Day 533 - The Boy With The Thorn Is Back

The Mozziah is back! *Gets the palm leaves, bunting, plastic blue roses et cetera out of the loft and waves them vigorously*



BALBOA THEATRE, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - WEDS 27TH FEB 2013

SET LIST
1. THAT JOKE ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE
2. EVERYDAY IS LIKE SUNDAY
3. HOW SOON IS NOW?
4. IRISH BLOOD, ENGLISH HEART
5. NOVEMBER SPAWNED A MONSTER
6. OUIJA BOARD, OIUJA BOARD
7. I'M THROWING MY ARMS AROUND PARIS
8. SPEEDWAY
9. ACTION IS MY MIDDLE NAME
10. ALMA MATTERS
11. YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME, FATTY
12. YOU HAVE KILLED ME
13. STILL ILL
14. TO GIVE (IS THE REASON I LIVE)
15. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME GET WHAT I WANT
16. MEAT IS MURDER
17. LET ME KISS YOU
18. THE BOY WITH THE THORN IN HIS SIDE
(Set list provided by LIVE feed to The Twitterdilly Arms by @Vulgar1mkela)

Last night's San Diego concert was attended by a number of the Blue Rose Society, including Vulgar (@Vulgar1mkela), Clover Dean ( @MozzeriansATW) and Old Willoughby (@awillo9658). A number of photos have been posted on the walls of the Twitterdilly Arms, but one in particular got me very excited as I thought it was a HUGE sign. It is a picture of one of the t-shirts being sold at the concert, which depicts Morrissey dressed in a plain white robe, holding a lamb, with the caption 'Moz Is My Shepherd'.


T-SHIRT ON SALE AT A MOZ CONCERT NEAR YOU

I immediately presumed that Morrissey had printed these t-shirts in homage to Kyle's (President of the Blue Rose Society) dad, who has the twitter name '@MozIsMyShepherd', but it transpires that Kyle's dad actually changed his twitter name to MozIsMyShepherd AFTER seeing the new t-shirts last month in New Jersey. Although not a sign, the fact that Moz is dressed as The Mozziah is good enough for me.

And so to the concert. As I write this at lunch time on Thursday in the UK, it is 5am in San Diego, and the only video footage that has been posted on Youtube is of 'Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want' (See here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn2CzE4-xS4&sns=tw), so there is very little for me to report. I have no idea if there was a song during the 'Speedway' pause, and I don't know what was said between songs. One thing that I DO know, is that Vulgar has left comment on my blog of yesterday, to say that the band wore 'Superman' t-shirts and..... *drum roll* MORRISSEY TOOK VULGAR'S BLUE AND RED ROSES!


MORRISSEY LAST NIGHT IN SAN DIEGO TAKING DELIVERY OF VULGAR'S RED AND BLUE ROSES (THE WHITE ONE WAS HANDED TO KRISTEEN YOUNG EARLIER IN THE EVENING)

Vulgar has reported back to the Twitterdilly Arms to say that Morrissey took the flowers during 'Alma Matters' and actually sang some sort of thank you to her, along the lines of "these are from you." We shall have to hope some Youtube footage emerges to find out exactly what was sung. That camouflage shirt Moz is wearing is HILARIOUS. Could it be that he is taking the piss out of the Duck Dynasty people, who appeared on Tuesday's Jimmy Kimmel show? Could it be a reference to homosexual men not fighting wars? Actually, the shirt looks VERY familiar, let me take a closer look....



Hold on, it's........




.......... Justin Bieber's shirt that I published on my blog yesterday! IT'S A SIGN *Waves a palm or two* RE-OPEN MORRISSEYSWORLD! It may not be a 'novelty pop act t-shirt', but it's a 'shirt worn by a novelty pop act', which is good enough for me. RE-OPEN MORRISSEYSWORLD!

Clover Dean ALSO took some beautiful looking BLUE ROSES to the Balboa theatre last night, but I presume they didn't reach Moz. It is the thought that counts.



BLUE ROSES TAKEN TO BALBOA THEATRE BY CLOVER DEAN (@MozzeriansATW)

And here are some more photos from Vulgar:




It would appear that there is a new stage back drop, does anybody know WHO it is?


MORRISSEY AND THE MORRISSEY BAND ON STAGE LAST NIGHT WITH A NEW BACK DROP

The double drum kit with the red and blue Ameri-ca has been replaced by a single drum with a man on it, but I can't post the photo that I have seen as it is an Ingrastram picture, which you can't copy and paste. I wish people wouldn't use this Ingrastram thingy, whatever it is!

It is great to see that 'The Boy With The Thorn In His Side' has been added to the set, it is a classic (aren't they all?). I remember watching Margie Clarke interview Morrissey on The Tube when this song was coming out, and Morrissey describing how the song is about the music industry. Whenever I hear the song now, I STILL think of that interview in Scotland. Isn't nostalgia great, it warms your cockles! I wonder if this song has been added because singer Tracey Thorn has recently published her autobiography, which apparently has a section about Moz?


MORRISSEY AND MAR....GI


I will write more about the San Diego concert tomorrow, as more video footage emerges on Youtube. In the meantime, if anybody would like to see the footage of Johnny Marr performing 'How Soon Is Now?' last night at the NME awards, here is the link, but i must warn you, that although YES Johnny is now officially a 'Godlike Genius', and YES I will always love him for the work he did with Morrissey, he CANNOT sing! There is no point trying to dress it up any other way, he just can't, but God he can play that guitar! The link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mmU1sLabqLY


THIS PHOTO HAS APPEARED ON T'INTERNET, BUT WAS IT FROM LAST NIGHT'S CONCERT, AND IF SO, 'WHO' TOOK THE INFLATABLE ROSE? NOTICE THE BLUE ROSE HEAD ON THE BLACK LEADS. SURELY THIS PICTURE WAS FROM THE LONG ISLAND CONCERT?

