Its parculiar dont you think that Morrisey is getting so much press for his latest release. Why is his latest album more worth the publicity than the Falls stuff which got about a quartre an inch of "well past there prime" review in NME. Morrisey on the other hand, appearing from the wilderness looking no less than portly and like a quiffed DI Burnside from "the BILL" gets salivated over softly softly spanky monkey with what sounds like a rather mediocre business as usual release. Is it the absense? If the Fall hadn't released anything since the mid90s would the new album have recieved more of a welcome? Has Action Records been really cheap on the promotion? Listening to IRISH BLOOD I can't see that Morrisey has musically or lyrically evolved at all since 1985. In fact the lyrical content seems to be somewhat lacking in subtletly. Dont get me wrong here I liked the Smiths, got the Queen is Dead etc etc but I don't understand the fuss.... :blink:

One thing i've noticed, the more prolific you are, the less the critics like you. I don't know much about Mozz's solo career, but from what I can gather he hasn't released a good album in 10+ years, and neither have the Cure, yet both these bands are everywhere in the press now. Also, both bands haven't evolved their sound at all. Oh well.

Perhaps the lack of evolution explains the sycophancy. It is easy to relate what you liked about the Smiths in the writers' youth. Morrissey is easy to pigeonhole - the bloke with the flowers out his **** - So too is Robert Smith. Can MES be as easilly pigeon-holed? Is he so easily remembered by the great unwashed?

I hope that makes some sort of sense. I will be buying the new Morrissey album next week with my fingers crossed hoping it won't be as much of a let down as I fear it might be. :unsure:

Morrissey kicks ass, and his song irish blood english heart, is fantastic.

Yeah, come on. Don't knock Morrissey just because the music press hate him less than the Fall. That's petty. And don't knock him for being old and fat when you love MES. That's just silly.

I'm just hoping that it's not as shit as maladjusted and southpaw grammar

I have heard most of the album
on his official site
You get minute exerpts
and it sounds much brighter and less muggy then the previous two albums mentioned

I think the band are trying to prove themselves
they get so much stick cos they aint johnney marr et al

I suppose you get that with the fall
because there are people on this board (me being one of them) with memories of how the fall used to be
and are always hoping that hanley scanlon burns line up will come back
and judging subsequent line ups against them

so yes, the morrissey band are firing on all cylinders at the moment to make a point

best track on new album, from what ive heard is called 'come back to camden'

OK obviously you didnt READ the post. (A) the discription was an accurrate one of what Morrisey looks like and was not the critism (B)The critism about the music press was aimed AT THE MUSIC press chiefly © the critism of Morrisey was aimed at the music, not for being rubbish par sa but for not being particularly exciting or different to anything else he ever did.

I heard the new single two weeks back and it is awful. My head hurts just thinking of it.
Avoid, like the plague :devil:

morrisey's recent interviews show him to be narcissistic as ever... gr8 for when u r 14 yr old fan worrying only about yourself & being misunderstood by the world .... but 'fraid it does nothing for me now..... i'll keep my happy memories of smiths gigs when i were a lass way-back-when & will just ignore mr m's recent comeback.... its not for me....

Relax, it's mild case of penis envy. Morrisey is a dick.

being a morrissey fan is like being a fall fan
people either love 'em/him or hate them /him

i quite like morrissey
i find him a quaint eccentric character
with a nice turn of phrase

we need characters nowadays

what else have you got

justin timberlake and david beckham :cry:

Ill conceed to that. When I said he was portly i meant it in a reasonably affectionate way. I just think its disapointing that all the time away and he hasn't really used the time to develop artistically at all.

Im only jusging on the single mind. At the moment the world seems to be in an 80s time warp and im not sure if thats such a good thing.

yes, i'm sure your right on that point (artistic development)
he seemed to stop trying in about 1996

all the spark went out of his lyrics

i'll still give the new album a go

i downloaded irish blood english heart live in arizona i think it was and at the end of his song, he says thank you for endaunting me.

*hammer hits nail on head*

I'm sure I'd have loved a Morrissey comeback a couple of years ago. As it is, everyone's decided to like him again at the very moment he turns into a hateful, cynical tosspot.

