He used to be a sweet boy, so what went wrong?

neil codling is still a sweet boy!
 
he grew up into an adult like the rest of us.
 
i guess the sweet boy thing was a role he played for his catholic mum and aunts, but it was always done tongue-in-cheek, for all, mum and aunts included, to have a lil laugh. this "playful hypocrisy" helped him in the early years of his career.
usually, when things get serious, tough and painful in life, we grow up and have to learn to develop more mature patterns of dealing with inconsistencies, and they are never sweet.
but i'm not saying that he has lost touch with the old silly "sweet boy" role he used to play.
 
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He had too much Sex during his Sabbatical 98-2003 and the innocence was completely gone. Nowadays he seems to be in a constant relationship with his Bell Boy, so the irresistible longing and the ambivalence of the early days has naturally faded to dust, IMHO.

The themes of the last couple of albums are completely different: Hot love in the backyard, World Peace, Israel, Venezuela, Istanbul, Police....
 
Nowadays he seems to be in a constant relationship with his Bell Boy, so the irresistible longing and the ambivalence of the early days has naturally faded to dust, IMHO.

The themes of the last couple of albums are completely different: Hot love in the backyard, World Peace, Israel, Venezuela, Istanbul, Police....

I'm not so sure. Political stuff aside, songs like "I Wish You Lonely", "Brow of my Beloved", "Home is a Question Mark" have the old Morrissey themes - unhappiness, loneliness, wanting things you can't have. If his early material was all about pining for a relationship, his modern stuff is more like "I've got one now, but it isn't what I hoped for and I'm as miserable as I was before." He sounds jaded.

I sometimes wonder whether the 'longing' songs reflect his real emotions or if they're just servicing his public image at this point. He isn't really known for writing blissful love songs.
 
I'm not so sure. Political stuff aside, songs like "I Wish You Lonely", "Brow of my Beloved", "Home is a Question Mark" have the old Morrissey themes - unhappiness, loneliness, wanting things you can't have. If his early material was all about pining for a relationship, his modern stuff is more like "I've got one now, but it isn't what I hoped for and I'm as miserable as I was before." He sounds jaded.
I sometimes wonder whether the 'longing' songs reflect his real emotions or if they're just servicing his public image at this point. He isn't really known for writing blissful love songs.

I quite agree with you. Not all songs today are about completely different topics than in the past. Up to and including Arsenal, the solo years were about losging and an indirect coming out. With Vauxhall came love, as Morrissey defined it for himself in 1993/94, Southpaw is the angry end with Jack and Maladjusted a general store with the first crack in the spirit of the judgement.

The come back "Quarry" had a lot to offer in 2004, Rome inspired him in 2005/2006 and Refusal had the rejection and frustration already in the album title in 2008/2009.

After that I think Morrissey loses the sense of what once made him so irresistible und the frustration with his public imsge grows. The lyrics are not as fantastic as they used to be and especially the last two studio records do not have the universal depth that characterizes his best works. Things like Israel, which inspires him to excess, don't really seem accessible for old fans. It's similar with Istanbul. Unfortunately, Morrissey stays best when he remembers his past. Bullfighter is such a fitting and nasty song, as The Smiths would have done. Great!

Of course I am excited about IANADOAC and hope dies last. But the force is slowly leaving me and I have no understanding for the people here who celebrate the new Morrissey more than the old one. Unfortunately they are wrong and react defiantly like little children.
 
He stood up against the multicultural Muslim world. A bad boy or a Charlton that deserves the appropriate response?
 
I think it is fair to say most people who know Morrissey know he has always been racist. The only thing that has changed is Morrissey now sees an opportunity to make money out of the rise of facism.
 

Nice try.

You can't just, "^ title" with a title like that. If you think that Morrissey has done something you disagree with, then post quotes or video etc.
 
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