Nick Currie(Momus)/Wikimedia commons
Qalam strives to explore the interpenetration of different cultures. To this end, we have decided to launch a series of playlists in which music mediates between different geographical and ideological spaces. Our first playlist is called ‘West to East: One Hundred Best Songs’. It will be updated several times a week, and its curation will focus on how Western pop culture has reflected the realities of the East, whether they are musical, geographical, religious, or political. (The terms ‘West’ and ‘East’ should be taken as broadly and arbitrarily as possible.)
At the end of the 1980s, the songwriter known as Momus (which is a pseudonym adopted to honor the ancient god of mockery by Nick Currie) sang, ‘I was a Maoist intellectual in the music industry.’ This outstanding musical ironist, and the author of a vast array of rare and witty albums over the past forty years, has worked primarily in the genre of erotic and harmless provocation. However, there have been a few times when Momus has gotten into trouble. For example, the composer Wendy Carlos, who is transsexual, took offense to a song he wrote about her and filed a lawsuit against Momus for USD 22 million. However, the case was dismissed by the courts.
As for this Maoist self-attribution and other cultural revolution, Momus remains true to himself in terms of mocking things. Musically, it's a parody of classic near-ballads in the style of Leonard Cohen or Phil Ochs. Thematically, there is no doubt about the intellectual aspects of the song, but something about it doesn't quite align with Maoism. Momus has always had close ties with Japan, but it's not certain whether he has ever been to China at all.