Date: Wed, 29 Jul 92 00:28:14 -0400 From: gt7274c@prism.gatech.edu (Pi) Welcome to... _____________________________________ | \ | S T R A N G E W A Y S > |____________________________________/ Moderne Forum For Morrissey And The Smiths Volume Three Issue Three Hello again everyone, Its Michael here. If you have any questions, inquiries, requests for posts, address changes, etc., mail to: gt7274c@prism.gatech.edu I hope you enjoy this issue, its actually more packed than any I've worked on, and of course as you all know the new LP came out today. I know that every- one will be caught up in listening to the LP, but don't forget to sometime in the next few weeks or so fill out the subscriber's poll I sent out, we would very much like to get Morrissey a copy through his record company sometime. Moderator's Silly Slang: 1. As we all know, the new LP "Your Arsenal" was either released today (Tuesday), or last night at midnight. EMI has promised that it is even better than "The Queen Is Dead", Sire also expressed high expectations. 2. Morrissey's press tour: According to Ilene at Sire, Morrissey arrived in Chicago by plane to a hero's welcome, and Ilene said he didn't mind, it was to be expected. On Monday night at midnight Morrissey was at Grand Rapids, Michigan's Vinyl Solutions where his LP was on sale. Tuesday was a travel day, and tomorrow, he will be in Houston, Texas at the Record Rack. I am not sure when he will complete his trip in LA. I do know that he will be appearing on MTV's "Hangin' With" on August 5. The show airs from 4-5 PM Eastern Standard Time, and Morrissey is slated to perform 3 songs and an interview. 3. The "This Charming Man" CD in UK is an interesting story. The original 12" will be released on CD, and the next week SEVEN mixes will come out on another CD. I have heard rumors that either the first, the second, or both are limited, so get them FAST (August 25). 4. MORRISSEY ON TOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, no hard dates, but some news. My friend Travis was at the airport in England just before Morrissey left for Chicago, and Jo Slee was also there. Ms. Slee told Travis that the US tour begins September 17, in either Texas or Louisianna. Since I will be out of school at that time, and seeing as how I had been and WILL BE ready to go to New Orleans (I had tickets for that show), I hope to see you all down there in late September. Ilene at Sire told me that she would be the last person to know tour dates, since she cannot tell dates until all contracts are signed, and unfortunately Morrissey changes his mind right up until the last minute. 5. Sire is writing up all of the Morrissey fanzines in "Dirt" magazine, an underground music magazine if I am correct in memory. 'Strangeways' will be among those, so I will keep you posted as to when it comes out so you can look for it. :) 6. Michael Massengale did such a great review of the new LP, I will leave it alone. I am in the computer lab, and want to hurry and finish so I can go home and listen to it again. I was skeptical of Morrissey's new sound, but during my first listen of "Seasick..." I literally broke down and cried, this LP has the power of "Queen Is Dead", it is truly Morrissey's absolute without a doubt BEST work to date. The LP has that raw guitar sound with verproduction, but compliments with lots of sampling. There's a lot of sound from this LP, and I think the first Morrissey work that does well when played EXTREMELY loud - I think tis upcoming tour will be incredible. The 3 singles are after listening to them before the LP's release, the weakest songs. This LP is truly a new sound, but there are things that can be compared to a couple of other groups - James, Trashcan Sinatras, Primatives to name a few. This LP is all new, nothing on it truly resem- bles the Steven Street sound that has haunted Morrissey. I hereby declare that this LP is pure genious!!!!! After one listen, you're hooked! :) Michael :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael.C.Massengale@Dartmouth.EDU Subject: Strangeways Allright, I've got it, and here are my first impressions and review of Your Arsenal. I love the cover, a photo taken from the 1991 concert at Nassau Coliseum in New York. I wish that the pictures of the band were in the CD booklet. I guess I'll have to keep the longbox. What! No lyrics inside?!? Horrors!!! I like the photo on the inside -- delightfully reminiscent of The Smiths' album art. I noticed some interesting parts of the liner notes: "...stomach scar courtesy Davyhulme Hospital..." and "Sleeve by E. Riff, articulated by Jo Slee, manifested by Designland." Hm. Enough of that, here's my quick-first-listen-review of Your Arsenal. You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side- Great start to the album! I was shocked! This song rocks, and is definately single material by the standard set by his other solo work. The "and here I am...and here I am" part is especially good. Glamorous Glue- Good follow-up track. Interesting track, not really impressive instrumentally, though. I'm really enjoying the tempo of the album as begun with YGNSOYS and continued here. "We look to Los Angeles...London is dead! (repeated)/ I'm too much in love"? Is this a glorification of L.A.? Kind of strange, if you ask me. We'll Let You Know- Tempo slows down here. This track immediately reminds me of slow, acoustic style of some of Morrissey's more recent B-sides, such as That's Entertainment, I've Changed My Plea... and Skin Storm. Picks up towards the end, an interesting twist. "We are the last truly British people you will ever know." The National Front Disco- Return to faster pace, but not with