I agree with what you say. Morrissey would never eat meat. For all his faults, Morrissey is as you say, completely true to the cause of animal rights.

Now I know how Joan of Arc felt - Morrissey

This is a really quality and nuanced analysis. Great content Sir.

Fantastic summary and I find it hard to disagree with any of the points you made here. Really excellent content!

Love this. Your arguments are so well put & presented 👏🏻

big moz fan here. yeh, fair points made. i enjoyed your analysis. Also, if you don’t dress as rick grimes every Halloween you are missing a trick!

Now, I never seen an episode of The Simpsons, but from the aspects you've described about this episode, reminds me of South Park's conventional approach to humor. Whether you interpret that as a positive or not, depends on what humor you deem ideal.

When I was home bound due to Covid in January I had a Simpsons watching marathon…this episode really caught me (and the damned song keeps getting stuck in my head)…it actually reminded me how much I dug Morrissey, The Smiths, New Order, etc and all those type of bands back in the day…I went back and created a new playlist on Spotify with all that stuff! Yeah, there were some off color jokes in the episode, but it took me back to rediscover the tunes I loved when I was younger…

Thank you for collecting your thoughts on this episode. I felt jarred at the ending too. The first part was delightful. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful for the Quillobys to meet?

You have voiced something which I couldn't construct into a cogent position. Thank you.

It's almost as if I could enjoy Morrissey AND steak simultaneously while acknowledging that all people, even those deemed by many to be creative geniuses with a huge cultural impact, are flawed and might not be great role models. Is it even possible? Could I, as an American meat-eater, still like The Smiths or Morrissey himself without caring how they felt about Margaret Thatcher or McDonald's cheeseburgers? Like a dream that felt so real.....

Thank you for this video, you have made some excellent points. I honestly just wish we as a society, could learn to separate the music/art from the artists. People today just want to 'cancel' artists whenever they don't live up to their expectations, say the wrong thing, or fail to be "good role models" I feel I can love the art/music someone makes without necessarily liking or agreeing with the things they say or do in their personal lives, on interviews etc. We should be allowed to continue appreciating the artist's work and talent for what it is, without feeling the need to get into controversy.

I love the way you articulate this and how you’ve considered the nuance of it all 👌

God Bless you, You just earned a new Subscriber and I don't subscribe to people easily.

A great video with great points. As a Morrissey/the Smiths fan, I completely agree. Thank you.

Long time Morrissey and The Smiths fan, and I appreciated your balanced review/comments! Thank you 🙏🏼

I haven't seen your YT channel yet, but I have to congratulate you on this clip. Very good and understandable thoughts. I wish more MOZ & SMITHS fans would not behave like brainless 8-year-old-fans, but rather assess the situation realistically.

i really like the background

I haven't seen the episode yet but I look forward to it. I gave up on Morrissey after I heard Bengali In Platforms. Still love Johnny Marr's work. The ending sounds like it is as much a dig at Charlie Hebdo as it is at Morrissey. Robert Smith did a voice over for South Park and George Harrison even appeared in The Rutles. I suspect that's because they both had a sense of humour.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said. They captured Morrissey pretty well in terms of his personality and his music, up until the ending which was just plain silly and unsubtle.

Every time I watch your videos, I am reminded why I'm subscribed to you.

just found your channel and i’m trying to figure out why you haven’t gotten millions of subscribers yet

This whole thing is like watching my parents fight. I love the Simpsons. I love Moz. I wish they wouldn’t fight. I do wish they both quit while on top. Both have been guilty of sub-par output for a long time. No arguing that the fat jokes weren’t a pretty low blow. I thought “fat shaming” went the way of white dudes performing Indian voices. Bad look, The Simpsons, bad look. I wasn’t saying “boo-urns”. I’m just saying “boo!”.

