/the-meaning-behind-the-song-sure-enough-the-telephone-rings-by-morrissey/

 

[Phranc & Open]

Very well put. The album sounds magnificent from what we have heard. I always highly rated Dog on a Chain, maybe minus The Secret of Music. But Bonfire sounds better than Dog on a Chain. In many ways the crowning pinnacle of his solo career. Robbed of his crown.

You hopeless New Romantic, who thinks Morrissey can make scorched earth habitable again with a proper (not good) record. Never.
It would take a reconciliation with Johnny Marr to reinstall him in the music world so that more people listen to him than the loudly protesting remnants of his fans here. This will not happen, not even with Craig Gannon on bass. He had his chance in 2008 and ducked away without comment. Andy is dead and so are Morrissey's dreams of a succesful solo record.

 

[gashonthenail]

You hopeless New Romantic, who thinks Morrissey can make scorched earth habitable again with a proper (not good) record. Never.
It would take a reconciliation with Johnny Marr to reinstall him in the music world so that more people listen to him than the loudly protesting remnants of his fans here. This will not happen, not even with Craig Gannon on bass. He had his chance in 2008 and ducked away without comment. Andy is dead and so are Morrissey's dreams of a succesful solo record.

I wasn't really commenting on whether Bonfire would be the crowning glory of his solo career in terms of albums sold. I was suggesting that it might be the crowning glory of his career as an artist. Posterity and history will be the judge. Only Morrissey writes 'pop songs' about - the manipulated response to a terrorist massacre, punk music, 50s Beatniks, death, loss, dementia, the search for meaning and God in existence. Few others 'use' pop music the way Morrissey does. Bonfire does indeed sound like a magnificent piece of work. Something Moz should be immensely proud of.