Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equipe Magazine

Re: Moz in Saint Tropez

The thought is too hilarious for words, so here's a video.



Straightface.

Can't you just imagine him listening to that quality tune, chilling by the pool? He must fit right in!

 

[Barking]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

That Joey Barton is hot as hell, one of the best looking footballer players. Moz must be wanking himself into oblivion over him, there's nothing he likes more than a brooding bad boy. His type to a tee!

"Who exactly is my type? Where exactly is my type?"
Well, mystery solved. At last. Thanx Anon!

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

That Joey Barton is hot as hell, one of the best looking footballer players. Moz must be wanking himself into oblivion over him, there's nothing he likes more than a brooding bad boy. His type to a tee!

Morrissey back on rough trade.

 

[Bluebirds]

The Guardian stick the boot in yet again; has anyone read thier interview with Snoop Doggy Dogg btw where he refers to hos and bitches and is praised for being a pimp, whilst the journalist forgets his right-on credentials as he is stoned; hilarious hypocritical stuff.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/apr/06/roberto-mancini-manchester-city-decline


No, we don't find Joey Barton funny either – don't send him back

C'est Ça L'Humour British? the front page of L'Equipe asked on Thursday, and the answer surely has to be no, we don't particularly find Joey Barton amusing either. For a while back there, as he latched on to various broadsheet writers, presented himself as a new man and was talked up by Morrissey, the deception worked. But it was always a deception. It turns out all those media bods who had claimed he was misunderstood had got it wrong, after all. As for Morrissey, the golden rule is probably to remember that if he's not singing, there is a lot of nonsense that comes out of that mouth.

Barton's analysis of Thiago Silva – a "pussy" and a "ladyboy" and all the rest of it – confirms his blossoming reputation as a national embarrassment and would represent a new low (well, one for the list, anyway) were it not for the fact that a couple of weeks ago he was also spraying out insults about "spazs" and "mongs" to his internet followers.

Silva nailed it. "There is a Marseille player, I cannot remember his name, an Englishman, who has said bad things about Neymar and Brazilian football, and also about [David] Beckham and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic. Because no one is talking about him, it seems it is fun for him to criticise great players for people to know he exists.'

This follows on from Neymar's own opinion on the subject: "I don't know who he is."

Barton, to recap, is playing in France because English football had effectively decided to export him. He has now been ordered to appear before the France Football Federation's ethics committee on 15 April. Marseille have apologised and there is the possibility of disciplinary action. All sounds very familiar, doesn't it?

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Barton is a fake. A poseur. The type of person rarely seen without a great work of literature under his arm, but yet to have been caught reading one.

 

[Uncleskinny]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Barton is a fake. A poseur. The type of person rarely seen without a great work of literature under his arm, but yet to have been caught reading one.

^^^This^^^

Top work.

P.

 

[Kewpie]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Barton is a fake. A poseur. The type of person rarely seen without a great work of literature under his arm, but yet to have been caught reading one.

I agree with you.

One less appealing side of Morrissey is, he often has fascination of dubious characters such as John Bindon and Barton.

 

[Mozza220559]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

It's easy to get Moz interested in you, all you need to do is be a bad lad but know a bit of Wilde, Keats or Proust, it's that easy.

 

[Carly]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

It's easy to get Moz interested in you, all you need to do is be a bad lad but know a bit of Wilde, Keats or Proust, it's that easy.

No, you just have to be famous and express a like for him.

 

[Carly]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Barton is a fake. A poseur. The type of person rarely seen without a great work of literature under his arm, but yet to have been caught reading one.

Who was it that quoted that or something much the same? Pretty sure i have heard it before.

 

[Johnny Barleycorn]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Who was it that quoted that or something much the same? Pretty sure i have heard it before.

I've just pasted it into Google. Apparently it's... me.

The sentence construction appears unique, but I'm sure the sentiment is as old as Gutenberg.

 

[HandThatRocksTheCradle]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

T
C'est Ça L'Humour British? the front page of L'Equipe asked on Thursday, and the answer surely has to be no, we don't particularly find Joey Barton amusing either. For a while back there, as he latched on to various broadsheet writers, presented himself as a new man and was talked up by Morrissey, the deception worked. But it was always a deception. It turns out all those media bods who had claimed he was misunderstood had got it wrong, after all. As for Morrissey, the golden rule is probably to remember that if he's not singing, there is a lot of nonsense that comes out of that mouth.

