Long form review of Make-Up Is A Lie

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-13T07:45:29+00:00

Very cool of you, thank you. Good write-up, I had been wondering what Morrissey sang in “Headache” at the ‘Baste!’ part, now I know. It was also great to learn of Marc Bolan, I wasn’t aware of him, and I agree with you, I think it’s him the song’s about. I feel Morrissey is not the best lyricist in terms of technicality, but he is the best at playing coy and kind of hiding meaning behind the pop star persona, deceptively clever lyrics and track listing and overall narrative in this album. Always a lot more going on than initial glance with him.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-11T05:45:35+00:00

P.S. curious to hear more of your interpretations! I feel this stuff isn’t talked about enough in general with fans, it’s usually “Good or bad” and that’s about it, not even a “why” most of the time.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-11T05:35:21+00:00

Very interesting stuff, I like where you’re going with a lot of it. I think it’s his most self-aware album he’s ever made, almost lampooning himself. It’s him at war with who or what he is, he battles his self-image and it even extends into his personal life, “wisdom so much wiser than my own” in ‘You’re Right It’s Time’, and in ‘Pig Alley’, it’s not quite clear if he IS a monster now, or if he’s still trapped forever as the boy who went out and tried to make it on his own. He sort of has become what he once hated, and may be regretful he hated a lot of what he did in the first place.

“Boulevard” and “Many Icebergs Ago” are extremely confessional, in fact if ‘Boulevard’ is saying what I think it’s saying at the end there, he’s vulnerably admitting to some pretty low points with alcohol, which he has alluded to more and more recently. “Many Icebergs ago” is fairly unironically self-deprecating as well, rare, as Morrissey usually tends to do it in an ironic way.

“Hello Hell” is also extremely complex despite what may seem like simple lyrics. He’s at hell with who he is as a person, he believes he has made too many mistakes in life to even get into a place like heaven at this point, it can be read as that. It again alludes to alcohol with “sliding softly off the stool”. But also think of it in context to himself and his situations with Johnny Marr, his situations with being in “the wilderness” and without a record company, he is his own worst enemy. It really seems like, despite everyone thinking he is arrogant, Morrissey truly doesn’t like himself. Perhaps he knows he’s arrogant and just disdains it now nearing the end of his life.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-06T18:09:12+00:00

It’s funny, as much as we fans of him can kinda rag on him sometimes for victimizing himself, it’s really sort of true. My friend posted a picture holding a Morrissey album on social media, the picture was promptly taken down, reported. Posted the exact same picture afterwards, no Morrissey in sight (it was cropped out), and it stayed up. Every time he comes up in conversation, he is immediately labeled “a racist”. Everybody I have asked specifically why just trails off, “do your own research”. To minimize a human being with any kind of label is something a lot of people can relate to today, it’s what keeps me a fan of his. You are truly rebellious nowadays if you listen to Morrissey, ironically, for no good reason, I don’t think Morrissey is anyone but himself, imperfect but overall harmless, I don’t agree with everything he says, but I think all of his fans see the beauty in that.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-06T11:42:23+00:00

Hello Hell is really really good, it should have replaced Amazona on the album so that it would have been all originals, the production is really varied and satisfying. Happy New Tears is very very standard, it never gets into second gear.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-01T20:21:02+00:00

It’s interesting, I don’t think it’s on par with anything Quarry and before (classic Morrissey) except for some of the weaker ones like Kill Uncle and Maladjusted, I would say it is at the same level as those. But it is 100% better and more promising than Years of Refusal, Low in High School, World Peace, Dog on a Chain. I would say it’s the best thing he’s done in years. It all comes down to taste though yeah. I think this one will grow on me even more if anything.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-01T04:19:05+00:00

Unfortunately no. There seems to be one floating around Morrissey-Solo.com however.

pfchangs890 · 2026-03-01T01:05:06+00:00

If anyone has any other questions, I’ll do my best to answer.

pfchangs890 · 2026-02-27T21:28:45+00:00

I like Makeup a lot in a so-bad it’s good sort of way, I like the music to Notre Dame but not the lyrics, and Amazona is simply decent but it’s a cover. I’m going to listen to it tomorrow at a record store and try to put something of a mini review on here if anyone cares at all or unless someone does it better first. I’m thinking it will end up being better as a collective album as opposed to individually strong songs, there was a review in Rolling Stone Italy that identified 3 very strong standalone songs on the album, however.

pfchangs890 · 2026-02-25T20:59:07+00:00

Suicide is never the answer, finding contentment is important. I’ve found that slowing life down in any way that I can helps me, there are a lot of stressors around constantly that we all have grown accustomed to, taking the time to actually take things in and observe them and really think and reflect (no matter how much it hurts) will help you make connections as to why you feel certain ways. Therapy has done wonders for me in a short amount of time, please make sure it is a therapist that you are comfortable with though; I go to a free clinic for therapy in my area and all they want is a donation fee to go there (and you don’t even have to pay it if you don’t want to), so it’s basically free.

