The Decemberists' Colin Meloy on the trouble with being a Morrissey fan - NME

The Decemberists on life in Trump’s America, and the trouble with being a Morrissey fan - NME

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, we also asked Meloy about his current feelings on Morrissey. For his debut solo outing in 2005, he recorded six covers for the EP ‘Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey’. However, the frontman admitted that his fandom didn’t stretch as far as the former Smiths‘ singer’s recent work – or his string of controversial comments.

“I’m still absolutely invested, in a certain era of his work,” Meloy told NME. “I thought there was a lot of great stuff on the 2004 record ‘You Are The Quarry’. To me that was a return to form because I had ‘Maladjusted’ and ‘South Paw Grammar’. I had kind of fallen away. My thing with Morrissey is I that I just wish he had different songwriting partners. I feel like his guitar wall, arena rock thing it just doesn’t work. During the era of ‘Bona Drag’ and ‘Kill Uncle’, there was a lot of really weird, interesting decisions being made. And also he’s a terrible person!”

Asked if he was able to celebrate an individual’s art from their views, Meloy replied: “I think with Morrissey you’re primed for that. It was no secret that he was a terrible person, I think going way back. Even as a teenager. He’s nobody that you want to spend that much time with. He’s the one hero of mine who I haven’t met who I think I’m OK with not ever having met. But I think that’s sort of something that we have to grapple with.

“Like with Woody Allen, ‘Crimes And Misdemeanours’ is one of my favourite movies of all time. But how do you divorce that from the guy who made it who is sort of a sociopath? We’re kind of figuring it out as it goes along. It’s awful.”
 
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Have to say this is pretty spot-on. "He's a terrible person." Then compares liking his work to liking Woody Allen's work which might be a stretch but Morrissey put himself in that conversation with the Weinstein/Spacey comments.
The Decembrist guy is clearly an idiot.
 
The Decembrist guy is clearly an idiot.

I'm sorry but that's not an argument. I don't know why there are still people who believe that a personal attack with nothing to back it up is an opinion worth typing out, though that did presumably take minimal effort.

You believe he is an idiot because you disagree. What do you disagree with? "Morrissey is not a terrible person" is not an answer, by the way. He makes his case and you should make yours if you care enough to discuss it.
I'm personally ignorant in many ways and always ready to learn something new, but this guy sums up how I feel about Morrissey pretty well and I think it's how many people who might have once called themselves fans feel. So educate us. Make your case.

It's really important, I think, for the fans, the ex-fans, the audience, the haters, and everyone else except the Mozbots to try to distinguish between the work and the person. Some of the work is really unique which alone makes it remarkable and valid, and beyond the uniqueness he is able to get inside and express certain feelings and situations that almost no one else in pop music is able to do. Morrissey is an artist who has done some really great work but I also think it's not that outrageous or surprising that someone can enjoy his work and also feel that he's a terrible person and I'm pretty sure you can make a case for that using his own words.

This is in contrast to The Decembrists who might be the best people in the world but whose work when I've been exposed to it, has held zero interest for me.
 
Have to say this is pretty spot-on. "He's a terrible person." Then compares liking his work to liking Woody Allen's work which might be a stretch but Morrissey put himself in that conversation with the Weinstein/Spacey comments.

Well no, making comments about sex offences will never be remotely comparable with people who have actually been accused of committing sex offences.
 
Well no, making comments about sex offences will never be remotely comparable with people who have actually been accused of committing sex offences.
Sure but some random idiot with a swastika tattoo isn't comparable to Hitler either but you're still going to associate the two things when he starts telling you the Holocaust never happened.
 
I love Colin meloy and to a degree sort of agree but I think he’s exaggerating. The new album for sure isn’t arena rock and like others have said he’s no woody Allen either. It can be tough at times with some of what morrissey says buts he’s not a terrible person for not being social or liking brexit etc. kinda curious how he feels about his own work and fan opinions though. There’s a lot of people currently not feeling the idea of him making synth music or enjoying the new album wishing he’d go back to the her majesty sound. I’m assuming he’s gonna keep making the music he personally wants to though
 
The Decemberists are what you get if you were to put They Might Be Giants and Mumford & Sons in a menage a trois with a lubed up thesaurus. f***ing horrid, horrid, band, and pretentious assholes in real life too.
 
The Decemberists are what you get if you were to put They Might Be Giants and Mumford & Sons in a menage a trois with a lubed up thesaurus. f***ing horrid, horrid, band, and pretentious assholes in real life too.

Not even close to a good comparison. Don’t know what they’re like in real life though
 
Sure but some random idiot with a swastika tattoo isn't comparable to Hitler either but you're still going to associate the two things when he starts telling you the Holocaust never happened.

But in the piece he did compare the two of them.
 
Not even close to a good comparison. Don’t know what they’re like in real life though
Let's see. Turn up the hurdy gurdy, or banjo, or 1940's film projector ran through a delay pedal as it projects home movies found at a local Goodwill on super-8 onto a found bedsheet (don't worry that people can't see the films, they'll feel them and every now and again the mics pick up the flapping of the sheet) and throw in a lot of 50 cent words in an off-putting nasal voice that nobody actually loves, and sing about chimney sweeps and whatever other sepia toned horse-shit that you can think of. I'd rather listen to the Builders and the Butchers, because at least they don't suck cock for Powell's books gift certificates.
 