"The More You Ignore Me...The Louder I Get"

 

[joe frady]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Personally, I've always found it interesting and intriguing that Morrissey can lionize the likes of Joey Barton as well as James Baldwin, John Bindon as well as John Betjeman, etc, etc.

It's a key part of what makes Moz Moz ~ endlessly feeding into his lyrics, concert performances and overall Morrisseyness. An 'original of the species' as a short Irishman once noted.

Whereas with someone like, for example, National-Treasure-Jarvis-Cocker, you know exactly who his references and inspirations are going to be; the same old art-school cookie-cutter crew.

 

[Anaesthesine]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Personally, I've always found it interesting and intriguing that Morrissey can lionize the likes of Joey Barton as well as James Baldwin, John Bindon as well as John Betjeman, etc, etc.

It's a key part of what makes Moz Moz ~ endlessly feeding into his lyrics, concert performances and overall Morrisseyness. An 'original of the species' as a short Irishman once noted.

No one combines warmth and cruelty, intellect and foolishness, inspiration and pedantry, poetry and piffle like Morrissey.

The man's a walking contradiction, always has been.

 

[joe frady]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

No one combines warmth and cruelty, intellect and foolishness, inspiration and pedantry, poetry and piffle like Morrissey.

The man's a walking contradiction, always has been.

What She Said

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

No one combines warmth and cruelty, intellect and foolishness, inspiration and pedantry, poetry and piffle like Morrissey.

The man's a walking contradiction, always has been.

Definitely agree; his choices can be mystifying at times, from the people he claims to admire to his taste in printed shirts. He is the epitome of the Gemini sign, a dual-personality. Aahh, my Gemini Dream!

 

[BrummieBoy]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

No one combines warmth and cruelty, intellect and foolishness, inspiration and pedantry, poetry and piffle like Morrissey.

The man's a walking contradiction, always has been.

OR he's a wanker and a charlatan who happens to write some excellent lyrics and great vocal melodies, which, because of his beautiful voice, make many of his credulous 'fans' believe he's some sort of artistic giant when he's actually a 'pygmy' to use a choice word from own somewhat politically incorrect vocabulary. I now enjoy him for what I believe he always was: the boy who got lucky by being a magpie and having the train fare to get to a Patti Smith concert at the Birmingham Odeon, where in a strange city, he realised there was a way to escape the stifling conformist culture of his native city: by stealing lock, stock and barrel from another dimension's 'salon society'. A good heist, he was good in his time, but he fell off that tightrope a long time ago. He is a corporate conformist entertainer whose 'radicalism' extends to eating in a pizzeria sometimes rather than from the in-house 5 star kitchen. Next time I bump into him on the tube, i'll review my opinion, but until then...elite entertainers whose domicile for tax purposes has been unclear since 1984 become a legitimate focus for our next round of Jimmy Carr: You Are The Weakest Link type investigations into the troubled notion of being 'British' or 'Irish' or in any other way claiming to 'reprazent' for these Isles of Wonder. A contradiction. Or a charlatan? Time will tell. He can't evade a serious interview for ever. I know just the man to do it, as I'm too busy: Eddie Mair....have a google of 'sunk investment thesis', we've all got the same issue, how to continue to enjoy our investment in his work without become credulous 'fans'. If Morrissey wants a proper Audience he needs to start behaving appropriately in front of them. His words last night on Thatcher, as reported, even if a collage from previous takes, were very effective and welcome. He can do it again, I'm sure he can, but no more of these excuses that he's simply beyond any critical analysis and that the dance of his seven veils with regard to his private life and political convictions is anything more than an irritating distraction. If I want lap-dancing, there are clubs. If I want music and lyrics, there are concerts. Morrissey is perilously close to trashing his legacy and becoming the most crushing bore on the planet. I hope his health scare allows him to drop the "I'm suicidal and want to die in a 5 star hotel, but not yet!" crap and get on with something fresh. He was absolutely fearless at the start and risked life and limb to challenge Thatcher's regime, and for a time seemed as if he'd inherit Lydon's mantle. But London and Manchester failed. One can only hope that some other provincial city will rise to the challenge and, like Liverpool in the 60s, warp and morph the algorithm to take our culture to the next 'bonkers' level. It's funny how many Americans are intrigued by aspects of our culture when we grew up with such a uniform ideological given that we were all 'California Dreaming'. Not so, we didn't need to be anyone else or go anywhere else. Morrissey reflected that. If he wants to end his days as some forlorn international tax-efficient luxury vagabond, that's his problem. There's serious work to be done here, with or without his help, starting next week with the outrageous provocation of a 'ceremonial funeral' for Margaret Thatcher paid for with monies stolen from the disabled, the sick, lame and insane. We're Brits, a mad melange of tribes and "up with this I will not put". Thanks for your lovely contributions to this site over the years.