So, to other news. Morrissey's decision not to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel show on Tuesday resulted in Kimmel mocking Moz by getting the Duck Dynasty people to do a 'carrot hunting' sketch. Morrissey responded with the following statement on True To You:


27 February 2013
I was disappointed with last night's Jimmy Kimmel Show wherein our smiling host managed to ridicule depression (70% of Americans have experienced depression according to the National Institute of Mental Health). He then found time to ridicule healthy eating (the obesity epidemic in the U.S. costs $147 billion per year in medical expenditure), and he also ridiculed the notion that animals should be entitled to the possession of their own lives. Furthermore, he found time to jokingly promote gun-ownership - hugely amusing for the parents at Sandy Hook, no doubt. He also promoted his special guests Duck Dynasty - who kill beings for fun.
None of the above issues are, of course, as important as Jimmy Kimmel himself, who has finally revealed his show to have an overwhelming loss of meaning. Tune in and relive the intellectual fog of the 1950s.

Morrissey

Kimmel (@JimmyKimmel) responded to Morrissey's response by tweeting a photo of Morrissey's 'You Are The Quarry' album cover, which depicts Morrissey holding a Tommy Gun, and tweeted, "Note to Morrissey - if you have more dumb statements to make, I invite you to make them where I do, on my show." I think that Jimmy calling his own statements dumb, is his way of saying the door is still open for Morrissey to appear on the show, but as to whether Moz decides to enter through the open door remains to be seen. I hope he does.




Another new Morrissey interview has appeared on the world wide web, this time with HollywoodReporter.Com. Here are the highlights:

On the subject of the Staples Center in LA agreeing to go vegetarian for Moz but not Paul McCartney - "I was amused to hear that Sir Paul McCartload was very angry that Staples had said yes to me but no to him, when really, he should be happy for any victory on behalf of the animals. I know he works hard for PETA, but he also loves the British royals, whose treatment of animals is abysmal. The Queen herself wears enough fur to blanket most of Russia. He also once sang "Give Ireland back to the Irish," which was directed at the Queen. Well, she refused, and she still refuses, yet Sir Paul gives her the thumbs up! If he cared passionately about animals, he'd return his knighthood. He doesn't need the Queen's approval. He's given more pleasure to people worldwide than she could ever dream of."


SIR PAUL APPEARING ALONGSIDE DESPERATE DAN IN THE LAST EVER COPY OF THE DANDY COMIC



   DESPERATE DAN - FAMOUS FOR EATING COW PIE





It is great that Sir Paul McCartload (you have to laugh at Mozzer's name changes) has ethics and principals, but Morrissey is quite right in everything that he says about Sir Paul (I also love how Moz ALWAYS piss takingly uses the 'SIR' when referring to Elton, Macca et al) , you can't hold a strong political position about Ireland and then accept a knighthood from the Queen and you can't campaign against meat eating and then be seen shaking hands with the UK's best known carnivore, even if he IS a cartoon. Neither John Lennon nor Linda McCartney would have made such schoolboy errors. Sir Paul has to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.


SIR PAUL TALKING THE TALK


PAUL MCCARTNEY WITH GEORGE MICHAEL (NO RELEVANCE TO THIS ARTICLE WHATSOEVER BUT I FOUND THE PICTURE WHILST SEARCHING ON GOOGLE IMAGES AND THOUGHT I MIGHT GET A LAUGH FROM SOMEONE SOMEWHERE BY CALLING THE BLOKE ON THE RIGHT GEORGE MICHAEL. IF NOTHING ELSE, IT HAS AMUSED ME)


HOLLYWOOD REPORTER HIGHLIGHTS CONTINUED:

On the subject of his concerts - "The love and intensity from the crowd is quite incredible for me to witness. It sets its own terms, so therefore the success of any night doesn't entirely depend upon my own efforts. I turn up in order to watch the crowd, whereas it's generally assumed that they turn up to watch me. The only difference is that I don't have to queue, and I don't get groped by venue security." (I love this last line.)

On the subject of a record deal - "I have no DIY instincts, and recording without a major label would give the music world yet another reason to completely ignore me. I've had one very poor offer -- from Sony -- but otherwise nothing ever happens. The search for wisdom goes on. Help!"


THE PYE RECORD LABEL - OWNED BY SONY, BUT UNLIKELY TO HAVE THE NAME MORRISSEY ON IT WHILE THEIR OFFER REMAINS "VERY POOR"

On the subject of The Smiths - "A lot of people are homesick for The Smiths, because the songs are so good. The Smiths were never promoted and almost never received radio play, and this mystery has protected them in the long run. But a reformation will never take place because reformations can only work if the same spirit that made the band form in the first place still exists. But it doesn't."

On the subject of the memoirs - "Autobiography is a therapeutic act of self-loyalty, even if, like me, you end up with chapters of self-disgust rather than reams of narcissism. If the book doesn't come out soon, I'll burn it." (When I asked about the book in my 'fake interview' last May, I was given the response, "Coming to a pulping unit near you soon.")


JIMMY KIMMEL (CENTRE) AND THE CAST OF DUCK DYNASTY BURNING MORRISSEY'S BOOK (HOLD ON, ISN'T THAT BOZ BOORER BEHIND JIMMY?)

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "You'll be playing a show at Hollywood High School. is there  something about the school's legacy (Carole Lombard, Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney are among its famous alumni) that made you want to perform there?"
MOZ: "Well, no, not really. It's just handy for The Cat and Fiddle." (HILARIOUS!)


THE CAT & FIDDLE ENGLISH THEMED PUB ON SUNSET BLVD..... NO, I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP, IT 'REALLY' IS!


