BookishBoy
Well-Known Member
Today's song is this Morrissey/Langer composition, released as as single in April 1990 and reaching #12 on the UK chart.
What do we think of this one?
The lyrics are intriguing to say the least, but will inevitably lead down so many rabbit holes, as is the case with much of his work. There's the obvious physical disability aspect, but could it also be in part about his own 'disabilities' & self-loathing? The reference to Comte de Lautréamont & Hermaphrodite is interesting, but one source which I read this morning said he pulls the following directly:A perfect song... but let's fight between the ones who consider that it's 100% based on the Hermaphrodite of Lautreamont and those who don't.
I am into the Lautreamont team.
Mary M. O'Hare did something AMAZING there... just like LP did something amazing in "It's Over". It's one of his best songs for sure.
I never got why "November"... Anyone has a crazy idea why NOVEMBER spawned this monster and not August or May or any other month? I assume it's a reference to... someone, but hard to know whom (Morrissey was not born during a November, so obviously not a self-reference).
Here is Henry Rollins' introduction to the video:
It's a classic song with bold subject matter and I agree that Mary Margaret O'Hara's contribution adds an awful lot.
The quality of singles like this partially obscured the fact that it wasn't a great creative time for Morrissey, with the Bona Drag studio album cancelled a long way before completion.
In the poll on the Hoffman board this ranked 28th from 264 solo songs.