Morrissey and Bono

[MikeyJB]

I seem to write this in ever Smiths related thread, but I can't recommend the book 'How Soon Is Never?' by Marc Spitz highly enough. It's an extremely entertaining "fictional take" on his real life attempt at getting The Smiths back together that any Smiths fan will likely have a blast reading.

Thanks I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

He most certainly is not pretentious or deluded, he's just different, shy and introverted. In most interviews he might come across as awkward, purely because I think he is. Search on Youtube for a recent in-depth interview with Zane Lowe who really gets him to relax and open up a lot more than I've seen in other interviews.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Morrissey is a better lyricist than Bono. In fact, Morrissey is the best English language lyricist of all time. But they come at lyrics from different perspectives, so that's cool.

Johnny Marr is a better guitar player than The Edge. Marr has chops like no other and some of the greatest "licks" of all time, but then again, so does the Edge.

oh you are so wrong, the edge is the best guitar player ever.

ha, i can't even say that with a straight face.

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

Went to see Morrissey at his 50th birthday concert in Manchester so am very much in Smiths-fan mode at the moment!

I was there too! What a night... What a gig... Still high on this weekend!

 

[Dutch Partygirl]

Oh yeah, and that interview with Jonathan Ross is hilarious! It's jokes and sarcasm all around, and if you can't understand that then... ah well...

 

[bram]

I love love love Moz. Great thread.

 

[MikeyJB]

I fantasise about Bono and Morrissey doing a studio duet, I think that would be . Sadly we can be pretty certain that it won't ever happen!

More realistic though, is U2 playing a Smiths song as a cover, which I think would be great! The musical dynamic of the 2 bands are quite similar and Marr's guitar style is hardly a million miles away from The Edge's.

 

[Jim]

I met Bono at HQ when they were recording bomb and got to go inside for a tour and chat.. the previous night Morrissey had played in Dublin and it came up in conversation. We were sat on the stairs and he closed his eyes, tilted his head back and took a deep breathe and said, "Steven Patrick Morrissey... we love him".. then he kinda came around and said, "he's Irish too y'know!".. the impression I (clearly) got was that he's a huge fan.

There's also a film about Morrissey that I can't find on youtube where they interview Bono.. if i remember he talks about the humour of The Smiths and not believing that people take they so seriously... that he almost crashed the car when he heard 'Hairdresser On Fire'.. (sorry I sometimes get Bono's hyperbole mixed up

Personally the older I'm getting the more and more I appreciate Moz and the Smiths.. gutted to have missed him on this tour.

 

[corianderstem]

I seem to write this in ever Smiths related thread, but I can't recommend the book 'How Soon Is Never?' by Marc Spitz highly enough. It's an extremely entertaining "fictional take" on his real life attempt at getting The Smiths back together that any Smiths fan will likely have a blast reading.

I just started reading this today. No lie.

 

[65980]

I kind of agree with Mudfield that Morrissey is an incredibly pretentious prima-donna with serious delusions of superiority. Like most celebrities, he feels entitled to lay his incredibly ordinary system of values and opinions on the unenlightened masses, and thus makes ridiculous judgements and statements (like, banning Canada from his touring schedule for one) which are embarrassingly absurd. Oh, and he's obviously a bit of a prick when it comes to business and royalties, as the court-case with Rourke or Joyce or whichever it was proved.

So, despite the fact that I'd probably find him an insufferable bastard if I had to spend an hour with him, I do rather enjoy his music and I think his lyrics are witty and great.

 

[bram]

Morrissey wouldn't be Morrissey if he wasn't, ya know, Morrissey. Which means he will always be controversial...and not in the same ways that U2 are controversial at all.

 

[u2popmofo]

I kind of agree with Mudfield that Morrissey is an incredibly pretentious prima-donna with serious delusions of superiority. Like most celebrities, he feels entitled to lay his incredibly ordinary system of values and opinions on the unenlightened masses, and thus makes ridiculous judgements and statements which are embarrassingly absurd. Oh, and he's obviously a bit of a prick when it comes to business and royalties

I could seriously replace "Morrissey" with "Bono" in this argument, and 99% of the people on earth would agree with it.

Seriously though, what's the difference? It's ok for the members of U2 to act like completely buffoons 90% of the time, but not any other popular artists who've achieved massive acclaim?

