Morrissey Owns My Soul. Fact.
So, in case you can't tell from my blurb and my profile, I'm a huge fan of Morrissey. Even the title of my journal is a Moz song, and that will probably rotate. I've been a certified fanatic for about 5 years, but I've loved his music since I was 12 when I discovered his work with The Smiths. I feel a personal connection to him, and he's quite different from any other artist, in my opinion.
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to draw up a list of "10 Reasons Why Morrissey Rules." This list is for Morrissey/Smiths fans and for people who have never heard of him as well. He's really a unique person in pop culture. Also, my internet connection is out as I'm writing this, and Marat-Berdych are playing, and if I don't have anything to do I'll freak out. So I figure I'll get this Moz fangirling post out of the way early:)
The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Steven Patrick Morrissey.
I hope after seeing this list, my Morrissey obsession will make some sense:)
1) The music itself, of course! His stuff with the Smiths and his solo work are all critically acclaimed. 27 years of brilliance. British rock magazine NME called him one of the Most Influential Artists ever, and he's inspired virtually every alt and punk rock band out there. And the lyrics. Morrissey is known as The King of Pain. No one writes lyrics quite like him. He's known for being not only one of the most literate lyricists, but his combination of wit, wistfulness and brutal honesty make his songs universal. His song and album titles are wonderful.
Examples of song titles: "Shoplifters of the World Unite," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Life is a Pigsty," "Satan Rejected My Soul," "I Am Hated For Loving," "My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye," "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores," and my personal fave title "I Have Forgiven Jesus."
Best and earliest interview I've ever seen of him, he talks about being celibate, being a sex symbol, his teen years, and the torture of being a working stiff. Heaven.
2) His voice. It's one of the most recognizable voices in all of music. The non-verbal noises he makes are brilliant as well, especially in live shows. He rolls his "r"s a lot, and the non-verbal vocal passages in "The Boy With The Thorn in his Side" and "Bigmouth Strikes Again" are mind-blowing. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. The Manchester accent isn't bad either;) <3
3) There's an excellent Swedish vampire movie named after one of his songs! Alexander Skarsgard would be proud! XD Review of Let The Right One In novel and film at Chuck Palahniuk's official site. Complete with many Morrissey props:
"As you read you can almost picture Morrissey as the frightened little boy, living in an icy world, aching for love. His voice is the soundtrack to Oskar’s life. Close your eyes and you can hear it." Flove! <3
4) He's not a sellout. He's always insisted on staying outside the mainstream. You'll never see Morrissey at an industry party, and if he was forced to go, he'd be hiding in a corner. He just doesn't sell out, which is why many people still haven't heard of him. He's also a very private person, and as a result he's managed to maintain an aura of mystery despite his fame.
5) He's an animal rights activist and a vegetarian. He is good friends with the founder of Peta, and he was one of their first big supporters. He even boycotted Canadian goods and refused to play shows there in protest of their annual seal hunts. WIN.
Interview With Morrissey at a PETA Benefit. I love what he says about animal rights.
6) His sexuality. It's very ambiguous and it makes him even more attractive. One of the themes of Morrissey's lyrics is gender-neutrality in his more romantic songs. You never know if he's singing to a man or woman. He's a sex symbol, but he surpasses "normal" sexuality in some ways. In 27 years of fame, he's never claimed to being either straight or gay. He's called himself a "prophet for the 4th sex."
He was celibate for YEARS and years, and this added to his appeal for many people, because it made him unattainable. He's referred to himself as "dramatically, supernaturally non-sexual." It just makes me want to jump on him XD
7) Russell Brand loves him. He even named his cat Morrissey. Brand is a vegetarian as well, and he credits Morrissey with inspiring him to do so. He has interviewed Moz several times, and it's pretty funny seeing Brand resist the urge to straight-up fangirl LOL (Brand wants to jump on him, so much awesome).
Russell Brand Interviewing Morrissey to Promote His Recent Album, "Years Of Refusal"
8) His influences. His favorite people of all time are Oscar Wilde, James Dean, and the New York Dolls. I think these 3 artists sum up his music quite well, actually. Morrissey even wrote a book about James Dean. He's a fanboy!
