Originally Posted by
BlueCalx
Love this thread.
I think it's interesting, hobochic, that you're still seeking conversion after having seen most of what Morrissey has to offer and still not feeling it. I'm still a pretty big Morrissey fan, I've heard the vast majority of what he's published and, honestly, if you find the music uninteresting, you're totally correct. It's bland, pedestrian rock music as played by a band of middle-aged men who would be gigging at pubs and bar mitzvahs if not for their friendship with Moz, and it's a whole lot of Morrissey's love-it-or-hate-it personality. You're still trying, though, so you must be seeing some value in his music. I'll take a different tact in trying to convert you. People like Morrissey because, as a songwriter, he has a gift for writing lyrics that are broadly, deeply relatable while being vague enough to be open to vastly different interpretations. His songs are very rarely autobiographical, they're about wheelchair-bound geniuses, faded boxers, glamourous gangsters, British nationalists, guilt-ridden priests, and other compelling characters. He writes with an almost supernatural level of empathy, an empathy which is all the more interesting when seen in light of the man's surly, narcissistic personality. Morrissey is not dissimilar to the Jack Nicholson character in As Good As It Gets - a nasty, bitter little man who can only see all the beauty in the world through his art. If that paradox fascinates you, you'll get a lot of mileage out of Morrissey. If all you can see is the boring music and the vain prick singer, look elsewhere. The world's full of good music and Morrissey's got enough fans.