Can someone tell me what exactly is going on with the album art to Morrissey's new album, Years of Refusal? As a childhood devotee of the Smiths (and fan of Morrissey's solo work), the idea of him with a baby is at worst weird and at best kind of funny. And while this was pretty much my initial reaction to the actual image, it got me thinking about whether or not there was some deeper meaning to the whole thing.
Stereogum had a butterfly/caterpillar theory to it (revolving around the apparent jeweled butterfly and "caterpillar" on the baby's head and Morrissey's arm respectively) that was kind of crazy. Mark Beumont at the Guardian's music blog had a fairly well thought-out post about it too.
But I guess what it really comes down to is, "Who the hell knows?" The kid is undoubtedly cute (jeweled butterfly on the forehead and all) and though some might call Morrissey's pose "defiant" I would probably use the word "uncomfortable."
Actually, "defiantly uncomfortable" might just be the best way to describe Morrissey's work yet.