Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Fave Looks and Notebooks

I'm currently starting to think about my packing lists for my trip to see Moz in the US, and have also been doing a fair bit of writing lately. Through my Morrissey-related travels and social media, I've met a number of writers and it's inspiring to meet people who share similar interests to me. Anyway, over the last week or so I have started working on what I think will be a novella-length story (I am not in the least bit focused, so this is the longest piece I've ever set out to do). At first I thought my story was brilliant, but have since read through the first part and thought to myself: "ugh." I haven't a clue what I'm doing! However, we live in a world where E.L. James can get published, so I suppose anything is possible. For now I think I'll keep chipping away at it because I mostly write for myself, and - of course -  to escape reality. On the bright side, the story is supposed to be immensely tragic, and the one person I've revealed the plot to laughed out loud, which I'm entirely sure is a good sign.

Enough about me, what's exciting is that Morrissey and the band are in Australia this week for 5 concert dates - and, judging by Mando's Instagram, are having a good time hanging out at the bar.  In a recent video for Roland UK, Boz said one of his favourite ways to stay busy on the road is drinking, which came as a tremendous shock as I assumed everyone was terribly well-behaved (no, not really).

Give us a drink, and make it quick:

Via farkomalarco on IG


One thing I've always found mesmerizing about Australia is that so many unique animals reside there. I am particularly fond of koalas (I have a little toy one that sits on my desk wearing a plastic hat, even though I've never been there myself before) - and since many fans and the band have been down there, I've seen photos of kangaroos, black swans, and a number of other interesting animals. I'm vaguely wondering if at some point someone will post a photo of a funnel spider or something - which will undoubtedly lead to weeks of nightmares (this is not an invitation to do so).

photo via mwbattery on Instagram





Notebooks:

This week there has also been a new Morrissey interview. Last time Morrissey was in Australia, there was an interview with The Australian that contained one of my favourite all-time Morrissey quotes:

 "Yes, I carry around notebooks because we do tend to hear things that we'll never hear again, so there's no point relying on memory all of the time. I also listen intently to what people say, and I have the annoying habit of constantly seeing it written down before me. This is only annoying because most people don't say anything interesting. Consequently, all of my notebooks are blank."

Thinking of this quote, along with my own - err... attempts - at writing - inspired me to compile a few Morrissey quotes about writing and the writing process. It's fascinating to get a possible window into how he writes, considering his words are what speak to so many of us about our lives. While he is most well-known for his lyrics, we've also gotten a taste of his brilliance for letter-writing (see his old letters to NME and other music mags, or penpal Mackie), post-card writing (often brevity shows wit in its finest quick-punching form), fiction (List of the Lost), and Autobiography. I've also heard in his youth he wrote play(s?). One thing I've picked up on is his ability not only to tap into the intricacies and truths of the human emotional experience (often things many are uncomfortable to speak out about) but also his ability to induce a vivid image inside the listener's or reader's mind (think of the "streets upon streets upon streets" intro to Autobiography). Anyone who has ever tried to write will admit this is not an easy feat. He also seamlessly entwines profundity, sadness, and humour - often all in one song. Just one example I thought of the other day is The Father Who Must Be Killed, which tells an entire short story in a song that's just under 4 minutes. 

Let's take a look at some of the quotes:

Photo by Kevin Cummins

"I understand well why many writers lock themselves away forever. With their words they can recreate the actions they couldn't develop in real life, and not because they are dysfunctional, but because the human race is not empathetic at all. To make true friends can take a lifetime, and at the same time, the more you know a person, the more they disappoint you. They say we are a civilized species, but I insist, turn on the television and you will see what we are: a bunch of crazy people in a global insane asylum." (El Mundo, 2014)


Once you've said you're miserable what's left for you to write about?
"Ooh. There's so much buried in the past to steal from, one's resources are limitless. I'm not saying everything I write has been written before but most of the way I feel comes from the cinema. I fed myself on films like A Taste of Honey, The L-Shaped Room." (The Face, 1984)





When you're writing a song, do you write it in one go, or do you take notes along the days, and when several can fit together, you just gather them?
"I'm less inclined towards notes these days, and have just finished two new songs without any consultation to any scribbled ideas. This happens more and more, notably 'That's How People Grow Up', for instance, just fell out. I'm not sure if they're actually even songs, or simply outbursts or showers of panic. Generally there's a central vocal hook, most typically the chorus, which comes first, and if it doesn't then there's no song. My aim, mostly, is to have every moment of the song as a vocal hook.... that's the hope, anyway." (TTY)



"[My mother] was instrumental in engineering the way I feel about certain things. She instilled Oscar Wilde into me and when the Smiths began, she was very strong-willed and business-minded. Frankly, she always let me do what I wanted. If I didn't want to work she said fine... If I wanted a new typewriter, she'd provide it. She always supported me in an artistic sense, even when many people around her said she was entirely insane for allowing me to stay in and write. It's this working class idea that one is born simply to work, so if you don't you must be of no value to the human race...But everything has worked out well - it's all proved to have some value and she feels as great a sense of achievement as I do." (The Face, 1984).