This is fantastic. Thank you for your video. As a Morrissey and Simpsons fan, I agree with all your points expressed on this review. And as I always said: being a Morrissey supporter in this day and age it's just like loving that annoying uncle that you grew up with. He constantly screams out his idiotic opinions, but you love him anyway.

Props! I agree and you nailed it.

Good points and I agree with you except for the fact that I would still love to see The Smiths reunited again.

I’m a Moz fan and have pretty much the same thoughts...the concert at the end took a strange turn. My best explanation of that was they were actually satirizing the Moz haters at the end....everyone knows they won’t get back together and he won’t eat meat.

I LOVED your analysis! Nuanced is exactly the right approach because I felt really conflicted after I watched the episode. Would love to be able to chat more as I have thoughts .

Thank you for such a well-balanced and thoughtful take on that episode of The Simpsons. Tweeting this out.

I picked up my 18 yo daughter from College and she was telling me about "Goth" music like it was something relatively new lol. It was an interesting ride home. I played her some of that genre's early influences and heroes , like The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, and Sunny Day Real Estate. I was trying to "explain" Morrissey to her and I thought I'd show her his parody on The Simpsons. Lol. Then I saw this. Thank you. I just forwarded this to her :) Spot on.

How many times can one be “misquoted” or “taken out of context”, etc. Loved Morrissey for so long but after giving him so many passes I am done. He’s basically turned into one of the sad characters from a Smiths 45 sleeve. The Vegas residency is the icing on the irrelevance cake. A sad hateful end of years to something that once was brilliant and fresh and made you want to keep breathing. Glad I never got that tattoo I considered many years ago.

Im a huge smiths n mozza fan and u are spot on! I wish mozza would listen to his friend Russell Brand and just chill! Xx

Spot on. My love affair with the Smiths and Morrissey is deeper than I could say, and yes it frustrates me when Morrissey says things that are off-color and ignorant, but this is the problem with a post-nuance or post-humanity world. I felt a lot of his statement on his website was truly heartbreaking, and i think you can tell he really isn't this racist monster as you pointed out. The difference between Morrissey and any other public figure is that he actually says the quiet part out loud. Everyone has opinions that are "unsavory," we are flawed people, and that is what the twitter mob ignores, it is inherently puritanical. We're all sinners at the end of the day, and the problem with this neo-puritanism is that we ignore the humanity in ourselves, that we are sinners, that we are flawed, and Morrissey is especially flawed, but the almost satisfaction people get with lambasting morrissey is curious for sure

GREAT video holy shit

ok you said exactly what I was thinking when I finally saw this. The elder Morrissey appearance is so weak and poorly written that it almost ruins the whole episode. this episode is everything that is both right and wrong with the simpsons.

I am a Smiths/Morrisey fan who never watched the Simpsons, but understand it’s impact on our culture. I came across “Everyone Is Horrid” in a playlist and fell in love with it! I watched the video for the song and could almost name every video from which the shots were borrowed. I never really followed Morrisey’s politics so I cannot comment on them, but when I read about the show’s ending, I had a sour feeling in my stomach for how such a brilliant characterization devolved into an unnecessarily slimy one. Shame on the Simpsons for taking the slimy road they took!

Thanks prof skye.big morrissey /smiths fan but it has been heartbreaking to see morrissey support the far right.it has been heartbreaking because his lyrics touched our hearts so deeply...and gave hope when there felt like there was none.i have not been able to listen to the music for a couple of years because i struggle that my idol no longer believes things himself.. But he is still the best and most beautiful lyricyst of all time.

Totally agree about the Réunion. Have never understood why people want that of their fave bands.

Point being that heaping shit on someone for their views places you in the same grave as they. Have compassion for yourself and others and live what you are screaming.

Im a huge Smiths fan. Moz by himself not so much. Well, Moz made fun of fat people for ages. Morrissey needs to lighten up.

