There's Always Room For More Reflections on The Smiths/Morrissey.

These last few days have been pretty mentally and physically challenging. I've been working very hard just to keep up and I don't know how much longer I can keep the momentum going.

I've reflected several times over the past few years about the Smiths and Morrissey's influence on my life. I never really wonder what my life would be like without their collective catalogue because it's absolutely unimaginable. I would be a completely different person in a different place; presumably a much less interesting place with a much less interesting life, but that's besides the point. I've just never questioned, "Why?" or "How?" even though I do that in basically every other part of my life, to the point where it becomes ridiculous. I guess what I mean to say is that The Smiths have always been there for me. When I'm having a particularly bad day, I can listen to the same songs I would if I were having a good day, because there's always something there for me.

Take "The Boy With The Thorn In His Side" for instance. Of course, there's the patented Morrissey hopeless loneliness and unreturned desire, but at the same time, it's almost hopeful. The violence and vulgarity of Morrissey's frankness is what shows me that though I have these feelings, there is a way I can express them.

With Morrissey's solo career, there seemed to be two extremes. Some of the songs were about despair and absolute hopelessness and most of the others were about this strange optimism, but a lot of those songs came later in the 90s, when the "casual" Morrissey fan seemed to give up on him. One of the songs from this period is "Sing Your Life," which is in the latter category. The song is about taking ownership of your life because there's no one else that could do it as well as you could. I love that.

On a different day, my outlook might be a little different, but I'm particularly reflective today. Today is the day I legally become a man in the eyes of the world. I'm not really sure what it means yet, but I'm trying not to think too much about it, mostly because I don't have the time to stop and let this take over. See you in hell, bros.