How terrible it must be to be able to drive around Los Angeles all day feeling sorry for yourself.

He's the Dido it's OK to like. Because, being a guy and indie, his self-inflicted misery is "artistic", or something.

Don't give the guy any of your money. He's a cock and probably thinks you all are, too.

:lol: :applaud:

I like Morrissey a lot, (though nowhere near as much as The Fall). I reckon his new album and the forthcoming Durutti Column one will be the musical highlights of the year (till Mark knocks out another).

The argument that more prolific bands like The Fall get a harder time critically is dead right. But also, Morrissey has always been good at playing the icon. MES can't be arsed.

Can't believe he's being compared to Dildo! :o

Morrissey and the Smiths were always big fat fakes (and I'm not having a dig at the present size of his chops). Supreme examples of the Emperors New Clothes. Accuse him of peddling self-obsessed misery to pinch the dosh from angst-ridden teens and students and you are deafened by the chorus of 'Irony, irony!! You just don't get the irony!'. The multitude of songs like 'Girlfriend in a Coma' weren't 'ironic'. Just unintentional comedy!

It was just mainstream pop aimed at chart success. And then it all fell apart when the masses got bored of the one-trick pony and the guys all started fighting over the big pile of dosh.

Rant over... :P

my boss is going to buy it so i'll burn a cheeky wee copy for meself if he dosent mind......... ;)

i dont own any smiths or solo mozz at all so i'm keeping an open mind..but i'll probably hate it knowing me ^_^

This shows what can be done with a good manager & publicist:

PROMOTION

PRESS
John Best is the official press officer in the UK. Album playbacks have been taking place for media at Sanctuary HQ for the last few weeks and the response to the album is overwhelming. A full press tour in Los Angeles and London has already been completed. Along with lead reviews across all music press and broadsheets, the following press has been completed:

NME - Moz solo front cover - April 13th - the fist time that Morrissey has spoken to the NME in 12 years. The cover alone is a monumental piece of UK music history.

NME - Franz Ferdinand + Morrissey front cover targeted to run May 19th to coincide with sold out Manchester date.

Sunday Times Magazine - front cover May 2nd

Sunday Times- The Month (Cd-rom) - Huge review + exclusive 30 second song clips to run April 25th

Esquire - massive feature in June issue -(May 13th)

I-D - front cover May 13th

Mojo - front cover May 15th

Time Out - front cover June 7th

Lead Album Reviews confirmed for NME, Uncut, Mojo, Word, Q - broadsheets + tabs to follow.

TELEVISION
Will shoot a big budgeted video for the first single the last week of March. The video will be serviced to all appropriate TV outlets including The Box, Q, The Hits, The Amp, CD:UK Hotshots, Rather Good Videos, Popworld etc.

TV appearances:
Jonathan Ross - CONFIRMED groundbreaking first time ever interview plus 2-song performance to transmit on May 14th

Later With Jools Holland - 3 new tracks to transmit on May 21st

TOTP - Targeting performance May 14th and/ or video play for May 21st

CD:UK - In negotiations for exclusive first play of the video

T4 - In discussions for the filming of a ‘special’ 3 track performance which will air throughout the campaign

RADIO
Anglo Plugging on board for National and Regional Radio

Radio 1 - Planning to give exclusive first play to Jo Whiley. This will be followed by a live chat and possible session the week of album release. Radio 1/Zane Lowe also interested in doing interview plus session. Looking for playlist here.

Radio 2 - Will schedule key interviews and sessions. Focus at Radio 2 will be on the album during phase 1. Looking for Album Of The Week.

Virgin - competitions plus streaming. Looking for playlist here.

XFM - They want to go huge on Morrissey. Currently negotiating a Morrissey week with the station and possible session plus interview. A-list already confirmed.

BBC6 Music - They have already given a glowing review of the album from one our of listening sessions. A-list rotation expected.

Regional Radio - Full service of single, album and interview cd.

ONLINE
Anglo sorting out full exploitation online via video streams, competitions and fanatic Morrissey fansites.