 

[Anaesthesine]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

OR he's a wanker and a charlatan who happens to write some excellent lyrics and great vocal melodies, which, because of his beautiful voice, make many of his credulous 'fans' believe he's some sort of artistic giant when he's actually a 'pygmy' to use a choice word from own somewhat politically incorrect vocabulary. I now enjoy him for what I believe he always was: the boy who got lucky by being a magpie and having the train fare to get to a Patti Smith concert at the Birmingham Odeon, where in a strange city, he realised there was a way to escape the stifling conformist culture of his native city: by stealing lock, stock and barrel from another dimension's 'salon society'. A good heist, he was good in his time, but he fell off that tightrope a long time ago. He is a corporate conformist entertainer whose 'radicalism' extends to eating in a pizzeria sometimes rather than from the in-house 5 star kitchen. Next time I bump into him on the tube, i'll review my opinion, but until then...elite entertainers whose domicile for tax purposes has been unclear since 1984 become a legitimate focus for our next round of Jimmy Carr: You Are The Weakest Link type investigations into the troubled notion of being 'British' or 'Irish' or in any other way claiming to 'reprazent' for these Isles of Wonder. A contradiction. Or a charlatan? Time will tell. He can't evade a serious interview for ever. I know just the man to do it, as I'm too busy: Eddie Mair....have a google of 'sunk investment thesis', we've all got the same issue, how to continue to enjoy our investment in his work without become credulous 'fans'. If Morrissey wants a proper Audience he needs to start behaving appropriately in front of them. His words last night on Thatcher, as reported, even if a collage from previous takes, were very effective and welcome. He can do it again, I'm sure he can, but no more of these excuses that he's simply beyond any critical analysis and that the dance of his seven veils with regard to his private life and political convictions is anything more than an irritating distraction. If I want lap-dancing, there are clubs. If I want music and lyrics, there are concerts. Morrissey is perilously close to trashing his legacy and becoming the most crushing bore on the planet. I hope his health scare allows him to drop the "I'm suicidal and want to die in a 5 star hotel, but not yet!" crap and get on with something fresh. He was absolutely fearless at the start and risked life and limb to challenge Thatcher's regime, and for a time seemed as if he'd inherit Lydon's mantle. But London and Manchester failed. One can only hope that some other provincial city will rise to the challenge and, like Liverpool in the 60s, warp and morph the algorithm to take our culture to the next 'bonkers' level. It's funny how many Americans are intrigued by aspects of our culture when we grew up with such a uniform ideological given that we were all 'California Dreaming'. Not so, we didn't need to be anyone else or go anywhere else. Morrissey reflected that. If he wants to end his days as some forlorn international tax-efficient luxury vagabond, that's his problem. There's serious work to be done here, with or without his help, starting next week with the outrageous provocation of a 'ceremonial funeral' for Margaret Thatcher paid for with monies stolen from the disabled, the sick, lame and insane. We're Brits, a mad melange of tribes and "up with this I will not put". Thanks for your lovely contributions to this site over the years.

Such a ruthless unpacking of one man's psyche. It's morbidly fascinating to come here and read so many posts (both insightful and awful) from folks hell-bent on eviscerating Morrissey's internal and external life, right down to the smallest shred. It's like dogs worrying a favorite toy, once loved but now ragged, torn and leaking stuffing all over the house; he's all chewed up and slobbered over, but still an object of obsessive interest.

In answer: wanker yes, charlatan, absolutely not. No one, not even his greatest detractors can say that Morrissey is an artistic "pygmy." Call him anything else you want, he's as guilty as most of us of occasional weakness, pettiness and poor judgement, but don't call him mediocre. He started out as one of the tribe: just another bespectacled, vegetarian, bookish, introverted, Wildean wanna-be who needed to get things off his chest. Unlike the rest of us, Morrissey stepped upon the stage, was accorded his moment in the limelight and (with the alchemical J. Marr) spun that energy into decades of inspiration. Every great artist starts out as a weird kid who hops a bus, has an epiphany and then sticks to their guns.

