MORRISSEY – SOMETHING IS SQUEEZING MY SKULL (POLYDOR/DECCA)
There is so much pleasure to be taken from this year’s Morrissey model and the empowering confidence that is exuding there from. This is Morrissey in a defiant mood, indulging in ageing disgracefully and looking to offend with it.
With a sleeve that features Morrissey draped around a statue of Johnny Ramone, there is a punkish ferocity to proceedings that musically, dare I say, actually reminds me of early Fugazi. After only a few bars the track is already crisp and snapping with true bite, no surprise then that it was chosen as the opening track of on “Years Of Refusal”. This is something I cannot recall having heard from Morrissey’s band before. Why the sudden rise in tempo? Did something happen to his heart rate? Is this urgency real? Is he dying?
Once established as a more sprightly outing than usual the lyrics kick in as our man gets all defensive and accusatory opening with the greatest of lines in “I’m doing very well, I can block out the present and the bad now.” Take that disbelievers, within the first two lines of his new album he has told you to fuck off. He then ups the stakes with the inflammatory retort “I know that by now you think I should have straightened myself out but you drop dead.” These are fighting words. This is a man that will take you on and win. He should be running a pub in the East End and he knows it. I want to tap into his defiance. And fast.
“There is no love in modern life.”
At time when the musicians of this era seem to resemble old school boring politicians that people would vote in and keep their fingers cross for, this truly is a supreme being in this environment. This cuts to the bone with a poetry others can only dream of nearing.
Its great when heroes live up to their billing and reputation.
Thesaurus moment: heavyweight.
Morrissey
Decca
Polydor
There is so much pleasure to be taken from this year’s Morrissey model and the empowering confidence that is exuding there from. This is Morrissey in a defiant mood, indulging in ageing disgracefully and looking to offend with it.
With a sleeve that features Morrissey draped around a statue of Johnny Ramone, there is a punkish ferocity to proceedings that musically, dare I say, actually reminds me of early Fugazi. After only a few bars the track is already crisp and snapping with true bite, no surprise then that it was chosen as the opening track of on “Years Of Refusal”. This is something I cannot recall having heard from Morrissey’s band before. Why the sudden rise in tempo? Did something happen to his heart rate? Is this urgency real? Is he dying?
Once established as a more sprightly outing than usual the lyrics kick in as our man gets all defensive and accusatory opening with the greatest of lines in “I’m doing very well, I can block out the present and the bad now.” Take that disbelievers, within the first two lines of his new album he has told you to fuck off. He then ups the stakes with the inflammatory retort “I know that by now you think I should have straightened myself out but you drop dead.” These are fighting words. This is a man that will take you on and win. He should be running a pub in the East End and he knows it. I want to tap into his defiance. And fast.
“There is no love in modern life.”
At time when the musicians of this era seem to resemble old school boring politicians that people would vote in and keep their fingers cross for, this truly is a supreme being in this environment. This cuts to the bone with a poetry others can only dream of nearing.
Its great when heroes live up to their billing and reputation.
Thesaurus moment: heavyweight.
Morrissey
Decca
Polydor
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