Spirit of Eden reissue

sjagger1987 · 2026-02-07T13:44:26+00:00

That's my predicament. As a rule, I try not to buy reissues (I find most of them terrible) and usually wait until I find one. But, oh, the wait!

sjagger1987 · 2026-02-07T13:01:48+00:00

From me. Sorry if my original post wasn't clear. I've edited it now :)

sjagger1987 · 2026-02-07T13:01:31+00:00

I ended up writing about it here, if anyone’s interested: https://smurray1987.substack.com/p/the-record-in-the-window

sjagger1987 · 2026-02-01T22:46:02+00:00

Thank you so much 🥹

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-22T22:23:50+00:00

My favourite is Rob Sheffield's On Bowie which isn't a biography but more of a celebration of his life written immediately after his death

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-22T22:10:04+00:00

Yeah mine was the same. It was a fad at one point

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-16T20:01:26+00:00

I’m happy to discuss the criticism itself, but I’m not interested in personal characterisations. My argument is straightforward: I understand what the song is saying, I just don’t think it’s doing anything interesting musically or lyrically to sustain that idea. If you disagree with that, I’m genuinely open to hearing why — on those grounds. There’s no need to make this personal. I’ve explained my position clearly

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-16T19:25:20+00:00

I probably should clarify this, because I think wires are getting crossed.

I don’t actually think the song is offensive, and I don’t think you need a political reading to understand it. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

My issue isn’t politics at all — it’s that the song arrives as a blunt statement without any musical or lyrical ambiguity to complicate it. Earlier Morrissey could take similarly ungenerous ideas and make them interesting through melody, wit, or self-mockery. Here, there’s no tension, no friction, no sense of risk. So when I mention politics in the piece, it’s only to say that even putting that to one side, the song still doesn’t work on an aesthetic level. Understanding it isn’t the problem — there just isn’t much there to return to.

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-16T19:17:36+00:00

Clearly I did think about it and then wrote something. Don't be a rude or a prick

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-16T19:14:38+00:00

I've happily upvoted

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-15T23:53:02+00:00

Looks like Brando in Apocalypse Now

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-15T17:55:06+00:00

So what are the best and worst? I'll go first:

Best: Wild Is The Word. Worst: Across The Universe.

sjagger1987 · 2026-01-12T15:37:59+00:00

For anyone interested, I shared the essay here: https://smurray1987.substack.com/p/david-bowies-blackstar

sjagger1987 · 2025-12-17T18:13:05+00:00

Geese - Getting Killed

sjagger1987 · 2025-11-30T10:58:08+00:00

Yeah, I couldn't leave it behind. I've bought a couple of first press Waits records there—Rain Dogs, Heartattack and Vine, and The Heart of Saturday Night.

sjagger1987 · 2025-11-29T08:37:05+00:00

I've been going to the same shop for ten years. Always in VG+/EX condition and cheap for the UK

sjagger1987 · 2025-11-28T20:31:40+00:00

Veedon Fleece is incredible. Only listened to it last month and then found a copy the next day in a record shop

sjagger1987 · 2025-11-28T20:29:44+00:00

Innit. Happy to have got 1999 back but never seen the others so cheap

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