Let's see. Turn up the hurdy gurdy, or banjo, or 1940's film projector ran through a delay pedal as it projects home movies found at a local Goodwill on super-8 onto a found bedsheet (don't worry that people can't see the films, they'll feel them and every now and again the mics pick up the flapping of the sheet) and throw in a lot of 50 cent words in an off-putting nasal voice that nobody actually loves, and sing about chimney sweeps and whatever other sepia toned horse-shit that you can think of. I'd rather listen to the Builders and the Butchers, because at least they don't suck cock for Powell's books gift certificates.

They’re more belle and Sebastian meet neutral milk hotel with some smiths r.e.m and the Beatles thrown in. They’ve got some of the best story telling in modern music and it’s more than just throwing in antiquated fifty cent words. Songs about being in love with spies that betray you watching them shot on tv, homeless kids who wandered away due to abuse and there overly romantic natures, tales of revenge that lead men across the high seas and to murder in the belly of whales, songs of lovers going down together and life as a competitive sports arenas and that’s just one album. An album that contains violin chamber music, acoustic folk, big beat pop songs, sea shanty tunes etc etc. they’re songs are complex both musically in stylistic variation and lyrically (well not on this new one) and melodically. The fact that they can be both complex and catchy serious and funny at the same time is magic. Now for sure they’re not as down to earth and real and unpretentious as the cure but then who can be
 
Pompous no talent idiots. They are balding and wear sweaters with elbow patches in the summer. Total jerks.
Pontificating about politics....

Being interviewed by the NME "BLOG", as the NME lost everything and could not publish any longer. Had to sell the office furniture to pay off the electric bill.Couldn't afford to print hard copies, had no advertisers. Now they have a blog where novice snowflakes print tripe without being paid.
While these tossers commiserate, Moz has a string of sellouts and a top 10 album.:lbf:
 
They’re more belle and Sebastian meet neutral milk hotel with some smiths r.e.m and the Beatles thrown in. They’ve got some of the best story telling in modern music and it’s more than just throwing in antiquated fifty cent words. Songs about being in love with spies that betray you watching them shot on tv, homeless kids who wandered away due to abuse and there overly romantic natures, tales of revenge that lead men across the high seas and to murder in the belly of whales, songs of lovers going down together and life as a competitive sports arenas and that’s just one album. An album that contains violin chamber music, acoustic folk, big beat pop songs, sea shanty tunes etc etc. they’re songs are complex both musically in stylistic variation and lyrically (well not on this new one) and melodically. The fact that they can be both complex and catchy serious and funny at the same time is magic. Now for sure they’re not as down to earth and real and unpretentious as the cure but then who can be
Why do you bring up the Cure as if I look at Robert Smith as an infallible genius? I simply think the Decemberists are as bad as anything I've heard, and 2/3 of Portland musicians are insufferable, so that's no big deal there. Art is subjective and all, but if I want to hear an overly intellectual adenoidal storyteller act, I think the Mountain Goats do it much better and with much more relatable and interesting characters within the stories.
 
The Decemberists made a anti-Semitic song called "Jew lie, Jew lie". Colin Meloy is a terrible person.
 
The Decemberists are what you get if you were to put They Might Be Giants and Mumford & Sons in a menage a trois with a lubed up thesaurus. f***ing horrid, horrid, band, and pretentious assholes in real life too.

Never mind the points he makes, HE MAKES SHIT MUSIC.

LOOK OVER THERE

Tremendous.
 
I'm sorry but that's not an argument. I don't know why there are still people who believe that a personal attack with nothing to back it up is an opinion worth typing out, though that did presumably take minimal effort.

You believe he is an idiot because you disagree. What do you disagree with? "Morrissey is not a terrible person" is not an answer, by the way. He makes his case and you should make yours if you care enough to discuss it.
I'm personally ignorant in many ways and always ready to learn something new, but this guy sums up how I feel about Morrissey pretty well and I think it's how many people who might have once called themselves fans feel. So educate us. Make your case.

It's really important, I think, for the fans, the ex-fans, the audience, the haters, and everyone else except the Mozbots to try to distinguish between the work and the person. Some of the work is really unique which alone makes it remarkable and valid, and beyond the uniqueness he is able to get inside and express certain feelings and situations that almost no one else in pop music is able to do. Morrissey is an artist who has done some really great work but I also think it's not that outrageous or surprising that someone can enjoy his work and also feel that he's a terrible person and I'm pretty sure you can make a case for that using his own words.

This is in contrast to The Decembrists who might be the best people in the world but whose work when I've been exposed to it, has held zero interest for me.
Watching Morrissey/Smiths videos recently he has appeared with the words 'bad' 'evil' and 'vile' on his body or apparel. I do possibly think Morrissey could be evil, but I think this about myself and everyone else sometimes.
 
Well, calling him a terrible person for being ignorant, and flippant is absurd, but the rest made sense.

If Morrissey is a terrible person, then most of us are terrible people. I know what you're thinking: Of course we are, but let's be adults about this.

Much of this moral righteousness about allegiance comes form younger people who have yet to experience major life failures, and tend to idealize the minds, and attitudes of adults they admire. Even the smallest betrayals can lead to claims of Satanism. So, let's keep Morrissey's ignorance in perspective.

Yes, Morrissey is as guilty of that same juvenile militancy as anyone, and it's likely why why he tends to absorb much of the criticism he levels at others. Still, we should never expect an artist to mirror our own minds. I understand the impulse, but this is a battle meant for adolescent minds, not the "mature" fan-base.

Morrissey has always projected a degree of unlikeablity since the beginning. He's a bit of bully at heart, but you shouldn't desire, or expect some kind of imaginary relationship with him.

Morrissey is a coward with a micro platform who doesn't have much influence, or even projects a sense of seriousness about his ideas. Stop expecting him to be the Book of Revelations.
 

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