| “Nobody Loves Us”
learned its moves from David Bowie, long a model for Morrissey: Bowie
himself took his cues from Anthony Newley, who liked to place the
singer at the dead center of things, surrounding himself with swelling
sound like the head of a swimmer bobbing above water. The song’s
opening eight bars are the rock equivalent of a bugle call, beginning
with a high-toms-to-low-toms break, on whose second beat the guitars
and bass all land squarely and perfectly. The wah pedal on one of
the guitars is playful and full of life; the acoustic guitars are
broad brushes of color; the bass -- ah, the bass: great English bands
often save their richest tones for the bass, and it’s no different
here. |