Morrissey A-Z: "I Am Two People"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Our song for today is "I Am Two People" - one of the B-sides of the "Let Me Kiss You" single, released in October 2004.

What do we think of this one?
 
That's such a Morrissey love song - if only one of them would drop dead it would be so much easier.

I like all the strangulated warbling - it suits the emotion the narrator can't cope with.
 
Underrated. Terribly underrated. I can do without the scatting at the end and the music is a bit heavy handed at times, but still a beautiful song with a touching, albeit quite simple, lyric and strong vocal melody (at least during the verses). From what I’ve gathered, it’s not very well-liked and I think that’s a shame.
 
With so many b-sides required in 2004, they were never likely to all be winners...

This one feels unfocussed to me. Almost as though Alain had a couple of neat piano ideas, but hadn't really turned them into a full song.

The lyrics are also very repetitive and show Morrissey at his most self-obsessed.

One of his weaker vocal melodies too and, while I usually enjoy his falsetto, his voice exhibits plenty of strain as it battles against the backing track.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 209th from 264 solo songs.
 
And so, here it is! What could the both of us do other than go completely head-over-tits for this one? Because this is what we are: him and me - two people, yet a peculiar singularity. I remember the day I first met Sullivan, he was sheltering in the door way of a pet shop on Tib Street and I invited him to join me in the 'Hole in the Wall' (you either do, or you don't) and the rest is a glorious 'B' side of a life less hollow.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the plodding slow tempo b-sides for this album, but I do admit I've had this song in my head a few times and there's something with potential there. Often with Morrissey b-sides I'm baffled why they were left off an album, but this is one that I totally get.
 
its a b-side but its a good b-side.7 from 10.
 
It's a fairly mediocre song. But at least it represents a four-fold increase since the days of 'Half a Person.'
 
It's a fairly mediocre song. But at least it represents a four-fold increase since the days of 'Half a Person.'

I like your thinking. So if it took him 17 years to go from 0.5 to 2.0 persons, then this year should see the release of a song called something like "I Am Hated for Being Eight People".
 
I like your thinking. So if it took him 17 years to go from 0.5 to 2.0 persons, then this year should see the release of a song called something like "I Am Hated for Being Eight People".
I Am The Octomoz.
 
One of those Quarry b-sides I very rarely listen to and are usually better than I remembered when I do.

The tune is not much to write home about. There are at least three other songs from that era that sound similar and I enjoy more.

The vocal is very nice though, the best part are the ad libs at the end. The lyrics are surprisingly effective given their simplicity, but that's always been one of his big strengths.

I don't think he's actually into astrology but for what it's worth...

ID2004-IAmTwoPeople.jpg
 
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That's such a Morrissey love song - if only one of them would drop dead it would be so much easier.

I like all the strangulated warbling - it suits the emotion the narrator can't cope with.
Very apt description. That is the part I "hear" when I think of this song.
 
I Am Two People doesn’t make me want to eat my own head, but it is a lovely little gem of a B-side. After Morrissey’s wayward years lost in the cultural desert of you know where, 2004 was a gift; we had, what, over 20 new songs to devour? Admittedly it’s not his best work, but when this song was released it struck a personal chord; in my own life I was trying to decide which path to take, I was the ‘two people’.

It’s altogether very different to What Difference Does It Make, but I am reminded of that unforgettable opening line, ‘All men have secrets and here is mine,’ for in I Am Two People Morrissey clearly still has secrets locked away. Don’t we all?
 
One of those Quarry b-sides I very rarely listen to and are usually better than I remembered when I do.

The tune is not much to write home about. There are at least three other songs from that era that sound similar and I enjoy more.

The vocal is very nice though, the best part are the ad libs at the end. The lyrics are surprisingly effective given their simplicity, but that's always been one of his big strengths.

I don't think he's actually into astrology but for what it's worth...

View attachment 70232

By third twin does he mean a moderate version of himself or a lover?
 
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