I understand certain things rub different people the wrong way, and you either agree with someone or "get them" or you don't, but I really don't see much of a difference at all in either person. At this point, I honestly respect how Morrissey handles himself and his music publicly far more than Bono, so to each their own. That all said, in no way does that affect my enjoyment of the music or respect for what he does musically.

 

[u2popmofo]

I just started reading this today. No lie.

I'm not sure how big of a Smiths fan you are or aren't, but it's a pretty enjoyable read even if you're just a general fan of their contemporaries, as there's lots of sections or referencing to a number of different bands. Spitz used to (he may still be, not sure) be a writer for Spin.

 

[Sicy]

This makes me laugh. You guys should go over to the Morrissey solo forum. They say the same shit about Bono as what's being said here about Moz. I cant even talk about U2 over there because I get flamed.

Ah gotta love teh music message boardz.

 

[pgv]

I'm an absolute massive Moz fan, he's up there in my top three, can't fault anything about him or his music. I'm just never going to get tickets to see him ever again after he cancelled last time. And I couldn't get refunds on my train tickets
I think his issue with cancelling gigs has alot more to do with crippling nerves than pretentiousness, however. Despite him being a very pretentious person. Not like that's a bad thing.

Sicy, I was on that forum a while back! Never, ever made the mistake of mentioning U2 twice...

 

[A Disgrace]

Ok first post, and rather than the planned 'picture of me in the shower' I thought I'd simply say this:

A 'DUB' version of Wire???

 

[corianderstem]

I'm not sure how big of a Smiths fan you are or aren't,

I like their singles a lot, but their non-singles haven't really done anything for me when I've sought them out.

Morrissey's solo stuff is hit or miss with me. There are songs that I love, and then songs that do nothing for me.

 

[bonocomet]

Ok first post, and rather than the planned 'picture of me in the shower' I thought I'd simply say this:

A 'DUB' version of Wire???

Yes would you like it?

(You can always post your shower picture in your second post )

 

[MikeyJB]

So, despite the fact that I'd probably find him an insufferable bastard if I had to spend an hour with him,quote]

I'm fairly confident he'd think the same of you, or any of us for that matter!

Also, I don't believe he's cancelled the recent gigs because of being 'pretentious', he's been having a hard time with his vocal health. At the Manchester gig I went to the other day, he was really pushing it, his voice cracked and he mentioned something about nodules, so I reckon his problems are genuine and he'll have been warned to take it easy or else do permanent damage.

 

[Sicy]

I'm an absolute massive Moz fan, he's up there in my top three, can't fault anything about him or his music. I'm just never going to get tickets to see him ever again after he cancelled last time. And I couldn't get refunds on my train tickets
I think his issue with cancelling gigs has alot more to do with crippling nerves than pretentiousness, however. Despite him being a very pretentious person. Not like that's a bad thing.

Sicy, I was on that forum a while back! Never, ever made the mistake of mentioning U2 twice...

Me too, he's my #2. Although I fault him for all the canceled shows. He shouldn't schedule them if he cant do them. It was a huge let down for me since it was going to be my first show and I've been a fan for many years. This is one of the arguments I got into at Solo.. that I was proud to be a U2 fan because U2 never cancels concerts, and if they did they would feel REALLY bad, apologize, and probably make it up to the fans somehow. Moz on the other hand doesnt seem to care about the fans. Anyway yeah that argument turned into a flame war so I said screw it, not worth arguing about it. lol.

However, it seems that there are more U2 fans that are also Smiths fans than Smiths fans that are U2 fans. As much as we all argue and bitch about U2 and other bands, for the most part I feel that U2 fans are much more diverse and open to other music than some of these other artists' fans.

I am so in LOVE with Moz' yodeling. His oooohhh ahhhs, and la la la, lo lo lo's moans and groans are by far (for me) the best of any artist I've come across. It's his own quirky style and I love that about him. I cant stay mad at him.

 

[65980]

I could seriously replace "Morrissey" with "Bono" in this argument, and 99% of the people on earth would agree with it.

Seriously though, what's the difference? It's ok for the members of U2 to act like completely buffoons 90% of the time, but not any other popular artists who've achieved massive acclaim?

I understand certain things rub different people the wrong way, and you either agree with someone or "get them" or you don't, but I really don't see much of a difference at all in either person.

