Morrissey Is A Man Of Mystery

Back in the 1990s, when I was a jaded, depressed, unhappy, teenager I started listening to The Smiths. I think one of my first crushes was on Steven Patrick Morrissey. Although my crush on Morrissey has faded over time, I still respect him as an artist. Some people say Morrissey is irrelevant to the music industry, but I strongly disagree. I think sometimes he is misunderstood. Sometimes I do feel Morrissey takes himself a bit too seriously, after all he’s a pop superstar.

I remember a friend of mine he loaned me a copy of “Viva Hate” Morrissey’s first solo album. I loved the brashness of Morrissey’s lyrics and the assertiveness of his voice. Morrissey is a very good singer he is also very opinionated, outspoken, and attractive. Morrissey still looks good for a man that’s almost 49 years old.

The Smiths were a cult eighties British rock group. I didn’t discover The Smiths until the 1990s. I was most impressed with the lead singer and songwriter for the group Steven Patrick Morrissey.

Morrissey was born in Manchester England, in the year 1959. Morrissey has a cult following in North America a few of his albums have reached gold status. Even when Morrissey didn’t have a record deal for seven years he toured and sold out concerts. For a long time Morrissey refused to conduct interviews because he felt the media manipulated his comments by twisting his words to create controversies.

The interesting aspect about Morrissey is he refuses to declare his sexual orientation. Some pop critics in the occidental media have declared Morrissey is gay, even though he chooses not to speak about his sexuality. In England, British journalists often compare Morrissey to the gay literary icon Oscar Wilde. I can see the comparison between both Wilde and Steven Patrick Morrissey, they have Irish roots. Both Wilde and Morrissey are also passionate about their art and politics. Morrissey and Wilde are also very outspoken and controversial as well.

In the song “America Is Not The World”, Morrissey does talk about race, gender, and sexuality. I don’t know if Morrissey is gay but I definitely know he’s not straight. I think perhaps Morrissey is bisexual. People don’t really think about male bisexuality. There is an assumption in society that men cannot be bisexual. A man is either heterosexual or homosexual there is no in between. So why is there this double standard? Female singers can declare they are lesbians or bisexual and nobody says anything.

Now if you listen to The Smiths songs like “Hand In Glove” and “Charming man” you know the songs have a strong homoerotic element. Morrissey continues with the homoeroticism in songs later on in career such as “Roy Keen”. Also, has anyone ever seen the musicians in Morrissey’s band? I mean look at the guitarist, bass player, and drummer these guys are gorgeous aren’t they? Morrissey definitely has one of the best looking bands in rock music these days.

I have a love and hate relationship with Morrissey. Sometimes he says really stupid things because he’s trying to be edgy, sometimes Morrissey needs to think before he says stuff. I find Morrissey to be incredibly pretentious and he does things just to shock people. Other times I think Morrissey is one of the smartest men in the music business. I give Morrissey a lot of respect in terms of following his own artistic vision.

For seven long years after Morrissey’s 1997 album “Maladjusted” bombed he didn’t have a record deal. Finally, in the year 2004 Morrissey returned to form on “You Are The Quarry”. Morrissey’s voice never sounded better and the songs are simply incredible. Also “You Are The Quarry” is the most successful solo album of Morrissey’s career.

However, in 2006 Morrissey released “Ringleaders Of The Tormentors” and I must say the album is complete rubbish. The songs are uninspired, ,lacking the lyrical content and a sense of levity. I was disappointed because I think “Ringleaders Of The Tormentors” is Morrissey’s worst solo album. What happened to Morrissey? Where is the man that sang “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful”? What about songs such as “Everyday Is Like Sunday” or “The More You Ignore Me The Closer I Get”? On Morrissey’s 2006 album he appears lost and confused. Morrissey now claims he is no longer celibate and having sex. Maybe Morrissey’s mood changed because he’s happy again? I hope Morrissey’s next studio album will be a stronger and better.