Wear it like you talk it!

[imomus]

You know, sometimes when you're posting about some terribly abstract subject like globalisation, and everything just becomes a maelstrom of words, concepts and abstract models of the world, you forget that you're a physically embodied person. So today I thought I'd give you pictures of the kinds of clothes I've been wearing during my last six days of Click Opera posts. Just for fun, I added descriptions of where I'd bought the clothes and how much they'd cost. Then suddenly these silly outfits became a great visual metaphor for the very same global processes we'd been talking about, with their bizarre and paradoxical impacts on culture and identity.



1. June 1st: "2D's a spiky fucker... he stood up on the balcony throwing tinfoil ashtrays in my direction." Striped nylon shirt from Osaka street market, 1000 yen. Red scarf (by Slow and Steady Wins The Race) from Selfridges, London, £15. Pink headband from Chinese store, Alcobaca, Portugal, €1. Spectacles from secondhand store, Fukuoka, Kyushu, 5000 yen.

2. June 2nd: "Clearly if I title my next album Donald, Where's Yer Troosers I'll make a killing in the Scottish diaspora." Sunglasses La Foret, Harajuku, Tokyo, expensive in 1998. Fake Burberry shirt €2.50 at Humana, Lisbon. Blue Chinese workwear jacket from Humana, Berlin, €10.

3. June 3rd: "Did I tell you that I hate Van Morrison?" Blue headband from Chinese store, Alcobaca, Portugal, €1. Black cashmere poloneck sweater gift from model's mother.

4. June 4th: "Is it okay to be a nipposexual?" Red Discom T shirt bought from band, Tokyo, 2500 yen. One-shoulder brown sweater €2 at Boxhagener Platz market, Berlin.

5. June 5th: "Um, porridge? Turnips? Fish and chips? Edinburgh rock candy?..." Pink shorts from Domsey's, Brooklyn, $2.

6. June 6th: "You know, scientifically speaking there's no evidence to say that a businessman is different from any other human being." Japanese carpenter's hat from uniform store, Osaka, 2000 yen. Senegalese robe from Humana, Berlin, €14.

Comments

[anti-peace-riot.livejournal.com]

The Japanese carpenter's hat suits you very well.

[martymartini.livejournal.com]

You might be upset to read it and this is only one man`s opinion, but sometimes you dress like a moron.
Mind you, I still like your music and your blog`s a riot!

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Marty. Actually, when I published my lyrics collection I called it Lusts of a Moron (http://www.imomus.com/index73.html). Fashionwise, I basically just try not to wear jeans, white shoes and a black jacket, know what I mean?

[(Anonymous)]

Mutton dressed as... a twat.

And stop pouting.

[(Anonymous)]

Do not say what hurts
With evil intent talk
Not of others, analyse
Your own mistakes yourself.

You should free yourself completely from
The faults the wise decry in others,
And through your own power cause
Others to do the same.

Anger is a disturbance of mind,
Enmity disturbs it further,
Concealment is a hiding of faults,
Resentment a clinging to faulty ways.

Dishonesty is extreme deception,
Dissimulation, crookedness of mind,
Jealousy is to be hurt by the good qualities
Of others; miserliness is a fear of giving.

Nagarjuna, "The Precious Garland".

[ohnefuehlen.livejournal.com]

Love you in #2.

oula..

[(Anonymous)]

that's scarry.. on the 2nd you look like a travelo (travesti) with a perm. make me think of some french comedy actress, just neeed a little bit more lipstick.
the 3rd is like a kind of captain harlock. this is the less scary.
haha! it should be funny to see you with jeans!
florian.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Here's one of my inspirations, the Kaiser der Clochards:



He walks around Mitte dressed as "the king of the tramps", pulling a wooden cart, dodging the SUVs, the Merc taxis, and the trams. He's very slow life, and yet very global (notice the way he mixes French and German in his title?). The photo shows him passing one of the few Berlin clothes stores that isn't just conformist techno crud and sportswear: Volkssolidaritat. Just around the corner on Mulackstrasse is another tiny oasis of originality: Bless (http://www.bless-service.de/). I'm about as likely as the Kaiser der Clochards to buy something there, but I'm glad it exists.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I'm also influenced by my son (http://www.livejournal.com/users/koalas_in_love/).

[sonjaaa.livejournal.com]

My favourite one is 3, Bazooka Joe's friend.

[flyonawndshield.livejournal.com]

Nice connection.

[queersolitude.livejournal.com]

i don't think i've ever seen you in pink. it suits your face well.

[mooshka.livejournal.com]

I am by no means hitting on you, for no reason other than that I am not, b ut you have amazing eyes. I, being an asiaphile (which is a good thing, bieng in Asia and all), don't usually dig blue eyes. But yours are quite nice.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I am by no means hitting on you, for no reason other than that I am not

You see, it's offensive to fancy me and offensive not to. You just can't win!