Completely disagree. The reason a lot of people hate U2 is because (a) they've been the biggest rock group since the Civil War, and (b) Bono is a highly articulate do-gooder. The reason people hate Morrissey is not because he's too big or because he's a do-gooder, but because he's outspoken about every possible subject he has an opinion on, and in particular because he dislikes so many people and things. Try to find one quote in history from Bono or Edge or Larry (I omit Adam who did insult Phil Collins once, publicly) where they intentionally insult a fellow musician on record. They don't do it.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

"Not the brains of the group": Bono about Dave Grohl, somewhere in the Flanagan book, 1992 ish.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Try to find one quote in history from Bono or Edge or Larry (I omit Adam who did insult Phil Collins once, publicly) where they intentionally insult a fellow musician on record. They don't do it.

Shit, I've read and heard quite a few. Sorry, I didn't save them all in a Word document or anything.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Try to find one quote in history from Bono or Edge or Larry (I omit Adam who did insult Phil Collins once, publicly) where they intentionally insult a fellow musician

They insulted me when they decided to actually record and release the song Unknown Caller

 

[U2girl]

I like how the "defend celebrity that is not Bono" brigade always comes out in threads like this.

 

[doctorwho]

Morrissey is a better lyricist than Bono. In fact, Morrissey is the best English language lyricist of all time. But they come at lyrics from different perspectives, so that's cool.

Johnny Marr is a better guitar player than The Edge. Marr has chops like no other and some of the greatest "licks" of all time, but then again, so does the Edge.

I'm not a fan of comparing lyricists, vocalists or lead guitarists within a group, because the group setting is a huge part of that creativity. For example, Bono would sound horrible with "How Soon Is Now" just as Morrissey would sound horrid with "Magnificent". Bono's vocals are about soaring, and his lyrics match. Morrissey tends to be more introspective, and his lyrics match. The guitar work for each band blends into the themes presented. Likewise, Edge may have a great guitar riff, and Bono writes for it.

In other words, there will be fun songs, silly songs, somewhat over-bearing or even pretentious songs, love songs, etc. This is most evident by The Beatles - a band who could write "Love Me Do" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand" along with "I Am the Walrus", "Lady Madonna" and "My Guitar Gently Weeps". It's hard to believe one band can make "Octopus' Garden" and "Yellow Submarine" along with "A Day in the Life" and "Hey Jude". The same is true for U2 and the Smiths (although I would argue U2 has far more diversity, but this may be due to the fact they have endure far longer).

 

[doctorwho]

They insulted me when they decided to actually record and release the song Unknown Caller

If that's all it takes, I wished they had released the song years earlier.

 

[indra]

"Not the brains of the group": Bono about Dave Grohl, somewhere in the Flanagan book, 1992 ish.

 

[Jon Seidman]

Good points Dr. Who. It is not fair to do comparisons of two groups when one's career is only 5 years long, and is long done, and the other's is 30 years on, and still going. But even Bono's best lyrics, probably from Achtung Baby, don't compare to Morrissey's, Smiths era or solo. As for the guitar playing, they are totally different style-wise, but I do think Marr's stuff is way more original than Edge's. Edge's style has devolved into just exploiting effects and studio trickery. His recent "riffs", like in Vertigo or something, are pretty ho-hum. However, the guitar in "Pride" and "Bad" is pretty much unbeatable. But that was like 25 years ago. I guess Edge is much better at creating atmosphere with the guitar, but that could be due to Eno and Lanois. Ahh, blah blah blah

 

[Screwtape2]

I am so in LOVE with Moz' yodeling. His oooohhh ahhhs, and la la la, lo lo lo's moans and groans are by far (for me) the best of any artist I've come across. It's his own quirky style and I love that about him. I cant stay mad at him.

Oh, yes. I can remember hearing Miserable Lie the first time. I was just stunned by the sounds coming out of him during the climax. It was a wtf in the best kind of way.

Try to find one quote in history from Bono or Edge or Larry (I omit Adam who did insult Phil Collins once, publicly) where they intentionally insult a fellow musician on record. They don't do it.

Umm...Bono calling Chris Martin a "wanker" on BBC radio just a few months ago?

 

[Sicy]

Oh, yes. I can remember hearing Miserable Lie the first time. I was just stunned by the sounds coming out of him during the climax. It was a wtf in the best kind of way.

I just had to pull that song out and listen just now.. its been a while. And wow YES.