"List of the Lost" review in NME; media mentions

An anonymous person writes (original post):

Here's another review, this time from the NME. Interesting that the NME have been full of gushing praise for Moz for the last couple of years, but even they are slagging the book off:

"List Of The Lost is a confused, often quite embarrassing slab of cringeworthy sex, clichés and bizarre, stilted dialogue...
Imagine Morrissey bent double, pumping away at his bulbous salutation, and you’ve imagined his book."

Morrissey - 'List Of The Lost' by Jordan Bassett (2 of 5) - NME.com
A bizarrely cringeworthy and overblown debut from the musical icon



An anonymous person also writes (original post):

The NME presents: 'Nine nice things to say about Morrissey's much-ridiculed debut novel', so hurrah! - some positivity...though admittedly they also refer to List of the Lost as an 'unreadable pamphlet' and 'a book so embarrassing it’s like seeing your dad wanking.'

Nine Nice Things To Say About Morrissey's Much-Ridiculed Debut Novel by Jordan Bassett - NME blog



Forget Morrissey’s ‘bulbous salutation’, here are my good sex awards by Flic Everett - Comment is free / The Guardian
The singer’s debut novel has been deservedly mocked for its lurid sex scenes. If only he’d studied Flaubert, Kundera or Chaucer before he started writing …



Gaia Vince, Oliver Morton and the verdict on Morrissey – books podcast - The Guardian
 
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It's not really a fair assessment whilst making this statement being that Morrissey has put out some rather outstanding work during that same time period unlike New Order. Not being snarky. Just stating fact.

New Order have released lots of great work in the past 25 years. You must just prefer Morrissey. I like both but I can listen to anything they've released all the way through, and that's not true for Morrissey. I still haven't heard the new one all the way through.
 
Morrissey's next Sam Project should be a video of him reading and laughing at every book critic's critique standing in front of a curtain ala the Mean Tweets on Jimmy Kimmel. :p



That's actually an awesome idea.
 
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you came in the night and took my heart/ to draculas castle, in the dark. ill take kiss me a lot any day of the weak
 
Blykey bokes. I reckon you lots are keeping Bryce over at The Morrissey Marketing Group LTD-Malibu Internet Board R&D Dept. busy with all your reviews. Anonymous-
 
What do YOU do for a living? You seek to be an expert on success , thought you might be an entrepreneur.

Not a lot nowadays. I have a business that looks after itself although I do have to respond to e mails now and again, giving the go ahead for x or y.

Get a bit bored form time to time but the upside is that it gives me the time to go to loads of gigs, which is great.
 
It must be very easy for anyone to say that it is New Orders best LP in 25 years because every thing they've released has been shit!

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, however, are you aware that they had the largest selling 12 inch single ever.

Looks like am awful lot of people must like shit.
 
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He speaks his mind and he really doesn't care how people take it. His solo career is very interesting - a few good albums & a few mishits. It is completely erroneous for us 'fans' to consider that he is ruining his career. What career? He clearly isn't bothered anymore and he writes to satisfy his own muse. We expect greatness because of The Smiths and Vauxhal & I ... which, when you think about it.. is insane.

Bollocks, he is continually crying both in the press and on the stage that he can't get a record deal. He is obsessed with chart places, gig attendances etc

Christ, all I did was type a post to say what Morrissey could achieve if he wasn't such an awkward f***er. I picked New Order as an example as they are from a similar era.

I have been a fan of his music for a long time, seen the Smiths (supporting New Order) and been to a shed load of his solo gigs.

I find it sad that his career is into a terminal decline and it's all his own doing. He needs to take some time out, re evaluate his approach and come back with some fresh ideas.
 
you also dont see new order mentioned everywhere from malcome in the middle to being the opening theme song to drew carry to the numerous other mentions. if we had an unexpected new order thread it would be pretty slim as they dont reach[/QUOTE

Malcolm in the Middle has been off the air for years, as has The Drew Carey Show. And it's theme song was Cleveland Rocks by Presidents of the USA. What the f*** are you talking about?
 
I feel bad for Morrissey only because I know the Man can write; he has written some wonderful liner notes for the Ramones and about the early Manchester music scene and gay scene. That crazy essay about the his friend James Maker running down the Moors in his high heels from a naked ghost was a better read than this hot mess; It's Burroughs without the heroin.

I don't care. I still love him.



This is how I feel. Morrissey has written some absolutely beautiful things over the last 30 years, and even before that, his teenage pen pal letters made me laugh out loud. He IS a talented writer. What on earth is happening?
 
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, however, are you aware that they had the largest selling 12 inch single ever.

Looks like am awful lot of people must like shit.
yeh we know everybody likes "blue Monday " but look through your music collection, do you have more new order albums than smiths/ morrissey albums? Be honest now
 
Not a lot nowadays. I have a business that looks after itself although I do have to respond to e mails now and again, giving the go ahead for x or y.

Get a bit bored form time to time but the upside is that it gives me the time to go to loads of gigs, which is great.

Not saying your lying surface, but that's the same answer that brummie always gave to questions like that, coincidence?
 
yeh we know everybody likes "blue Monday " but look through your music collection, do you have more new order albums than smiths/ morrissey albums? Be honest now

Its close, 15 New Order but a couple of greatest hits within that number and 12 Smiths/Morrissey. However I live down the road from Bernard, the singer, so do tend to buy most of his stuff be it, New Order, Electronic or Bad Lieutenant.
 
