Re: Harvest Ends Contract with Morrissey - TTY
Moontastic with the name there, buddy. Seeya in 20 minutes.
Moontastic with the name there, buddy. Seeya in 20 minutes.
I'm really shocked that so many here seem to thing the next logical step for Morrissey is to re-form the Smiths. Given his extremely vocal, unfaltering stance on the subject, I cannot see how is that is something he could or should every consider. To say as much is to assume that his primary motivation musically is to get as much positive attention from the media and critics as possible, and I just don't think that's the case. Obviously those things are important to him (more so than they should be), but not at the expense of him being able to write and record the music HE wants to—whether or not you like the resulting music is beside the point. Morrissey is clearly where HE wants to be artistically; why on earth would he want to change that just to revisit the long, long-ago past and risk becoming some kind of nostalgia act? To please an audience? I don't see that happening. Ever.
And complex cognitive function is necessary in order to contemplate the meaning of life and to have existential angst.
you think Morrissey didn't have anything to do with the cover art?? It was obviously directed by him. It is a shit cover agreed but I am sure the label probably were not overjoyed with it either. The fact this picture showed up on TTY quite a while ago shows he obviously sees something in it we do not
The quality of the album had nothing to do with the arse falling out of the record contract. It is a fantastic record but I agree with Barleycorn on one thing: it is a great album for existing fans but probably wouldn't jump the gap to gain more fans, like Quarry did with its excellent singles and the massive Moz momentum which was nigh unstoppable. Moz should have promoted World Peace. He did the album a disservice by releasing it with a whimper. It deserved better treatment. It is like a beautiful but unwanted child thrust into the world at arms length. I don't know who or what is to blame for this.
First the cancellations, then the bodyguard and now this.
Then man's life is constant drama. The issue is that he overinflated his fame, when most people don't know who he is. He can walk down the street of most places and not be recognized. He expects record companies to bend over backwards for him, and in return he cancels tours, talks shit about his record company and doesn't promote his album. They got fed up, and I'm sure they had a clause to get out of a second album.
It sucks, when the singles were released and the videos came it it looked so hopeful, a rebirth for his career. Now look at where he is.
Maybe I should check out her music. I am not a fan of the female singing voice. I know that sounds terrible. I support women in the arts and all endeavors--I am a woman myself. I am just not drawn to it. It lacks that primordial sexual attraction--alluring element--that the male voice has. That is why i don't like high voices in males. Baritones are sexy. Falsettos, of course, are great though when sung by a careful singer like Moz.
Morrissey wasn't the one who sat around at home on his computer fiddling with the cover art.
I
Such a terrible shame, but if it's the last album he records, it's one hell of a great way to go.
very true. the lyrics are really bad on this album for the most part. A few brief flashbulb glimpses in there of Morrissey's greatness but for the most part they are trite rubbish.
Musically it sounds like it has been written by session musicians. Obviously the band can play very well but being a great player and a great songwriter are two very different crafts and for the most party Boz aside they are not.
Music equipment shops around the world are full of guys who work there that could probably play every note for note any past Morrissey or any other artists' album but try getting them to actually write a great song and they couldn't.
All the flamenco guitars and effects can not hide the fact that the majority of the music on this album sucks
Drivel lyrics?
That's an opinion that many disagree with...
The noise surrounding the release of this album has been a whimper rather than a bang. I suppose Moz envisioned his tenth album to hold as much gravitas as Quarry did a decade earlier, but I think there's too much water under that particular bridge. For one, it's fair to say he's probably lost a fair few fans in the last ten years. 'Natural wastage' has doubtless occurred somewhat; those who were angsty teenage scenesters in 2004-2006 may have simply grown up and got a job in banking, or engineering, a wife, a couple of kids, etc.
Then of course this site has dwindled since 2002, and attitudes have changed. There are those with a personal vendetta because maybe a show in their city was cancelled, maybe a show a couple of hours' drive was cancelled and a non refundable hotel deposit was lost.
There is the devoted fan who visit sites like this one on a daily or weekly basis...
Maybe Harvest could have done a little bit more, maybe Morrissey could have done a bit more. The digital singles route was a risky one to take. Not everyone has happily moved to the likes of iTunes, and Morrissey fans are probably a traditionalist bunch; so many people commenting on here about physical releases of the singles. Maybe Harvest seriously got the demographic wrong, and thought more younger Moz fans would go all in with iTunes and buy the singles as they were released. Inevitably they didn't. The music industry has changed so much, even since YOR. But where was the big opening single? I like the title track of this album, but it's not really a radio song.
I think the issue around the sleeve art has been greatly hyped and exaggerated. It's not great, but see also Bowie's 'the Next Day' sleeve. I think after the showmanship in the images of the last three albums, the 'bad photoshop job' that is portrayed in the picture we saw a couple of months before in its original form, separates WPINOYB with the last three records, which is probably what Morrissey wants.
I think Morrissey's comments in the TTY post the other day were the final straw for the label. But maybe it's for the best. Maybe everything happens for a reason. It's clear that Harvest really didn't understand Morrissey, the music or the way to handle him. Look at the Twitter debacle... just cringeworthy, really. And the digital only singles.. that didn't exactly work out for them!
As for what I want to see next, I hope the novel materialises. I'm really hoping he doesn't do a Smiths reunion... Look at the cancellations that have taken place on solo tours; We know from experience he's likely to be volatile; one person could say the wrong word and this would cause a seismic affect on proceedings. Morrissey is best working under his own terms.
True--but more agree with that--no doubt about it.
The cover is that bad I'd be surprised if it wasn't by Morrissey with his GIMP.
Good riddance, Harvest Records. It's a real testament to the times when the artist is being criticized for not promoting an album well enough. THIS IS THE JOB OF THE RECORD COMPANY!!!!! Does anyone really believe that Morrissey wouldn't have been down for doing just about anything to help promote the album? This man deserves so much care, attention, promotion, adulation and encouragement as one of the singular global artists in a century. PLEASE give me a budget and free reign to promote Morrissey! This would be the easiest task in all of music today because people are starving for something genuine. I can completely understand Morrissey's shock and dismay.