June 8, 2004
BIGMOUTH STRIKES AGAIN (via Matt Murphy):
'Bush should have died, not Reagan': Morrissey (Manchester Online, 7th June 2004)
MANCHESTER music legend Morrissey sparked controversy when he announced Ronald Reagan's death live on stage during a concert - and then declared he wished it was George Bush who had died instead.Thousands of fans at Dublin Castle, in Ireland, cheered when the ex-Smiths frontman made the announcement that the former American president, who had battled with Alzheimer's Disease, had passed away.
And an even bigger cheer followed when Morrissey - who is no stranger to controversy - then said he wished it had been the current President, George W Bush, who had died.
Geez, couldn't he have just wished for a coma? A serious one.
MORE:
MORRISSEY’S AMATEUR NIGHT: The king of teen pop grows up, grows bold. (Armond White, 6/08/04, NY Press)
WHAT DO STING, Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, David Byrne and Bruce Springsteen all have in common? All are famously liberal pop stars that never performed at the Apollo in Harlem. Yet that's where Morrissey chose to launch a concert series to promote his album You Are the Quarry. Another perversely provocative move for the British singer, his five-night Apollo stint obtruded upon the legacy of James Brown and Motown, as if just to complicate our narrow view of pop music. This was, in fact, the ungentrification of popular culture. And that's been Morrissey's method ever since the Smiths reinvigorated British pop in the aftermath of punk.Posted by Orrin Judd at June 8, 2004 12:17 AMFew critics have credited Morrrissey for his punk ethic. His elegant, idiosyncratic singing and Johnny Marr's melodic, eclectic guitar confounded most people's notions of what pop music could accomplish. Lyrics such as "England is mine/And it owes me a living" were puzzled at, even overlooked, anything but understood. Protest and distemper, an especially youthful mix, underscored Morrissey's most romantic longings. His songs were distinguished by the adventure of coming to terms with love and sex in thorny political circumstances. He examined the most private traumas in a public arena that punk and folk had reserved for political statement. (Pursuing pop star rather than hero status, Morrissey could sneer at showbiz self-righteousness, as when the Smiths refused to take part in Bob Geldof's "Do They Know It's Christmas?")
Because the expression of lonely romanticism was hardship enough, Morrissey preferred to make lyrical equivalents to the melodramatic social dissent of Britain's 60s Angry Young Man films. Post-punk acts of the late 70s and early 80s—from the Buzzcocks to the Au Pairs, X-Ray Spex to the Slits—also used sexual content, but none were as discreet or effectively insinuating as "Hand in Glove," "This Charming Man" or "How Soon Is Now?" That was the unique way Morrissey chose to emerge from specific cultural traditions—Oscar Wilde, Graham Greene, Shelagh Delaney, Elizabeth Smart, the Shirelles, the New York Dolls, the Jam, etc. Only the Pet Shop Boys and Public Enemy are comparably erudite and purposeful.
Morrissey's not an American citizen; Why should he care ?
Posted by: Michael Herdegen at June 8, 2004 1:12 AMMany thanks to you, OJ, for posting this per my suggestion.
To answer Sandy's question, Morrissey is one of the most influential figures in alternative rock, known for his legendarily sensitive, melancholy persona...blah blah blah.
In all seriousness, I don't know much about the guy, either, but luckily the Freepers have him figured out. Realistically, you shouldn't care what this guy has to say, as his flake quotient is unusually high, but I was really steamed that he got so much applause after both of his disgusting statements.
My forefathers were wise to flee Ireland, I see.
Posted by: Matt at June 8, 2004 1:13 AMThese are the same people who are constantly nagging everyone about being more tolerant and caring and compassionate, right? All they want is for people to follow their lead and live up to the high standards they set, as with this example. Imagine what they'd be like if hate and intolerance ruled their lives...
I remember when President Reagan was shot and there was applause in some classrooms at the announcement. The teachers were shocked. How could that have happened?
Posted by: David Cohen at June 8, 2004 7:28 AMMorrisey has been reputed to have hard-right
political leanings as many of that British
post-punk groups did.
The Smiths were a great band even if Morrissey is a moronic poof.
Posted by: oj at June 8, 2004 8:20 AMJohnnie Marr is an excellent guitarist as well.
He really created a distinct sound that was a nice antidote to hair metal and 70's classic rock.
The Smiths were a great band . . .
Ah, O.J., ah . . . you're scaring me, brother.
Posted by: Mike Morley at June 8, 2004 8:35 AMDavid:
I have to admit, when I was a callow youth I high-fived a friend in a bar when word of John Lennon's shooting came across the tv screen.
Posted by: oj at June 8, 2004 8:41 AMOJ: In a spirit of epater l'elite or because you were happy that a man had been shot down in the street?
Posted by: David Cohen at June 8, 2004 9:17 AMBecause the Beatles were a force for evil in the culture.
Posted by: oj at June 8, 2004 9:43 AMI've stopped caring when my favorite performers say stupid things. The Smiths was the greatest band of the 1980s and Morrissey outshined Marr when they went solo. It was one of those perfect unions while it lasted.
Posted by: David Hill, The Bronx at June 8, 2004 9:51 AMDavid Hill:
Come now, The Clash was the greatest band of all time, nevermind the 80s.
Posted by: oj at June 8, 2004 10:05 AMThey were great. And they said stupid things, too!
Posted by: David Hill, The Bronx at June 8, 2004 10:50 AMC'mon, they couldn't hold a candle to Kajagoogoo.
You're embarassing yourselves.
=:-O
Posted by: Andrew X at June 8, 2004 12:04 PMAndrew:
Stop me if I've told you this one before. We were sitting in the basement of our fraternity watching Solid Gold and the philistines cut away from the dancers for a music news update. Kajagoogoo had just split up over "creative differences." There was no explanation of what they'd ever created.
Posted by: oj at June 8, 2004 12:11 PM>These are the same people who are constantly
>nagging everyone about being more tolerant and
>caring and compassionate, right?
I have learned through experience that Oozing Concern and Compassion (TM) is the universal mark of a sociopath.
Posted by: Ken at June 8, 2004 12:27 PMI just saw this story on the news. Why is this even newsworthy? It's not like Morrissey exactly represents middle America like the Dixie Chicks. What I don't see mentioned anywhere is the crowd's reaction. America is so hated worldwide now because of Bush that the comment was probably met with hearty applause.
Posted by: Dusty at June 10, 2004 4:13 PMPeople, people--the Police were indisputably the greatest band of the 1980s. The intelligence connection notwithstanding (though that was during and after the good war...).
Posted by: jsmith at June 12, 2004 8:01 PM