LINEKERS BAR, NEXT DOOR TO THE CAT & FIDDLE (ALRIGHT, I 'HAVE' MADE THIS ONE UP, BUT IT WOULD BE FUNNY! I LOVE THE 'REAL STATE AGENT' SIGN.... THEY AIN'T KIDDING ABOUT THE REAL STATE!)

On the subject of Morrissey seeing Kirk Douglas - "Kirk, I think, is the last of the famous. I felt fathomless depths of awe in his presence. Such people mean more than presidents. My wish to meet list has been completed. Most actors of quality are dead. Kirk Douglas has actually outlived death."

On the subject of 'other things' - "I'd like people to be aware of the pangs of childbirth, and that every male is not necessarily a man. But perhaps these are topics for another time." Girl on Bike (@GirlOnBike1102) has tweeted to say that the subject matter of not all males being men, was discussed in the MW chat room by Our Mozzer and Alex West (@AlexWest95)

Well, that's enough for today, so I will finish by showing what the President of the Blue Rose Society thinks of Our Mozzer calling him Justin Bieber:





And finally, finally, a tweet from yesterday from Boy George:

boygeorge ‏@BoyGeorge

#thewrightstuff Mathew, Morrissey is genius! He is loved all over the globe!

Day 532 - It Was 30 Years Ago Today

MorrisseysWorld has gone again! *Sounds of trumpets going flat and scenes of palm leaves being put back in boxes and bunting being put away in lofts, or if you must, attics* Well that didn't last long did it? Perhaps Our Mozzer agreed with my comment of yesterday about only fifteen people bothering to praise him for his latest masterpiece, and decided that there really IS no point. WHY oh WHY are the masses continuing to ignore MorrisseysWorld? How long can this 'possibly' go on before the penny drops? It really does feel that Morrissey could walk on stage tonight at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego wearing a BLUE ROSE or a novelty pop act t-shirt and STILL the masses would ignore the relevance of MorrisseysWorld. Maybe that is why the MW blog has been taken down again, maybe, just maybe, Morrissey IS going to give an unbelievably obvious sign tonight that will send his fans into a frenzy, but would there 'be' a frenzy? I really don't think there would be.


BALBOA THEATRE - THE SCENE OF A SIGN AND FRENZY TONIGHT?

Despite Morrissey not playing the Jimmy Kimmel show yesterday, he decided NOT to spend the evening answering my interview questions, but he HAS given an interview to a girl named Amy Rose (a sign?) for a teenagers website called RookieMag.com. Here are the highlights:

On the subject of his books on James Dean and the New York Dolls - "Those weren't books, just juvenille essays, and thoughtless rubbish at that. I had no creative process, ust pain, which I mistakenly assumed might be creative process. Well, it wasn't..."

JUVENILLE ESSAY


On the subject of loneliness - "Everyone is, in fact, alone. Being contractually tied to another person - in marriage, for example - accentuates the loneliness, because you have effectively allowed the state to determine your obligations to someone, as if you can't trust and manage your own feelings by yourself. Anyway, I see humans as essentially solitary creatures, and this is not changed by surrounding ourselves with others, because they, too, are solitary. Life is a very serious business for the simple reason that nobody dies laughing." (It should be noted that only a couple of months ago, Our Mozzer discussed this subject on twitter in great detail, and then TRM discussed it during one of his recent concerts. Where our Mozzer leads, Morrissey follows!)


OUR MOZZER - LEADER

On the subject of aspirations - "My greatest aspiration was to make it through the coming week. As a teenager I found life to be inevitably disgusting, and I could see no humanity in the human race. When my time in music began, I found all my goals were reachable. For the first time ever in my life, I spoke and people listened. I had never known such a thing previously. My life as a teenager was so relentlessly foul that I still can't believe I actually survived it. Perhaps I didn't..."

TEENAGE MORRISSEY


BLUE ROSE PRESIDENT KYLE WITH A TEENAGE MOZ HAIRCUT

On the subject of political causes - "War, I thought, was the most negative aspect of male heterosexuality. If more men were homosexual, there would be no wars, because homosexual men would never kill other men, whereas heterosexual men love killing other men. They even get medals for it. Women don't go to war to kill other women. Wars and armies and nuclear weapons are essentially heterosexual hobbies. The most political gesture you can make is to refuse to eat animals. It was so when I was a teenager, and is still the case now."

On the subject of the music industry - "The arts have diminished, because we are now living through a time when we are encouraged not to think." (THIS IS AN OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO MORRISSEYSWORLD AND I AM USING CAPITAL LETTERS TO EMPHASIZE THE POINT!) "No one making music wants to waste time struggling with art. A group like the Sex Pistols would never again be allowed to slip through, and there is no such thing in 2013 as a popular artist who sets their own terms for success. Whether it be Beyonce or Justin Bieber, we see singers who have absolutely nothing to offer anyone as they walk offstage clutching three Grammys in each hand." (It is very interesting to see Moz mention Justin Bieber, another regular subject matter for Our Mozzer. The fact that Morrissey has mentioned Bieber in this interview would also open the way for him to walk on stage tonight 'ironically' wearing a Bieber t-shirt.)


JUSTIN BIEBER - "ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO OFFER" - SEEN HERE AUDITIONING FOR A PART IN DUCK DYNASTY OR IS HE TRYING TO BECOME A HETEROSEXUAL MEMBER OF THE US ARMY?

On the subject of fans trying to get on stage - "In recent years I saw McDonna live, and no audience member reached up toward her to try to touch her. I see this so often with artists whom we're told are global stars. It is a big lie. Or else, you might possibly be a big star, but you are not loved. My audience has an urgent need to touch, to shake hands, to move out of their seats, to defy so-called security, to make physical contact. They don't simply sit and observe, but feel the urge to act. It's a great compliment for me, and one that most Grammy winners could probably never imagine."


