"How to treat Morrissey? Stop listening to him" by Stewart Lee - The Guardian

Stewart Lee weighs in on Moz

How to treat Morrissey? Stop listening to him - The Guardian
By Stewart Lee
It’s hard when our idols disappoint us. But as it happened, my break from the former Smiths frontman came easily…

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Illustration by David Foldvari.
 
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Oh God. The Guardian keep rolling out their "Hate Mozza" articles (which surprisingly say nothing time and time again,other than 'we don't like him')

Pathetic drivel.
I'm sure Morrissey ain't gonna lose any sleep over their poison. And they call this shit 'journalism '
 
An honest, funny, well written article. I wonder when the penny will finally drop for the sycophants? It’s over in the UK. He sold only 400 tickets in Scotland, four hundred! His other dates had disastrous sales too. A once loyal fan base have simply heard enough of his ill judged opinions.

I can see two distinct (possibly three) types of still loyal fans. First the non political people, for whom the opinions of the artist is of little consequence. Then there is the sycophant, who will rationalise as far as they possibly can, his outpourings, no matter how unpalatable. Then that third type, hard to distinguish from the sycophant at times. The ones who have been taken in by the alt.right garbage. They’re the ones to watch out for.

I’ve seen on social media, a small handful of fans who come out with “I’ve looked into Tommy Robinson...it’s all lies about him...give him a listen”. To these poor souls, who don’t yet understand that extremists do tend to sugar coats their vile messages, I offer this. Morrissey hasn’t come out in support of Mr Robinson’s views. He has, misguided in my humble opinion, sympathised with his situation. This is because he supports free speech, and is under the misapprehension that this is why little Tommy is in prison. It isn’t, he is there for breaking the laws we have to uphold our judicial system.

Morrissey may well respond soon to distance himself from Tommy Robinson’s views, and reaffirm his comment was about freedom of speech. It will be an interesting sight to see all those sudden converts to Robinson doing a two footed backwards shuffle, with their tail between their legs. Think on.

In the meantime. Continue to unleash the attack dogs on Dave Haslam, Tim Booth, and now Stewart Lee. Carry On...
 
Good article. This line particularly resonated with me: 'But somehow, illogically and sentimentally, I held Morrissey to different standards.'

There's been a lot of talk of separating the art from the artist. Like Lee, I've been able to do that for other writers/actors/artists, but not with Morrissey. I haven't really listened to any solo stuff since the interview, although I've indulged in a little Smiths for some strange reason. However, I won't be binning any records and hopefully one day I'll feel like sitting down and listening to Your Arsenal again. But it feels like it'll be from a totally different perspective. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it might even be for the best - maybe everyone should grow out of their Morrissey phase. It's just interesting to me that I'm in new territory regards how I view and listen to him.
 
All a bit strange and predictable. He seems to have no problem with the many controversial things his hero Mark E Smith came out with over the years.
 
All a bit strange and predictable. He seems to have no problem with the many controversial things his hero Mark E Smith came out with over the years.
But the subject at hand is Morrissey. It may be strange to you, it may be predictable to you, but he's not wrong.
 
Good article. This line particularly resonated with me: 'But somehow, illogically and sentimentally, I held Morrissey to different standards.'

There's been a lot of talk of separating the art from the artist. Like Lee, I've been able to do that for other writers/actors/artists, but not with Morrissey. I haven't really listened to any solo stuff since the interview, although I've indulged in a little Smiths for some strange reason. However, I won't be binning any records and hopefully one day I'll feel like sitting down and listening to Your Arsenal again. But it feels like it'll be from a totally different perspective. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it might even be for the best - maybe everyone should grow out of their Morrissey phase. It's just interesting to me that I'm in new territory regards how I view and listen to him.

The thing is for most of us the man and the music were very much linked. I'm in the Stewart Lee camp, most of my Moz collection is going, will probably get shot this week if I have time.
 