The parody was fair, except the small point that they made him fatter than he is now, but it's the Simpsons. It's PARODY. The rest is dead on. They only hit the non-subtle points because the Simpsons is a short show with a lot going on. Plus the song, "Everyone is Horrid.." is a really good song, and nails the Smiths...to the point that it's stuck in my head. lol. Did Johnny Marr write it? I he plays with everyone, I wouldn't be surprised. Of COURSE Morrissey threatened to sue. But how could young sad sardonic Morrissey NOT grow up to want to sue people who criticize him? Makes perfect sense. Fun fact: I never listened to the Smiths and now I do because I checked them out after this episode.

No down votes from me. If anything, you’ve just got a new subscriber (2, technically, as I also used my personal account) I’m a huge fan of Morrissey and The Simpsons and basically agree with everything you said. You articulated exactly why I didn’t care for the episode... It went for the cheap shot and was unnecessarily mean.

Morrissey is starting to remind me of older Orson Welles: a creative genius who's grown bitter and who overindulges in everything.

I love Mozza too and you’re right - he’s flawed, like the rest of us. I haven’t seen the show yet but I don’t know why Mozza or his reps should protest it. Did he care how Maggie felt about Margaret on the Guillotine?

Calling Morrissey fat is even more untrue than it is unfair. No, he isn't as slim as he was in the 80s, but he's not actually fat either.

As a Smith fan I liked the Simpsons episode

Based on the thumbnail I thought Rick Grimes aka Andrew Lincoln started a review channel !

Very good video 🙏

Fair.

Hey, I just checked out your channel. If I could give some criticism - too much noise in the thumbnail - you want a clear emotional state for a thumbnail as I've noticed that's what mainly attracts views. Best wishes, and good luck reviewing x

I'm a huge Morrissey/Smiths fan - I've seen him 13 times (so far) in concert, and I think this is spot on.

My main problem with the Morrissey song parody is that it wasn't nearly as funny as a typical Morrissey song.

The ending was totally about John Lyndon. Go Google him. Morrissey, not so much.

That was good, man. 👍

It’s “mean” but then again, we’re talking about Morrissey here. I don’t feel bad for him at all. Great musician? Yes. Trash human? Absolutely!!

According to writer, Tim Long, "Quilloughby" wasn't JUST a parody on Morrissey and The Snuffs, but rather a hybrid of a lot of the now Elder Goth singers who had their heyday in the 80s singers, like "Robert Smith and The Cure, Ian Curtis and Joy Division and a bunch of others". I wouldn't be surprised if Andrew Eldritch from Sisters of Mercy and Siouxsie Sioux and Siouxsie and The Banshees were also a part of the hybrid. As for me personally, I like to think that Dave Gahan and Depeche Mode were also included. If you look closely at one of the songs in Quilloughby's Slapify's Playlist, there's a song that is titled "Envy The Dead Fly In The Lightbulb". If that's not a parody of DM's "Flies On The Windscreen", I don't know what is! LOL!!!

i think you're missing the point a bit. it wasn't a Morrissey biopic. it was a cartoon and it was a parody and it was satire. i loved the episode and i say that as a Smiths fan. a lot of Smiths fans miss the version of Morrissey that turns up in Lisa's bedroom as an imaginary friend and it was sweet to be reminded of that. i would say that the attention to detail reflected that the episode was indeed crafted by Smiths fans (or people who at one point were Smiths fans!) right down to Bret McKenzie's songs. in terms of the way Team Morrissey has responded - i think they've made everything worse than it needed to be, particularly the statement from Morrissey's manager, which was absolutely terrible. someone on the Moz FB page put all this far more eloquently than I and suggested that instead, Team Morrissey should have responded along the lines of the following and i totally agree: “Consider me honored to be skewered by a beloved cultural institution (a state of existence of which I know a thing or two). I loathed nearly every minute of it and I suppose that’s the point. The deconstruction of our heroes always makes for compelling entertainment. In other words, well done gents.” and that's my tuppence on this! ps. i like your posters!