WOULD MADONNA HUG A MAN WITH HAIR LIKE THIS? I THINK NOT!


On the subject of 'the book' - "I think autobiography is mostly self-worship, or personal mythology. In my case, self-disgust is the spur, which doesn't mean it isn't poetic or elevated or even funny."

On the subject of the future - "I have no vision of the future. I never have. There is nothing to consider other than today. I'm saving tranquility for when I'm dead."


AMY ROSE: "If you could tell your teenage self one thing, what would it be?"
MORRISSEY: "I am still my teenage self. If you think that we al step through a door marked Adult, or that we sign a Grown-Up Document, you're quite wrong. We remain as we always were, and that, alas, is one of life's many nasty tricks."



I have to say, I think Amy Rose's interview was very good, and she managed to get some great responses from Moz. Perhaps I should attempt to interview him via email, like all these other people do, but WHAT is his email address? Perhaps I should ask his PR representative Lauren Papapietro, who incidentally posted this tweet a couple of days ago:

Lauren Papapietro ‏@laurnpapapietro

Just a heads up, Morrissey is NOT on twitter. The only places for official updates are http://facebook.com/Morrissey  & http://true-to-you.net 

I had a little chuckle to myself and sent back the following:

The Rat ‏@TheRatsBack

@laurnpapapietro Morrissey may well not be on twitter, but some of us don't use Facebook, so could you please ask him to join twitter?Thanks

Lauren responded:

Lauren Papapietro ‏@laurnpapapietro

@TheRatsBack that's a tough one but you can still check out all the Facebook updates even if you don't have a Facebook account!

I have NO idea who runs Morrissey's facebook account, but interestingly, it has been used in recent days to advertise new tour dates, whilst there has been NOTHING written about them on True To You. Despite no mention on TTY about Moz playing the infamous Hollywood High School, a statement was placed on the site yesterday, announcing that the show sold out in just 12 seconds!


ON SALE AT 10AM, SOLD OUT BY 10:00.12



MORRISSEY OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, WHERE TICKETS FOR HIS SHOW THIS SATURDAY CAN NOW BE PURCHASED ON EBAY FOR 350 DOLLARS EACH

Yesterday I wrote that I had NO idea as to why Our Mozzer had used the title 'All Eyez On Me' on his latest blog entry, but my thanks go to 'GirlWithout' and 'HeatherCat', who both left comment to say that it is the title of an album by 2Pac. And not just any old album, but an album that according to google is "frequently recognized as one of the crowning achievements of 1990s rap music." It also happened to sell 566,00 copies in the first week of release, went 9 times platinum within three years, went to Number 1 on the billboard album chart, and featured two Number 1 singles. It would appear that it is a rather BIG album..... but it still means nothing to me, and what is more, it still doesn't explain why Our Mozzer used it's title, unless it was purely his response to my blog entry of last Tuesday entitled 'All Eyes On San Diego.'


HUGE ALBUM, BUT I'LL GIVE IT A MISS

Whilst I am (sort of) on the subject of the American Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, Billboard have just implemented a change that will radically re-shape the future of the charts. Billboard have now decided to count Youtube hits toward their chart, which last week resulted in 'Harlem Shake' by Baauer going straight in at Number 1, something that had previously only ever happened twenty times in the fifty five year history of the Hot 100, but I would imagine that this will probably now become a regular occurrence.

'Harlem Shake' became a viral hit last week thanks to a silly dance craze, which resulted in 103 million streams of the song on Youtube in the US alone. This exposure to the song then resulted in 262,000 people paying to download it. The Official UK Chart is different to the Billboard Chart, in that airplay and Youtube streams don't count toward a 'song' becoming a 'chart hit', but because the UK are SO influenced by what happens in the US, the UK chart will change too, as our teenagers copy the Americans, and it is now quite likely that novelty songs and dance crazes, such as 'Harlem Shake' and 'Gangnam Style', will become the 'new thing' in pop music. No doubt the major record companies will soon start manufacturing dance crazes, especially for Youtube. If anybody thought manufactured boy bands was as bad as it could get, think again, manufactured dance crazes will soon be EVERYWHERE. Pop music as we know it, is well and truly dead.

HARLEM SHAKE - ANOTHER NAIL IN THE POP MUSIC COFFIN


And on the subject of the charts and dead pop music, my Number 1s collection really, really seems to have come to an end. 'Thrift Shop' by Macklemore hit the top spot in the UK a few weeks ago but there is NO physical release in either the US, UK or even good old Germany. There isn't even a promo cd. This time, it really is over, or does it count if I buy the Macklemore album that contains 'Thrift Shop' on it? And if I DO buy that album, thus keeping the collection going, does it then mean I have to buy the One Direction cd that is at Number 1 this week, or am I just dragging it out? Perhaps it is time to just let go.

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY, THAT IS THE QUESTION

Although the MorrisseysWorld blog has now gone again, a number of people left comment yesterday saying that they didn't believe the 'Cracked' article from September 2011 was written by Morrissey. LizzyCat stated that "the humour was not subtle enough." So if it wasn't Moz, WHO was it?

As I write this, 'ConMorrissey Theorist' has added the following comment on my blog of yesterday:

ConMorrissey Theorist27 February 2013 08:05

Missed the blog being back!

But did you notice his recent interview refers to MW again?

First MW mentioned Nigel Farage, then Moz did. Then MW mocked Sally Bercow and John Bercow and Moz did.

Now Moz has said almost exactly what MW said on Twitter about marriage - do you remember?

He even mocked Justin Bieber!

also, he says "self-disgust" is the spur for the autobio.

This almost sounds like an MW quote!

Didn't he say something similar?

