How did Mozza become such a crashing bore?!

12 Responses to How did Mozza become such a crashing bore?!

1. March 14, 2009 at 2:01 pm

   Leyla Sanai says:

   Maybe part of it is that when you’re young, angst is something you can relate to in terms of looking for escape from dysfunctional families/love/identity/fulfilling work. Whereas when you’re older, you tend to be less tolerant of self indulgence. I loved The Smiths but don’t have any urge to listen to Mozza moaning anymore.

2. March 15, 2009 at 11:17 am

   Edwin Pouncey says:

   But Barney, he always did sound the same and always was a crashing bore.

3. March 16, 2009 at 3:38 pm

   David Quantick says:

   He practised.

4. March 17, 2009 at 12:26 am

   Leyla Sanai says:

   But to give credit where it’s due, The Smiths WERE wonderful. Despite having the original LPs on vinyl, I bought the recent double disc The Sound of The Smiths CD and wow, the memories flood back – they were phenomenal.
   Maybe disillusionment with Mozza’s solo stuff is because nothing could match the combo of him and Marr – perfect, plaintive, pure pop – as gorgeous a soundtrack for one’s teens as the Buzzcocks were ten years earlier.

5. March 17, 2009 at 6:22 pm

   Barney Hoskyns says:

   To expand a little, there HAVE been Moz platters that one liked – I’m thinking partickly of Vauxhall et Moi (“Now My Heart is Full” is just glorious) and I even vaguely liked “Irish Blood, English Heart” though I really don’t know why. But almost every record that comes out every year sounds exactly the same: why can’t he try a different approach to bog-standard indie-stadium neo-Britrock for once?? And I also get so tired by the way every Moz interview is about Moz interviews – his relationship with the media, as if that’s any kind of story or subject. (John Wilson’s recent Front Row interrogation on Radio 4 was a rare exception.) Oh look, at the end of the day I still begrudgingly admire the supercilious Mancunian invert, but where would the harm lie in being a little more gracious and good-natured?

6. March 19, 2009 at 10:53 am

   Tim Footman says:

   Marr was certainly the not-so-secret ingredient that showed off Mozz’s peculiar talents to their best advantage. Morrissey’s done some OK stuff since, but nothing that makes the heart leap the way (to pluck just a few) This Charming Man, Handsome Devil, Bigmouth Strikes Again and Last Night I Dreamed… did. Marr’s also had a solid career, but it’s never matched those heights. Still, as Mr Pringle suggests, maybe he could just join the Stones.

   There again, I reckon George Michael was never as good once he split from Andrew Ridgely, so what do I know?

7. March 20, 2009 at 11:36 am

   Sarah says:

   I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

   Sarah

   http://www.lyricsdigs.com

8. March 21, 2009 at 8:39 am

   Barney Hoskyns says:

   Thanks, Sarah – keep coming back.

9. March 23, 2009 at 5:20 pm

   Chris says:

   Morrissey remains wonderfully entertaining – when being interviewed. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him on the One Show and listening him him on Front Row – but he puts more effort into these set piece events than he does into his music these days. Shame he doesn’t seem to want a musical pioneer like Jounny Marr or Vinny Reilly to spar with/be challenged by any more. He’ll disappear up his own a**e pretty soon at this rate – then he will have something to be miserable about.
   Btw Barney – I’m discovering Tom Waits’ early years (I came in at Swordfishtrombones) with help of your book which is fantastic. How did i not hear Foreign Affairs before? Or Small Change? This is miraculous stuff…..

10. March 23, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    Barney Hoskyns says:

    Yeah, I think Foreign Affairs has always been unfairly overshadowed by Small Change! I absolutely adore it.

11. March 23, 2009 at 10:12 pm

    Alex Smith says:

    First, I want to second what Sarah said above: I’d never responded to a blog post until I read the recent one about “songs about critics”, so kudos, Barney. My answer to the question actually is somewhat informed by having just finished reading ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE (MAJOR kudos, Barney: I love The Band, and your telling of their tale is terrific). That said, though the story remained engaging through to the end, by the I finished ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE I was SO BORED with the people in The Band! Robbie wants to be taken more seriously as an artist…Levon just want to play…Garth is fiddling with something…Richard and Rick are crashing cars and getting f**ked up beyond belief (I don’t want to sound too crass about those last two – their respective deaths were untimely and tragic, but, as far as I could tell from what I read, seemingly inevitable). I think the bottom line is that popular musicians either live and die for, by, within, and (sometimes) behind the mask of their art or they create a schtick. Either of those, along with talent, are enough to keep the listening public interested, but eventually, the schtick wears thin and we want to know more. Unfortunately, for the most part, when you start looking to the people who make the art you discover that they are, well, boring. I grew up in South Carolina in the late 80′s, and let me tell you, it was like lightning to hear The Smiths for the first time at age 14! And besides the music, it was so intriguing to have only ever imagined rock stars to be these drug guzzling, sex-crazed animals who managed to focus for just long enough to be creative, and then to hear that Morrissey was a vegetarian! And (allegedly) a celibate! And (possibly) a homosexual! And completely willing to use his art as a vehicle to talk about those things! It was the first time that anything or anyone in popular culture completely confounded my expectations (remember, now, I was a teenager in South Carolina). Being so young I came to their party just after The Smiths broke up, but after making my way through all of The Smiths albums I bought Morrissey’s first through third solo albums. As time wore on, I grew…and I grew bored with Morrissey’s schtick. My interest in the music he was making slowly fizzled, but my interest in what he had to say outside of the music came to a sudden and complete stop after, I think, KILL UNCLE. I think that’s what it boils down to: It’s a lot easier remain intrigued with artists who are either constantly changing or who are completely aloof and only allow their art to speak for them. Both tactics keep us from figuring out how terribly boring, or worse, predictable they may be in life, and make them more mysterious. I remember reading a screaming headline on the cover of a British music mag a few years ago that said, “Morrissey: HE’S GONE SEX MAD!” I thought, “Poor guy. He’s about fifteen years too late for anybody to care.”

12. March 25, 2009 at 7:01 pm

    Johnny Black says:

    Morrissey has always been dull. Effete, prejudiced, narcissistic but most of all dull. It’s time more of us stood up and said this.