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you also dont see new order mentioned everywhere from malcome in the middle to being the opening theme song to drew carry to the numerous other mentions. if we had an unexpected new order thread it would be pretty slim as they dont reach[/QUOTE

Malcolm in the Middle has been off the air for years, as has The Drew Carey Show. And it's theme song was Cleveland Rocks by Presidents of the USA. What the f*** are you talking about?

tv references are easy for me to remember and the last episode of malcome does mention morrissey and a special epsiode of the drew carry show, who is a is music fan, did once use his music for the opening credits showing mozs reach to the populace far extends new order who is also a fine band but hardly a model for the kind of success moz had even a year ago. also moons over my hammy was the first drew carry theme song as it didnt become cleveland rocks until later in the show. as to someything being off the air, who watches network tv. everyone streams everything today
 
It is absolutely proven that Morrissey is a very good writer. From the start as a teenager with his so special letters to his friends then with his lyrics and his letters-postcards to his fans or his haters and with his written comments anywhere, the whole work and finally to his fantastic autobiography and his last album which contains especially a couple of songs that is objectively pure poetry. The man has nothing to prove of course. The man does it his own way through all his life of course. What is the point now? He wrote a book the way he wrote it and had nothing to fear about. If someone read his comments about the book a week before it came out he would clearly understand his intentions. A lengthy sentence that seemed rather like a paragraph showed the style of the writing... A strange but frank explanation of how someone should read the book... A short description of the plot... Then we read the book or we do not and then we like the book or we do not like it. We take it or leave it and thats it. It s a lot like life. The sure thing is that he knew from the very beginning what he was doing and he knew from the very beginning the reactions and I do believe that he wanted it to be exactly as it is. All his work had always a shown or a hidden purpose and typology. Using an Oscar Wilde's quotation "when critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself" and remember that even Wilde had written Teleny which was hidden in those days because of its literalism and it is was explained half a century after it was written as a too progressive fiction. Some people never liked it now and then, some adored it now and then. So enjoy the novel or forget it. Understand it or leave it. Love it or loathe it. Fullstop. Have it even as something you do not get. Have it even as a farce dedicated to his haters. He was never into the mainstream. To be Morrissey and to be a pop artist is a deadly mistake as it was for Oscar Wilde. This made Wilde a top culture icon universally and Morrissey will have the same fate. The rest is low level.
 
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Its close, 15 New Order but a couple of greatest hits within that number and 12 Smiths/Morrissey. However I live down the road from Bernard, the singer, so do tend to buy most of his stuff be it, New Order, Electronic or Bad Lieutenant.

I like new order although I do prefer joy division, but surely you don't think their back catologue is as good as morrissey/smiths, just out of interest is their a fan forum like solow for new order?
 
It is absolutely proven that Morrissey is a very good writer. From the start as a teenager with his so special letters to his friends then with his lyrics and his letters-postcards to his fans or his haters and with his written comments anywhere, the whole work and finally to his fantastic autobiography and his last album which contains especially a couple of songs that is objectively pure poetry. The man has nothing to prove of course. The man does it his own way through all his life of course. What is the point now? He wrote a book the way he wrote it and had nothing to fear about. If someone read his comments about the book a week before it came out he would clearly understand his intentions. A lengthy sentence that seemed rather like a paragraph showed the style of the writing... A strange but frank explanation of how someone should read the book... A short description of the plot... Then we read the book or we do not and then we like the book or we do not like it. We take it or leave it and thats it. It s a lot like life. The sure thing is that he knew from the very beginning what he was doing and he knew from the very beginning the reactions and I do believe that he wanted it to be exactly as it is. All his work had always a shown or a hidden purpose and typology. Using an Oscar Wilde's quotation "when critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself" and remember that even Wilde had written Teleny which was hidden in those days because of its literalism and it is was explained half a century after it was written as a too progressive fiction. Some people never liked it now and then, some adored it now and then. So enjoy the novel or forget it. Understand it or leave it. Love it or loathe it. Fullstop. Have it even as something you do not get. Have it even as a farce dedicated to his haters. He was never into the mainstream. To be Morrissey and to be a pop artist is a deadly mistake as it was for Oscar Wilde. This made Wilde a top culture icon universally and Morrissey will have the same fate. The rest is low level.


Yep. In a long run this book will get deserved recognition. Remember what was happening with "Tarantula" (Dylan book, or should I mention John Lennon and "In His Own Write"/"A Spaniard in the Works" with bizarre imagery, disconnected narrative threads and references, creative misspellings, and abrupt, unresolved conclusions challenge the reader to either find meaning, or bring their own meaning to the text). Exactly the same thing. It was killed by critics but today is totally different light considering that book. And LIST OF THE LOST is similar attempt: experimental prose poetry, it employs stream of consciousness writing, somewhat in the style of Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg (remember the song from WP). Also, it is 'roman a clef', in some way, all 4 main runners are Morrissey, even homeless man who got killed (with his monologue about judges)... Great, great book!
 
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With a bit of editing Lo(t)L would be getting better reviews. But Moz really has no one to blame but himself. Even great novelists (who write novels for a living) subject their manuscripts to the editor´s objective gaze. It´s essential. To not do so is folly - and Moz is paying for his arrogance with every new review steeped in ridicule.
 
I like new order although I do prefer joy division, but surely you don't think their back catologue is as good as morrissey/smiths, just out of interest is their a fan forum like solow for new order?

Oddly I was never a fan of Joy Division, saw them twice supporting Buzzcocks and thought they were crap to be honest. However went to New Orders first ever got and was blown away. Their back catalogue is a bit hit and miss for me, the early ones were great but the last 2 were pretty poor with only a couple of tracks on each one that were any good. For me Morrisseys strength was that the albums were full of good songs. This is my problem though, the last NO album was in 2005 and they have had a 10 year break from recording (although they have done the occasional tour) This new album is fresh, and is getting acclaim from literally every news outlet and in my opinion is the best since Technique, whereas Morrissey last album was similar to New Orders last 2 albums where in my opinion there are only a couple of decent tracks.

They tend to use Facebook/Twitter as their fan forum
 

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