When did charming become cranky? Why a middle-aged Morrissey is so hard to love - The Guardian

Another Guardian clickbait article about Morrissey's middle-aged madness.

Yawn. Full of the usual types bemoaning the fact a man in his late 50s tends not to be the same as one in his 20s.

When did charming become cranky? Why a middle-aged Morrissey is so hard to love - The Guardian
by Dorian Lynskey
As a new biopic England is Mine charts the Smiths singer’s early life, fans speak of their disillusion at his increasingly outspoken views


UPDATE July 23:

Posted by Uncleskinny:

Here's the full page from today's Observer - notably, in the main 'News' section rather than the Review or Arts section.

40407_observer_20170723.jpg
 
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'… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.' :rofl:



this is one wall that should be put up.
 
14 record deals since the split of the Smiths? At least name all of them to make the point.
 
Very fair and true article. Lynskey distils it well..."It is hard to think of another living artist who has squandered so much goodwill."
 
Goodwill based on political views not in line with The Guardian's. :crazy:
Surely not his musical output, which is all that matters.
 
Resentful CrankFraud :clap:

#we:heartssuit:Rome/BaroneRAffaele

Benny-the-British-Butcher :greatbritain::knife::bee:
 
Interesting views in that article. I started to struggle with him when he started throwing out headline grabbing comments rather than his more considered thoughts that he had earlier in his career. The alleged incident in Rome is a great example of this.
 
I like The Guardian and support The Guardian, one of the last reliable and sane newspapers.

"dislike" x 35 from the Daily Mail / Breitbart crowd
 
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True, but I don't think Morrissey ever wanted goodwill in the first place -- unless you mean chart success and recognition from his own idols.

The article is balanced overall.
Rossiter's article was bird cage-worthy at most.


Very fair and true article. Lynskey distils it well..."It is hard to think of another living artist who has squandered so much goodwill."
 
Interesting views in that article. I started to struggle with him when he started throwing out headline grabbing comments rather than his more considered thoughts that he had earlier in his career. The alleged incident in Rome is a great example of this.

You mean you didn't struggle with him when he said "the sorrow of the IRA Brighton bombing is that Thatcher escaped unscathed" in 1984 or "I wish that Prince Charles had been shot. I think it would have made the world a more interesting place" in 1994?
 
I think the final bit of the article hits the nail on the head. When Morrissey passes, all that controversy will be a footnote in the obituaries as the tributes are rolled out. There'll be the comments of "Morrissey was a c**t, but The Smiths were my adolescence" and the like, but it's that latter bit which will stick, I think.
 
It happens with leaders who caused the deaths of untold thousands -- The Mozfather will be just fine.

I think the final bit of the article hits the nail on the head. When Morrissey passes, all that controversy will be a footnote in the obituaries as the tributes are rolled out. There'll be the comments of "Morrissey was a c**t, but The Smiths were my adolescence" and the like, but it's that latter bit which will stick, I think.
 
who are these fans who speak of their disillusion about his increasingly outspoken views.i don't see any names to back these quotes up in the article, because they don't exist.lazy journalism.
 
Article is not necessary.
It's editors somewhere saying "Hey, there's a new movie and a bit of a Moz backlash happening. Can you whip off something?"
This one just happened to be more even-handed.
Goddard's observations were good, and the refusenik reference made me laugh.

True, but is it really necessary? They accuse Moz of repeating himself, but actually do the same. How many articles do they need to make the same point?
 
One of the first comments to the Guardian article.

"Seriously, how can be people be so naive to think that, in their idolisation of the man, that Morrissey was exactly like themselves? For sure, empathise in the angst and alienation of his lyrics and laugh at the wicked wit, but you'd really expect a bit better from someone like Robin Ince (but then again, he is a comedian who has always come off as eager to please and jump on any passing bandwagon).

I like Morrissey and his lyrics (there's a cut off period though for everything after 1994's Vauxhall & I), and I admire, rather than idolise, the man himself. But very few artists deserve idolisation if they are to reflect life in art.

His lyrics have always exposed an incredibly flawed and insecure individual, something I'm sure he knows very well himself, and the fact that in a world of clean cut, eager to please shiny pop stars and celebrities (whether that was the 1980s or present day), it is refreshing that he is still very much his own man with his stark individualism.

What you see is what you get; it's just human nature for a searingly honest individual that you see the beauty and ugly side of somebody not afraid to spill out his personality. I see the beauty in his lyrics, his wit and remarkable introspectiveness but I see the ugly side in his very contentious political views. I can't get mad at Morrissey - this is a man who has always courted controversy after all, and I can only laugh at the cantankerous right wing views. But am I losing sleep over it? No, because he's always been an individual and individual's are never going to please you all the time.

That's Morrissey for you, and that's life. Nothing is perfect, everything is flawed and for those who are disappointed with the man, what did you expect? The Smiths were borne out of the grey mundanities and grim realities of life, they portrayed it for what it is for goodness sake. Moulding Morrissey's character into your own personal fantasy is somewhat at odds with the grounded nature of the music.

At the end of the day, he is what he is and always was: a fantastically talented individual but a massively flawed one too. That wild and wicked individualistic streak is the foundation of all that is great about him, but also all of his character deficiencies.

It would be weirdly disconcerting, and at odds with his work, to think of Morrissey as a perfect human being. Get real folks."
 
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