"I just take the basics of a backing track and shout along to it for a few days... Seeing where the syllables land, and seeing how the words balance out. Suddenly the lyrics form, and a configuration presents itself." (Mozipedia)

"[My] words are basic because I don't want anyone to miss what I'm saying. Lyrics that are intellectual or obscure are no use whatsoever... my lyrics are only obscure to the extent they are not taken directly from the dictionary of writing songs... My only priority is to use lines and words in a way that hasn't been heard before." (Mozipedia)

"I scribble things down in hundreds of notebooks and I have large boxes full of scraps of paper which I use... The title comes first and the vocal melody creates itself." (Mozipedia).


What is your most important inspiration when you write songs?
"These days it's unashamedly my own emotional position, which I now admit to being quite odd. When you're 23 you have poetic license to be searching and confused and obsessed with suicide and greatness in equal measure. But I am now 48 and can no longer be said to be developing a philosophy of life. Things, by now, are meant to be settled. For me, they aren't. I'm still trying to make sense of a world that makes none. As far as romance is concerned, my life has always been absurd, so it's only by the power of song that I attempt to keep body and soul together." (TTY)






How would you describe the process of writing your forthcoming memoir, and what do you hope readers will take from it?
"I think autobiography is mostly self-worship, or personal mythology. In my case, self-disgust is the spur, which doesn't mean it isn't poetic or elevated or even funny." (Rookie Mag, 2013)


Congratulations on the success of your book (Autobiography)
"Well, thanks, but it hasn't stopped selling yet.
...how long did it take you to write?
"Well, I had to live it first, so quite a long time. It was originally 600 pages, but I thought that was a bit too much self-disgust to expect anyone to plough through."
Was it a process you enjoyed?"
"Living it? No. Writing about it, yes. I wrote the childhood sequence almost as a child might, and the adolescent period as an adolescent might, and the adult section as a...suicidalist might. It's really just a factual account of how events affected me, so therefore any criticism of it doesn't make any sense, since I am me, and only I can know what it's like to be me, and so on. It was never meant to be The History of The World." (Hot Press, 2014)


Do you have a certain place where you'd like to be to write songs?
"The answer is in the bath. I lie there for hours singing my head off. Whenever I've moved house, I first call the agent and ask what the bath is like - nothing else much matters." (TTY)




Fave Looks:

In other news, I made another Twitter poll asking people what their favourite Moz look is. Naturally, I was on about my fourth glass of red wine at the time - and this question suddenly hit me as something of tremendous importance that I needed answers to immediately. Twitter still doesn't allow more than four choices, so I chose three categories, and Other (Please Specify), which judging by the number of votes - means that most people selecting this option - indeed - did not specify (I always find this funny because I don't have much to laugh at most of the time!).

I took it upon myself to make collages of the the three looks I selected, being:

Suit/Jacket: 




Double Denim:




Cardigan <3:




I don't think it would take much guessing to figure out which category I was hoping would win... But, I had to do the right thing and give everyone who wanted to vote a voice in the matter - and the final breakdown was:



As we can see, the Dapper Suit/Jacket option came first with 43% of the votes, and in second place was the Dashing Cardigan option, with 32% of the votes. Dazzling Double Denim came in third with 16% of the votes. 9% preferred Other, and some write ins included:

"Thin see-through shirts, Kill Uncle Style"
"Flowery Shirt" (I have a soft spot for these as well)
"Nothing at all" (blushing!)
and
"Old Grey Whistle Test, as the Smiths singing Bigmouth. In tie, jacket, jeans, hearing aid, and glasses"




So I think I'll watch that clip myself - and then I'm off to stare at a blinkering cursor on a word document, or (not) sleep (probably). I'm looking forward to hearing about the Australian shows over the next while. Adelaide is up next - and Moz has also added three new US dates to his tour (Detroit, Cleveland, and Chicago):

http://www.true-to-you.net/morrissey_news_161024_01

*Oh and just as I'm about to publish this I see two more Australian interviews have appeared, so I'll link those:

Morrissey Says Animals Lose on Language

and

Morrissey Slams X-Factory Reality Shows


(Thanks to @MozzeriansATW for tweeting the links)

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

Jakarta and Jardigans

While I clumsily drop toast plates and talk to ducks in the park, I've been keeping my eye on updates from Morrissey's Asian tour. I'm so pleased for some of my Twitter friends who have been waiting with such anticipation to see him on Indonesian soil, as Morrissey just landed in Jakarta yesterday. I'm also getting a bit of a giggle out of the fact that some people are staying in a hotel called the Morrissey Hotel - where even the shower caps have 'Morrissey' written on them (surely this is nearly heaven?).