Morrissey's voice is very beautiful, but that melting tenor is not just a happy physical accident: you cannot separate the singer from the song. The man (still) sings with an emotional complexity and punch that belies the idea that he's a blustering simpleton pulling a fast one. A great singer saves their best self for their music and the stage; everything else is incidental and small (as the man himself has said many a time). I agree that Morrissey has come very close to undermining his vast accomplishments with his staggeringly obtuse comments of late - as I said elsewhere, I often wonder if he's intentionally bringing himself down to Earth after all those years spent on Olympus: "see me as I am again" and all that.

I won't argue with you about Morrissey's current incarnation as a well-off wanderer, a man without a culture shopping and hopping from one luxury hotel to the next, shedding relevance as he goes. Not a good place to be for an artist. I would point out, however, that fame is terribly isolating and that a thin-skinned, introverted, depressive wordsmith with enough empathy to sing like he still does is ripe for a particular kind of fall. I would also point out that one's fans are one's family; the longer you're famous, the truer that becomes. Morrissey's relationship to his audience is troubled and turbulent, but all the knives being tossed at him here serve no purpose but to make the tossers feel better (intentional). I would also love him to rebound, to find meaning and fire again, to train his laser on a worthy subject, but any expression of disappointment that deepens into the kind of continuous, vindictive abuse found on this site only feeds the notion that he's succeeded wildly in owning his abusers.

Yes, I am American, but I lived in England when I was very young (I saw "Bloody Saturday" firsthand). I also lived up North, and many of my most intense memories involve brown wallpaper, crumbling pleasure piers, X-Ray Spex and bird stumps. The world that Morrissey sprang from is not entirely alien to me. I would like to point out that many Americans "get" Morrissey - there are aspects of his art and personality that are universal. The nuances of his work may be lost on many on this side of the divide, but his essential message comes through loud and clear. Of course, Anglophilia still rages here, witness the appalling "Downton Abbey" silliness (although many are transfixed by "Parade's End"). "Doctor Who" is more popular than ever.

I have resisted commenting on Thatcher - it's not my place. I will say that she and Reagan ushered in the age of evangelical selfishness. She was deeply unkind and Morrissey's points are all well-taken: anyone who opposed the international ban on ivory lacked a sense of basic human decency. Over here we have to live through the endless deification of Reagan, the man who first deployed the religious right as political foot soldiers in the war on decency, kindness and common sense. Be careful over there - don't let them paper over their crimes.

 

[Deanna Jeffcoat]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Hi Anaesthesine,

I'm an on-again/off-again lurker to the site, and I have to say that your posts always intrigue me. I find you fascinating, really.

But, if I may, I would like to make a rebuttal to your rebuttal.

I agree that Morrissey has come very close to undermining his vast accomplishments with his staggeringly obtuse comments of late - as I said elsewhere, I often wonder if he's intentionally bringing himself down to Earth after all those years spent on Olympus: "see me as I am again" and all that.

You've made this argument before, and with all due respect, I 100% disagree with it. I don't think he's undermining anything.
To many people, around the world, Morrissey- the 2013 version- is still incredibly beloved. And relevant. Much more than any other pop star I can think of. In fact, the more hate he incurs, whether it is on this site, Twitter, or the general hipster music press, in many ways, he becomes more relatable.

It is my opinion,having just come back from a 2-year long job assignment in Argentina (I'm currently crashing on the couch of a fellow fan in the States, btw), this is why many foreign fans resonate with Morrissey in a way that many of the more jaded and ironic USA and UK fans don't anymore.

I have a friend in South America,in Chile, who is working three jobs to pay off debts she incurred seeing him all over the continent when he toured South America last spring. She's more than willing to do it again. I know for her, and I would gather many of her fellow fans there and elsewhere, if Morrissey truly had tarnished his legacy to any large degree, she wouldn't be sacrificing so much to see him again. She sees Morrissey as a source of honesty, of strength, of sensitivity and passion, of beauty, and yes, as a victim of relentless bullying for daring to be different or eccentric. Does she (or I) think "People Are the Same Everywhere" is a great song? No, we don't. But we really don't care too much about that, either. One or two or even ten crappy songs don't undo a legacy of amazing ones. And I'm optimistic there are more to come.
And 2013 Morrissey still makes beautiful, witty, endearing statements, and shows lots of heart and kindess...but those don't garner endless discussions on how he's deliberately destroying his career.

