If you still don't know what this list is, well let me let you know. I'm counting down my 20 favorite Morrissey non-singles each weekday up until his concert October 29th at the Orpheum in beautiful downtown Minneapolis.
Here's what the list looks like so far:
20. One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
19. Driving Your Girlfriend Home
18. Munich Air Disaster 1958
17. Seasick, Yet Still Docked
Which brings us to #16:
#16: I Don't Mind If You Forget Me (Morrissey/Street)
From the album Viva Hate
Key line: "Rejection is one thing, but rejection from a fool is cruel..."
A late highlight in an album full of highlights, "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" is the last rock n roll punch thrown on Viva Hate (though the coldly blunt "Margaret On The Guillotine lands the knockout blow).
When Stephen Street was crafting the music that would become Viva Hate he intentionally set out to write a song that sounded like "Motown meets The Buzzcocks." In my opinion, that bridge was already crossed by The Jam with "Town Called Malice," but that's neither here nor there.
With a title like that, the casual fan would be forgiven for expecting a cliched, "woe is me," miserablist lament. However, what became of that instrumental is one of Morrissey's more aggressive shots at his former partner Johnny Marr after the dissolution of The Smiths.
"Sincerely, I must tell you, your mild, "best wishes," they make me suspicious..."
And, bitterly,"Rejection is one thing but rejection from a fool is cruel..."
I mean, it's pretty obvious who lines like that are directed toward.
Of course, Morrissey being an inherently caring (if thin-skinned) man, he can't help but temper his disdain.
"The pressure to change, to move on, was strange and very strong, so this is why I tell you, I really do understand..."
With years of hindsight to our benefit, we know now that there is almost nothing Morrissey fears more than being forgotten. As such, this song reads as more of an angry letter sent,possibly regretted, in the heat of a stormy breakup (albeit one that inspires more awkward, white person dancing than vodka and "No Diggity" combined. At least in my apartment).
