Can you be a Morrissey/Smiths fan AND be wealthy?

Smith Division

NY blood CHI heart
I need your input on a "debate" I was having with another Morrissey/Smith fan the other night. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to bring this to this forum, but I thought all of you might help settle this dispute.

POINT:
He said that if you are wealthy, drive nice cars, live on the right side of the tracks, and don't feel the everyday angst of making ends meet that you cannot possibly be a "true" fan. That you would be considered a poser by those who truly are in the Morrissey community. People who are wealthy could not understand being the outsider, the underdog, the one least likely.

COUNTERPOINT:
I said that being well-off does not preclude you from liking great music and relating to the lyrics. I truly believe that there are many affluent people who are tortured by the everyday life that allows them to relate to the words of Morrissey. Although his music may have been born out of the blue collar world of Manchester, his lyrics transcends economic status. A poser, on the contrary, I think it take guts to be a Smith/Morrissey fan in this circle. I also think it has more to do with your social ideology vs. your pocket book that can define you as a fan.

Solo-please share you thoughts.

Is it possible to live in both worlds???
 
Some people get lucky in life and make a lot of money despite humble beginnings. I know of a guy like that, his name is MORRISSEY. And there can't possibly be a bigger Smiths and Morrissey fan than Morrissey.

It is all about your outlook on life, the way you relate to people around you. It has nothing to do with wealth. That's ridiculous. And even wealthy people can be very lonely, or feel persecuted. Or once did. Or still do. I think one big lesson you can learn from Morrissey is that you shouldn't be judgmental. The very idea of a who's-the-biggest-fan competition is the opposite of what I think he stands for. Each of us is to have our own relationship to his lyrics and appearances and image.

That's what I think.
 
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there are folk with brass who are Moz fans but how they relate I don't know coz I aint got the brass, his lyrics tell my story easy enough but I dunno if it's council house mentality or genius? I guess if you've got fitted wardrobes then it's hard for them to tower like a beast of prey but you can still have sadness in your beautiful eyes!

I'd love to be part of your conversation, sat with you & your mates, with the pint.

love

Grim

I need your input on a "debate" I was having with another Morrissey/Smith fan the other night. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to bring this to this forum, but I thought all of you might help settle this dispute.

POINT:
He said that if you are wealthy, drive nice cars, live on the right side of the tracks, and don't feel the everyday angst of making ends meet that you cannot possibly be a "true" fan. That you would be considered a poser by those who truly are in the Morrissey community. People who are wealthy could not understand being the outsider, the underdog, the one least likely.

COUNTERPOINT:
I said that being well-off does not preclude you from liking great music and relating to the lyrics. I truly believe that there are many affluent people who are tortured by the everyday life that allows them to relate to the words of Morrissey. Although his music may have been born out of the blue collar world of Manchester, his lyrics transcends economic status. A poser, on the contrary, I think it take guts to be a Smith/Morrissey fan in this circle. I also think it has more to do with your social ideology vs. your pocket book that can define you as a fan.

Solo-please share you thoughts.

Is it possible to live in both worlds???
 
Some people get lucky in life and make a lot of money despite humble beginnings. I know of a guy like that, his name is MORRISSEY. And there can't possibly be a bigger Smiths and Morrissey fan than Morrissey.

It is all about your outlook on life, the way you relate to people around you. It has nothing to do with wealth. That's ridiculous. And even wealthy people can be very lonely, or feel persecuted. Or once did. Or still do. I think one big lesson you can learn from Morrissey is that you shouldn't be judgemental. The very idea of a who's-the-biggest-fan competition is the opposite of what I think he stands for. Each of us is to have our own relationship to his lyrics and appearances and image.

That's what I think.
what she said..:)
 
Wealth is great. It's what you do with it that matters and how you act. I don't see how some wealthy people could "relate" to some of Morrissey's songs, though, any more than I can relate to him selling special tickets that let you into the show early.

It's just another way to judge people, mostly meaningless. There are some wealthy people that need a slap, but there are some poor people that need the same.
 
You win. As does Pregs. As does everyone making the 'counterpoint'. And Chloe Sevigny, her too :)

Most people, wealthy or not, have felt lonely, or like the underdog, or an outsider at some point in their lives and their/his music resonates with them. Coming from humble beginnings doesn't necessarily make a difference. Wealthy people 'need' Morrissey just as much.

If I were rich, I'd follow him everywhere. Or at least go to Philly. :D
 
Wealth is great. It's what you do with it that matters and how you act. I don't see how some wealthy people could "relate" to some of Morrissey's songs, though, any more than I can relate to him selling special tickets that let you into the show early.

It's just another way to judge people, mostly meaningless. There are some wealthy people that need a slap, but there are some poor people that need the same.


I dunno what's your point here Dave & if I've gorrit wrong forgive me, BUT I bought a wristband for the 6 roundhouse gigs cos it was a cheaper way of seeing all the gigs (or so I believed). I choose not to get in to any of the shows early, I was out front nattering with folk before going in the main door with everyone else.

love

Grim
 
I choose not to get in to any of the shows early, I was out front nattering with folk before going in the main door with everyone else.

love

Grim

That's how you wound up with Julia sitting on your lap. :D

no, what I really meant is that not everyone can afford to go to all the shows, and selling package ticket deals that allow some in early doesn't seem that nice to me. But I've already read this argument a few times and didn't mean to start it up again.
 
