Singles of the year: #48

48. First Of The Gang To Die – Morrissey

…meaning that Mozza now pulls ahead of Franz Ferdinand, Phoenix, Will Young and Jamelia as the first act – and who knows, maybe the only act – to place three singles on this list.

This also represents a rare showing for fortysomething pop stars; something which MissMish tartly commented upon earlier today when making her #1 prediction:

The last Tom Waits single.
Look I know it’s a hilarious choice but I just want to see Mike with something I’ve a) heard of or b) is from someone HIS OWN age.
“She said with a sniff”

To which I replied – hastily busking a suitably convincing self-justification, and inadvertantly Stumbling Upon A Great Truth:

A-hum! Morrissey is my age! Nick Cave is my age!

And… er… Morrissey is my age!

This is my thesis on pop, such as it is. There is a certain optimum time of life, when people tend to do pop particularly well. This is generally when they are young, and emotionally open/still learning, and economically/maritally unencumbered, and still naive enough to be idealistic, and with commonly shared experiences to draw on (as opposed to standard experiences of fame and success). Hence a lot of the best pop will always be made by young people.

Similarly, a lot of the best sport is played by young people – and yet we don’t say “go and watch some sportspeople of your own age”, do we?

However, my albums list is a lot more generationally varied.

As the final withering coup de grace, I should also point out that Tom Waits hasn’t released a UK single since 1999. So put that in yer cigarette holder and smoke it!

(Oh, I shouldn’t be so catty. Mish gave us some divine Roger & Gallet scented guest soaps for Christmas, you know. Not to mention lending us her cherished Bette Davis CD. It’s just that, well,some of us didn’t freeze our musical tastes in 1979, that’s all…)