9) 4 words. "How Soon Is Now?" It is one of the best songs ever, and probably Morrissey's best-known. It's not my favorite of his songs, but I freely admit it's the coolest. Love Spit Love (led by former Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler) covered the song for the movie "The Craft," and it was perfect.
But the best Smiths cover ever is t.A.T.u.'s version, for it's awesome randomness:
What Morrissey had to say about this cover made me laugh:
Interviewer: Did you hear Tatu's version of 'How Soon Is Now'?
Morrissey: Yes, it was magnificent. Absolutely. Again, I don't know much about them.
Interviewer: They're the teenage Russian lesbians.
Morrissey: Well, aren't we all? (XD If only).
10) His relationship with his fans. He has a very diverse group of fans. He has a large following in the gay community and the Mexican-American community, among others. There are 2 films out about Morrissey's Mexican-American fan base, "Passions Just Like Mine" and "Is It Really So Strange?" Moz fans come from all over, but personality-wise they are similar because they relate to his words and his themes.
You've never seen fandom until you've been to a Moz concert. His fans regularly rush the stage and jump on him. One after the other. And Moz loves it, he hugs them right back. The last concert I was at, though, got a bit out of hand and Morrissey couldn't finish his encore bc so many people were rushing the stage.
If you need proof, look no further than this video for one of my fave songs, "Sister, I'm a Poet." Yeah, basically non-stop hug attacks XD (Plus he looks so fucking hot! Squeeeee!)
"Sister, I'm a Poet (Live)" from his last gig with The Smiths (hey, I had to post an actual song!)
LOL My fave part of this vid is at 2:35. Someone threw their underwear on Morrissey, and he's all "WTF?" You can hear it in his voice!
I <3 HIM! And, yes, fans DO sing that Morrissey chant before every show:)
Yay, Moz fangirl overdose entry officially DONE and DONE! OK, so I know this was long, but hey, I'm bored and I'm writing the text while internet is still out. I'll post this when it finally comes back. OMG I'm missing so much tennis right now.
"It's killing me. *cries* [/Fed]" Back to normal tennis fangirling in the next post!
Anyway, I thought it would be fun to draw up a list of "10 Reasons Why Morrissey Rules." This list is for Morrissey/Smiths fans and for people who have never heard of him as well. He's really a unique person in pop culture. Also, my internet connection is out as I'm writing this, and Marat-Berdych are playing, and if I don't have anything to do I'll freak out. So I figure I'll get this Moz fangirling post out of the way early:)
The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Steven Patrick Morrissey.
I hope after seeing this list, my Morrissey obsession will make some sense:)
1) The music itself, of course! His stuff with the Smiths and his solo work are all critically acclaimed. 27 years of brilliance. British rock magazine NME called him one of the Most Influential Artists ever, and he's inspired virtually every alt and punk rock band out there. And the lyrics. Morrissey is known as The King of Pain. No one writes lyrics quite like him. He's known for being not only one of the most literate lyricists, but his combination of wit, wistfulness and brutal honesty make his songs universal. His song and album titles are wonderful.
Examples of song titles: "Shoplifters of the World Unite," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Life is a Pigsty," "Satan Rejected My Soul," "I Am Hated For Loving," "My Life Is a Succession of People Saying Goodbye," "The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores," and my personal fave title "I Have Forgiven Jesus."
Best and earliest interview I've ever seen of him, he talks about being celibate, being a sex symbol, his teen years, and the torture of being a working stiff. Heaven.