[(Anonymous)]

Well, clearly you get by without spending much on clothes. Nonetheless, I wonder how you manage to support your jetsetting lifestyle without a job. What is the economics of Momus? I'm guessing you sell about 4 or 5,000 copies of your albums. Let's say royalties of 6,000 euros to be generous. Then on top of that, you do a bit of journalism for people who don't pay well, but let's be kind and add another 3,000 euros for that. So a total income of 9,000 euros, or 6,000 pounds. That's not enough to live on, even in Berlin. Do you have a trust fund or something? Are you still getting royalties for the Kahimi Karie songs? How do you manage financially? Do you ever get nervous about being poor, do you ever think you'd like to own your own flat or maybe have a part-time job? Just interested.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Berlin is probably cheaper than you imagine: my current rent is less than 200 euros a month. I'm pretty hand-to-mouth, but all my travels are financed by concerts, you forgot to include that. I don't want to own a house, and I don't want to own a car (which is just as well, because I couldn't afford to). I'm in trouble if I get sick, though. But I'm not a worrier; worrying about getting sick makes you sick.

It's looking as if this year for the first time my income from writing about art and design might exceed my income from music. Which is interesting, because since 1989 I've lived entirely from music, with no handouts and no trust fund. In the 90s, thanks to Kahimi Karie's hits, I was even rather affluent for a while. I'm not as stupid as I look, you know!

number 5 is awesome

[londonsound.livejournal.com]

there's something slightly lawrence of arabia-ish going on there.

Re: number 5 is awesome

[artysmokes.livejournal.com]

Under the pink shorts is a dromedary.

[(Anonymous)]

You have very Scottish skin!

Two things...

[thetemplekeeper.livejournal.com]

Two things I am disturbed by:

1. how long does it take you to pack your clothes when you move?? Mind you, this is from someone who hasn't significantly altered his wardrobe - or, indeed, bought any new clothes - since he was fourteen (14 years ago...)

2. "Back cashmere sweater gift from model's mother"? Actually, I'm not sure I want to know the story behind this one! Back to 1!

Re: Two things...

[imomus.livejournal.com]

1. I recently moved house. The clothes were easy: throw them in bin bags. It was stuff like the sofa that broke my back. The Japanese are right about one more thing: furniture.

2. My mum bought it for her husband, but it was "too black" or something. It lay in her cupboard for years, absorbing the scent of all her clothes. So now when I wear it I smell exactly like my mother, which is very reassuring for me but possibly rather disturbing for other people.

...one more...

[thetemplekeeper.livejournal.com]

...actually, a third thing: how do you get greater and lesser amounts of "designer stubble" each day without apparently shaving? This is a trick I'd like to know...

Re: ...one more...

[liliski.livejournal.com]

All I can say is "Snoods ya bas!!!"

And I'm not even Scotchtish.

[(Anonymous)]

You look like a little girl playing dress-up. What fun, you go girl. Go on try a dress and high heels you know you want to.

[cerulicante.livejournal.com]

I CANNOT HEAR YOU, YOUR CLOTHING IS TOO LOUD.

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

I do always dig your outfits momus. I am currently experimenting with clothes myself. But you seem to have a much larger wardrobe than me. But I fall mostly for the "Blue Chinese workwear jacket", that's stylish stuff!

no.6

[dubow-org.livejournal.com]

I like the way you are seated in that picture! suits the outfit and reminds me of old chinese ancestor portraits like this:

[sakuraamplifier.livejournal.com]

#3 is beautiful.

#3

[zzberlin.livejournal.com]

Who are those men? So dashing, so unknowable, so inpenetrable. Especially number three.

[(Anonymous)]

I like the looks, but I have to inform you that you are in serious violation of the first "don't" in this month's issue of Vice.
http://viceland.com/issues/v12n4/htdocs/donts.php

[sparkligbeatnic.livejournal.com]

These "Nipposexual" postings are a classic study in how to be provocative by a master of the form. The motus operandi is roughly as follows: take some hackneyed cliche like: "deep down we're all the same, regardless of race or creed" and stand it on its head, but at the same time exagerate absurdly until you've got something that is bound to stir up lots of protest. When people protest, as they naturally will, accuse them of of being regressive believers in the source cliche. This will further provoke argument. It's kind of a pop version of deconstruction, or postmodern philosophical entertainment, played out in a clown's costume(s). The great thing though, and the reason Momus' antics can be captivating, is that he carries it off with style. And what style - the "Wear it like you talk it!" is Nick having a laugh at all the suckers who took him too seriously and entertainment for the rest.

A problem (for the regulars) is that this Japan theme is wearing thin. But maybe this in itself is Japanese. Think Kyogen - the same jokes played out year after year, century after century. Could the classics of Click Opera be destined for a similar posterity, curious relics of the early Globalist jidai?

give him a yard and he'll take a mile / steve jobs owns me

[(Anonymous)]

wikiwikiwikiwikiagain! how many layers IS that? re-compile yourself soon.
love,
kimmy

Re: give him a yard and he'll take a mile / steve jobs owns me

[(Anonymous)]

i love this blog. i went from thinking momus was fucking dumb to thinking he's smarter than any of my NYU colleagues, which actually isn't hard i suppose. if i didn't want to piss my trustfund away on weekend trips to tokyo or wherever i'd certainly donate it to you, momus.

where'd you get the eyepatch? make it? there's a thread on ILX which needs pic #1 posted on it.

what will happen to your entries when you die, which if all goes naturally (your japanese-inspired diet notwithstanding, cause if you wanna feel the real benefits of that you should be in nihon now planting rice 15 hrs a day, not sitting in berlin dressing up and banging a girl with bit-english...i am sure you suffer from soon-fatal 'blockage' which only an old-style japanese work regime could unplug), will happen maybe 20 years before me? i'm imagining wanting to look back on them when i am your fine old age.