the edgy feel of the first two tracks. I'd compare this track to Interesting Drug and The Last of the Famous International Playboys, with more emphasis on the guitars and no keyboards. Catchy tune. Certain People I Know- Immediately striking for it's almost country & western sound (am I far off on this?). Also reminiscent of The Queen Is Dead tracks like Frankly, Mr. Shankly and Vicar In a Tutu with its lightheartedness. Fun song. Typical Morrissey lyrics. We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful- I would've liked to be hearing this for the first time here on the album. I'll go ahead and say that I think this is a great song - one of Morrissey's best singles, lyrically and musically. Fits well on Your Arsenal (I was afraid it would be as unrelated as Our Frank was to much of Kill Uncle). You're The One For Me, Fatty- Luckily, I hadn't heard this yet (my single should arrive Thursday - hurrah!). HA HA HA HA HA! Funny lyrics, as suggested by the ridiculous title. This is great, although I don't think I would have picked it as the second UK single. Seasick, Yet Still Docked- Immediately reminiscent of Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want, but the song doesn't follow through in the same way. Slower again, more so than We'll Let You Know. Too long, again like WLYK. Sounds like it would fit well on Viva Hate. "You must be such a fool to pass me by"- typical Moz egotism that we all know and love. I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday- Begins with some strange sounding radio transmissions in different languages- would be interesting to find out what's being said. They seem to continue as song actually kicks in. Slower tempo again, but somehow different. I really like this song. It's kinda weird, though. Tomorrow- Great tune for 2nd single in US. I'm sure that everyone's heard this by now, but I would agree with Michael's assessment of the tune, adding that it is the song most like We Hate It... on Your Arsenal. Song definitely takes a while to get going, but gets much better. Overall impression: This is, without question, Morrissey's best solo work, in my humble opinion. I think it's much closer to The Smiths' work, and not watered down as much of Morrissey's other solo work seems to have been. I would have like the entire album to carry through on the promise of the first two tracks, but I like it all nonetheless. I'll point out here that both Viva Hate and especially Kill Uncle were disappointing to me on first listen, and they grew on me. This album grabbed me by the throat. I think that You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side should definitely be a single. It would probably sell a lot of albums for the Mo-man. I am, at last, extremely pleased with Morrissey's musical direction. I feel like this is the record that I've been waiting for. Three simple words: IT KICKS ASS! And it's a good thing, too. Another Kill Uncle would've broken my heart. Respectfully submitted, Michael C. Massengale P.S. Where's this Carter USM cover of Panic supposed to appear? I bought 1992: The Love Album today, but it's not on it. What gives? "Tonight I've consumed much more than I can hold." -Seasick, Yet Still Docked --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: skrajew@aug1.augsburg.edu (Scott Krajewski) Subject: Moz appearances I don't know if the next Strangeways will come out in time but here are some Moz appearances to look out for: Aug 3 Live dial-in interview on 'Modern Rock Live' (check your local alternative radio station) Aug 5 Interview & Performance on Hangin' w/Mtv live at 3 PM EST (I think) So have your tape deck and/or VCR ready tape 'em. I know I will. Scott --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: IBON500@INDYVAX.IUPUI.EDU Subject: Re: Dates hey hey hey people!!! well the day is still young, on this monday 5 p.m. but i had heard about a midnight selling of the new morr album! well since i live in indiana, my fav record shop will not be holding a midnight sell, so what favor does my buddy do for me??? he sells me a copy of your arsenal WAY EARLY HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! so at the moment i am listening to it and typing this letter. a quick review of side 1... my personal favorites so far are, we'll let you know, and the national front disco...the other 3 are decent songs... side 2, you're the one for me fatty is enjoyable hahaha, oh those lyrics. definitely a different sound for morrissey on some songs. well thats all for now... enjoy it people when the MIDNIGHT HOUR ARRIVES FOR YOU!!!!! rene' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: skrajew@aug1.augsburg.edu (Scott Krajewski) Subject: This Charming Man All I can say is WOW! "This Charming Man" re-released on CD 12"! For me, this is a super deal (assuming it truly has ALL the versions). But I wonder what effect this will have on the collectors market. I suppose the 'original' vinyl will still be the 'original' but I doubt many people will go for it if they can find it on CD. What I would like to see released are some of the BBC concerts on CD (like the FULL Rank concert). Did Rough Trade own those or does the BBC? Anyway, this summer looks like the most exciting ever for Moz/Smiths fans! (Well, last summer's tour was really exciting too) 'All I ask of you is one thing that you'll never do' Scott --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: V133PWN9@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu Subject: morrissey video the other day i happened to be in a record store in toronto, HMV, and found a morrissey video of his last tour "kill uncle." i believe it was taken from the dallas