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Unsung Forum » 'Morrissey is racist' - Moz responds |
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Merrick 2148 posts |
Jan 07, 2008, 14:01
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Forgive me if someone's already posted this. Morrissey's eloquent response to the NME 'Morrissey is racist' thing http://true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_071203_02
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philiph20 80 posts |
Jan 07, 2008, 20:49
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Wouldn't it be marvelous if 2008 would be the last year for the NME... the musical equivalent of Hello magazine..woeful!!!
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Popel Vooje 5373 posts |
Edited Jan 08, 2008, 20:58
Jan 08, 2008, 06:26
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I agree. If anything, I think he's being overly generous - I stopped buying it around mid-1987 after they published that trashily promoted "Youth Suicide" article. Switched to Melody Maker for a few years after that, since - despite the overblown and often hyperbolic tone of it's writing - they seemed quicker off the mark when it came to promoting interesting new bands at that point than NME. Then, aound ten years ago (in the same week Princess Di karked it if I remember rightly), MM changed editor, had Zoe Ball on the cover, and dumbed down to the point of being unreadable to anyone over the age of 16. Then (hahaha) they had to merge with NME before shutting up shop completely. I can only agree with you by hoping NME meets the same sorry demise at some point this year. I've met Conor Mc Nicholas in person and he's the most arrogant, superscilious ex-public schoolboy twat I've ever had the misfortune to encounter (apart from the other guitarist / singer in my last band, that is, but we won't go into that...) Mind you, it would have been no loss to me if Morrissey hadn't released any more records after the Smiths' debut either, if I'm honest. Good response nonetheless.
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Kid Calamity 9048 posts |
Edited Jan 08, 2008, 10:27
Jan 08, 2008, 09:56
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I rarely read anything longer than a couple of paragraphs on any website, for some reason. I think reading on a screen somehow feels uncomfortable. Anyway, I've just read that Morrissey letter in its whole and have just been reminded of what an eloquent chap he is. He is absolutely spot on with what the NME was and sadly now is. I can only hope that it is a wake up call to IPC to clear out the dregs from that office and install some fresh enthusiastic faces. But where would they look?
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KARL MAX 71 posts |
Jan 08, 2008, 13:02
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Does anybody really read music weeklies like NME or MM? Those rags NEVER had any clue to whats going on outside of the a&r departments. The only things I can remember NME ever doing of interest was that Julian Cope Horror Asparagus/garagepsych blabfest. That must have been in 83 or 84? And, surprise, doing Dungen band of the year in 06. Thruth is that I have tons of popmusicwritings (Meltzer, Bangs aso) but they weren't that fun either, never really finished anything by those lauded writers. The best blabs on paper on music was by Paul Majors in his recordlist. And the mighty Kicks magazine of course. Why the big rags never employed Billy Miller or Miriam Linna is beyond me.
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Lord Lucan 2702 posts |
Jan 08, 2008, 13:09
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This came up in an internet search I just did. Old news, but interesting, and does seem to back up the gist of what Morrissey is saying. http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1656637,00.html This bit in particular is interesting: Guardian Unlimited wrote: Called upon to explain how the poll was compiled, however, Mr McNicholas said: "The mechanics are a reflection of NME editorial policy. It's a very fuzzy process. We take a vote in the office; it's quite informal." A spokesman for the magazine later clarified the situation, saying: "All the writers are asked for their top 50 albums of the year, which is then collated and passed to the editors. "This is probably an early working document, nothing more. There's nothing suspicious going on." Sounds like the kind of gerrymandering that'd put a smile on Robert Mugabe's smarmy fizzog
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IanB 6761 posts |
Edited Jan 08, 2008, 13:50
Jan 08, 2008, 13:38
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I agree that in the era of Wilde, Roberts, Mathur, Studs, Reynolds, Stubbs et al the writing on Melody Maker was of a reasonable standard and they were early on many a bandwagon. MM was a veritable oasis of literary and journalistic talent and critical insight compared with the likes of Hewitt, O'Hagan, Brown et al and their obsession with hip hop and anything that wasn't in any way shape or form Rock. The NME ceased being alternative music's paper-of-record with Neil Spencer's passing. Melody Maker was also chronically under-funded compared with the NME which was considered to be the flagship publication. That's nought to do with the relative merits of the two papers of course. The industry considered NME to be the cooler publication so advertising funds, general booty and preferential access flowed in their direction. No coincidence that the final demise of MM came with the cut in print advertising spends by the majors and the ubiquity of the internet. As far as IPC was concerned its raison d'etre was to soak up excess industry ad spending. Hard to believe how much one hung on the inkies every word in the 70s though we also forget how unreadable a lot of it was. It's like when people overstate the fabulousness of OGWT. Most weeks it was lame and lazy. Peel could also be maddeningly inconsistent which was of course part of his huge charm as a broadcaster. My 16 year old daughter still reads Kerrang but only as a social thing. She wouldn't miss it if it went away overnight. Take away You Tube and she'd be marching on Downing Street! I don't miss any of the weeklies. I miss some of the writers and their enthusiasms but it was blogger standard journalism by and large. Especially when they regularly got into naming a new Future Of Rock And Roll on the basis of a 20 minute set in the Bull and Gate!