A FULL AND COMPREHENSIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN WILL ACCOMPANY
EACH PHASE OF THE PROJECT, AND UPDATES WILL BE FORTHCOMING.

conway,
do you think the fall with the right management could relaunch themselves successfully as moz is doing?

The Fall already get quite a lot of press considering they've never had a real hit single.

MES wouldn't be complaining about being skint all the time, I'm sure. Trouble is, Mark has gone out of his way in the past decade (or more) to make himself unmanageable.... take the US tour fiasco, for instance.

More by good luck than by good management. I've had various magazines and interviewers email me trying to organise interviews because they can't get anywhere near the band or Mark.

If the Fall had an official press officer & radio pluggers like Morrissey, I'm sure they'd do a hell of a lot better.

I guess its sort of an ingrained thing in him. Maybe he sees the pact with the press as a Faustian one? Its the imp of the perverse. Mark has moaned about not having enough money etc but he wont do what is needed to rectify this. In fact would the Fall still be going at all if it wasnt his only real source of income, i.e. he hasn't made big money so he could retire? Is it all about "not selling out"? After all as William Burroughs said "the devils bargain is the fools bargain." There is very little press for the Fall at all. I mean The Amp and MTV2 are always showing Cure and Smiths videos but Ive only ever seen a 10 second clip of a Fall promo and that was on the Amps FIRED and INSPIRED show where Nicky Wire said that the Fall were a great influence "up until his missus jumped ship." It was Mark ranting Mr Pharmacist with a megaphone in hand. Who deals with getting these videos played etc? Why do attempt to do Fall documentaries always end in failure (as discribed by Mick Middles in his book)???? Does Mark prefer to be anonomous? Id kill to see a 2 page spread on The Fall in Kerrang! Thatd be so funny. Show the kids what real alternative music is and make them reconsider all those make-up wearing parent baiting toss-pieces they listen to while sniffing glue. I mean the only people who I have met who have even heard of The Fall are Art Students. Mark hate them but they are his chief recruitment ground more his new fanbase.

Irony Irony Irony. I was happy for an hour polishing a snookerball but IM so miserable I want to die.

I think the reason that Mark E. is not able to do a big publicity/press dance is the same reason he has produced such unusual and varied music for so long. That he doesn't give a fuck what people think, even if it would make him more money. He's an actual iconoclast.

Morrisey is good at giving the press the oh so sensitive artist thing. He's ok, but I'm not going to buy the new record. I heard the single on the radio, it doesn't move me like the Fall does.

I was big into the Smiths when I was 11-13... it mystifies me that people significantly older than this take Morrissey seriously. A lot of the Smiths' music is good, but even then much of the lyrics are appalling.
Did anybody see that Importance of Being Morrissey programme? The guy was complaining that "people" have the same stupid conversations repeatedly, constipated little lives, etc blah blah blah... who the hell does he think he is? He's like Shane McGowan - people swoon at every offhand comment he makes because he's a "genius" :sick:
There was actually some comment in that show, from Stephen Street or some other dick who makes his living off of this lame selfsatisfied shit, that M. was not just a lyrical but a melodic genius. Not just good at coming up with tunes but a MELODIC GENIUS. Have a bleedin' good think about this. :banghead:

...no offence to any Moz fans on this list by the way, he just gets on me nerves ;)

It's the same shit over and over again - the media just needs a sensation. New Band oder "comeback" of an old fav. The Wire got a lot of press when they returned with "Read & Burn" which was well deserved, but they wouldn't have got that much attention if they released a record per year like The Fall. "Oh, a new Fall album, the thirtyseventh, oh boy, so what's the interesting point in that?" - IT'S THE MUSIC YOU GODDAMN IDIOTS!!!

And Morrissey... well, a very few people came close to the quality of his lyrics... but it's a little bit like Johnny Cash (sorry, no heresy intended!) - a singer working with a bunch of studio musicians, good handywork but no soul at all. No musical genius to accompany the lyrical genius. Just hired guns who play for Annie Lennox tomorrow and for Shania Twain the day after the next.

'After all as William Burroughs said "the devils bargain is the fools bargain."