(And, there are many South American based Morrissey fan pages, where they read about the up-to-the-minute happenings of Morrissey 2013, but those sites are more like AYNIM than this site. In that they tend to respectful and reverential to Morrissey.)

I think that's part of the big disconnect between fans who are more ironic about their fandom for Morrissey and fans who are extremely sincere and earnest in it. Those fans who love him, not just like him. We don't see that much of a difference between Morrissey of 1983 and Morrissey of 2013. Yes, age and perspective, of course, but his heart and essence are the same to me-and many of his fans worldwide. It's not just a love of nostalgia that drives these international tours. And I truly believe he hasn't destroyed any of his legacy or relevance-deliberately or otherwise. I genuinely don't.

 

[Playcat2000]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Hi Anaesthesine,

I'm an on-again/off-again lurker to the site, and I have to say that your posts always intrigue me. I find you fascinating, really.

But, if I may, I would like to make a rebuttal to your rebuttal.



You've made this argument before, and with all due respect, I 100% disagree with it. I don't think he's undermining anything.
To many people, around the world, Morrissey- the 2013 version- is still incredibly beloved. And relevant. Much more than any other pop star I can think of. In fact, the more hate he incurs, whether it is on this site, Twitter, or the general hipster music press, in many ways, he becomes more relatable.

It is my opinion,having just come back from a 2-year long job assignment in Argentina, this is why many foreign fans resonate with Morrissey in a way that the more jaded USA and UK fans don't anymore.

I have a friend in South America,in Chile, who is working three jobs to pay off debts she incurred seeing him all over the continent when he toured South America last spring. She's more than willing to do it again. I know for her, and I would gather many of her fellow fans there and elsewhere, if Morrissey truly had tarnished his legacy to any large degree, she wouldn't be sacrificing so much to see him again. She sees Morrissey as a source of honesty, of strength, of sensitivity and passion, of beauty, and yes, as a victim of relentless bullying for daring to be different or eccentric. Does she (or I) think "People Are the Same Everywhere" is a great song? No, we don't. But we really don't care too much about that, either. One or two or ten crappy songs don't ruin a long career. Nor do a few stupid comments. And 2013 Morrissey still makes beautiful, witty, endearing statements...but those don't garner endless discussions on how he's deliberately destroying his career.

(And, there are many South American based Morrissey fan pages, where they read about the up-to-the-minute happenings of Morrissey 2013, but those sites are more like AYNIM than this site. In that they tend to respectful and reverential to Morrissey.)

I think that's part of the big disconnect between fans who are more ironic about their fandom for Morrissey and fans who are extremely sincere and earnest in it. Those fans who love him, not just like him. We don't see that much of a difference between Morrissey of 1983 and Morrissey of 2013. Yes, age and perspective, of course, but his heart and essence are the same to me-and many of his fans worldwide. It's not just a love of nostalgia that drives these international tours. And I truly believe he hasn't destroyed any of his legacy or relevance. I genuinely don't.

Well written and beautifully said, Deanna. And VERY True. thanks! I feel so sad for the ones who don't have Morrissey in their lives.

 

[Anaesthesine]

Re: Article: Joey Barton mentions frequent Morrissey visits to Saint Tropez in l'Equi

Hi Anaesthesine,

I'm an on-again/off-again lurker to the site, and I have to say that your posts always intrigue me. I find you fascinating, really.

But, if I may, I would like to make a rebuttal to your rebuttal.



You've made this argument before, and with all due respect, I 100% disagree with it. I don't think he's undermining anything.
To many people, around the world, Morrissey- the 2013 version- is still incredibly beloved. And relevant. Much more than any other pop star I can think of. In fact, the more hate he incurs, whether it is on this site, Twitter, or the general hipster music press, in many ways, he becomes more relatable.

It is my opinion,having just come back from a 2-year long job assignment in Argentina (I'm currently crashing on the couch of a fellow fan in the States, btw), this is why many foreign fans resonate with Morrissey in a way that many of the more jaded and ironic USA and UK fans don't anymore.