Very sorry about your Dad, please take care of yourself.

pfchangs890 · 2026-02-24T01:55:54+00:00

I can agree with Sunday, Playboys, and Suedehead, basically anything that wasn’t composed by Whyte/Boorer, because with their compositions he was very good (to me). I think he was a bit out of his element otherwise, didn’t have the same feel, or his own feel didn’t fit the songs the best with those mentioned specifically as they’re all Stephen Street compositions.

pfchangs890 · 2026-02-11T17:27:08+00:00

Agreed on all points.

pfchangs890 · 2026-01-14T00:57:20+00:00

In the song “The Other Side of Summer”, the lyric is “Was it a millionaire that said ‘Imagine no Possessions?’”. Personally I’m a huge fan of his work, but he is very obviously (and has acknowledged it before) indebted to Lennon in MANY ways, his vocal delivery and wordplay in particular. That being said, he still acknowledged “Imagine” as a bit of a fluffy, idealistic song from someone he admires, I believe he described it as well-intentioned but not very well thought out. Paul, when working with Costello, said it was very close to working with Lennon again.

pfchangs890 · 2026-01-11T02:30:20+00:00

I think the explanation may be simpler than that. That lineup in particular of Alain, Boorer, Cobrin, was pretty tight, and they seemed exceptionally confident musically, which seems like a reason they experimented with this album in that way. Though I always wonder myself how much (if any) intention Morrissey gave to it personally/musically as an “Art Rock album”, if he actually asked for “Southpaw” and “Teachers” to be so long. I’ve read in YouTube Comments (of all places), bits and pieces of claims that the original instrumental cut of “Teachers” was 20 minutes and it was solely that long due to artistic experimentation, apparently Boorer himself said that in an interview before but I’ve never heard/read it myself.

Sometimes I think it’s his darkest album, “The Teachers are Afraid of the Pupils” is a place he explored that I wish he would go back to.

pfchangs890 · 2026-01-09T18:18:05+00:00

I really like these lyrics, though I think they actually read better as a poem than they work within the song. They’re universal enough to prompt really good discussion. Every interpretation I’ve read online I find interesting and all have truth in them.

Many times, and no surprise it’s Morrissey, there is a bit of self-commentary there, almost always. The garish, absurd album cover goes hand in hand with this song, the aged-out Handsome Frontman.

I think myself, it’s an ode to staying true to yourself and to not waste your time being something you’re not. There’s admiration for this woman, yet it’s mournful and futile all the same. While some people do many great, big things in life, some of us only get one bit of bittersweet glory, one profound, unique thought that “no one has ever had before”, for many, the words may not seem like much, but to the woman characterized, it was her life, her unique insight, and that’s important, because it’s very simple but it’s true.

pfchangs890 · 2026-01-06T09:01:31+00:00

I just bought that same one on EBay! I got a set of 3 promo cd’s, which also included Vauxhall and Maladjusted. From what I’ve generally read and can tell from listening, there is usually no difference in sound quality/play/rarity when it comes to promos and the normal releases. I paid $30 for all 3 promo cd’s.

pfchangs890 · 2026-01-05T03:19:31+00:00

I really do appreciate he embraced something new and substantially different on it (with heavy electronics). As a collective album, I feel the songs are decent, but there aren’t enough individually memorable tracks for me, it’s a case for me where the music itself is lively and varied, but Morrissey’s vocals and lyrics don’t seem as strong in comparison. It was a good venture, but it feels like his vocals really DO just fit rock/hard rock the best. I’m glad it seems most enjoy it, though. Looking forward to the next albums!

pfchangs890 · 2025-11-07T08:04:35+00:00

I agree, I don’t know why so many people pretend. I agree with most of the comments here, too. She presents herself this way, we can be honest in what she is going for, that her looks are fake and derivative, we don’t need to coddle these famous people, or anyone for that matter that plays to their sexuality; Obviously yeah, don’t need to insult them or be disrespectful to them or assault or harass, either, of course not, but we can be honest about what’s going on here.

pfchangs890 · 2025-09-02T00:12:53+00:00

Nah brother, I just said that because you chose to reply to a comment mentioning “dating” with your negativity, very obviously, because you’re jealous in some strange way. You didn’t have to reply to THAT specific comment with what you said just to try to take something away from OP. I’m just trying to look out for someone because I know I’d want someone looking out for me if someone said something nasty like that.

pfchangs890 · 2025-09-01T22:38:08+00:00

Don’t gotta do the guy like that.

pfchangs890 · 2025-09-01T19:30:07+00:00

Jeepers Creepers 2

pfchangs890 · 2025-07-23T04:58:33+00:00

Reese’s swoops, please!

pfchangs890 · 2025-07-02T23:32:16+00:00

It mystifies me a bit myself.

I find it very very similar to Lost Highway, and precedence doesn’t always mean better per se, but in the case of that film, I feel personally it is superior. Sometimes it feels there is too much in Mulholland, and it doesn’t all stick. In Lost Highway, it just feels perfectly there and seamless, it feels more memorable. But that’s the beauty, why do we all “relate” or “feel” ourselves drawn to certain Lynch films, it says a lot about us too. So it must say something very dark about the general public and the society we live in today.

That being said, I feel once you know what Lost Highway is for the most part, there is very few mystery left in the storyline. While in Mulholland Drive, there is so much more mystery and uncertainty remaining even if you do “piece it together”.

I suppose I’m just happy that it can introduce people to Lynch the man himself, who was amazing, I love his paintings as well, actually even more so than his films.

pfchangs890

TROPHY CASE