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Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Jan 08, 2008, 14:02
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Good points very well made. And I'm glad to see Morrissey actively adressing the issue. If there was one mistake he made when the whole "Is Morrissey racist?" thing flared up the first time round it was the sense of his hubris and perhaps even arrogance and reliance that his fans would be happy for him to refuse to comment on such potentially damaging accusations. Perhaps he thought he was maintaining a dignified silence but I think it came over badly when he could easily have nipped it in the bud and put a stop to such rumours. As a Morrissey fan I know at least I wanted him to say something, to speak out and defend his case with the kind of wit and eloquence on display in this new article. Again, perhaps he thought he would be seen as "not playing the game" but his inaction could be read as being arrogant, even by his devoted fans. Certainly I think it damaged his career and standing somewhat. I'm not quite the Morrissey devotee I was but I read the recent NME piece that caused the furor this time round - oddly enough the first NME I'd bought in aeons to see for myself what the fuss was about so I'm afraid the NME's obvious attempt to shift a few copies worked on me for one issue - and there is no doubt in my mind that it was a hatchet job pure and simple. There were moments that it appeared at the very least that Morrissey could have perhaps chosen his words more carefully, given the previous history with such issues, but overall it was glaringly obvious that the NME was stitching him, and their readers up. So I'm glad that by choosing to speak out and defend his corner this time, Morrissey has shown the NME in it's true light. Cheeky bugger too, using the "truculent and devious" quote that was applied to him by a Judge several years ago. I don't think Morrissey is a saint, or perhaps as untouchable as he often seems to think he is , but I think he's done the right thing in the right way here.
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Lord Lucan 2702 posts |
Jan 08, 2008, 14:48
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I lost it with NME and stopped reading it the day they stupidly had 'Comedy Is The New Rock & Roll' emblazoned across the front cover. It summed up how little they really cared/knew about music. And it confirmed my feeling that most of these journalists were literature graduates with an infuriating obsession with lyrics. It's so much easier to review a record just from a lyrical perspective rather than trying to describe what the music actually sounds like. So many times I'd read a review and be left wondering what the FUCK it sounded like, because I'd just read an undergraduate thesis on the lead singer's psychological/political foibles, which has never been my main interest in music anyway. In my opinion everyone who submits Unsung reviews on this site does a better and more courageous job of writing record reviews that actually attempt to describe MUSIC than any NME writers did back then (can't speak for it now cos it's years since I even stood in a newsagents and thumbed through it out of curiosity whilst waiting for a train.) They came across as careerists with little or no real interest in music at all, and Morrissey's claim that the journo who interviewed him was proud of his own ignorance seems to prove nothing's changed.
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Moon Cat 9577 posts |
Jan 08, 2008, 15:05
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Lord Lucan wrote: Sounds like the kind of gerrymandering that'd put a smile on Robert Mugabe's smarmy fizzog That poor old Gerry Mander gets some stick though doesn't he?
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