14. February 2014 By Walter Price 0

Morrissey This & That

(Facebook Photo)
By Walter Price
If your teen years were like mine your first foray into what is now called alternative music started with the discovery of The Smiths.
 
Murky, pointy, dismal and poetic lyrics backed by a band of players creating a jangly sound that would cause me to spend a good portion of my meager youth earnings in the record shops. A gateway band of sorts…A band that played a huge part on the soundtrack to one’s romanticized depression. 
 
At one point I had acquired every single release these British innovators had released. Including all the Japanese pressings. Yes, I was smitten. Why? The Smiths were the voice of the counter culture of the 80’s neon wearing yuppie tinged society and the voice of my gang. 
 
I tried very hard to be gloomy for a while but it just didn’t work-out. I had to settle for the fact that The Smiths were just a fantastic band saying things that I and a whole sub-cultured generation wanted to say and/or feel. They weren’t Peter Cetera and that was perfectly reasonable. 
 
This is now and over the decades Morrissey has done his best to keep the ole downtrodden fires going, with varying degrees of fan and critical acceptance. One thing is certain, he still has a way with words.
 
“The actuality is that radio stations will not play my music, and the majority of people have lost faith in the music industry, and it’s generally assumed – quite rightly – that the number one chart positions are ‘bought’ by the major labels, so there really is no passion left in pop or rock music, and I don’t think people believe for an instant that the faces we constantly see on television and in magazines are remotely popular.” – SP Morrissey
 
Well then, Morrissey has recently signed with Universal Musics’ mini label Harvest which has the bleak observer recording his first of two contractual albums in France as I type this out. Expect to see that hit the stores near the holiday season. 
 
The Moz Man has also announced new tour dates that could possibly go off without any problems. Which will see Cliff Richards and Tom Jones making appearances here and there…Wait, what?  Well see how all this plays out and keep you posted….
  • 07.05.14 – San Jose, CA
  • 10.05 – Los Angeles, CA (w/ Tom Jones)
  • 13.05 – El Paso, TX
  • 14.05 – Albuquerque, NM
  • 16.05 – Salt Lake City, UT
  • 17.05 – Denver, CO
  • 19.05 – Lincoln, NE
  • 20.05 – Lawrence, KS
  • 22.05 – Dallas, TX
  • 24.05 – Austin, TX
  • 25.05 – Beaumont, TX
  • 27.05 – Memphis, TN
  • 28.05 – Nashville, TN
  • 30.05 – St. Petersburg, FL
  • 31.05 – Miami, FL
  • 04.06 – Atlanta, GA
  • 07.06 – Boston, MA
  • 10.06 – Baltimore, MD
  • 13.06 – Chicago, IL
  • 14.06 – Flint, MI
  • 16.06 – Lewiston, NY
  • 17.06 – Wilmington, DE
  • 06/19 – Hershey, PA
  • 06/21 – New York, NY (w/ Cliff Richards) 
Morrissey: Facebook / True To You Blog / Harvest Records / The Smiths