Morrissey antes de su visita a Argentina: "La censura está más fuerte que nunca" - La Nación (Argentina) (December 4, 2018)

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Morrissey antes de su visita a Argentina: "La censura está más fuerte que nunca" - La Nación (Argentina), December 4, 2018.

By Pablo Plotkin

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Some images are included in the original interview, see original post or the archived screenshot.

Transcript

(Google Translate to English and countthree [1])

Morrissey before his visit to Argentina: "Censorship is stronger than ever"

In recent years, Morrissey has declared himself in favor of Brexit, against mass migration to Europe, questioned part of #MeToo (which caused Daniel Grinbank to give up producing his show in Argentina) and expressed his support for Anne Marie Waters, leader of For Britain, a right-wing UK party noted as anti-Islam. His interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel, published in December of last year, contained so many controversial textbooks that Morrissey decided to suspend the conversations with written media, with which he only speaks by email (in this way this note was made). Probably he did not change, but the context. The former leader of The Smiths was always an incorrect declarer, and his views on religion, animal rights, music or politics were not always aligned with the dominant discourses of rock. In parallel to this side of debater, in the last decade and a half he fed his work with a campaign of great level, a series of albums ranging from You Are the Quarry (2004) to Low in High School (2017). At this point, his solo catalog competes seriously with that of the Smiths, mythologized forever in the Olympus of youthful emotions. On these things Moz responds before his arrival in Buenos Aires, where he will land for the fifth time to play this Friday at the DirecTV Arena.

Over the last decade and a half you've released a lot of albums, something that didn't happen between the late 90's and early 2000's. What changed in your life that led to this fertile period?

No label signed me for seven years. Then Sanctuary came up, I said "Yes!" and You Are The Quarry came out.

Do you think there is a lack of ideas in current pop music? If so, why would you say it is?

Censorship is stronger than ever. This is because music has been found to be just as politically persuasive as the media. If your music is a manufactured product and a bit faked, the guarantee is that you will do well. If you try to promote independent thinking, you will be considered a radical, and you will be pushed aside.

You said recently about the music press: "You have to write mercilessly about pop artists who probably saved your life." At the same time you're a critical darling. In your case, do you think there are journalists trying to "bury their father"?

Sometimes we can feel ashamed for having loved a singer or a band to such powerful levels, and many times the only way to cure the obsession is to cut off the singer's head.

You are a master of the catchphrase in pop lyric. One of the last titles that comes to mind is "Home Is a Question Mark", from your most recent album. What can you say about this part of your artistic process?

It is, as you assume, a way to stop the eye, or the ear, and people certainly have an enormous capacity to receive, even though there is so much in the commercial arena that insults our intelligence. So a great song title can be just as effective a hook as a great chorus.

You called "morbid sentimentality" the obsession many people have with the Smiths. Why do you think it's still a relevant band?

The songs are very, very good. The name of the band is timeless. There was a unanimous urgency attached to its useful life. It was untouched by product strategy, marketing machinery, stadium tours, or even money. It thrived against a background of immediate enthusiasm, an obvious lack of planning, and not a remote suspicion that there was a career ahead.

Can you tell me the story behind "Who Will Protect Us from the Police?", a song from your last album that talks about Venezuela?

I had been watching a lot of news footage of the riots in Venezuela, and in general I saw the police protecting the people's establishment, who are always referred to as activists, or rebels, or protesters, or mobs... when, in all cases, are only the people . I was wondering why the police automatically attack the town, and why they do it with such enthusiasm. We never see the police protecting the people from corrupt governments. Even when it is the people, and not the governments, that pay the police.

How do you get to those Middle Eastern sounds that pervade some songs from your latest albums?

They are dramatic tunings, I think.

If you traveled back in time and had to describe your songs to a citizen of 19th century London, what would you say?

I would ask her to imagine the need to sing, and that would explain everything. I do not sing to be observed.

What part of the songwriting process do you enjoy the most?

It is a wave of emotions to listen to the first rehearsal of a song. Your voice almost starts to sing without you. Suddenly all the musicians are locked up to germinate an idea that crossed my mind on any given Thursday.

Why did you decline Damon Albarn's invitation to record on Gorillaz's latest album?

Is not my style. I stay on my side of the fence.

Argentina is the world capital of love for the Ramones. You have your particular story with the band, which started as hate [at the age of 17 he wrote a harsh review in Melody Maker] and turned into love. What do the Ramones represent for the history of pop music, and especially for you?

I love them almost irrationally… there is no hate involved, I assure you! It is sad and at the same time funny how his music today is considered almost joyful, when during his existence it was barely considered entertainment. Now supermarkets use Ramones songs in TV ads. It can take the world a long time to catch up.

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