Comment: Morrissey, Mon Amour

Morrissey has a new CD out.

He has not changed. This is a good thing.

“Something is Squeezing My Skull”, his song with lines like “it’s a miracle I made it this far” and “there is no love in modern life” is quintessential Morrissey. (And I don’t think there’s a better song title than that. He is one magnificent bastard. I bow down to his genius.)

It’s as if no time has passed since his vexed songs with The Smiths like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “How Soon is Now?”, and his solo efforts like “Suedehead” and “Every Day is Like Sunday.” (If you want to kill the buzz on any public gathering, play this song. It may well clear a room, especially if it IS Sunday. Major downer.)

In this venture, aptly titled “Years of Refusal”, his songs are rocking harder than usual. He sounds angrier. Age is supposed to mellow a person out, but apparently, ever the contrarian, Morrissey is not calming down. He’s still morose as hell and evidently as desperate and consumed with angst as he ever was.

It is a great album. There, I said it, an album. You like that? That’s how I roll. Old school.

Seriously, what makes his stuff so compelling is the fact that Morrissey’s angst is real. This is what makes him so popular, even though he loathes attention and rarely performs live, as I understand. But put it this way: play The Pet Shop Boys right before you play Morrissey/The Smiths. That’s the difference between synthetic and authentic pain. Electronic, plastic angst versus raw, acoustic angst. (Sidebar: Did you know that The Pet Shop Boys were banned from entering the United States back in their heyday? They were considered too subversive to plant their feet on American soil. Guess they didn’t get to “make lots of money ahhhhhh” on US tours.)

Seriously, buy this music. If you’ve never listened to The Smiths or Morrissey’s solo efforts, you will encounter music that is hard to classify and easy on the ears. And the lyrics are easy to understand the first time. And if you know and love Morrissey, you won’t be disappointed. Or maybe you will be, but in the right way. Life sucks, remember?