'ConMorrissey' has picked up on the marriage and Bieber references too, and adds some other well observed points that I had missed, especially about the Bercows. Oh such coincidences.

So now we wait for tonight, and the return to the stage of Morrissey after his enforced break. Will he sing 'Hand In Glove' to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the recording? Will there be any 'signs'? Will any BLUE ROSES make it to Moz? And what will 'Vulgar' (@vulgar1mkela) do with the 'Blue Rose Ring'? The wheels are back in motion.....

VULGAR - HOLDER OF THE RING




THE RING - BEING HELD BY VULGAR

Day 531 - "Holy F@cking Sh/t!!!"

The MorrisseysWorld blog is back *waves palms, throws blue roses et cetera et cetera et cetera - as Yul Brynner said in his 1956 Oscar winning role as the King of Siam - more of that in a minute*, and what is more, TRM (The Real Morrissey) seems to have found a new lease of life since his touch with death, and has been out about in LA; attending football matches, stalking Kirk Douglas, hanging out at parties and picking up an oscar for 'Best Actor'. All of this means of course, that I am back, 'Following The Mozziah'.... the story is old, I know, but it goes on.


OSCAR WINNER

Seeing as I haven't written a blog entry since last Wednesday, I will work through events of the last week in order. In fact, I haven't really written a proper blog entry since last Tuesday, as my blog entry of Wednesday was my attempted interview with Morrissey, which he completely and utterly ignored, just as I was ignored when I attempted to interview 'Our Mozzer' back on New Year's Eve. In the words of Our Mozzer himself in the latest MorrisseysWorld blog entry, "I wonder why that s*d bothers." More about the MW blog later, but first, Robbie 'The Moz Chin' Keane.

Last Thursday, Morrissey posted an article on the True To You website, all about him meeting Irish footballer Robbie Keane. The article explained how Robbie and Moz are related via Robbie's late grandfather, who was Peter Morrissey's (Father of Moz) cousin, so I am guessing that Robbie Keane told Moz of the connection, although it could of course have been Morrissey who informed Robbie, or perhaps they both already knew, who knows? Who cares? Anyway, Robbie and Moz met up at an LA Galaxy game and compared chins. The next step is to find the relationship of Messrs Keane and Morrissey to Daniel Day-Lewis (see photo above, which isn't 'really' Moz for those of you who may have been fooled!)

MORRISSEY WITH HIS 'NEW' COUSIN ROBBIE KEANE AT LAST WEEKS LA GALAXY MATCH

On Friday, Morrissey posted another article on True To You, this time about him nearly meeting his film hero, Kirk Douglas. The posting explained how Moz was walking alongside Douglas while taking a stroll, but he was "too incurably demented to tap his shoulder and pledge eternal thanks and servitude." It is great to see this side of Moz, most 'celebrities' would never admit to being in such awe of another 'celeb', which goes to show just how much Kirk Douglas means to Morrissey.


MORRISSEY (IN DISGUISE, ALTHOUGH THE CHIN GIVES HIM AWAY) WALKING ALONGSIDE KIRK DOUGLAS IN LA LAST WEEK

I have to confess, I don't know very much about Kirk Douglas' film career, although I distinctly remember watching him in a few westerns when I was growing up. Morrissey mentions in his TTY article that Douglas was never awarded an Oscar, saying, "I am not alone in knowing how constantly robbed Kirk Douglas was of that voodoo doll known as the 'Oscar', he added, "his magnetic force and colossal onscreen assurance in 'Two weeks in another town', 'Lonely are the brave' and 'The bad and beautiful' still stand as the best screen acting yet produced, in years when the Oscars , as usual, were awarded instead to the blandly servile.'

I decided to find out who the 'blandly servile' actors were, who beat Kirk Douglas to the 'Best Actor Oscar' in the three years that he was nominated. Here are my findings:

1950 - Kirk Douglas was nominated for his role as boxer Midge Kelly in the film 'Champion'. The other nominees were; Broderick Crawford in 'All the King's Men', Gregory Peck in 'Twelve O'Clock High', Richard Todd in 'The Hasty Heart' and John Wayne in 'Sands of Iwo Jima'. And the winner was....... Broderick Crawford.

1953 - Kirk Douglas was nominated for his role as film producer Jonathan Shields in the film 'The Bad and the Beautiful'. The other nominees were; Marlon Brando in 'Viva Zapata!', Gary Cooper in 'High Noon', Jose Ferrer in 'Moulin Rouge' and Alec Guinness in 'The Lavender Hill Mob'. And the winner was....... Gary Cooper.

1956 - Kirk Douglas was nominated for his role as artist Vincent van Gogh in the film 'Lust For Life' . The other nominees were; Yul Brynner in 'The King and I', James Dean in 'Giant', Rock Hudson in 'Giant', and Laurence Olivier in 'Richard III'. And the winner was...... Yul Brynner.

YUL BRYNNER

On Saturday night, Morrissey attended a pre-Oscar party at the Chateau Marmont Hotel in West Hollywood, which resulted in a couple of 'celebs' posting tweets. First, Stephen Chbosky (@StephenChbosky), who is the author and director of 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' tweeted, "To all Perks fans... Holy f@cking sh/t... I met Morrissey tonight! He said the Perks movie was lovely. I repeat... Holy f@cking sh/t!!!". It would appear that Mr Chbosky was as excited about meeting Morrissey, as Morrissey was about seeing Kirk Douglas. It's a funny old business, this fame game.



'PERKS' AUTHOR STEPHEN CHBOSKY WITH BOZ BOORER

The next fan to send a Moz related tweet was our old friend Russell Brand (@RustyRockets), who has obviously been forgiven by Moz and welcomed back into the small fold. Brand, who a couple of weeks ago appeared on the Jonathan Ross show wearing a 'knock off' Smiths shirt with a Viva Hate photo, tweeted the following message and photo in the early hours of Sunday morning, "Late night, Maudlin Street."


