Morrissey A-Z: "I'm Playing Easy to Get"

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member



Our song for today is this Morrissey/Boorer composition - recorded for a BBC Radio Janice Long session in December 2004 but never officially released.

What do we think?
 
Haven't heard this one in quite awhile. Something about the title and the sound remind me of 90's Morrissey - in a good way. A cleaned up version or a proper studio recording would have made for a very solid b-side.
 
I just love the lyrics so much, I always enjoy Morrissey being silly / playful with words.

Don't dig for
A metaphor
Has it not twigged with you yet?

and

Do I have to
Drop anchor like a sailor
To switch on the bulb in your head?

and

I'm so easy
Maybe you've had me
If you had then you would not forget

...all just make me smile.

(Actually that last one reminds me of the women who was so nervous when she met Prince Philip that she blurted out "I did the Duke of Edinburgh" to which he replied "I'm sure I'd remember that".)
 
this would be in my top ten M songs,oh for a cleaned up version,i would be in heaven,well not literally.
as said above some great lines in this.vivamozz.
9 coles/10 cahuengas.
 
Good song. Too good to be forgotten. Wonder, if they ever managed to record a proper studio version. Would have been a fitting one-off single between Quarry and ROTT in early 2005 .
 
Dear lord, how I love this song. I’ve quoted it to potential lovers, sang along to it at the top of my lungs in the shower or while cooking supper, and all the while cursed the old Mozzer for not giving a proper release. Apart from BDE, it might be my favorite of the unreleased and super rare.
 
I've never heard this before. Listening to it makes me wish Morrissey had more organ in his music.
 
I haven’t heard this in years – somehow, criminally, it wasn’t in my current collection - @BookishBoy – thank you for reminding me of its existence – you have made my day! Elusive gems like this reminds me of the wealth of live recordings and radio sessions that are out there – all worthy of some form of official release. If Action really was Morrissey’s middle name, I see no reason why he couldn’t, at the very least, get these BBC recordings released.

As to the song itself, just lovely – a pleasant tune and fantastic lyrics; telling, intriguing and suitably oblique. It comes and goes all to quickly.

Well, that’s me ruined for the day – how can I concentrate at work when this nugget is in permanent rotation in my head? A question for American friends across the ocean: “Between Cole and Cahuenga” – I assume that these are referring to street names in Los Angeles, but can anyone give a little more context on what this may mean? Or should I not dig for a secondary meaning?
 
I haven’t heard this in years – somehow, criminally, it wasn’t in my current collection - @BookishBoy – thank you for reminding me of its existence – you have made my day! Elusive gems like this reminds me of the wealth of live recordings and radio sessions that are out there – all worthy of some form of official release. If Action really was Morrissey’s middle name, I see no reason why he couldn’t, at the very least, get these BBC recordings released.

As to the song itself, just lovely – a pleasant tune and fantastic lyrics; telling, intriguing and suitably oblique. It comes and goes all to quickly.

Well, that’s me ruined for the day – how can I concentrate at work when this nugget is in permanent rotation in my head? A question for American friends across the ocean: “Between Cole and Cahuenga” – I assume that these are referring to street names in Los Angeles, but can anyone give a little more context on what this may mean? Or should I not dig for a secondary meaning?
Wasn’t his favorite hangout, The Cat and the Fiddle, situated between Cole and Cahuenga? Somewhere near Sunset?
 
Wasn’t his favorite hangout, The Cat and the Fiddle, situated between Cole and Cahuenga? Somewhere near Sunset?
@Gregor Samsa – huzzah! Yes, that makes sense to me – Hollywood! (Please forgive my knowledge of Californian geography, having never been). The Cat & Fiddle appears to be in this part of town, along with a number of other spots which I imagine Morrissey would have visited regularly, including the Hollywood Forever Cemetery (as pictured on the cover of Something is Squeezing My Skull, and I believe, once mentioned by Morrissey as a potential a spot where he may like to be buried).
 
A shame that this one was never completed as it had some potential. Morrissey's contributions are the highlights and his voice and vocal melodies are again key.

The music is forgettable, but might have been improved with a proper production.

In the poll on the Hoffman board it ranked 179th from 264 solo songs.
 
Poor sound quality does not allow to fully enjoy this wonderful song. May it finally be released properly . I like it a lot .
 
Yeah well... Sometimes you play too Esty to bother getting at all...


:laughing: Aaahh, the pain of laughter...
 
Love it. I agree with the others who are desperately longing for a cleaned up version of this. It’s just a great song that always leaves a smile on my face.
 
I've always liked this song and felt it has some real potential. As others have mentioned, it feels a bit mid-90s and I think with the proper production it could've sounded like a Vauxhall or Boxers outtake. Shame he let this one go, though he was clearly intent on steering the ship in a different direction.
 
Yes, straight onto the rocks.
Certainly by my definition. I'm going to make a broad assumption, but I don't think Morrissey particularly likes gentle music. At least not for himself. It seems as though each time he begins to coast on something dreamy and atmospheric, he feels the need to pull back and do something "tough." The difference between something like this song and "I Will See You in Far-Off Places" is night and day, obviously.
 
Well, that’s me ruined for the day – how can I concentrate at work when this nugget is in permanent rotation in my head? A question for American friends across the ocean: “Between Cole and Cahuenga” – I assume that these are referring to street names in Los Angeles, but can anyone give a little more context on what this may mean? Or should I not dig for a secondary meaning?
It's actually been discussed here a few times over the years - this thread seemed the most informative.
 
It's actually been discussed here a few times over the years - this thread seemed the most informative.
Thank you @SuedeMoz for this insightful thread - such a wealth of information. I am a fan of Jobriath's work and recall that during Morrissey’s Attack years he released a Jobriath compilation, Lonely Planet Boy. That wound have been released around the same time as Morrissey penned I’m Playing Easy To Get - 2004. 10 or so years later and a lovely album of Jobriath ‘lost’ demo’s and whatnot, As The River Flows was released. Perhaps Morrissey head heard some of these then unreleased songs back in 2004? One of the (for me) album highs, Wildfire In Memphis, also namechecks Hollywood and Selma Avenue. Possibly a coincidence, possibly not…
 
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