jude folly

It hasn’t been too difficult to resist writing about Morrissey since I’ve not been an enthusiast for quite a number of years.  However, The Smiths remain, for me, the peak of pop music in the English speaking world; a rupture across the staid and dreary 1980s conformist landscape. They recorded sweet, enchanting tunes tilted by Morrissey’s exceptional lyrics - etchings of a whimsical pathos that would embolden the bashful and cause the brutish to blush.

Anyway, the Morrissey song I’ve posted above is a guilty pleasure given its scant lyrical content, tho’ I relish the Mancunian’s fatalistic conclusion, “My only mistake is I keep hoping”.  In concert, amuzingly enough, I’ve heard him change the chorus to “My only mistake is I’m English”.

Special thanks goes to Charles Bukowski for inspiring this gem of wisdom. He once presented a signed a book of poems to Larry Mullen Jr (U2’s percussionist), wherein the poet inscribed the followng maxim: “Humanity at its greatest is a failure.”

Given the geezer I am, I’m mentioning this ‘discovery’ as a come-lately experience this past Fri. 4 April. While listening to Indie 103.1FM my ears perked up when a Brooklyn-based trio called A Place to Bury Strangers mesermized me with a delightfully dark ditty, “Ocean”. I heard strains of Joy Division, The Cure and early ’90s shoe-gaze yearning layered into this ominous and thrilling tune. Give ‘em a listen.