PEACHES AND HERB - REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD

It will be interesting to see if Brand now attends any of Morrissey's LA concerts after failing to see him in Wellington, New Zealand before Christmas.



RUSSELL 'KNOCK OFF' BRAND ON JONATHAN ROSS

And now to the main point of my blog, the return of MorrisseysWorld *Waves palms, blue roses et cetera et cet.... * Sorry, I've already done that bit!

On Sunday evening, the MW blog returned with an article entitled, 'ALL EYEZ ON ME - MY LIVE TOUR JOURNAL, 2013'.

The hilarious piece covers the January concerts, and sees Our Mozzer at his self deprecating best, whilst also having a humorous pop at many people along the way, including Uncle Skinny and the Solowists, accusing them of, "barely having travelled outside of your own semi." No sympathy is shown by Our Mozzer for Morrissey's former guitarist Vini Reilly, who has fallen on hard times, with Our Mozzer saying, "did anyone come to my aid in 2001 when I had to switch the climate control off in February? Did anyone offer to pay my lighting costs in 2009? Of course not. Still, I'd like to make a donation; it's just that smelly, old Stephen has already taken it!"


VINI REILLY IN MORE AFFLUENT TIMES, IE, WHEN HE COULD AFFORD CURTAINS, ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THERE IS JUST THE ONE CURTAIN, THE OTHER TWO IN THIS BOX BAY WINDOW HAD ALREADY BEEN SOLD AT THIS POINT TO PAY FOR PLANT FOOD AND HEATING. VINI CLAIMS THAT IT WAS HIM, AND NOT "SMELLY" STEPHEN STREET WHO WROTE ALL THE TRACKS ON THE VIVA HATE ALBUM BUT POOR MOZ CAN'T PAY 'EVERYBODY' WHO CLAIMS TO HAVE WRITTEN THE TUNES, HE'S NOT A BLEEDIN' CHARITY YOU KNOW! IS THIS TOO LONG TO BE A PHOTO CAPTION? I THOUGHT SO. SORRY.

The 'All Eyez On Me' article, which I have no idea as to why eyes is spelt with a z, also has a dig at Stephen Colbert and David Letterman saying, "That Colbert c*** was about as amusing as Avian TB, but at least he was marginally more believable than David Letterman.


THE UNBELIEVABLE DAVID LETTERMAN ENTERING THE ED SULLIVAN STUDIO TO INTRODUCE MOZ ON JANUARY 8TH 2013

The 'All Eyez Tour Journal' article then goes on to mention receiving "a lovely blue rose today", which was rather nice of Our Mozzer. It then goes on to suggest that the Blue Rose Society President ISN'T eleven year old Kyle after all, but Justin Bieber! The whole article really is VERY funny, and shows that illness hasn't damaged Our Mozzer's wit in any way. There is quite a lot written about the illness, and my blog even gets a mention with the following, "Watched FollowingThemozziah update... seven hours without a single comment. Quite frankly I wonder why that s*d bothers. I picked up my synthetic blue rose, inhaled the aroma of cheap plastic and Donnie's Boots aftershave, and smirked."


TOUR MANAGER DONNIE WITH 'THAT' ROSE... PLUS CHEAP BOOTS AFTERSHAVE (NB. BOOTS IS A PHARMACY CHAIN IN THE UK)

The most disappointing thing about the return of MorrisseysWorld, is that just FIFTEEN people bothered to leave a comment (SEVENTEEN if you count the two anonymous haters, which could of course be Moz self deprecating!) on this hilarious article. I wonder why that genius s*d bothers!


Another article was also been posted on the MW blog on Sunday, but it isn't new, it is a piece that was originally posted on a website called Cracked.com in September 2011. It has received over 14,000 hits on Cracked, but although it is obviously written by Our Mozzer, and hilariously funny, he has for some reason waited until now to re-release it on the MW blog. Re-issue, re-package, re-evaluate the blog.

That will do for today. Morrissey was supposed to be making his comeback tonight on the Jimmy Kimmel show, but because the shows producers obviously thought it would be funny to have Morrissey appear on the same show as the Robertson family, who own a shop selling products for duck hunters, Morrissey has understandably decided to withdraw from the show, which means he makes his comeback on February 27th, thirty years to the day since the recording of 'Hand In Glove'. And now that Moz has a free evening tonight, perhaps he'll answer my interview questions. Hmmm.


TWITTERDILLY ARMS TOP 10 - WEEK BEGINNING SUNDAY FEBRUARY 24TH 2013

1. DO YOUR BEST AND DON'T WORRY - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY)
2. THE TEACHERS ARE AFRAID OF THE PUPILS - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
3. SHAME IS THE NAME - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
4. SCANDINAVIA - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
5. JEEPSTER - T.REX (NEW ENTRY)
6. ACTION IS MY MIDDLE NAME - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
7. SEASICK, YET STILL DOCKED - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
8. SPEEDWAY - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY)
9. BOZANOVA - BOZ BOORER (RE-ENTRY)
10. WELCOME TO MY WORLD - DEAN MARTIN (NO CHANGE)

Day 525 - A Dozen Deluded Questions

On the last Sunday of February 1983, Morrissey, along with the other members of the Smiths entered Strawberry Studios in Stockport, and recorded his first ever single, 'Hand In Glove.' With this Sunday marking the 30th anniversary of Morrissey's first vinyl recording, I have decided to try and exclusively interview Morrissey for the small but loyal readership of 'Following The Mozziah'. Wish me luck as I ask a dozen deluded questions.

Dear Morrissey......

1. Knowing that you love nostalgia, and that you are an old romantic at heart, does the 30 year anniversary of your first vinyl recording bring any mist to the old Moz eyes?


