Like most British rock star autobiographies, we start in a poor working class British town (in this case Manchester) and learn about the parents and how difficult they had it. Right away Morrissey shows that he has real skill in writing about his hometown and gives us a good bit of vivid imagery such as "... we live in forgotten Victorian knife-plunging Manchester, where everything lies wherever it was left over one hundred years ago. The safe streets are dimly lit, the others not lit at all, but both represent a danger that you're asking for should you find yourself out there once curtains have closed for tea." But after a few pages of this Morrissey starts cataloging all of his favorite childhood movies, tv shows, songs, etc. It starts out interesting but after awhile it just becomes too much information about pop culture that I've never heard of before. Then he goes on and on about how badly he was treated in school (mostly by teachers) and how he only found comfort in the band The New York Dolls and whatever bands came through Manchester. It seems that once Morrissey is a fan of something he is quite passionate about it and once he gains fame he tries to bring these artists new fans (such as his quest to reform the New York Dolls and making sure Jobriath finally gets a CD release).
Finally after 150 pages or so, he finally meets Johnny Marr and the Smiths are quickly formed. At this point he just complains about how horrible the management of the Rough Trade label was and how they took advantage of him, Still he seems unhappy about everything even though they sell out most of their US concert tour. Then all too quickly the Smiths break up and it is never really clear why this happens, maybe Morrissey himself doesn't really know, it would be interesting to hear Marr's version of events on this.Morrissey then starts out on a pretty good solo career and finds himself selling out huge concert venues yet he still feels alone, grumpy and upset at his label and the British print media.Then he tells the story of why the Smiths will never ever reform... when Mike Joyce (the drummer) sued Morrissey and Marr for a higher percentage of Smiths royalties. He goes on and on about this for about fifty pages and it still seems like a very sore spot for him. After this he moves to Los Angeles and seems relatively happy (for him) and continues with his successful solo career... though he seems oddly obsessed with where his singles land on the music charts as is always disappointed when they don't chart higher.
It was an interesting read and Morrissey does reveal that he is at heart a fan of music/movies/poetry and that he feels the need to refute everything that isn't true that is said about him in the press. Also, he seems really sensitive and does get his feelings hurt my small comments that he still remembers after all of these years. Plus he does seem to have a good bit of self doubt even after he gains a huge following. The book reveals a lot about his character (but nothing that isn't really surprising if you are familiar with his music) but still leaves a lot out about his personal life... as if he still wants to remain a bit of a mystery and preserve the "character" of the miserable lonely rock star that he has cultivated. I'm sure most fans aren't that interested in reading pages and pages of how teachers were mean to him growing up or how stupid the judge in the lawsuit against him was... but would like to know more about his relationships and if he's actually ever been in love or not. And we don't really find that out here. I'll give it a B+.
No comments:
Post a Comment