The World Won’t Listen. Phil Collins. Dallas Museum of Art.

I heard about this a few months ago. Phil Collins (not that one) filmed people in Indonesia, Turkey and Colombia doing karaoke to Smiths songs from the compilation album The World Won’t Listen. Being a gigantic Smiths fan, my first thought was “hmm”. Then “Why?” Then “why in Dallas?” I was skeptical and contemplated its artistic value. It seemed like maybe Collins was just trying to do something “cool”. The Smiths were a cult phenomenon; adored by their fans to this day. I remember first hearing them in rural Texas as a 12 year old in 1986. I haven’t stopped listening to them since. I never imagined an Indonesian youth having the same experience. This is perhaps where the merit of this project lies. It’s not so much about the Smiths as it is global cultural phenomenon. The Smiths were never on mainstream television, or heavily featured in mainstream magazine, but there were people in the world who found their music and the phenomenon spread; eventually to places you wouldn’t imagine. It is happening in a similiar fashion today, with loads of Latinos listening to Morrissey today. One only need to YouTube his performance in Mexico last year and watch Morrissey performing in a Mexican soccer jersey in front of a sold out crowd for verification.

Opening an exhibit like this in London, New York or Los Angeles where the subculture isn’t as divided from the mainstream as elsewhere would contrast the idea of the exhibit. To open a show like this in Dallas is perhaps showing the average museum goer something they don’t know. I suppose. This is all speculation as I haven’t gone to the exhibit yet. I’m going to Tuesday, but thought it might be interesting to write my expectations before I actually see and analyze the exhibit with my own eyes.