Does anyone else see Morrissey as two, or perhaps even three, different men?

Shame

New Member
You know what I mean; the Wildean poet librarian Morrissey with beads and flowers of the 1980s, and the suit-wearing, coiffed, Las Vegas-esque (if that makes sense) Morrissey of the (and it pains me to write this) "noughties". To some, the latter is merely a grown up version of the former. This is, of course, also a literal fact, but I always compare and contrast the 'two'.

And I sometimes imagine another Morrissey; the apparently rugged boxing fan of the '90s, with his fake cuts and tattoos and massive sideburns. Southpaw Morrissey.

Does anybody know wharra mean?
 
according to the man himself, he is "two people"...

"I am two people
One you know
But don't like
The other one
You don't know
But you don't want to "
 
yes i agree... i think he would be a total douche bag to meet in person... love the music though.
Hey leedoggpimp, whilst I agree with you, someone on another thread (can't remember the poster) said that he/she had met the Moz on a number of occaisions and that he was charming and considerate at all times. This raises the possibility that in all the TV/radio appearances, interviews etc, that he is just playing the game (whatever that is) for whatever reason. I would like to think this is true.
 
Hey leedoggpimp, whilst I agree with you, someone on another thread (can't remember the poster) said that he/she had met the Moz on a number of occaisions and that he was charming and considerate at all times. This raises the possibility that in all the TV/radio appearances, interviews etc, that he is just playing the game (whatever that is) for whatever reason. I would like to think this is true.

I recall Dermot O'Leary saying that Morrissey was charming whilst the songs were playing, but that he turned back into "pantomime Morrissey" when the interview environment returned. Dermot also said "never meet your heroes" following the interview. Mozzer doesn't have to put on a silly misery act, it doesn't seem to impress anyone.
 
I recall Dermot O'Leary saying that Morrissey was charming whilst the songs were playing, but that he turned back into "pantomime Morrissey" when the interview environment returned. Dermot also said "never meet your heroes" following the interview. Mozzer doesn't have to put on a silly misery act, it doesn't seem to impress anyone.
Hey Shame, Damnright.
 
My friend once saw three Morrisseys, but I think that had something to do with the brownie recipe she uses.
 
The skinhead-guarded boxing fan and the pink Gucci tie wearing Morrissey are certainly as different from each other as the "poet librarian" is, no?
 
How about these 3 Morrisseys, the nationalist and possible rascist, the self indulgent innocent and the bloody marvellous artist?
 
I don't know but I always want to see more of this very relaxed Morrissey:

 
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One man with different people within-- but clearly one man. He is a living paradox. Seeing him as different guys, even if only as the same artist in different "career phases", misses the point in my view. Second-raters like Bowie go from mask to mask. Morrissey, in contrast, lives his contradictions. The inability to make all the pieces fit together makes him what he is.
 
One man with different people within-- but clearly one man. He is a living paradox. Seeing him as different guys, even if only as the same artist in different "career phases", misses the point in my view. Second-raters like Bowie go from mask to mask. Morrissey, in contrast, lives his contradictions. The inability to make all the pieces fit together makes him what he is.
Hey Worm, I always read your posts with enthuiasm and interest but I must take you to task over your description of Bowie as a second-rater. I am not a massive fan but he is surely one on the most significant artists of the last 30 years, don't you think?
 
Hey Worm, I always read your posts with enthuiasm and interest but I must take you to task over your description of Bowie as a second-rater. I am not a massive fan but he is surely one on the most significant artists of the last 30 years, don't you think?

No doubt he is influential. Lots of artists cite him as such. If he had quit in the late 70s I would have a higher opinion of him. He didn't, though, and I think the subsequent decades have shown him to be a depthless chameleon more interested in cheap fame than in making interesting music. His recent mediocrity doesn't cancel the greatness of his early stuff, but in my view it does raise some questions. Bowie was an opportunist who was in the right place at the right time, with just enough originality to make his mark. I can't put him on the same level as Morrissey.

Which takes me back to influence: Morrissey is the best pop's had to offer in the last 30 years and his influence, as far as I can tell, has either been nonexistent or at any rate unimpressive. Can't always trust influence as a guiding criterion for rating artists.
 
No doubt he is influential. Lots of artists cite him as such. If he had quit in the late 70s I would have a higher opinion of him. He didn't, though, and I think the subsequent decades have shown him to be a depthless chameleon more interested in cheap fame than in making interesting music. His recent mediocrity doesn't cancel the greatness of his early stuff, but in my view it does raise some questions. Bowie was an opportunist who was in the right place at the right time, with just enough originality to make his mark. I can't put him on the same level as Morrissey.

Which takes me back to influence: Morrissey is the best pop's had to offer in the last 30 years and his influence, as far as I can tell, has either been nonexistent or at any rate unimpressive. Can't always trust influence as a guiding criterion for rating artists.
Hey Worm,
Yeah, he was past his best by the eighties. Pleased that that we can reason these things out. Unless ofcourse you would like a slanging match? You rotter.
 
The Morrissey you see is the one he allows you to see. Nothing more. Nothing less. We shouldn't kid ourselves that we actually know what he is like.
 
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