Thursday, Mar. 05, 2009

Does Moz Resonate with local latinos?

 

 

Morrissey and Mexico.

To many fans of the 49-year-old British singer, it might seem the only thing those two words have in common is beginning with the letter ‘M.’

But when Morrissey plays the House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach on Friday, there’s a good chance the audience will include a strong contingent of folks who originally hail from south of the border – and we don’t mean South Carolina.

During the past decade, Morrissey has developed a huge, almost cult-like following among Latinos, especially Mexican-Americans.

The first inklings of a fledgling Latino Morrisseycult emergedin California in the late ‘90s after the singer relocated to Los Angelesfrom London, and has continued unabated. One popular tale says that at a 1999 show in Irvine, Calif., Morrissey allegedly paid tribute to his largely Latino crowd by saying “I wish I was born Mexican.”

His California popularity grew out of the Latino enclaves in the eastern L.A. suburbs, where nightclubs then and now have been known to feature “Morrisey nights.” The suburbs spawned a Mexican-led Smiths tribute act, “The Sweet and Tender Hooligans.”

Since then, academics and critics have studied a steadily growing devotion to Morrissey among Latinos, which has expanded beyond California. The near-fanatical Latino Morrissey cult was even the subject of a 2005 documentary by William E. Jones, “Is it Really So Strange?” The singer himself reflected on it in an interview with Spanish-language TV network Telemundo in 2007.

A Latino love for the singer, known as “Moz” for short, strikes many non-Latino Morrissey fans as unusual, especially those who have been following him since his stint as singer for the seminal alt-rock band The Smiths from 1982-87.

Morrissey, with guitarist Johnny Marr, helped develop an emotional, brooding yet melodic type of music later coined “jangle-pop” by some critics. The band’s music had an instant appeal for already-emotional high school and college fans in the ‘80s. The Smiths had pop chart hits in the United Kingdom, and were college rock favorites stateside.

That style continued on Morrissey’s early solo albums,beginning with “Viva Hate” in 1988.

Over the years, his solo work has developed both stylistically and lyrically. Solo albums such as “Kill Uncle,”“Your Arsenal,” “Vauxhall and I, “Southpaw Grammar” and, more recently, “You are the Quarry,”have spawned hit singles and sold-out concert tours on both sides of the Atlantic.

In November 2008, Rolling Stone named Morrissey #92 on a list of the “100 greatest singers of all time,” voted on by a panel of artists including Bruce Springsteen. The singer, an ardent vegetarian who is also outspoken about his political views, released “Years of Refusal,” his ninth solo effort, on the Decca label on Feb. 16.

No matter how strong and influential the music might be, both The Smiths “jangle pop” and Morrissey’s more multi-layered later work initially seem the last thing that would appeal to Latinos. However, those who know better say that doesn’t take into account the wildly diverse musical tastes in Latino culture, and the diversity of Latin Americans themselves.

Some music critics have suggested that Mexicans like Morrissey’s music because his songs, many of which are lush, multi-layered explorations of loneliness and longing, are similar to the lyrics found in Mexican ranchera music. Ranchera is rooted in the mariachi tradition and comes out of rural Mexico. Instrumentally, its trumpet and guitar-laden music is worlds away from most of Moz’s music, but the genre features highly emotional lyrics dealing with love, patriotism and affinity for nature and the land.

Latino affinity for Morrissey wasn’t surprising to Dr. Elaine Lacy, professor of history at USC-Aiken and director of research activities for the Consortium for Latino Immigration Studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Lacy has studied demographic trends among Latinos around the Palmetto State, including tastes in pop music and other pop culture. She personally hasn’t discovered a strong Morrissey following in the state yet, but said the concept isn’t unusual because so many Mexicans and other Latinos have become ardent fans of American and sometimes European artists.

She said music’s emotion and relevance to the Latino immigrant experience in the United States is often what appeals to Mexican music fans here. “In the study we did here in South Carolina, we found the people coming from rural Mexico tended to really like hip hop and country music, while those who were from larger cities in Mexico had already been exposed to a lot of American music and followed it closely,” Lacy said. “The most striking thing we learned is that a huge majority of young Mexican males who have come to the United States really like the music groups that sing about the immigrant music, the emotions and dangers of that experience.”

