I just wanted to let you know that the Swedish band Weeping Willows played "Last Night I Dreamt..." as an encore both at the Roskilde festival and at Tivolirock in Kristianstad, Sweden last week. The two gigs were great.

World Cup of Pop - results

From Donna Sayers:

Unfortunately Mozza and the lads didn’t win. The results were as follows:

Oasis - 40%
Stone Roses - 17%
Prodigy - 12%
The Verve - 11%
The Smiths - 11%
Blur - 9%

Many thanks to all those that voted.

In today’s newspaper The Sun (Monday) there is a whole page on the World Cup of Pop and they are asking for readers to call in and vote for their favourite band. I was very pleased to read that the Smiths are in Group A - Indie Bands. Us Mozza fans must stick together and vote for the best band, we must not let the likes of The Verve and Oasis beat them.

The number to ring is 0660-191906. Get dialing now.

I went to the Warped Tour in Irvine, Ca on July 2nd. I was grabbing a bunch of "free" stuff at all the booths and I got a "free" magazine titled "See That?" On the cover it has the hardcore New York band H20... It doesn’t have a date on it but it says 3rd issue. H20 is interviewed and the article goes like this... (The interviewer is named Jimmy M.)

---

Jimmy: The first thing I have to know is, why did you pick "Heaven Know I’m Miserable Now" for a cover song on The Smiths tribute album?

Rusty (singer): Ah! That is actually a very good question because our old bass player was a total hardcore "Smiths" fan.

Adam (new bassist): Eric was a Smiths fan?! F**kin’ A! For reals?!

Rusty: Yeah... so Eric was like, "dude, we have to do this compilation dude". And Eric knew all the songs and choose his song he liked. We wanted to do "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" but someone had already done it.

Jimmy: So are you guys "Smiths" fans?

Rusty: I like The Smiths but I never liked them when I was younger. Because I would go to campus and there would be all these college parties and all these girls would be listening to The Smiths and they were all whiney and would say "I wanna kill myself." Which I wasn’t into, I was more into Minor Threat. Mainly vocalists who scream there aggression instead of vocalists that whine their emotion. But when we did the song, it was cool. The more you listen to the song, you wonder what can you do with it. And the more our appreciation for the band grew. Johnny Marr is a good guitar player. Morrissey, I like Morrissey and he is so surreal with his crazy vocals and all his lyrics.

Adam (drummer): Even what Morrissey stands for. Like being, somewhat, Straightedge and into vegetarianism before it was cool and trendy, ya know. Morrissey is a very interesting guy. His principles are a lot like what REAL hardcore kids believe in. Even though Eric was the first and true Smiths, Morrissey fan of the band. I have to say Morrissey is Great.

Jimmy: So you're all "Smiths" fans, now?

(The Whole band): Yup!

Todd (guitarist): Thanks to Eric.

David Grohl misunderstanding?

Thanks to Cameron Smith for some clarification regarding the comment on the Foo Fighters' David Grohl in Thursday's update:

...the entire thing is a misunderstanding. Though I was not at the mentioned music fest, I know that David Grohl, lead singer of the Foo Fighters, has frequently performed a song during concerts on his tour that he has claimed "sounds like a Smiths song" but also that he "wouldn’t dare imitate the master". Whether this is a sarcastic comment or not is left up to judgment. Also, I don’t believe that a supposed drug-addiction by the singer has ever been documented.

Another loser

From Randell:

Well the former drummer for Nirvana has sunk to a new low. I was attending the Edge Fest in Montreal and happened to see a band named the Foo-Fighters. The lead singer, a tall lanky drug addicted loser, stated how one of his songs "sounded" like a Smiths song but then stated that he "hates the Smiths." On the other hand, one of the guitar players for a band named Sloan say that Johnny Marr was his greatest musical influence.

THE phone rings at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, Los Angeles.

"Hello, is Morrissey there?"

"I'm sorry, sir, we don't give out that kind of information."

They don't give out that kind of information. This is becoming a mantra for all enquiries concerning Steven Patrick Morrissey. Supposing I told you this: that in 1998 the pop icon known simply as Morrissey apparently has no record contract, no publishing deal, no manager and no band and is seen by some as being on the verge of retirement.

...

Part 2 to come later.

...It's not an interview but a long article by Dave Simpson. He's basically contacted anyone who has been part of, and then ejected from the Morrissey circle since 1984 or thereabouts.

