Bobby Don't You Think They Know New York

January is a lulling month, with skies and pavement reflecting each other’s dismal grey, so to break up the monotony, I thought it would be a good time to book a trip to New York and visit some Moz friends. Waking up in Brooklyn the morning after crossing the continent cramped and crammed into two economy class flights, my first delight was a purring peaches and cream kitty nestled beside me, and then, upon checking notifications on my phone, my next delight was discovering that a snippet of a new Morrissey single was circulating the net. Stale jetlag evaporating in an instant, I fumbled with my phone for that heart-surging initial listen and Bobby Don’t You Think They Know graced my ears (and the kitty’s) for the first time.

Morrissey on Broadway, photo by me

And oh, what perfect timing to be visiting a tour friend for the release, as decades fall away and we are suddenly oozing teenage excitement because how can we not? By mid-afternoon, the entire track is available to stream, much to our enraptured screams. With each listen of Bobby, another new layer is uncovered.

Featuring R&B powerhouse Thelma Houston, Bobby Don’t You Think They Know is the first single from Morrissey’s upcoming album I Am Not A Dog On A Chain. The song opens with a catchy keyboard riff, higher notes pushing forward with sparkling urgency, whilst underneath lush dark chords resonate. Darkness and light expound first phrases, and well, we wonder, “what is this song about?” Morrissey’s smooth voice invites us into Bobby’s dark underworld: “ice, blow, spikes, snow... Bobby don’t you think they know?” He’s forceful, but then, he softens, “aren’t you... tired of... pretending? I know, you’re tortured... below.” Man, Bobby is going through it and it’s heavy.

Thelma and Morrissey (via thelmahoustonofficial Instagram)

Then, Thelma joins in and the harmonizing begins. Their voices work well together: Morrissey’s silky smooth vocals blend, balance, and drive mesmerizingly with Houston’s nimble yet controlled phrasing. It’s elegant and plucky at once. While the tune is definitely keyboard-based, guitars and bass, with gritty-city distortion cradle the keys nicely, and add texture to the track. For anyone unversed in druggie-slang, you’ll pick it up here, as Bobby has been more than merely dabbling, trying to mask his “torture down below” with a cocktail of uppers and downers. An organ solo adds vintage flair, a bit of late 60’s a la Doors, and builds with Houston’s gospel rock vocal accents into streetwise vibrato-driven baritone and tenor saxophones. Bobby is a truly textured musical piece, simultaneously dark, smooth, heavy – and showcases Morrissey’s uncanny ability to fabric a short story - a life - within a pop song; his lyrics always leave us wanting more and wondering more.

Undoubtedly, the release of a new Morrissey single added an extra spring in my step whilst pounding the shoe-worn pavements of Brooklyn, and, combined with the news (unveiled back in December) that Morrissey is planning another May New York residency, this time at the Harlem Apollo, there lingers a certain sparkle in NYC air. My friend and I decided to tackle the subways up to Harlem, taking in cultural sites and a quick glimpse at the legendary Apollo, which stands with dramatic anticipation amongst the bustle of street vendors and dusky lights.

Harlem at Dusk by me

New York is one of those cities that breathes art, culture, inspiration, and as a place where such divine, revolutionary literature and music are birthed, it has been an influential city for Morrissey. Even buildings and subways throb struggle-art, art-struggle, as well as a certain edginess that evokes and erupts cultural shift to anyone who is paying attention. So, my visit did bring to mind some of Morrissey’s New York influences, and while I’m sure I’m missing many (do forgive), I thought I’d touch on some here:

1. The New York Dolls

via Esquire

Well, obviously! The Dolls were one of those bands decades ahead of their time, and struck young Morrissey like otherworldly lightning. Forcing open the lock-and-key of gender-specific fashion, with hair teased to the skies, they shocked any “basic” who even glanced their way, and they merged sultry pout with aggressive snarl both in appearance and sound. Morrissey has described them as “the mafia of rock and roll” (Face, 1985) and “the band who completely destroyed and changed my life” (Mozipedia). “At last I am someone!” (Autobiography – of which pages 68-75 may remind you of just how much the Dolls mean to Mozzer).

Teenage Moz in a Dolls tee via Pinterest

Morrissey ran the Dolls fan club in the 1970’s, and published a short book, The New York Dolls in 1981. Most astoundingly, he facilitated the band’s reunion in 2004 for his Meltdown festival, documented in the film New York Doll, featuring the story of bassist Arthur Kane, who tragically passed away only a few weeks later. In 2006, Morrissey covered the Dolls’ Human Being.