Lacy said Morrissey’s empathy with the immigrant experience might be part of the reason his lyrics and overall persona have a strong appeal with Latinos. He is, after all, an immigrant to this country, too. The singer was born in 1959 to Irish Catholic parents who had emigrated to England. He has addressed topics of alienation and isolation in dozens of his songs since the Smiths days, but some directly address the immigrant experience, especially the single “Irish Blood, English Heart” off 2004’s hugely popular, platinum-selling “You are the Quarry” release.

Lacy said music often becomes more than just a simple pleasure to many Mexican immigrants. Songs that address the emotions they feel – ranging from sadness at being far from home, the alienation of prejudice and even the fear and danger some encounter when crossing into the United States – become an integral part of their identities. And, consequently, the Mexican-American music fan becomes extremely devoted to any artist who strikes such a deep emotional chord.

Morrissey himself seems slightly bemused, but flattered, by the strong devotion he has developed among Latino fans. In a 2007 interview on Telemundo, he offered the following perspective when asked why Latinos love him.
“I can only guess – I think it’s to do with passion, and also to do with crooning. Latinos like the crooners, and I think I’m a crooner.”

Whatever the reason, the devotion some Latino fans show for Moz goes above and beyond what many Americans would expect. Some California-based Latino Morrissey fans follow him from coast-to-coast when he tours the United States.

Pete Ackerman, a Myrtle Beach-based stagehand who frequently works shows at the House of Blues, said he saw the phenomenon firsthand when Morrissey played the North Myrtle Beach venue in 2007. Ackerman, a huge Morrissey fan himself, posted a lot of promotional material about the ’07 concert on a Myspace page and was contacted by a young man named Jose from Mexico.

“He asked me if I would buy him a ticket and leave it for him because he was going to come up to the show,” Ackerman said. Jose said he would wire Ackerman the money by Western Union.

“I thought it was unbelievable…the money was waiting for me and I mailed him the ticket,” Ackerman said. “It turned out he never got it, but he flew here anyway. He flew all the way from Mexico City without a (concert) ticket just to try to see the show.”

Jose eventually was able to get a ticket thanks to some help from Ackerman and another fan who gave him one.
Ackerman didn’t find Jose’s devotion all that hard to believe, however, because he had already witnessed huge Latino crowds turning out for Morrissey shows in the ‘90s out in California. He said at least 50 Latino fans from California showed up at the House of Blues for the 2007 Moz show.

Morrissey is not just revered among Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. His music and concert tours have sold well in other Central and South American countries, and he is popular among other Latino immigrant communities in the States as well.

Gian Carlo Murrietta, 25, of Myrtle Beach, is a Peruvian native who has been a Morrissey fan since 1998, when he recalls first hearing the singer’s music during – of all things – an episode of “Beavis and Butthead.”

Morrissey’s video for “November Spawned a Monster” was featured during one of the ‘90s animated show’s signature breaks when the two couch-potato juveniles made sardonic comments about MTV videos. Something about Morrissey’s voice and appearance resonated with Murrietta.

“I saw that video and asked ‘who is this guy – I want to know more about him,” Murrietta said. He picked up Morrissey’s solo CDs and older work from his days with The Smiths, and said it was the solo work that made him a devoted fan.
“There are so many things about his music – the lyrics, the emotion, and the way he sings is just incredible,” Murrietta said.

Murrietta said Morrissey’s lyrics and persona are part of his appeal for other Peruvian fans he knows, and said the fact a British singer who first gained popularity in the ‘80s is popular among Latino 20-somethings is not really that unusual considering Latin American tastes in general.

“For some reason Latin Americans tend to like the European singers more than American singers – I’m not sure why,” he said. He attributes part of Morrissey’s popularity even with non-English speakers to the fact that many Latin American radio stations play a wide variety of international songs, regardless of whether the lyrics are in Spanish, English or even German and other languages.

Beside Morrissey, Murrietta’s musical tastes span a wide spectrum from ‘80’s-era bands such as The Cure and Depeche Mode to classic heavy metal, including Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. In this way, his tastes reflect that of others in Central and South American countries, where heavy metal from the United States and Europe still enjoys the kind of heyday it had here back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.

“Among Latin Americans, we don’t care about the language,” he said. “The music is the universal thing and it has no language. If the music is good, people will listen to it."

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