show. my question is has anyone seen it? is it good? and are there any other tour videos out there of morrissey? next question. what about this tour? when? where? bob v133pwn9@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: karty@cs.washington.edu (Richard Karty) Subject: Strangeways To: Michael For those who don't know, Smiths songs are densely packed with references to various books, movies, places in England and historical figures. This all decreased after the Smiths; one reason being we don't have the cover stars and movie stills to get clues from. But also, his lyrics seem to have fewer such references since the Smith's broke up. To me, this makes the songs far less interesting. I would love to know why this practice suddenly stopped. Here is just one strand from Morrissey's giant literary/historical web... SANDIE SHAW, SHELAGH DELANEY AND THE KITCHEN SINK Sandie Shaw was a pop star from London during the swinging 60s. She stopped making records altogether, I believe, sometime during the seventies and was in retirement when Morrissey more or less just called her up and asked her to sing with them. I've only heard her old stuff once or twice. It's sort of in the same vein as Petula Clark ("Downtown, where all the lights are bright") or the Supremes but more pop-ish and less soul-ish. Same time period, give or take three years, as the early Beatles when they had those grey wool suits. Carnaby Street, Mary Quant, teased hair, Andy Warhol... If you see the movie "A Taste of Honey' (a still from which is on the cover of 'Hand in Glove') you'll get an idea of that time period - or rather, the more grim and depressing side of that period. The song "Jeane" is very much based on 'A Taste of Honey'. 'Taste' is just one of a number of British movies about ordinary working-class people, espcially in the North of England and in working-class areas of London. Sometimes they're called "kitchen sink" movies because scenes are apt to take place in a grubby old kitchen with lace curtains and people making tea all the time. This was the first time that movies in Britain ever paid attention to these people and their surroundings. The young men in these movies have pompadours just like Morrissey and ride motorcycles and clunky old bicycles. Many are on video now. I don't have the time to post a big list right now but if there's interest, I can do it sometime. OK, now 'A Taste of Honey' was originally a play by Shelagh Delaney (who's on the cover of Lopuder than Bombs; and 'Sheila Take a Bow' is probably being sung to the young Shelagh Delaney as she was in the late fifties/early sixties when she wrote her famous stuff) and is essential reading for any Smiths fan. She has another book - I forget the name - of short stories, and Morrissey lifts story lines and various quotes right out of it. Richard karty@cs.washington.edu >------------------------------------------------------------------------< From: IBON500@INDYVAX.IUPUI.EDU Subject: Re: Strangeways YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH!!!!!!!!!! dates, dates, give me those dates!!!!! i would like to say thanks to those people who have responded to me through email, concerning caravaning during MORRISSEY'S TOUR in the US!!!!!!!! just so those of u know, i do live in indianapolis indiana, yup i missed seeing MORRISSEY during the shoot of SUEDEHEAD video by 1 day. how unfortunate... i wasnt informed of when the shoot was taking place until he had gone. i will most likely start my MORR show marathon in that wonderful CHICAGO area!!!! and from CHICAGO, i will be following through OHIO, hopefully, if he goes through. and, if money is plentiful, other places. hope to hear from more people soon... la la la la la...INTERESTING DRUG!!!!!!!!! rene ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: karty@cs.washington.edu (Richard Karty) Subject: A post for Strangeways Of interest to guitar-playing Smiths fans... BTW I'm not sure there are any who subscribe to 'Strangeways' since my last inquiry about this didn't get any response. :( I found out where there is an ftp where they have the chords or tabulature to Smiths and Morrissey songs. It's nevada.edu and the directory is... um, well, I don't really understand ftp all that well, but I got it to work somehow. I think it's just 'pub' and then 'guitar' or something like that. Unfortunately all they have, as far as I could tell, is three Smiths songs and under Morrissey is just 'My Love Life'. But I posted 'Last of the F.I. Playboys' to alt.guitar.tab today and I believe that should end up in the archives. Richard =========================================================================== From: skrajew@aug1.augsburg.edu (Scott Krajewski) Subject: You're The One For Me,Fatty Well, Michael wanted some discussion on the new single so here's my 2 cents worth: The cover is a Linder shot of The Moz at the Nov '91 Chicago show (that happens to be the show right after Minneapolis where I saw him if my memory serves). It appears that he is almost biting his nails?? Anyone have any other ideas? It's a waist up shot and he's got his shirt open. He doesn't look as slim as his early days with The Smiths. About the B-sides, I'm not really a music reviewer so I can't really say anything. I mean I like them and all. The last track, 'There speaks a true friend' seems to end very abruptly. Anyone have any ideas why? It seems to be a little silly if you listen to the lyrics. Actually, all of the songs are on the lighter side. :) Scott ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You're the one for me, Morrissey - and we will stay. :) VIVA MORRISSEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!