| There is, among you,
our faithful readers, surely a person, perhaps a few persons, who
still hate Morrissey. And who can blame you? I remember when “Reel
Around the Fountain” was the big news of the day: how much I
hated it! I was listening to the Birthday Party and Christian Death.
What the hell could I possibly have wanted with such mannered, willfully
formal, evenly produced stuff? And to be truthful with you I still
find many of the objections to the Smiths fairly valid points. Morrissey’s
elevation of the construction of his public persona to The Whole Point
is quite wearing after a while unless you’ve decided that, as
you might with a loved one, you’re going to learn to love the
bad habits rather than complain about them. Marr’s guitar playing
got more & more interesting as the band went along, but didn’t
he ever feel the urge to kick out the God damned jams and squeal a
little? Other than on occasions when the song clearly called for a
measured amount of ass-kickage, I mean. Where was the fury, the ire,
the resentment that underlies so much great rock guitar? I think this
is why the so-called Britpop “movement” eluded & eludes
me completely: it has no blood in its eyes, no points on its teeth.
|