Morrissey, on the New York Dolls (via Louder ThanWar):

“They looked and sounded sensational. The lyrics had a fantastic rat-a-tat-tat spit to them, and the retching sound of Thunder’s guitar sounded completely unique to me. I was completely hooked – and I still am. Love at first sight. Or sound.”

2. Lou Reed

via Rolling Stone

Morrissey first saw NYC-born Reed live in 1972, where he was captivated by Reed’s unique poetic rock and being: “Lou Reed is unimpressed by applause, and lives a life detached from custom. His stare is cold and his romanticism is brutal. His songs are half-sung melodies of menace. He might drop dead any second, and is therefore the real thing.” (Autobiography). In 2013, Morrissey covered Reed track Satellite Of Love. Reed’s disregard for any notion of imposed societal ‘rules’ and misfit mystique must have spoken to Morrissey, and he chose the Velvet Underground’s The Black Angel’s Death Song amongst his Desert Island discs. After Reed’s death, Morrissey wrote on True To You:

“No words to express the sadness at the death of Lou Reed. He had been there all of my life. He will always be pressed to my heart. Thank God for those, like Lou, who move within their own laws, otherwise imagine how dull the world would be. I knew the Lou of recent years and he was always full of good heart. His music will outlive time itself. We are all timebound, but today, with the loss of liberating Lou, life is a pigsty.”

3. The Ramones

Ramones on Subway Train by Bob Gruen

Formed in Queens, the Ramones soon impressed young Morrissey with their blitz blast of raw punk songs. In a 2012 interview, Morrissey remarked that his “love for the Ramones would out-live time itself. And it shall. Well, it virtually has already. If the Ramones were alive today, they’d be the biggest band in the world. It takes the world 30 years to catch on, doesn’t it?” and in 2014, Morrissey curated a Ramones compilation. Two years, later, in 2016, Morrissey covered Judy is a Punk at a Brooklyn concert, later releasing the song on Low in High School Deluxe Edition. He also often uses photos of the Ramones as stage backdrops.

4. James Baldwin

Baldwin in Harlem via The New York Times

Harlem-born writer and social activist Baldwin has greatly inspired Morrissey, and in Autobiography he writes of seeing Baldwin from afar in a Barcelona hotel in 1986:

“He is weathered and intense, absorbed in his own thoughts, with a face there could never be enough time to describe. I drink him in, but can do no more. I pin so much prestige to James Baldwin that to risk approach places my life on the line; I’d hang myself at any glimmer of rejection. History books overlook James Baldwin because he presented an unvarnished view of the American essence – as blunt and rousing as print would allow. His public speeches were intoxicating, his motivational palette of words so full of fireworks that you smile as you listen – not because of humor, but because he was so good at voicing the general truth, with which most struggled. His liking for male flesh gave the world the perfect excuse to brush him aside as a social danger, and he was erased away as someone who used his blackness as an excuse for everything. In fact, his purity scared them off, and his honesty ignited irrational fear in an America where men were draped with medals for killing other men yet imprisoned for loving one another. Pitifully, on this Barcelona day, I do not have the steel to approach Baldwin, because I know very well that I will jabber rubbish, and that his large, soulful eyes will lower at someone ruefully new to the game. Shortly thereafter, he is dead.”

Morrissey’s website, Morrissey Central, features Baldwin’s image and quote, “artists are here to disturb the peace” on the homepage, and his stage backdrops also often feature Baldwin.

Of course, there are so many influential New York artists, it is impossible to discuss them all within a short blog post, but certainly artists like singer and poet Patti Smith (while not born in NY, much of her artistic foundation formed during the NYC punk movement; Morrissey was completely spellbound by Horses on first listen in 1976) and drag artist John Epperson aka Lypsinka (also not NY-born, but whose career catapulted off Broadway in the 80’s) feature prominently in Morrissey’s faves.

It is clear that New York holds a special place in Morrissey’s heart and numerous successful residencies and memorable gigs also attest to how adored he is in the city. I feel beyond fortunate to have seen him 8 times in NYC, once at Madison Square Garden, and 7 times at Lunt-Fontanne, and hope with every ounce of my being to see him in NY again later this year.

For now, I’ll leave you with a distinctly Morrissey New York “Fashion moment,” where he exudes dapper and sporty in an embroidered Gucci Yankees jacket:

Via alisonmartino on Instagram

Special thanks to #teamsnuggles
and my 'NY correspondents'
@basia_ana and @butihatepepperoni
for their copious cultural know-how