Art Brut Wants Morrissey to Forgive His Parents

Art Brut literally means Raw or Rough Art but the usual English phrase is Outsider Art. The term was coined by artist Jean Dubuffet to describe "art created outside the boundaries of official culture." He concentrated on art made by people who were committed to asylums, but the term also covers the work of self-taught artists, and others outside the mainstream art world.

Art Brut the band is brash, fun, bitingly witty, bratty, but sometimes sweet. The subject matter of their songs reveals a wide range of items on singer Eddie Argos' wish list, such as:

1) Peace -- "I wanna be the boy/The man that writes the song/That makes Israel and Palestine/Get along" -- We Formed a Band

2) Reconciliation with High School Girlfriend -- "Other girls went and other girls came, I can't get over my old flame." -- Emily Kane (Argos' girlfriend at the age of 15)

3) For His Own Body to Cooperate When He Wants to Get Laid -- "It's got nothing to do with anything I've had to drink./It's more to do with the way I think." -- Rusted Guns of Milan (grab this song while you can at The Smudge of Ashen Fluff)!

3) Stardom -- "Sometimes it's hard to stop, when your heart is set on Top of the Pops" -- Bad Weekend

5) Friendship with Morrissey -- "I'm drinking Hennessey with Morrissey, on a beach, out of reach, somewhere very far away" -- Moving to L.A.

The last item might be a little harder to attain, given their other song that references Moz. In About Time, the B-side on their Emily Kane single, Argos claims "There was a time when I couldn't stomach Morrissey/I thought he can't have had as hard a life as me." He pretty much spends the rest of the song urging Moz to forgive his parents.

mp3: Art Brut - About Time

Now that's just silly. Forgiving your parents isn't very rock. I haven't found an interview where the band discusses this song, but pending that, I think it's fair to infer that they're probably saying "Oh, enough already with the angst thing, Moz." They could feel this way and still be fans, I suppose ... possibly. Only, encouraging Morrissey to abandon his angst entirely would be like telling Tom Cruise to stop being manic and mentally unstable.

On a more amusing note, Eddie Argos spread the word that the band wanted people "to form franchises of Art Brut: Art Brut 2, Art Brut 3..." Ask and ye shall receive, at least if you're in a band. Several franchises' "Brutlegs" are available on Art Brut's website.