If The Simpsons took the piss out of me, I would be flattered.

artists are meant to disturb the peace

"Bengali, Bengali, oh shelve your Western plans and understand that life is hard enough when you belong here" ('Bengali In Platforms', 1988) - Morrissey.

Morrissey should cover this.

Great review and I totally agree. He's a xenophobe but not the monster The Simpsons and media are portraying him to be.

The problem is celebrities and our worshiping of them. I do not care if an artist is likable, just that I value their art.

He canceled a show in LA a few days ago 😅

I really don't feel Morrissey is xenophobic as you say he is. In an interview with Morrissey in 2006 "An Afternoon with Morrissey" he states that when he was in The Smiths he thought England was the world & nothing outside of England really mattered to him & how now he saw that mind set as closed & narrow minded. Morrissey has embraced & celebrated manny different identities & cultures throughout his solo career - either in his lyrics or in interviews - you just have to listen to him & possibly stop reading those dodgy Guardian editorials on him. It be a pretty strange thing for an Englishman who is supposedly xenophobic to have such a devoted Latino following who treat him like a God & who clearly feel the love is reciprocated, because it is. Morrissey is clearly interested in exploring ideas surrounding cultural identity whether that be British, Latino, Italian, French, American or whatever, his lyrics literally show this. Don't get it twisted, it's not a xenophobic position to take on a love for manny different types of cultures & communities with their own traditions & heritage that he wants to see preserved in their own right - at least to some degree - & to be celebrated. He's a romantic.

I'll say the portyal is very tongue 'n cheek

I think you are pretty wrong about the situation here but I appreciate that you are trying to understand it in nuanced way. I'll like the video.

i cannot fucking wait til...

I think they just did him dirty xD when it came to the meat eating lol, hes always been very vocal about his views on meat eating. However everything is fair when its just a parody, i think he's just taking it too personal. Love Moz either way.

i would be afraid of Morrissey, . . . as your villain... can you imagine a Morrissey Blofeld ?

really enjoyed this

I thought it was unusual for the Simpsons. They usually get a few digs in, but I don't know if they've ever had a whole episode entirely devoted to bashing a fading celebrity.

I don't think Americans really get Morrissey or The Smiths in the same way that we do. You claim it is a 'poetic sadness' but actually this is superficial, his works are very humorous and multilayered with localised references that you would not understand unless you did some deep research. Now, I appreciate the idea of a counter culture gone sour, that is a good perspctive on the current situation. But it misses the point that corporate culture has vulturised upon these emotions to the extent that it has become watered down, just as the Simpsons has done. Simultaneously, Morrissey is still a god of music, but really quite embarsing in some of his views, although not entirely incorrect either, it's just that the audience themselves who have been moved into the sphere find him repulsive. Those people especially being americans who never really 'got' the music fully in the first place. You know, the types who found the music through crappy movies like 'Perks of a wallflower' and '500 days of summer' or whatever. Just like the Simpsons, these people want to compartmentalise his repetoir into a single sound or idea or concept. It's just very American-centric.

No sir, you are definelty wrong! He does not love animals because he hates people, he does not like most of the people becuse of awful things people do to the animals and he loves animals more than anything, fame, money and etc... Can you see the difference? Only people who truly love animals could understand him and why the way he acts and talks.People who call other people "racists" and then have a dead animal for the lunch are nothing but a hypocrites. Animlas also have feelings , they think , they get hurt , they love, they get depressed and so on just like you , me ans whoever reads this comment. . Nothing makes them less "alive" than you, me and other people. You said that his "fanatic vegan" behavior is not something that we should not normalize? If there is one thing as a human race we should normalize is that kind of behavoir. Now imagine a world where animals can talk and able to use a social media. Would you able to make that kind of comment on a social media about how speaking up agaist animal cruelty and lets say not letting other people interview you because of their animal skin made shoes is considered as a misanthropy? You, would get trashed by that society and this video would be considered as an "speciesist" and get blocked. It is all about point of view. All I know is that we live in a very disgusting society where each lie perfectly crafted as a "truth" by the media.

