39 minutes, 36 seconds

Morrissey
Your Arsenal

I remember there being a bit of a lull between the previous Morrissey solo album, Kill Uncle, and this one. As it turns out, it was only a year, but it felt longer. And it's worth remembering that Kill Uncle wasn't terribly well-received when it first came out, either by critics or many fans. And then the first single from Your Arsenal was issued: "We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful." With its loopy chorus of "Ha ha ha-ha-ha ha," Morrissey seemed to be, in the words of one reviewer at the time, laughing at his fans.

But we needn't have worried. Your Arsenal is probably the best solo album he's ever put together. And, yes, "We Hate It When..." was a strange choice for a first single, because it was readily apparent that it wasn't even close to being the strongest track on the album. He'd go on to release three more singles from Your Arsenal, each of which, well, kicked the arse 'n' all of "We Hate It When..."

I've always had a soft spot for "You're the One for Me, Fatty." A trifle of a song, really, but fatally catchy and yet still tinged with Morrissey's trademark ironic mirth. There's also "The National Front Disco," which earned him a bit of controversy for its lyrics and his propensity to drape himself in the Union Jack when playing the song live. Are people that literal? Or have I been listening to Laibach so long that I can barely take anything literally?

Also today:

39:36 Ulrich Schnauss, Far Away Trains Passing By (CD 2 of 2)
39:34 Arditi, Spirit of Sacrifice
39:33 Sylvain Chauveau, Des Plumes dans la Tête
39:30 Single Gun Theory, Flow, River of My Soul
New arrival! 77:09 Diverje, Stitched

46 minutes, 16 seconds

Morrissey
Viva Hate

Music critics looking for a shorthand way to refer to Morrissey inevitably seem to come up with some variation of "the prince of loneliness" or "brooding crooner" or some other pastiche of words in the "depressing," "sad," and "melancholy" category. And, sure, he's all those things. But he's also clever and funny. So many of his songs, dating back to his days with the Smiths, display a preponderance of corrosive wit that outweighs (or at least leavens) his darker, more lamentational (some would say whiny) side. I mean, how can you listen to, say, "Vicar in a Tutu" or "King Leer" and fail to hear the humor?

Anyway, Viva Hate, from 1988, was his first solo album, following the breakup of the Smiths. I can't decide whether I like it a little better than 1992's Your Arsenal, which was also a very strong group of songs. Viva Hate is probably also among the more sonically adventurous of his solo albums, thanks largely to Durutti Column's Vini Reilly and his distorted, manic guitar arpeggios (check out "I Don't Mind If You Forget Me" to hear what I'm talking about.)

Morrissey has enjoyed something of a revival recently, and as I write this he's in the middle of a long tour to support his most recent album, Ringleader of the Tormentors. I've kept up with him faithfully, but it's funny to imagine him maintaining this pace. He's never seemed like one of those pop stars who'd be keeping at it in his 60s. Have you heard "Get Off the Stage," a B-side to the Piccadilly Palare single?

Also today:

46:15 Combichrist, Sex, Drogen und Industrial
46:15 Lush, Gala
46:14 The Retrosic, Prophecy
46:13 Gaping Chasm, Fragments of War
46:13 Weihan, Galder
New arrival! 63:48 Bipol, Ritual