TS: Morrissey v. James Taylor

But what is the cause and purpose of art? A lot of thinkers would argue that art essentially pathological. The artist explores and transmutes his own sickness in a way that is curative for him and potentially others. A wholly sane and healthy society would have no need for art.

I'm not sure I buy this completely though it often seems to chime with my own knowledge of art and artists. The mere existence of the theory pretty much ensures that some artists will seek to conform to it.

The way the mechanism works may be more than normally obvious with Morrisey and JT. But some theories of aesthetics would hold that they are essentially doing the same thing as many, or most, or even all artists.

Anyway JT still wins because he married that rich bitch who did "You're So Vain", which will outlast everything Taylor ever did and maybe everything Morrisey did too

This is so funny, and so right! Which reminds me, I've gotta get that 45.

Yes absolutely Dave but the onus is on the fans - unless one is unhealthily attached to Derrida, one can't blame an artist for one's fans, esp. not the Mozzer, whose narrator/speaker game is so obviously much more fun when one doesn't insist that they be one and the same - and when one gives him credit for attempting a fairly Dionysiac proposition, i.e., eliminating the gap between audience and performer. Listening to the live version of "Cosmic Dancer" on "My Early Burglary Years" makes me woozy: a singer on a stage singing an ancient & forgotten song by an almost-forgotten glam figure and the audience screaming constant, deafening approval, trying to merge itself with the orator, whose own intentions are unrecoverable - Mozz must must must be credited with raising interesting & permanently pertinent audience/performer questions. N.B. I hated the Smiths for many years until I listened to the first album with some of this stuff in mind

Or to quote the immortal Diskothi-Q: "And I/sure hate those people who/like the Smiths/but I/sure as f*ck/don't trust nobody who don't"

Heh heh. Very P. Hughes, that line.

unless one is unhealthily attached to Derrida

Alex T to thread! As well as half the people I work with.

20 years or so ago, Robert Christgau (of all people) called it right re The Smiths (and their first album) and Mr. Steven Patrick. I quote: "If you'll pardon my long memory, it's the James Taylor effect all over again -- hypersensitivity seen as a spiritual achievement rather than an affliction by young would-be idealists who have had it to here with the cold cruel world."

When Christgau is on...he's on. But usually he's off. B+ So,lets not start a LiLiPUT vs Sleater-Kinney thread,Ok.