Panic on the streets of London, panic on the streets of Birmingham, I wonder to myself....

I think you need to forget about the "Twittermob" The Simpsons is written by the same team that has written the Simpsons for the last 30 years.

I have yet to see the episode but looks like the Simpson’s are trying to be South Park. I don’t believe in cancel culture and I can’t unlike the Smiths after loving them for so many decades. That said I’d never pay to see him again. I wouldn’t put money in his pocket to support the wrong side of politics. But his music in the past( before he changed) I still love. And there were others in that collaboration. Unfair to the band and it’s music.

No anger here. I respect the Smiths but Morrissey has always gone out of his way to alienate those who love him

Being world weary is just being….intelligent.

I am half way through, and I can't understand how this guy is understanding yet still prefaced all of this with...Morrissey hates everything and that's correct. But, this episode was a family guy take...not the simpsons I Know take. I guess I should have known because the simpsons have been shit for 15 years. I get that it's my bad for thinking the simpsons were still a proper satire show. They didn't say that Paul McCartney was a fraud. That was the episode that made Lisa a vegetarian. It just showed that respecting an idol is not a thing anymore. You have to shit on people to make a statement. It's sad.

Sorry, but “Everyone is Horrid, Except Me (and Possibly You)” is a great song.

where's the review?

This was an excellent video up until about 10:30. Couldnt get on-board with anything after that. Great take overall though.

Morrissey falls for the right-wing traps on immigration, but he's certainly "gettable", as in saveable, and some people don't want him to be because they're idiots. He loves his Mexican fans, he moved to Rome for a bit, he's said he likes the social issue messages in hip hop - like there's certainly someone to win over there and people are just so stupid they don't want to actually get a good result. You just need to point out that Farage is a political opportunist who wants to privatize the NHS and help out his banker friends, that he's not for the working class nor is UKIP or BNP or Britain First. If your response is to shut down when you hear awful views, you'll never convince anyone. But by all means, leave the TFGs alone for your own health. Morrissey ain't one though.

Half of his band is hispanics

Morrissey’s racism is actually very simple and bigotry and xenophobia are forms of racism. I get your point about his fracturing, but I’m confused why people need to minimize his views. When he says people just naturally prefer ones race - that’s the definition of racism! To say he’s not like the “real racists” just ignore how structures of white supremacy work. What’s really sad is Morrissey is now joining the league of rich, privileged white dudes who scream victimization or being denied free speech when people call them on their shit. Or just mock them.

I might be late to the party and everybody left already, but I was watching reruns of the Simpsons again and the infamous episode was up. I personally don't have any beef (HA!) with Morrissey, his persona does get on my nerves a little, but more so the idolization he gets from his fans so whenever his music gets played in a club (yes, I go to the sort of clubs where they play him), it's my cue to go and get a drink while everybody goes mental on the dancefloor. After the Simpson episode (which I already seen when it first came out) I thought they did a little dirt on M. I mean, they have a long list of incredibly questionable characters on the show, but they didn't seem to have been half as mean to them as they were to M... (Elon Musk anybody? I have beef with him for example ;D). So I thought that was really weird and unfair. I also asked myself why M gets on my nerves a little. Maybe because I consider him an incredibly talented, even now very good looking (yes, he is my type of guy one hundred percent), maybe not mainstream famous but I would guess he can lead a very comfortable life and he's beloved by oh so many people in this world. For me he looks like a person who has been dealt very good cards in life but can't stop whining about the situation he's in. Yeah I know the world is sometime crap but c'mon.. "Cheer UP!! it may never happen." I know, nothing is ever that easy as it seems. Highly sensitive people as he is have a tendency to perceive the world in more and deeper facets/levels then others and are allowed to complain as much as they want. as I said I just leave the dance floor when they start whining. If you keep watching the same season of the Simpsons, a couple of episodes later, Lisa befriends Shauna, a problematic teenager, and again form a weird sisterly bond. Shauna is shown for the first time in the series as a more rounded character. In her bedroom hangs a poster of Morrissey.. or the character he is supposed to be in the show. So I guess there IS someone on the show who really like M. but maybe they are upset that their idol didn't turn out to be the Übermensch they hoped for. I made it easier, I chose an idol who's already dead (Quentin Crisp). That way I know he can't disappoint me but turning into sour old puss anymore.. he already was ;D JK. Love you mrs Crisp. Btw. There are a couple of Songs by Morrissey that I find genius, but I would never give him the satisfaction of making him shake my booty while he's whining on the speakers XD Bye kiddos

