The site is now running the latest version of Slash, version 2.2.3, upgraded from version 2.0.0. Again, I have to thank the Slash team for updating and improving the best news/comment system out there. It is truly an amazing piece of work, and as everything is open sourced, any changes or minor modifications were easy to make. Here's a good article "Open source software is NOT free!" I came across recently which is a good explanation of open source and you can see how the principles apply to the way Morrissey-solo is run.

As usual, please let me know or post in the comments section any problems you might have and and also any feature requests. I don't really receive that many suggestions for the site, any input is appreciated.

New features include:

• A new messaging system for logged-in users. If you want notification when someone replies to one of your comments, when one of your comments is moderated, or when a friend's journal is updated, you can set this all in the preferences section and messages can be sent through the web (when you visit the site you'll see a notification of any new message) or through email. Also, if you want headlines emailed to you, this is where you set that up.
• A new comment system which is more efficient and flexible. Journals now have a comment system, and I also plan to use it for tour coverage, when and if a new tour starts up. Moderation should also be working better now, it was sort of busted in the previous version.
• Please check your preferences, especially regarding the display of your email address in comments. Some things were changed around, there used to be a "fake email" for display purposes but that was removed, probably because it is open for abuse. The real email address is used for display (if you want it to be displayed), but there is also an option for adding some text to prevent it from being harvested by spam robots.

There are a lot of other small administrative fixes and improvements, which all together provide a stable system which is prepared for whatever Morrissey may release upon us this year.

Bryan Hayes was the first to write:

Here's the link for the story:
Beatles, Ramones -- Spin Magazine's Rock Greatest

This is the blurb about the Smiths:

The criteria for the 50 greatest were that "these groups had to have a roof-raising, history-changing sound, presence or hairstyle.'' In addition, "they also had to clearly influence today's music in undeniable ways'' and "had to be bands that we care about deeply.''

That might explain why acclaimed bands like U2 (13th greatest), The Grateful Dead (27th), The Who (39th), The Beach Boys (45th) and Pink Floyd (49th) are rated lower in the Top 50 than lesser known but arguably more influential groups like The Smiths (21st), Pavement (30th), Fugazi (31st) or New Order (41st).

The full list (via a comment on MetaFilter):

Lino Agrò writes:

Hi everybody!

I am a music journalist, alternative DJ, record collector and head of promotion for the independent label Teatro del Sole.

I'd like to give an exciting news to all serious Smiths/Moz fans: the February 2002 issue of the Italian music magazine for record collectors RARO! will feature an extensive article written by me with a retrospective of the great Mancunians focused on the Italian connection and a complete discography of all Italian pressings: 7"s, 12"s, LPs, CDs and promos. The magazine will be out in mid-February.

For alla information please visit the official site at www.raro.it when the time will come!

My best regards to all at Morrissey-solo!

NoInncentVctim writes:

Gameface has a new EP titled "Feels a lot Better" from what I know its a import EP... This five track EP features cover versions of Morrissey's "Sing Your Life" as well Elvis Costello's "Everyday I Write The Book" as well as other covers... I've heard the Moz cover and if your into post-hardcore bands like Kiss It Goodbye/Fugazi/'new' Cave In then you'll know what it sounds like, its pretty good...

Also, just a minor note: it's been well known that Walter, the singer from Rival Schools (formerly from Quicksand and Gorilla Biscuits) is a huge Morrissey fan... and has done past Morrissey/Smiths covers before, some live some on record... in the new Rival Schools record "United By Fate" he uses many Morrissey/Smiths song titles as lyrics as well as various Morrisseyesque phrases...

Gunner Flynn writes:

A friend of mine lent me a book called The Vampires Of Suburbia by Jason P Fite which is set in London in the early 1980s and is apparently based on the true story of a vampire cult who are eventually driven to murder. Instead of the usual horror trash, I was surprised to find a poignant story about the loss of teenage idealism - a common theme of Morrissey's. Several lyrics are quoted briefly in the book including "I Know Very Well How I Got My Name", "Hand In Glove" and "Well I Wonder". Possibly proving that there isn't more to life than books.

Brutalful sends the link to the Reuters article:

Music Pals Hope MacColl's Voice Not Forgotten by Aleksandrs Rozens
Tuesday January 8 6:21 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Her salon in a London flat played host to some of British pop music's leading stars -- U2, The Smiths, Billy Bragg -- and her voice provided backing vocals to many of their hit recordings...