Moz checks out the Gay Pride parade

From Patrick Choi:

Well, it's a short story, but a friend of mine who was at The Gay Pride parade this past weekend in West Hollywood, said that Mozzy walked by him. He ran up and met him, briefly. Apparently he was with a guy with dark hair who was smaller in comparison to Moz, but ...was introduced as his bodyguard. ...Could this be an actual opening of the closet door?

WFNX (Boston) top 500

The same songs in similar order seem to appear in these countdowns. From Jimmy McDonald:

101.7 WFNX in Boston has released their Big 500 songs of all time. The Smiths and Morrissey had a decent showing.

The Smiths:

2. How Soon is Now
66. Bigmouth Strikes Again
109. Panic
202. This Charming Man
299. What Difference Does it Make?
395. Ask

Morrissey:

130. Suedehead
164. Everyday is Like Sunday
308. Last of the Famous International Playboys
431. The More You Ignore Me the Closer I Get

The url for the site is http://www.wfnx.com/playlist/big500.html

Go here if you REALLY want to know who beat out The Smiths.

Morrissey and Marr - in Britain's top wealthiest performers list

From Robbie Le Blanc:

Just to note that Morrissey was listed in Q’s rundown of Britain’s top wealthiest performers. He was listed at 8 million pounds (Johnny Marr at 2 million).

Morrissey - Lounge music?

Thanks to Jason G. for an article from the Fresno Bee on a new lounge music book called "MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide to Martini Music and Easy Listening."

From the article:

"...In fact, the best part of the guide for the unconverted are the entries -- for the likes of Bjork, *MORRISSEY* and the Pet Shop Boys -- whose music is shed in a new light when viewed through the foggy haze of a half-empty (or is it half-full?) highball glass."

...all this Gregg Araki talk

From Marc Charron:

With all this Gregg Araki talk on the site, I’m amazed that no one has mentioned that his films are awful, pretentious things. I don’t care if he is a Moz fan - he stinks as a director. It’s quite shocking to me to think that none of Morrissey’s class and talent has rubbed off on someone who thinks themself a huge fan. Ah ha ha.

Gregg Araki

From Ali Fard:

Just wanted to add that Gregg Araki is in fact a huge Morrissey/Smiths fan. In his first feature film, "The Living End", one of the lead characters wears a Morrissey shirt throughout the film.

From Allen Young:

...concerning Gregg Araki, and one of his first films (the charmingly titled "Totally F****d Up"). Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the film, nor even seen it around. It was pre- ‘Doom Generation’ indie film, and not as prominent as ‘Doom’ or ‘Nowhere’... in an interview he described it as a film about the adventures of two gay Smiths fans. I thought it was something of note that he did mention the Smiths as a key element of the characters and the movie.

Unfortunately, I can’t find the particular wording. But it stuck out in my mind. And I’ll tell you where I read it - an article/interview with Araki in the issue of Details that ran the edited ‘Q’ Magazine interview with the Mozzer (so you may have that laying around somewhere.)

Anyway, kinda cool that he’s probably a Smiths fan.

MEBY to be released in the UK / Europe also?

From Naomi:

...the NME reprints the latest Reprise press release today. It implies that MEBY will be getting a UK release (it doesn't mention any record company) and also mentions that the enhanced CD will carry "a handful of videos". How accurate either of those things are, I don't know.

Also, from Tommy Gunnarsson:

According to the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (who had the long interview with Moz in November last year) the compilation My Early Burglary Years will be released in Europe too. Sadly, I haven’t read this newspiece myself, but I heard it from a friend of mine. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

MEBY - advance CD

Thanks to Mike for the following description:

I have a copy of the advance CD for My Early Burglary Years. No surprises. The "Cosmic Dancer" track is a great live recording. However, there is no interesting dialogue between Moz and the crowd. Also, it is the live version of "Jack The Ripper" that is on the "Now My Heart..." single. This is a straight audio CD. Unfortunately, they did not place the enhanced "Sunny" video on the advance. Finally, the packaging is the typical Reprise Advance. It is lavender.

The CD’s track order is:

1. Sunny
2. At Amber
3. Cosmic Dancer
4. Nobody Loves Us
5. A Swallow On My Neck
6. Sister I’m A Poet
7. Black-eyed Susan
8. Michaels Bones
9. I’d Love To
10. Reader Meet Author
11. Pashernate Love
12. Girl Least Likely To
13. Jack The Ripper
14. I’ve Changed My Plea To Guilty
15. Boy Racer
16. Boxers

Now, everyone must wait until September 15th.