Click to view2) His voice. It's one of the most recognizable voices in all of music. The non-verbal noises he makes are brilliant as well, especially in live shows. He rolls his "r"s a lot, and the non-verbal vocal passages in "The Boy With The Thorn in his Side" and "Bigmouth Strikes Again" are mind-blowing. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. The Manchester accent isn't bad either;) <3
3) There's an excellent Swedish vampire movie named after one of his songs! Alexander Skarsgard would be proud! XD Review of Let The Right One In novel and film at Chuck Palahniuk's official site. Complete with many Morrissey props:
"As you read you can almost picture Morrissey as the frightened little boy, living in an icy world, aching for love. His voice is the soundtrack to Oskar’s life. Close your eyes and you can hear it." Flove! <3
4) He's not a sellout. He's always insisted on staying outside the mainstream. You'll never see Morrissey at an industry party, and if he was forced to go, he'd be hiding in a corner. He just doesn't sell out, which is why many people still haven't heard of him. He's also a very private person, and as a result he's managed to maintain an aura of mystery despite his fame.
5) He's an animal rights activist and a vegetarian. He is good friends with the founder of Peta, and he was one of their first big supporters. He even boycotted Canadian goods and refused to play shows there in protest of their annual seal hunts. WIN.
Interview With Morrissey at a PETA Benefit. I love what he says about animal rights.
6) His sexuality. It's very ambiguous and it makes him even more attractive. One of the themes of Morrissey's lyrics is gender-neutrality in his more romantic songs. You never know if he's singing to a man or woman. He's a sex symbol, but he surpasses "normal" sexuality in some ways. In 27 years of fame, he's never claimed to being either straight or gay. He's called himself a "prophet for the 4th sex."
He was celibate for YEARS and years, and this added to his appeal for many people, because it made him unattainable. He's referred to himself as "dramatically, supernaturally non-sexual." It just makes me want to jump on him XD
7) Russell Brand loves him. He even named his cat Morrissey. Brand is a vegetarian as well, and he credits Morrissey with inspiring him to do so. He has interviewed Moz several times, and it's pretty funny seeing Brand resist the urge to straight-up fangirl LOL (Brand wants to jump on him, so much awesome).
Russell Brand Interviewing Morrissey to Promote His Recent Album, "Years Of Refusal"
8) His influences. His favorite people of all time are Oscar Wilde, James Dean, and the New York Dolls. I think these 3 artists sum up his music quite well, actually. Morrissey even wrote a book about James Dean. He's a fanboy!
9) 4 words. "How Soon Is Now?" It is one of the best songs ever, and probably Morrissey's best-known. It's not my favorite of his songs, but I freely admit it's the coolest. Love Spit Love (led by former Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler) covered the song for the movie "The Craft," and it was perfect.
But the best Smiths cover ever is t.A.T.u.'s version, for it's awesome randomness:
What Morrissey had to say about this cover made me laugh:
Interviewer: Did you hear Tatu's version of 'How Soon Is Now'?
Morrissey: Yes, it was magnificent. Absolutely. Again, I don't know much about them.
Interviewer: They're the teenage Russian lesbians.
Morrissey: Well, aren't we all? (XD If only).
10) His relationship with his fans. He has a very diverse group of fans. He has a large following in the gay community and the Mexican-American community, among others. There are 2 films out about Morrissey's Mexican-American fan base, "Passions Just Like Mine" and "Is It Really So Strange?" Moz fans come from all over, but personality-wise they are similar because they relate to his words and his themes.
You've never seen fandom until you've been to a Moz concert. His fans regularly rush the stage and jump on him. One after the other. And Moz loves it, he hugs them right back. The last concert I was at, though, got a bit out of hand and Morrissey couldn't finish his encore bc so many people were rushing the stage.
If you need proof, look no further than this video for one of my fave songs, "Sister, I'm a Poet." Yeah, basically non-stop hug attacks XD (Plus he looks so fucking hot! Squeeeee!)
"Sister, I'm a Poet (Live)" from his last gig with The Smiths (hey, I had to post an actual song!)
LOL My fave part of this vid is at 2:35. Someone threw their underwear on Morrissey, and he's all "WTF?" You can hear it in his voice!
I <3 HIM! And, yes, fans DO sing that Morrissey chant before every show:)
Yay, Moz fangirl overdose entry officially DONE and DONE! OK, so I know this was long, but hey, I'm bored and I'm writing the text while internet is still out. I'll post this when it finally comes back. OMG I'm missing so much tennis right now.
"It's killing me. *cries* [/Fed]" Back to normal tennis fangirling in the next post!