Forget the Kennedys: Morrissey Endorses Barack Obama

Morrissey – who actually can’t vote in the U.S. – weighs in on the 2008 presidential election nonetheless. Here’s an excerpt of a Guardian review of one of his recent shows:

The Mancunian emigré follows up ‘The World Is Full of Crashing Bores’ with a rant against ‘Billary’ Clinton and an endorsement for the candidate who could be the first black man in the White House. ‘God Bless Barack Obama,’ he concludes, enunciating every consonant pointedly, as though daring anyone to misunderstand.

So if Barack Obama, or God forbid, the wretched, race-baiting Hillary, is elected president, will he have to change the lyrics to “America Is Not the World,” in which he sings, “America…where the president is never black, female, or gay…”

In other news:

• Leona Lewis will get her first big push in the U.S. this spring.(Billboard)
• By golly, it’s the NME Award nominations. Arctic Monkeys lead with seven nominations, including Best Track for the brilliant “Fluorescent Adolescent.” Amy Winehouse is nominated for Villain of the Year in a category that includes George W. Bush, Gordon Brown, and Tony Blair. It’s a silly, low blow at one of the most talented, if troubled, artists of our time. They never would have treated self-absorbed junkie Kurt Cobain with such smug disdain.
• BBC NEWS compares the BRITs and the NMEs: BRITs are for the mainstream, the NMEs are for “the fans.”
• Arctic Monkeys’ next album will be “psychedelic, a bit like early flower power-inspired Pink Floyd.”(The Sun)
• Sugababes singer Amelle Berrabah and her boyfriend Freddie Fuller plan to leave her hometown. “I can’t take this any more. I’ve been so down about it. Freddie and I are leaving Aldershot for good. I can’t trust some people who I thought were my friends.”(Mirror)
• Ashley Cole allegedly tried to forego condoms with another of his “conquests.”(The Sun)
• Cheryl Cole reportedly still wants a baby with Ashley.(Daily Mail)
• Guardian bloggers declare The Cure and The Kinks underrated. And yes, I agree with Alan McGee: Village Green Preservation Society is one of the best albums I own.