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| You could take Momus as proof that American culture isn't as all-pervasive
as we'd like to believe. Momus couldn't have evolved in the U.S., a
country in
which oral sex is less a topic of casual conversation than a means to
topple an
entire government. On this third domestic release, Mr. Currie pioneers the
"analog baroque" sound -- a mixture of harpsichords and Moog synthesizers
that's half chamber music, half porn-film soundtrack circa 1700, and almost
invariably populated with an embarassment of killer pop hooks. As always,
sex is heavy on Momus' mind and lyrical agenda, with topics rarely straying
far
from application of his reproductive urges (past, present and future), but the
urges are discussed, diagrammed and dissected in such an erudite manner
that it
takes the occasional interjection of a four-letter word to remind you that
you're
not reading classical literature. Who else could write a song about M.C.
Escher,
or pen the recent-historical epic "The New Decameron", without seeming like a
self-important prat? Who would dare to write a song about "Coming in a Girl's
Mouth" that doesn't employ condescending and distasteful metaphors to get
around
its subject? Who else would pen a tribute to genre-bending composer Wendy
(nee Walter) Carlos (only to
get tied up in a massive legal rigmarole over it and ultimately pull it
from future
pressings of the album) that addresses the logical limitations of time travel?
When he's not addressing the shortcomings of others in his mild yet merciless
manner, Momus is a master of lyrical self-emasculation -- he's perhaps the
only
male artist in the last forty years willing to own up about his own sexual
inadequacies
and occasional failure to, erm, rise to the occasion. While that may not
be part of your
definition of entertainment, believe me when I tell you that it's part and
parcel of
the innate honesty that makes any communication by Momus a buffet for the
higher senses. Incidentally, The Little Red Songbook includes a
number of
instrumental tracks intended to allow fans to recreate and parody Momus'
work and
enter the results in a competition. Try it -- a couple of abysmal failures
at this should
plainly demonstrate the degree of sprezzatura Momus employs...
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