Well, hello everybody. If you've paid
any attention to the blog over the last 4 years you know it's no
secret that I am a total, nerding-out, devoted fanboy when it comes
to all things Morrissey. I'm not ashamed to say that I own no less
than three books about him. He's appeared on my mixes numerous
times. Shit, I own duplicate versions of singles of singles. Just
process that last sentence for a second.
Anyway, unless you live in a cave (or
have dismissed all music released prior to last week), you've
probably noticed that Morrissey is playing right here in the great
city of Minneapolis this coming October 29th. I think it
goes without saying that I will be attending this show. If you've
been following this blog (or Newest Industry), it should be obvious
that I'll be attending the show with with my best friend there ever
was ever (and fellow Morrissey disciple) MinneSarah.
Now, events like this only happen so often. Not to build it up too much (hyperbole warning), but just how often do you get to see your favorite singer ever, still, roughly in his prime? Now, I don't mean favorite in the sense that, “Oh, yeah... Jack Johnson is my favorite singer” type shit. I mean something like 30 years of records, numerous books, fucking icon status. People dress up as Morrissey for Halloween for fuck's sake. If someone dressed up as Jack Johnson for Halloween they'd lose friends (and spend the night masturbating to college porn, not unlike the real Jack Johnson). This is, arguably, a signpost in my life. I fully expect MinneSarah to speak at my funeral, telling the story of the time we went and saw Morrissey together in Minneapolis.
Now, events like this only happen so often. Not to build it up too much (hyperbole warning), but just how often do you get to see your favorite singer ever, still, roughly in his prime? Now, I don't mean favorite in the sense that, “Oh, yeah... Jack Johnson is my favorite singer” type shit. I mean something like 30 years of records, numerous books, fucking icon status. People dress up as Morrissey for Halloween for fuck's sake. If someone dressed up as Jack Johnson for Halloween they'd lose friends (and spend the night masturbating to college porn, not unlike the real Jack Johnson). This is, arguably, a signpost in my life. I fully expect MinneSarah to speak at my funeral, telling the story of the time we went and saw Morrissey together in Minneapolis.
So, to commemorate the occasion of one
Steven Patrick Morrissey playing in my city, I thought the
only reasonable thing to do was a countdown. But what kind of
countdown? Everybody knows the hits and the singles, right?
I thought about doing a countdown of
the best Smiths & Morrissey songs that weren't issued as singles.
However, I realized that even the least celebrated Smiths tracks
(cough... cough... “Golden Lights”... cough...) are still very
well known. Plus, when I started making this list, I found that it
was all Smiths everything (“Well I Wonder” “Some Girls Are
Bigger Than Others” “Paint A Vulgar Picure” “I Know It's
Over”). I mean, look at that list. Even though those songs
weren't proper singles they are still iconic to Smiths fans.
So, I decided to stick strictly to
Morrissey's solo career and to make a list of his Top 20 songs that
weren't released as singles. Now, obviously, some of these songs are
still pillars of Morrissey's solo career: that's not my fault. For
whatever reason, various record labels decided that they weren't fit
to be released as singles. That's on them, not me.
Today is Monday, October 1st.
According to my calendar that leaves 20 weekdays until Monday,
October 29th. Well, any good countdown goes to at least
20, so here we are. Over the next 20 weekdays I will be counting
down my list of Top 20 Morrissey Non-Singles. Songs that weren't
quite good enough to be released as commercial singles, but songs
that desperately deserved to be saved from slipping through the
cracks. I've decided to title the countdown Nobody Loves Us
after the Dagenham Dave b-side. Though some of these songs are loved, it seemed like an appropriate title.
So,
long story short, let's get on with the list. Be sure to check this
blog each weekday for my next entry, counting down the Top 20 until
the October 29th
concert date.
(Be sure give the
song a listen with the provided link. Click the “download”
button to have the song for your very own.)
Here we go!
20. One Day
Goodbye Will Be Farewell (Morrissey/Boorer)
From
the album Years Of Refusal
Key Line: “One
day goodbye will be farewell, so grab me while we still have the
time...”
Morrissey was well past the age of 50 when Years Of Refusal came
out in 2009. In fact, this album was his follow up to his
death-obsessed album Ringleader Of The Tormentors. However,
it's obvious on tracks like “When Last I Spoke To Carol,” “You
Were Good In Your Time” and this track that Mozzer's mortality was
still well on his mind.
Though the bass plucks and rolling drums of Boz Boorer's
stereotypical pub-rock soundtrack fits the rest of the album (and a
good chunk of Mozzer's post-Quarry output) well, the “One
Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell” takes on a special kind of weight
thanks to Morrissey's lyrics and stellar delivery.
It should come as no surprise to any Mozzer fan that the singer
starts off this song with a swift, snide reproach of a friend.
“Always be careful when you abuse the one you love...” will go
down as one of the more cold & blunt statements of Morrissey's
career. Leading into the line, “The hour, or the day, no one can
tell...” the opening line is lent a certain amount of gravitas by
the implication that Mozzer just might not answer the next time a phone
call is placed.
To be honest, Boorer's aggressive tone matches the lyrics quite well. Morrissey is not so much lamenting the fact that you never know which conversation may be the last as much as he's threatening this unrequited companion with the crushing guilt of not taking his conversation with the weight it deserves. The horn interjection during the bridge even gives the threat a celebratory air. An ego-maniacal move, to be sure, but calling Morrissey “ego-maniacal” is like calling air “breathable.”
And yet, his threat does not ring hollow. Morrissey, with hints of
both sadness and self-deprecating humour, knows that, while in his own
strange way, he will revel in the regret suffered by this “friend,”
ultimately, he will be the one who is crushed under the weight of
this unrequited attempt at connection.
All things considered, this song does lend itself to the “miserable-ist” cliché that is often lobbed at Mozzer. Still, for those of us who own a tacky badge or two, it stands as a grave warning, reminding us not to take Morrissey, or anybody we feel love towards, for granted, as those days can end abruptly with things left unsaid and feelings unexplained.
All things considered, this song does lend itself to the “miserable-ist” cliché that is often lobbed at Mozzer. Still, for those of us who own a tacky badge or two, it stands as a grave warning, reminding us not to take Morrissey, or anybody we feel love towards, for granted, as those days can end abruptly with things left unsaid and feelings unexplained.
