If you don't traffic in Momus gossip, here's the skinny: on Stars Forever, Momus performs a series of musical "portraits". Thirty Momus fans -- individuals, record labels, publicity companies, shops, even the Indiepop List -- paid $1000 for the privilege of being immortalized in song by the redoubtable (and temporarily skint) Mr. Currie. This controversial double CD has caused a lot of debate -- some think it's nothing more than a modernization of the whole "patronage" concept, while others, mostly people who wish they'd thought of it first, think it's a debasement of the "art". How ludicrous. Obviously, all albums shouldn't be made this way, but think of the dis potential of having a Korn or Britney Spears song written about your worst enemy...

Rigmarole aside, it all comes down to the music, doesn't it? And actually, the songs on Stars Forever are a more varied lot than Momus has produced in a while, which helps the album succeed. Had these tributes been set to hurried, perfunctory analog baroque tunes a la Little Red Songbook, this would be little more than an upmarket Wesley Willis album; instead, Momus varies his palate, veering from bouncy bubble-gum pop to intimate cabaret revelry to driving, shanty-styled ditties to sprawling, hummable ballads and beyond. It might enhance your enjoyment if you're familiar with some of the portrait subjects, but it's not essential; there's too much going on on Stars Forever to worry about getting the inside jokes. Besides, some of the lyrical conceits fall pretty damn flat ("The Indiepop List", for instance, goes nose-down more often than not). The concept, however, ultimately succeeds. All the people and organizations who "sat" for portraits have reserved a tiny, obscure bit of fame. They've joined that highly select pantheon of people who've had songs written about them, quite overtly, during their own lifetime -- without even having to prematurely curtail a relationship with the artist in question. And they can grab Stars Forever off the shelf in any record shop and proclaim "Look. Here's a song about me!" Seems worth the $1000 now, doesn't it?