I have a friend in South America,in Chile, who is working three jobs to pay off debts she incurred seeing him all over the continent when he toured South America last spring. She's more than willing to do it again. I know for her, and I would gather many of her fellow fans there and elsewhere, if Morrissey truly had tarnished his legacy to any large degree, she wouldn't be sacrificing so much to see him again. She sees Morrissey as a source of honesty, of strength, of sensitivity and passion, of beauty, and yes, as a victim of relentless bullying for daring to be different or eccentric. Does she (or I) think "People Are the Same Everywhere" is a great song? No, we don't. But we really don't care too much about that, either. One or two or even ten crappy songs don't undo a legacy of amazing ones. And I'm optimistic there are more to come.
And 2013 Morrissey still makes beautiful, witty, endearing statements, and shows lots of heart and kindess...but those don't garner endless discussions on how he's deliberately destroying his career.

(And, there are many South American based Morrissey fan pages, where they read about the up-to-the-minute happenings of Morrissey 2013, but those sites are more like AYNIM than this site. In that they tend to respectful and reverential to Morrissey.)

I think that's part of the big disconnect between fans who are more ironic about their fandom for Morrissey and fans who are extremely sincere and earnest in it. Those fans who love him, not just like him. We don't see that much of a difference between Morrissey of 1983 and Morrissey of 2013. Yes, age and perspective, of course, but his heart and essence are the same to me-and many of his fans worldwide. It's not just a love of nostalgia that drives these international tours. And I truly believe he hasn't destroyed any of his legacy or relevance-deliberately or otherwise. I genuinely don't.

Well hello Deanna - nice to meet you. What a thoughtful post.

There are many different kinds of Morrissey fans, and they are all reacting to Morrissey 2013 in many different ways. I speak (perhaps too earnestly) from the first generation: that is, I remember The Smiths. Many of my fellow geezers who have followed Morrissey a bit too closely over the years are somewhat disenchanted with him these days. The man whose interviews used to dazzle has become (somewhat predictably) more bombastic and less insightful as the years progress, and that fact is not lost on those of us who have hung on his words for perhaps a bit too long. Yes, the former Morrissey is still detectable and unchanged (and loved), but the years of media abuse have taken their toll. The reactions from fellow US fans I know well has been a general cooling off, and we've all skipped dates on his recent tours that we would have attended not too long ago (although this has as much to do with his set lists as anything else). That being said (and as I've mentioned here before), the last Morrissey show I saw in 2013 may well have been his best. The man is still capable of a live display that weakens the knees, reduces grown men and women to tears, and renews the faith of the wearying. As a singer, he's still THAT GOOD. His political pronouncements, on the other hand (and I truly hate to say this), don't command quite so much respect anymore; there's a general rolling of the eyes from people who love him, wish him the best and truly want him to succeed. Friends of mine in the UK who love Morrissey dearly (and have done so for decades) are also gently dismayed by recent events. In short, he is no longer as relevant or admired as he once was by people of my acquaintance, but that is to be expected - we have grown up, and these days we are a somewhat world-weary bunch.

I originally signed up on Solo to support Morrissey because this was (and probably still is) a go-to site for lazy "journalists" and because it was rather poisonous even back in the good old days. Morrissey fans are a smart, ornery bunch, and I enjoyed the fray. Eventually more bitter, vindictive voices took over here, and I left. I only began really reading and posting on Solo again recently because Morrissey continues to impress me and because a bizarre quirk of fate has caused him to become strangely more relevant to me as time goes on. The day I cease to admire the man is the day I will cease to post here - if only that were the case for other, more embittered followers.

I'm glad to hear that Morrissey's reputation is still sterling on more distant shores. I'm glad to hear that he's still widely admired and loved as a man who won't kowtow to popular opinion. I agree with you that his more recent, less-than-dazzling musical output won't jeopardize his standing as one of the most gifted singer/lyricists of all time. Nothing can erase the greatness of his earlier work (solo output included). He's still the most glorious singer I've ever heard.

As for your point about a lack of self-sabotage involved in any of Morrissey's recent, unfortunate kerfuffles: Morrissey wouldn't be the first celebrity to torpedo his own ship. The gap between reality and perception is one of those things that gets very old very fast for smart celebrities. For irascible old punks, it's almost intolerable.