Frankie writes:

Just got back to Los Angeles, from opening weekend of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. I was lucky enough to catch the premiere of "New York Doll." I don't know where to start except with the words BRILLIANT! The documentary follows the history of the Dolls from start to break up. The film then catches the viewer up to speed with the interesting and emotional life of Arthur "Killer" Kane, through his finding of the Mormon lifestyle to the reuniting of the New York Dolls at Morrissey's Meltdown, and beyond. The film is tragic, and joyful all at once. I never lost interest in any of the story, and left the theater feeling that the festival was a completely worth the trip, thanks to "NY Doll."

Morrissey plays a huge role in the documentary giving interviews, and clearance to use the footage of the Banquet before the Meltdown gig at the Prince Royal Albert Hall in London. Several appropriate musicians are featured in this documentary, and all share very interesting facts and stories about Arthur, Morrissey and the New York Dolls.

I don't want to give to many details about the documentary without the permission of the filmmaker, so I will leave it as is. When I first heard of this film, expectations where high. Believe me when I say that EVERY music fan, especially NY Dolls and MOZ fans should see this documentary. I asked the filmmaker (who happens to be a very nice individual out of Los Angeles) if we should expect to see a theatrical release, all is unsure. To judge by the audience response, we will see it in theaters or on DVD in the near future.

One last note, a very appropriate Smiths song appears on the soundtrack, along with other very good music. Please email your interest in seeing the documentary so I can forward the emails to the filmmaker directly. I want to let him know how much "Moz" fan support he has. It will be good incentive for a distributor to release the film, so that we all get to see it. Email to [email protected].

Johan de Witt writes:

According to www.acclaimedmusic.net You Are the Quarry is Morrissey's most acclaimed album yet. It ended up in the yearlists of these publications (not all of them have been mentioned on this site):

http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/A4080.htm

All Music Guide (USA) - Album of the Year No Order
Amazon.com (USA) - Albums of the Year 65
Blender (USA) - Albums of the Year 6
Cokemachineglow.com (USA) - Albums of the Year 37
PopMatters (USA) - Albums of the Year 17
Prefix (USA) - Albums of the Year 30
Robert Christgau (USA) - Consumer Guide Album Grade *
Spin (USA) - Albums of the Year 24
Metacritic (Metascore 0-100, Weighted Average of Reviews from USA and UK) 68
Mojo (UK) - Albums of the Year 14
New Musical Express (UK) - Albums of the Year 12
Uncut (UK) - Albums of the Year 45
Musikbyrån (Sweden) - Albums of the Year 15
Nöjesguiden (Sweden) - Albums of the Year 2
OOR (Netherlands) - Albums of the Year 6
Intro (Germany) - Albums of the Year 8
Musik Express/Sounds (Germany) - Albums of the Year 3
Les Inrockuptibles (France) - Albums of the Year 26
Musica (Italy) - Albums of the Year 12
Pure Pop (Mexico) - Albums of the Year 15

Morrissey's is now the 217th most acclaimed artist of all time, which really seems worse than it is, considering 50 years of rock and roll.
http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Morrissey.htm

The Smiths are at number 29 in the top 1000 of all time and are the 2nd most acclaimed artist of the 1980s: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/1948-09art.htm

Maladjustedx sends the diary update at bozboorer.com:

January 25th 2005

Boz and some others are putting together a tsunami benefit concert at The Forum in London - it will be a daytime Rockabilly fest and artists include Carlos & the Bandidos and The Deltas (+ plus Boz). Date is March 5th - we'll give you full ticket info a.s.a.p.
---
There is also an update on Jan. 24 on bands Boz is working with.

Photographer Stephen Wright has donated another print for the Morrissey-solo donation drive, this one of Morrissey and Johnny Marr. I am touched by those who have been willing to help out in this cause.

In Stephen's words, "...each are 16 x 12 signed limited edition prints and it may help someone who has lost family friends and isn't sat next to a computer with a roof above their head..."

The auction on eBay, item 3777925547, ending Jan. 28.

dazzak writes:

My brother was talking to Damien Dempsey recently (he works in a music shop). He got talking about Morrissey and told a story about how one night Damien was talking to the audience and mentioned eating a steak. He then said that Morrissey approached him and requested that he not tell the story again. Damien politely did so. He also said that Morrissey is a "top guy".

Just thought it was an interesting snippet of information.

Nic P. writes:

Did anyone see the Tsunami concert from the Millenium Stadium last night? It takes a lot to drag me away from the brilliant music of Moz and The Smiths, but the opening act, Keane, really reached me. I had heard them on the radio previously of course, (who hasn't?) but their performance last night stopped me in my tracks. They sang three numbers, and the last one, "This is the last time" definitely reminded me of The Main Man. The lyrics were intuitive and heartfelt and the delivery was passionate.

I did some research on the net afterwards and came upon an interview with the band, Keane by Alexander Laurence in August 2004.

In answer to the question: "What bands do you think are legitimate influences?" the pianist, Tim Rice-Oxley answered "I remember listening to a lot of The Smiths when I was writing the songs" and went on to add "There are direct influences like The Smiths and even The Chemical Brothers"

No more than I would have expected, but I still get a huge buzz from reading in black and white that the loves of my life live on and are still having a major impact on today's music. "Hopes and Fears" by Keane - definitely one for the collection!

An anonymous person writes:

I found this while browsing toothpastefordinner.com the other day, and thought it was rather cute:

The More I Ignore Him

There's also a link to a "secret Morrissey homepage" under "misc." on the site.