"Latinos Like Morrissey" Cliche Alert!
Ugh. And from our sister paper up the 5/101 Freeway. In David Ehrenstein's otherwise-fine story about Brits living in El Lay:
British pop star Morrissey encountered a similar phenomenon during his own nine-year L.A. residency, when "tribute" bands began springing up in the Latino community (as documented by William E. Jones in his 2004 film Is It Really So Strange?), having discovered in the lower-class British dandy a kindred spirit. Morrissey's ultraemotional singing style, coupled with his look — particularly his pompadour hairdo — is very much in keeping with Mexican pop singing. But Mexican pop stars don't have the special edge of melancholy regret and worldly-wise ennui that drives his L.A. Latino fan base wild. As Jones' film notes, tough-as-nails cholos have been known to break down sobbing at "Moz" concerts.
Where to begin...well, begin with this charming piece answering the eternal "Why do Mexicans love Morrissey?" question once and for all. Then consider this: Mexican pop isn't "ultraemotional", as Ehrenstein claims--Mexican pop is canned and without a soul (hear anything they play on KSSE-FM 107.1 "Super Estupid for proof). The emotional stuff comes courtesy of ranchera music, the true Mexican musical soundtrack. Why Ehrenstein put in the pop reference as opposed to the ranchera mention is mystifying. And why, oh, why did he then have to mention that cholos cry to Morrissey? The next gabacho journalist who mentions cholos in a "Latinos-like-Morrissey" story gets a free jumping by the gang of his choice.
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