Morrissey You Are The Quarry (Sanctuary/Attack)
This is a record that I mostly overlooked last year, because I couldn't bring myself to go buy it. I do enjoy the Smiths, and Morrissey himself on a certain level, but it wasn't until I went back and listened to "Everyday Is Like Sunday" from Viva Hate and "Asleep" from The World Won't Listen that I had any urge to listen to this album in totalé. It was Christmas before I picked it up, and early last week before I began to listen to it.
That said, I've noticed a bit of a trend in the public criticism of the latest drama-queen outing from Morrissey: "he's great but the music is hackery" or Morrissey apologists. In fact, Morrissey has always ventured a little bit closer to the lounge-singer than I think people were willing to admit, and has always been a classicist despite however "innovative" the Smiths may have been. (However, if "How Soon Is Now?" is anything, it's a "Johnny B. Goode" ripoff ran through a tremolo pedal.) On this album, Morrissey just seems to finally be fully embracing, and the critics seem to also be willing to embrace, his schmaltzy, Britain-via-LA style pop. Of course, those same people who are going to apologize for the music on this record will probably be lavishly praising the next Shins or Decemberists record for the music, which is perhaps a hair more innovative but far less interesting.
If there's one thing I think we can all do after 2004, is appreciate a good pop song, regardless of how played-out it may sound at first. After all, the best mainstream pop song of last year was just Timbaland-dancehall-by-Morricone-by-Aphex Twin. But it was good, nay, great. So, even if "Irish Blood, English Heart", "First of the Gang to Die", and "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores" are kinda rote modern rock fill in the blank, they're good at what they do, which is support Morrissey's voice and be catchy, just as "Toxic" made every attempt to obliterate its singer (and largely succeeded).
And while a lot of people are going to apologize for the music while praising Morrissey for releasing his first good album in over a decade, I'm going to go ahead and say that I do like it, to the tune of listening to it much more frequently than any other record I've bought over the past few weeks. Which just continues to remind me - it's been a really weird year in music.
That said, I've noticed a bit of a trend in the public criticism of the latest drama-queen outing from Morrissey: "he's great but the music is hackery" or Morrissey apologists. In fact, Morrissey has always ventured a little bit closer to the lounge-singer than I think people were willing to admit, and has always been a classicist despite however "innovative" the Smiths may have been. (However, if "How Soon Is Now?" is anything, it's a "Johnny B. Goode" ripoff ran through a tremolo pedal.) On this album, Morrissey just seems to finally be fully embracing, and the critics seem to also be willing to embrace, his schmaltzy, Britain-via-LA style pop. Of course, those same people who are going to apologize for the music on this record will probably be lavishly praising the next Shins or Decemberists record for the music, which is perhaps a hair more innovative but far less interesting.
If there's one thing I think we can all do after 2004, is appreciate a good pop song, regardless of how played-out it may sound at first. After all, the best mainstream pop song of last year was just Timbaland-dancehall-by-Morricone-by-Aphex Twin. But it was good, nay, great. So, even if "Irish Blood, English Heart", "First of the Gang to Die", and "The World Is Full of Crashing Bores" are kinda rote modern rock fill in the blank, they're good at what they do, which is support Morrissey's voice and be catchy, just as "Toxic" made every attempt to obliterate its singer (and largely succeeded).
And while a lot of people are going to apologize for the music while praising Morrissey for releasing his first good album in over a decade, I'm going to go ahead and say that I do like it, to the tune of listening to it much more frequently than any other record I've bought over the past few weeks. Which just continues to remind me - it's been a really weird year in music.
posted by P at 4:03 PM
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