Obsessive personality disorder #1

The very strangest thing has happened recently. I couldn’t tell you why, but almost overnight, I have become the world’s newest Morrissey fan. I’ll try and explain, but I can’t promise anything…

Part of my survival technique of getting through my day at work is listening to music. I am very fortunate that my department have no problem with us listening to music through the computer or generic MP3 player. And since I do occasionally tire of the vast selection available to me via CD or 20 gig MP3 player, I have started downloading music from the internet. Not only that, I have started buying CDs that I wouldn’t have considered for a millisecond a year ago. For instance, at Christmas, I bought 3 CDs: Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs, The Best of the Clash and Neil Young's Greatest Hits. This spending spree was fuelled by the fact that I was feeling a bit trapped in terms of my own musical tastes. While they seem to stretch far – from Aerosmith to Nick Cave to Portishead – I was eager to start learning about historically important musical figures. First on my list was Neil Young. I knew Heart of Gold, doesn’t everyone – and what a fine, fine song that is. But his greatest hits are quite astounding. Ignoring the interesting fact that Neil Young actually sings the way he speaks (it works) his guitar music is moving and instantly attention grabbing in the way that (deep breath) Bob Dylan never really was to me (sorry Dave!). Like a Hurricane becomes a hurricane of guitars and vocals, Southern Man has harmonising like you wouldn’t believe and Cowgirl in the sand takes you on a journey to the deep south via lazy guitar solos that go on for several minutes, often leaving you to fill in the gaps yourself.

So Neil Young became a very important musical step. Real music. The Clash left me a bit cold and the Beastie Boys, while as great as ever, failed to really surprise me, as they are are a band you want blasting out of your stereo while you turn the skewers on a BBQ, not while you correct someone’s grammar for the 67th time in an office.

So moving onto The Smiths – or Morrissey. I can’t actually recall which came first or why. The Smiths seemed a logical progression in my journey of discovery across the undulating sands of British pop music of the 20th century. Here’s a fact: I only knew This charming man and How soon is now. After those 2 songs, my familiarity with this particular musical movement jumps to Irish Blood, English Heart. So I started there. Three songs with just one thing in common. Morrissey. This is a man with a voice who for whatever reason stops you in your tracks. I can’t explain it (nor can the millions of fans I have read about) but there is something about this man, as I found out soon after…

About a week after this, I was channel surfing on the radio on my way home and came across a song whose lyrics and title I mistakenly thought were You half killed me. It was absolutely magnificent (and that was before I picked up on the references to Italian film directors – who does that in a pop song??!) There was something vaguely familiar about the song, and I couldn’t put my finger on it - until the end of the song when the DJ enlightened me. It was Morrissey and the song was You have killed me. It stayed in my head for days and I was absolutely determined to get the album, which I did - on the day of its release. I listened to the whole thing, uninterrupted, at work, on a Friday afternoon. I can’t remember the last time I was so moved by music. The album Ringleader of the Tormentors is a masterpiece. I was practically in tears by the end of Dear God, please help me, which is so intensely personal it almost feels like an intrusion to listen to it. Over the last week or so I have listened to the album about 20 times, with particular emphasis on the first 4 songs.

And so I joined the strange world of Morrissey reverie. I would really like to be able to explain to non-Morrissey fans (there’s no in between, you either are or you aren’t) what exactly it is about his music that is so attractive, intriguing, beautiful, moving… As my co-blogger (and co-incidentally, boyfriend) will tell you, I have something of an obsessive personality. Once I get into something, whether it be music, musician, film, actor, actress, TV series, I have to find out everything about it. Step forward Mr Google... What I read about Morrissey just intrigued me even more, and I have been working my way through his back catalogue, watching old music videos and interviews. He is fiercely intelligent, takes no prisoners in interviews and liberally takes the piss out of anyone who tries to get a straight answer out of him regarding his sexuality. Edith Bowman interviewed him recently on the television (I can’t think of a DJ less suited to interviewing him) and he ended up coaxing her through the interview, rather like a professor does a student. As an (not so) elder statesman of music, he guided her around her many slips and insipid questions, which I found rather moving and gentle.

So I can safely say that I am addicted, and loving every moment. Someone pointed out that The Smiths (I’m working on them – doing the whole thing backwards!!) are a marmite band – you love them or you hate them, and the same can be said about Morrissey. I hope his new album converts those who dismissed him, because a journey through his music is one of the most gratifying and enlightening I have ever been on.