MIST FOR THE 30 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE RECORDING OF 'HAND IN GLOVE' ON FEB 27TH?


2. And here you are, 30 years later, having released not only sixty singles, but also thirteen studio albums, ALL of which reached the Top 8 in the UK, with eleven of those thirteen albums going Top 5 and four of them to Number 1. Putting self deprecation aside for one minute, you've done OK over the past thirty years, 'haven't' you?

3. And now for the next thirty years. Tony Bennett has recorded a further seventeen studio albums since he was your age (he's now 86), can you possibly imagine the same happening with you?

4. Having managed to avoid death in the past month, do you ever wonder how the Morrissey legend would have been if you had died early, for instance, do you think your tomb would have been filled with posthumous awards, despite the fact that the music industry have generally chosen to ignore you whilst you still draw breath?


MORRISSEY - IVOR NOVELLO AWARD WINNER IN 1998, BUT GENERALLY IGNORED BY AN INDUSTRY THAT HANDS OUT AWARDS TO NOBODIES WHO DO NOTHING


5. So, having avoided death, and awards, let's get back to the present. During your enforced break from touring, you have been spending time in Hollywood, did you choose to recoup in LA because it still feels like some sort of home, or was it the medical care you were after?



6. On the subject of LA, 'All The Lazy Dykes' has recently crept it's way into my all time Top 10. It is a stunning song that I 'missed' the beauty of when it was released. Which of your songs do YOU think are greatly underrated, and are there any in particular that you have recently listened to and thought, 'Wow, that song's bloody good'?

7. You have recently described your concert last month in Brooklyn as one of the best nights of your career. It has been reported that Tony Visconti was there, did you manage to catch up, and have you discussed working together on the next album?

8. Your bleeding ulcer has no doubt put everything else on hold, but now as you look forward to returning to the stage next week, what are your plans for the rest of 2013?

9. I shudder to ask, but where do you go next with your negotiations for a record deal?

10. And whilst on the 'always asked' list, any news on the autobiography?


BOOK RELEASE?


11. Aside from the indecent books that you have recently stated you have been reading, what were the last three songs/albums you bought?

12. And finally, have you a message for the Blue Rose Society?


Foot Note - My previous interview with Morrissey was ignored by the masses and loved by the few. It can be read here: http://followingthemozziah.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/interview-with-morrissey-conducted-on.html

Day 524 - All Eyes On San Diego

In my last blog entry of Friday, I posed the question, "Has the bleedin' ulcer stopped bleeding, thus meaning that Morrissey will be back on stage in Denver on Thursday?" Just a few hours later, the following statement appeared on Morrissey's 'Unofficial' 'Official Website': 

Statement 16 February 2013

16 February 2013
Statement:
I am terribly sorry that the next three shows have been moved back. The worst is for the best. I am certainly on the road to recovery, but caution and prevention demand further IV blood work lest I keel over and die before your very eyes. I apologize to an almost annoying degree for any trouble I've caused to anyone by way of travel plans and dog-sitters and ticket-outlay and re-molded hairstyles. I should be as fit as a ferret for San Diego. Please don't be too appalled if you see me out and about this week in the Hollywood area. Perversely, it's all in accordance with doctor's orders: to have myself re-integrated with the call of the greasepaint and the smell of the crowd; the flash of light and the full thrust of mosh-pit sound. Illness turns the body into a complete stranger, and I'll be testing the capabilities of my strides at the most unlikely music shows this week. The will to get on with it runs strong. Even death can be used as a springboard. For those scholars who are heatedly curious, my ulcer is now under reins, even if neither asleep nor dead, but the continued cause for concern is a slightly embarrassing absence of blood – most of which the bleeding ulcer relieved me of. Anemia sets its own terms with quite obvious biological conclusions, and I have spent these last weeks under expert medical care in Los Angeles with an almost erotic dependency on various IV drips. Sitting around reading indecent books is no substitute for continuing the tour, but my progress holds great promise and Flint shall not escape quite so lightly. We are all at the mercy of biological chance, and I once again beg for your liberal tolerance. If you bump into me this week at a heavy rock show, please understand that I'm lowering myself into the cut and thrust after weeks on ice - horizontal, with sockets empty of eyes. In the midst of the abyss, I'm saved by the news that tickets for the tour continue to sell very well, and my straightjacket twitches with excited gratitude. But the patient must be patient. Our goal, now, is San Diego, by which time my blood-work shall have finally taken its course and I shall be shot from a cannon and might even be equipped with an extra eye. We just never know, do we? Being on life's danger list, I've found, actually prevents you from thinking about how you are, and there's a bread-like warmth in giving in to whatever was meant for you and whatever wasn't. The only critical mistake might be to confuse your pre-med with creativity - which is certainly worth the confusion if it renders you not fully present in your own life. Finally, I gorge myself on thanks for the many and varied messages of support that I've received over these recent four weeks. They have yanked me out of prolonged mood dips and cured a crisis of spirits. I fully realize that the word 'cancellation' in every known dictionary is followed by my own name, but no morale drops as low as my own at the mere suggestion of re-jigging shows. I sincerely ask for your pardon and your understanding. As for those of you who claim to now be officially sick to death of me - if this is really true, then why exactly are you reading this? As a matter of fact, I am even prepared to humble myself to nothing before those who carp; you see, any hospital-stay leaves us in danger of becoming unnecessarily agreeable. Life will right itself.
Whatever happens, I love you.
Morrissey
Los Angeles
16 February 2013

MORRISSEY 'OUT AND ABOUT' IN LA (I WONDER IF THE GUY ON THE RIGHT IS AWARE THAT HE STILL HAS SOME HAIR HIDING AROUND THE BACK OF HIS HEAD? COULD THIS MYSTERY MAN BE THE HIRSUTE 'OUR MOZZER'?)