Morrissey Hotel in Jakarta

This morning I was treated to photos and videos of Morrissey arriving at the airport behind Boz, who was pushing a massive cardboard box on a luggage trolly.  Morrissey's nephew Sam was also there, snapping photos in a Jesse Tobias t-shirt. I've never seen anyone look as dashing as Morrissey does at the airport! I usually look like a stale, frazzled, dazzled, confused disaster - more often than not walking in the wrong direction (I am spatially inept). Some very lucky people got photographs and autographs - which is why I try to carry a sharpie with me when I travel on a Morrissey tour, because you just never know. Sadly, the only famous person I've ever seen at an airport is pornographer Ron Jeremy looking terrifically unwashed; no... I didn't recognize him from his films... and no... I didn't go say hello. 

Signing autographs (SER representing TOBIAS) (photo via deny_dean)


Meeting fans (photo via dewadeasywalda on Instagram)

I've also just finally started diving into the Uncut magazine I bought in Manchester in August. I'm particularly delighted by the two-page spread of Morrissey's letters to music mags from the 70's and early 80's. It's nice to have a lot of them in one place (see also here for archives: http://www.passionsjustlikemine.com/magazines-presmiths.htm ) It takes me back to an image of him writing in his bedroom at the house on Kings Road. If you're wondering, the wit has always been there, and so has his enviable arsenal of adjectives, and of course, a cheeky blazing bite. He does have a way with words.  


Uncut Magazine and my cat-print pants

Here are some of my favourite excerpts:


On the Sex Pistols:

"The bumptiuos Pistols in jumble sale attire had those few that attended dancing in the aisles despite their discordant music and barely audible lyrics... I'd love to see the Pistols make it. Maybe then they will be able to afford some clothes which don't look as though they've been slept in." (to NME, 1976)

On the Buzzcocks:

"Buzzcocks differ in only one way from their contemporaries! - they possess a spark of originality (that was important once, remember?), and their music gives you the impression they spent longer than the customary ten minutes clutching the quill in preparation to write...
...Both this letter and Buzzcocks themselves will probably be filed and forgotten.
But for now, they are only the best kick-ass rock band in the country. Go and see them first and then you  may have the audacity to contradict me, you stupid sluts."  (to NME, 1977)

and what a way to sign a letter... 

" P.S. I work for the Inland Revenue - am I still allowed to be a punk?" (NME, 1977)

Still allowed to be a punk?

In other news, I also made a breathtaking discovery while drinking the most bitter Malbec imaginable and perusing Instagram the other night.  It appears that a few years ago, Moz was spotted wearing - oooh the palpable excitement as I type this - a jacket-type-cardigan thing. Since it was not my birthday anymore, this was like a late birthday present!  Some of you (I know there are others so fixated on luscious layering items) may remember earlier in the year Morrissey appeared at LAX carrying a dazzling sweater-y number over his arm and the stir it created on Twitter as I made a poll trying to discern if this item was in fact a jacket, cardigan, or 'jardigan' (a seemingly original phrase I thought I had coined, but woefully did not). Lamentably, jardigan did not win, and nor did cardigan. 

Below is the LAX photo from this May:



Well, never fear because jardigan strikes again - albeit from the past - and I knew I had to grab the chance to create a second poll with this newly discovered photo:



Oh my goodness... SO, thanks to a few retweets, this poll ended up amassing over 200 votes. and... Jardigan won quite handily with 51% of the votes:


Goosebumps and gloriousness! Well it's not too long until Morrissey's concert in Jakarta. I might update this with a few photos and the setlist later.

*UPDATE w/ setlist:

"My heart... my heart... my heart... Jakarta"*

Via zgromadzenie on Instagram

Via dolleydoll on Instagram

Via thedisplaymlg on Instagram




Moz: "Do you like Donald Trump?"

Audience: "NOOO"

Moz: "Did you know that world peace is none of your business?"*

*(concert quotes from @madesarimame & @rapplerID)


Via inabritpop on Instagram

SETLIST:
(October 12th, Jakarta)


1. Suedehead
2. Alma Matters
3. Everyday Is Like Sunday
4. Kiss me A Lot
5. Speedway
6. Ouija Board, Ouija Board
7. Let Me Kiss You
8. World Peace Is None Of Your Business
9. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris
10. You're The One For Me, Fatty
11. Judy Is A Punk
12. Jack The Ripper
13. Ganglord
14. First Of The Gang To Die
15. The Bullfighter Dies
16. The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores
17. How Soon Is Now?
18. You Have Killed Me
19. Meat Is Murder



Via aparatmati on Instagram