The thing is for most of us the man and the music were very much linked. I'm in the Stewart Lee camp, most of my Moz collection is going, will probably get shot this week if I have time.

That's true, yeah. As much as I adore many other artists, Morrissey was always something apart from and much more personal than the rest.
 
All I read in that article is Stewart Lee has a difference of opinion to Morrissey. That's great and absolutely normal.
Luckily for me I was never a Morrissey fan who hung on his every word right from the start.

Falling out of love with bands, singers etc is something that has happened to all of us at some point in their lives.

What I don't understand is people with their own personal agendas who profess a hatred for Morrissey yet unable to leave this site. Strange.
 
I'll stubbornly remain. How do we know these people are actually disposing of their stuff, and anyway, it doesn't take five minutes to 're-stock' these days.
 
for those of us who’ve been following and defending Morrissey for 30 years+, I think he’s actually done us a favour with these increasingly ugly pronouncements. At 50 I don’t need to be in thrall to a teenage idol anymore. And neither do you
 
Were Banararama antisemitic?
 
interesting:

This isn’t the time for ambiguity, or irony, or publicity-seeking controversy. Those days are gone,...[...] The trouble is, there’s no longer any way to make the case that Morrissey ever meant anything other than what he says.

and:
In 2005, the then 20-year-old Prince Harry appeared as a Nazi at a fancy dress party. Perhaps the uniform had been inherited from his great-great-uncle, Edward VIII, who was not averse to a spot of recreational sieg heiling. [...]But Harry knows the power of symbols and he begins the enactment of a healing ritual. Has Harry, ever the self-aware prankster, chosen the tiny St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, as his wedding venue in a coded satirical message every bit as meaningful as the clearly pro-EU hat his grandmother wore at the opening of parliament last June? [....]with a grizzled Britain that, like the Prince himself, could still choose to divest itself of its unattractive fascist garments and begin again.
( https://article50lisbontreaty.co.uk/2017/12/03/can-harry-and-meghan-make-britain-whole-again-stewart-lee-opinion/ )
 
for those of us who’ve been following and defending Morrissey for 30 years+, I think he’s actually done us a favour with these increasingly ugly pronouncements. At 50 I don’t need to be in thrall to a teenage idol anymore. And neither do you

100% bang on the money. This has been my fall back position in this farago of decline. Constantly, in my mind is the thought that I’m getting too old for all this. The last tour pushed me both mentally and physically. Believe me.
 
I don't know who Stewart Lee is. Apparently he's a "centrist dad." Well, heaven save us from centrist dads. I've always found Morrissey to be on the side of the people who don't reproduce, either because they're too hideous and unloveable to find a mate to procreate with, or because they're too misanthropic and don't want to bring another soul into this world to suffer and to cause suffering. "No baby pulled screaming / Out into this seething whirl / By chance or whim / (Or even love)." Centrist dads; how blandly offensive a tribe. Let him get rid of his Morrissey records. Centrist dads, like David Cameron, should be forbidden from liking Morrissey.
 
Who in F is Stewart Lee? Why doesnt the Guardina simply go and take 'opinions' at the mosque? I mean WTF Stewart Lee?:confused:
 
I don't know who Stewart Lee is. Apparently he's a "centrist dad." Well, heaven save us from centrist dads. I've always found Morrissey to be on the side of the people who don't reproduce, either because they're too hideous and unloveable to find a mate to procreate with, or because they're too misanthropic and don't want to bring another soul into this world to suffer and to cause suffering. "No baby pulled screaming / Out into this seething whirl / By chance or whim / (Or even love)." Centrist dads; how blandly offensive a tribe. Let him get rid of his Morrissey records. Centrist dads, like David Cameron, should be forbidden from liking Morrissey.

You’ve turned his comedic, obviously sarcastic self deprecating term, and made it into a Straw Man for your diatribe. What are you actually offering us by way of opinion? What do you add to the fray? I just see bland, mealy mouthed words.
 

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