It is of course just a coincidence that my question about Denver was answered so quickly on TTY, and has nothing to do with this blog whatsoever, but Heathercat has left comment on my blog entry of Friday to suggest that the indepth description of the 'bleeding ulcer' on the TTY statement MAY have been in response to my enquiry of Friday, particularly as the statement uses the word 'scholars', a word which, according to Heathercat, has been used in the past by 'Our Mozzer' on the MorrisseysWorld blog to describe Following The Mozziah.

I have to confess that the TTY statement about an anemic Moz, didn't make me think of this blog, but instead conjured up a picture of Moz as Oscar Wilde's nightingale, singing and bleeding to death (To Give, is the reason I live), but  the word 'scholar' certainly isn't an everyday word. Perhaps we MorrisseysWorlders look at these TTY statements far too deeply, but after all these months of l'00'king for signs, it is hard not to. My memory is so bad that I don't remember the word scholar even being used by MW, but once again, the WHOLE of the TTY statement reads as though it could have come from the MW blog, as TRM (The Real Morrissey) gets funnier and funnier with his statements. A touch with death certainly doesn't seem to have dulled his sense of humour.


THE NIGHTINGALE 'OUT AND ABOUT' IN LA - ABSENT OF BLOOD... BUT WITH THE TRADE MARK WRY SMILE STILL INTACT

One of my favourite quotes from the latest TTY statement is the, "after weeks on ice - horizontal, with sockets empty of eyes." The eyes are of course known as the 'windows of the soul', so I guess Moz was declaring that his soul had temporarily died.


"SOCKETS EMPTY OF EYES"


The statement mentions 'eye' again when dealing with the subject of the 'comeback' concert in San Diego on Feb 27th, saying,  ''I shall be shot from a canon and might even be equipped with an extra eye." Could this be a 'sign' that we should look out for an  'O' hand gesture in San Diego, or could it be another 'bingo' reference, with 'Kelly's eye' being the bingo reference for the number '1', which could suggest that the extra 'eye'/'one' is an extra song in SD, perhaps even a double song encore? Maybe the 'extra one' could be an 'extra' band member or even a 'guest' singer!

ROSA 'ZAZEL' RICHTER - THE FIRST HUMAN CANONBALL


There has been no sign of either Our Mozzer or Broken in the Twitterdilly Arms, but a number of MorrisseysWorlders have been sending Broken 'get well soon' messages. This is rather bizarre because Broken HASN'T been ill. Even after all this time, the MorrisseysWorlders are confusing TRM with the 'characters' he has created. If Steve Coogan was ill, you wouldn't wish Alan Partridge a speedy recovery. The Twitterdilly Arms should be seen as a fictious pub on either a stage or film set. Morrissey happens to play a number of parts in the MW play, including the 'Parody Morrissey' aka 'Our Mozzer' or 'NotMorrissey', and he also plays the part of Our Mozzer's right hand man, the gay medicine man known as 'Broken', who has a particular weakness for professional footballers. These 'characters' are NOT Morrissey. I suppose it makes sense for 'Parody Moz' to have an illness, but I think his illness should be the '(Alan) Bennett's Asparagus', or the 'bleedin' ulcer', as opposed to TRM having 'Barrett's Oesophagus' (Optional O at the beginning) and a 'bleeding ulcer'. It's all about the subtle differences.

Hold on, I've just realised who the stubble faced man next to Morrissey in the top photo is..... it's none other than  'journeyman' footballer Kevin Phillilps. Could this man actually be 'Broken', who along with the hirsute man on the right, have concocted the whole of MorrisseysWorld from the 'inside'? It would certainly explain Broken's footballer fetish!


KEVIN 'BROKEN' PHILLIPS - THE INSIDER BEHIND MORRISSEYSWORLD?

Finally, a number of months ago, Our Mozzer was ripped to shreds on twitter for making fun of Danny Baker, a crass UK broadcaster who loves the sound of his own voice. The reason everybody ripped into Our Mozzer was because Danny Baker, unbeknown to Our Mozzer, had been ill with cancer. This week, Danny Baker has been ridiculing an ill Moz on twitter, and yet NONE of those who tore into Our Mozzer have been seen. It's a funny old world, it's Morrissey's world.

DANNY 'CRASS' BAKER - WHO BEARS AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO THE HIRSUTE 'OUR MOZZER' FROM THE PHOTO AT THE TOP. COULD IT POSSIBLY BE THAT MORRISSEYSWORLD IS THE WORK OF KEVIN PHILLIPS AND DANNY BAKER?


TWITTERDILLY ARMS TOP 10 - WEEK BEGINNING SUNDAY FEB 17TH 2013

1. LOST - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxNJi40nuF4
2. I WANT THE ONE I CAN'T HAVE (DIE NEVER) (LIVE IN WARSAW JULY 2011) - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF2zcrnvLtw
3. ALL THE LAZY DYKES (LIVE IN POMONA NOV 2011) - MORRISSEY (RE-ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42EMVU5-AEI
4. YOU SAY YOU DON'T LOVE ME - MORRISSEY (UP 15) - MORRISSEY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEnc3LVo3L4
5. INTERLUDE - MORRISSEY & SIOUXSIE (RE-ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Bh-G9whv4
6. I'D LOVE TO - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EDttFUX1oU
7. HONEY, YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDDOU07o2bw
8. HALF A PERSON - THE SMITHS (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtYfauU31Qs
9. LET ME KISS YOU (LIVE IN READING, PA JAN 2013) - MORRISSEY (NEW ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TThcT_ysXOA
10. WELCOME TO MY WORLD - DEAN MARTIN (RE-ENTRY): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7BAfXn85Y