William Burroughs had an even better line (i'm not sure how applicable people think it is in this case but i'm going to quote it anyway)

he was asked about 'rules' and 'advice'

his answer was that there is only ONE rule: DON'T FUCK UP

absolutley essential advice for anybody hoping to make it through this life in any half-decent way

as for Morrissey

i heard 'The First of the Gang' (song about Mexican street gangs in LA, and in particular about a character called Hector) in a shop today: after one of the chorus's in which the singer bemoans Hector's sad end (i won't spoil the song by giving it away) the singer goes on to call him 'a silly boy'

at this point, everybody in the shop burst out laughing ..the idea of one of these gang members being referred to as a 'silly boy' is so ludicrous its genius..i would love to hear the Dr Dre remix (or better still, the Public Enemy remix, Terminator X in full effect!)...its the song the LA rap scene has been waiting for

although i kind of hate to admit it
I think you have hit the nail on the head there

ive just listened to all the tracks off the new morrisey album on the VH1 site and although there's about 5 tracks that stand out
the playing and arrangement are a bit on the pedestrian side

'how could anybody possibly know how i feel'

is a great track tho'

Eek. Morrisey on J. Ross last night. Shockingly disgusting. I thought Jonathan handled him very well given how arrogant sneery selfrightous he was coming across. Most shocking of all Morrisey seemed completely humourless (the man who wrote Vicar in a Tutu and Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others!) and in contempt of Jonathan. Which is why Rossy outwitted and upstaged him throughout. When Morrisey insisted he never performed because he was "always totally real" I thought I was listening to something out of This Is Spinal Tap. He couldnt appreciate the humour of Harry Hills send up of him on Stars In Their Eyes sneering at the dumb common people who watch it. I got the impression of someone who hadn't grown up since he was a sixth former, and thoroughly unlikable person. He admitted to hating "people" which sort of makes hisd entire backcatalogue kinda irrelevant. This is still that problem tho because I still like the music of The Smiths but I think Morrisey came off as a c**t. Dichotomy.

I thought the Smiths made a good pop racket, but I never could stand Morissey- the man, the lyrics, the voice, the look. Pah!

Just so milquetoast and whiny. That's why I can barely stand the Cure after their 2nd or 3rd album. I am not homophobic at all, but I don't care for very much wimpy music.

Well I keep getting sold off because I like Black Flag. Apparantly there "too macho" as if that matters. 2And as for the meek? Theyve got a bloody cheek"

He didn't write the actual music of The Smiths.

Fair point.

Johnny Cash is brilliant, I have to say the Johnny Cash comment was way off the mark.

Yeah Johnny is great but he made some crap albums in the 80s. This was hid Nashville period where he was just going in and recording with a bunch of session musicians the same kinda overproduced country crap everyone else was, thats why he got dropped by his label, the stuff was just same same same. Rick Rueben really brought back the man by taking him back to what he really was all along. I think it was this period that was being referenced? Those American Recordings are pure brilliance. Tom Petty and the Heart Breakers played on a lot of those which had a fuller sound. So its hardly session musicians with no passion.

I think the comment was not aimed at Cash but rather at session musicians whom we should realise are dicks.

I know it's pretty maudlin
I know it's miserable and maudlin
But if you want a session musician
You better hand your money over soon

I was a late convert to the Smiths/Morrissey "cause" chiefly due to my spotting references to Simon Wolstencroft in the index of a battered copy of the Johnny Rogan book in a Solihull Oxfam shop. Saw him on his autumn 2002 tour which was great, but heard the new album (thanks file-sharing!) and it is unmitigated garbage. Pedestrian Moz-by-numbers songs coupled with production comparitively poorer than Are You Are Missing Winner (for example). There's a pretty spot-on write up, if slightly inane, of the new elpee on the Gwuardian website, which should be easy to find if you've got the internet.

Nothing's changed then.

I didn't see Wossy.... working.... and glad I didn't cuz the temptation to put a foot through the TV screen might've overwhelmed me.

He always was a pretentious twat who took to believing his own press. The Chancey Gardener of rock!