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no, poor people look silly ripping up their Gucci shirts and having lunch with Nancy Sinatra. :D
 
That's how you wound up with Julia sitting on your lap. :D

keep this to yourself but I accidentally spilled some of me pint over her, I felt bad but mind had she not been there in the first place it wouldn't have happened, would it!

love

Grim
P.s. I didn't have a seat at the roundhouse, mind you I could have taken one of those fiddly fold up/out seats but it would have been daft cos I wouldn't have been able to see owt sat down! Yes I've nearly finished this bottle & I'll be off to bed in a minute (a great sigh of relief exploded around the forum - you set of bastards) :D
 
keep this to yourself but I accidentally spilled some of me pint over her, I felt bad but mind had she not been there in the first place it wouldn't have happened, would it!

love

Grim
P.s. I didn't have a seat at the roundhouse, mind you I could have taken one of those fiddly fold up/out seats but it would have been daft cos I wouldn't have been able to see owt sat down! Yes I've nearly finished this bottle & I'll be off to bed in a minute (a great sigh of relief exploded around the forum - you set of bastards) :D

hahhahaha,
maybe one of those stepladders with a wider step at the top...
*ducks* :D
 
That was going to be my question.

Wealth is having something in abundance. I know people who have a wealth of knowledge. I also know people who have a wealth of friends. For this arguement, I was referring to economic wealth. Althoug I often find the first two increase with the latter.

Personally, I define financial wealth as having enough money that money's not the point anymore. Buying without remorse. Being philanthropic. "How little we need measures our wealth better than how much we have". That is wealth in my humble opinion

Sometimes I feel a littly hypocritical.

VivaBob, my apologies on the whole "so yesterday true" comment, but being a "true" Smiths fan yesterday is all I got!
 
I need your input on a "debate" I was having with another Morrissey/Smith fan the other night. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to bring this to this forum, but I thought all of you might help settle this dispute.

POINT:
He said that if you are wealthy, drive nice cars, live on the right side of the tracks, and don't feel the everyday angst of making ends meet that you cannot possibly be a "true" fan. That you would be considered a poser by those who truly are in the Morrissey community. People who are wealthy could not understand being the outsider, the underdog, the one least likely.

COUNTERPOINT:
I said that being well-off does not preclude you from liking great music and relating to the lyrics. I truly believe that there are many affluent people who are tortured by the everyday life that allows them to relate to the words of Morrissey. Although his music may have been born out of the blue collar world of Manchester, his lyrics transcends economic status. A poser, on the contrary, I think it take guts to be a Smith/Morrissey fan in this circle. I also think it has more to do with your social ideology vs. your pocket book that can define you as a fan.

Solo-please share you thoughts.

Is it possible to live in both worlds???

I've got news for your friend. Morrissey never actually lived in a "comfortless flat in Manchester", never had "ice on the sink" where he bathed, never lived the life of a poverty-stricken working class man. An outsider, certainly, but not because he lacked money and opportunity, however meager a supply of each.

Let's look at how the myth stacks up to the facts, courtesy of a quick run-through of Rogan:

Following school, Morrissey at age 17 enrolled in a one-year O-level program at Stretford Technical School. After finishing this he flew to his aunt's in New Jersey. In September he was back in Manchester, on the dole, living at home, spending his money on Patti Smith concerts.

When he took a job with the Civil Service in November 1976 he quit within two weeks because it was too boring; his benefits were subsequently lowered to 5 pounds because he left the job "for no good reason". Rogan quotes Morrissey as saying, "I've always been lazy, but now I'm very lazy". Ho ho!

In early 1977, after a few auditions for local bands, he took a job with the Inland Revue. He blew much of his first month's wages on books like "The Fact of Rape" and "Diary of a Harlem Schoolteacher". In May he started his first book, "When Will Ms. Muffet Fight Back?"

On January 6, 1978, Morrissey feuded with his boss, a Tax Inspector, later lamenting "Nobody understands me". Hard cheese, chum! Emboldened by a Patti Smith gig, he left the Inland Revue to sing with the Nosebleeds, a gig which eventually turned into Slaughter and the Dogs-- and went nowhere.

Falling back on the dole, with more time on his hands, Morrissey "indulged himself in a Tamla Motown phase, with special emphasis on Martha And The Vandellas and the Marvelettes". Of course, who else would take on such a solemn enterprise? In October he was scolded by his dole officer who told him he needed to get a job ("There's work for you if you want it"). Instead he flew to Colorado.

As the 1980s ended, he sat in his room, bored, reading Pride and Prejudice, "marvelling at the fortitude of Elizabeth Bennett".

His infamous, short-lived stint as a hospital porter-- "flesh remover"-- came soon after. Quitting after two weeks, he plunged into bed to catch up on Murderer's Who's Who. In March he witnessed a flying saucer. In April he discovered a ghost in his house. In 1981 "The New York Dolls", his first book, was published, along with some reviews and letters in the British music press.

In 1982 he was paid a visit by one John Maher of Wythenshawe.​

Two worlds? From the start there was only one.

Now, if I seem to be sneering at Morrissey, I'm not. I love the guy. He was a genius suffering through a few years of trying to live a conventional life. I know those years were difficult. What they weren't was some brutal working-class indoctrination that gave him a healthy dose of street cred. Morrissey's connection to the hardscrabble lives of the poor and desperate was exactly the same as the connection most Smiths fans had to the songs written about "that other world": one of empathy and imagination and compassionate appreciation, nothing more.
 
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