"I'm doing very well - I can block out the present and the past now."
Tally:
Possible singles:IIII II
Songs about being unloved/love being elusive (or at least where it factors greatly): IIII
Impassioned cries (Or serieses of same):IIII II
Songs where the tone/theme of the lyrics in no way fits the music: II
The two-note cadence I think of as 'Mozza's "So... tired" cadence (so named from it's appearance in Margaret on the Guillotine, from Viva Hate)': II
Embittered rants as songs: I
White noise/ stirring sound effects/ voices:IIII II
Cripplingly sad songs: I
Mentions of being ugly/unlovable/deformed as a child/at present: IIII
Mentions of being working class: II
Amusing lines/moments (be they lols or wry smiles):IIII III
Minutes of white noise producing an emotional effect akin to that of 'stepping in to your own tomb', as described effectively by NME: II (well - One minute fifty)
Killer hooks: Oh, just everywhere. I'm covering up for myself for forgetting to tally this one, but it's true anyhow.
Other mildly interesting points:
- One song with use of military drums throughout (Mama Lay Softly on the Riverbed)
- One song that begins like a nineties trance song, before a small child mutters something inaudible and Santana-style guitar slips us into the blustering rock of the main body of the thing (Black Cloud)
- One rather MCR-esque reference to a desire to grow up to be nothing at all (All You Need Is Me)
- A free and unwashable mental image of a laughing naked Morrissey haunting your dreamscapes (All You Need Is Me)
- One song that you can Flamenco to (When Last I Saw Carol)
- Some barking dogs (When Last I Saw Carol)
- The return of Moz's impressive falsetto (The beginning of That's How People Grow Up)
- A song about rape hidden in the arrangement of an epic love song (It's Not Your Birthday Anymore)
- Piccolos (It's Not Your Birthday Anymore)
- Yodelling (I'm Okay By Myself)
Last Line (discounting the yodelling that sees us out):
"This might make you throb in your bed: I'm okay by myself! And I don't need you, and I never have..."
Conclusion:
Well, I adore it, but then I would, wouldn't I?
Morrissey with his brand-new yet everpresent Black Cloud. Bless.
The things I do for my own amusement when I have coursework deadlines looming large, eh?