[Simon Hunt]

Hi James--you may have formed some erroneous ideas about me based on my Dylan advocacy here. I'm an 80s kid, not a 60s one ( born in 67, 49 and some months now, and--holy shit!--50 soon), so I hope not to die off any time soon. And I like The Smiths! Although I'm more of a Johnny Marr fan than a Morrissey one (and really don't get how so many love the latter's work without the former...), I'll give Mozzer credit that his best work holds up pretty well and that he was brave and thus positive in the lives of many. Of course, David Bowie and others did more in this vein much earlier... I don't agree with all your arguments, though. Dylan was much more the genre-buster than the Smiths ever were, for example. It would be fun, though, to talk about lyricists who should be next when the committee sees fit to go this way. I would agree with those who mention Leonard Cohen, but he is 82, I think, and unlikely to be alive then. Richard Thompson is 70ish. Polly Jean Harvey? She's 47, I think. Even if we restrict ourselves to 80s British Indy figures from Northern industrial cities, I think I'd vote Paul Heaton over Morrissey.

Our posts are likely of interest to almost nobody here, but what the hell?

Edited to add: I'm not much of a musical theatre type, but I read somewhere, maybe here, a strong argument for Stephen Sondheim...