I am Morrissey enthusiast and I think your video is a great analysis.

The picture of present Morrissey felt like writers gathered to write the episode after reading a couple of news articles about him, not trying to actually be ironic

The Simpson's hasn't produced a laugh for me in decades. I'm a Moz fan but for the Simpson's to be parodying an icon who really hasn't really been in the limelight since the early nineties is scraping the bottom of the barrel for material.

I’m a little confused. Can “nuanced” racism exist? I guess it could if everyone just had their little territory to retreat to, where interaction in a modern world isn’t required. Maybe I’m too idealistic

They were far kinder to Tony Blair.

Of course it’s not as black and white as the Simpsons made it, because it’s an animated comedy show! Almost all comedy is based on exaggeration and I thought their depiction of Morrissey was hilarious. I bet the writers are even fans of his. I’m a huge fan of Morrissey but I also have a sense of humor and don’t believe everything and everyone deserves to be taken so seriously all the time. Someone like Oscar Wilde (One of Morrissey’s idols) would most surely agree with me.

I really liked the way you approached the subject. Where have people been for the last 35+ years though? There is no secret that Morrissey has views that he never hid. "England is mine and it owes me a living". He was always protective...of country, animals, free speech, other artists (he respected). I watched the China wet market videos and other markets for dogs and cats. When you view someone gutting a puppy and removing it's entrails to stir fry it in little bits....you might also wonder...sub-species? People can still wonder can't they? Western women can wonder what it's like living under Sharia law. Morrissey is "as advertised". There's no wondering. He leaves it all out there. Isn't that better? Again, really liked the video. Viva Moz.

As a Morrissey fan, I very much appreciate the things you had to say in this video and will be sharing this. I 100% agree about the Twitter mob/echo chamber and the nuanced view about Morrissey. He is NOT a racist. Totally correct. ✊🏻

It started out funny and good spirited... but then turned unfair and ridiculous. He's not a racist... he's just not an ass kisser. Same goes for Lydon. Sorry that they don't tow the show biz political line that entertainers are expected to tow. They never did before and we loved them for it... now they're canceled for the same honesty??? Beyond dumb.

Interesting point about how misanthropy in youth can lead to bigotry in later life. I think you could (at least in part) also say this about other artists like John Lydon

I think Morrissey's support of For Britain and his comment about preferring people of his own race warrants The Simpsons stretching the truth about his current vegetarianism. It's a TV show after all, and Morrissey has defended the indefensible. I think the show was, overall, well done.

I think that Simpson's parody was away over the top. It's quite funny and it has some great moments but Mozzer would never eat meat. I love The Smiths and I laughed with the song but it definitely gives a terrible image on Morrissey. He's not a saint but he's not that despicable as it shows

I was a huge Morrissey fan and Simpsons fan and have seen both lose their way over the years. I laughed once but still enjoyed it for calling Moz out as heartbreaking as it is to be reminded about what he's become. I agree it was lazy portrayal but Simpsons has lost its nuance generally these days so is no surprise. Shame