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!

[(Anonymous)]

Mutton dressed as... a twat.

And stop pouting.

[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?

[ohnefuehlen.livejournal.com]

Love you in #2.

[martymartini.livejournal.com]

I get it, yet I still find this is an extreme showcase of such ideology.
To me you are some kind of fashion extremist!

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.

[sonjaaa.livejournal.com]

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

[queersolitude.livejournal.com]

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

[imomus.livejournal.com]

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

[imomus.livejournal.com]

"Extremist" is Leigh Bowery (http://www.leighbowery.com.br/). I'm merely "interesting".

[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.

number 5 is awesome

[londonsound.livejournal.com]

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

[(Anonymous)]

You have very Scottish skin!

[mooshka.livejournal.com]

I understand that logic... it is sad to me that I understand that logic.

Then again, living in Taiwan makes even the oddest logic seem... well.... logical.

[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!

[(Anonymous)]

Dear Mr Currie

This is The Inland Revenue.

We'd like to talk to you about undeclared income 1989 to present. Please could you contact us urgently at the earliest opportunity to discuss this matter before we send round a little man with a big rottweiler to re-possess all you silly clothes.

Thank you

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for the reply, and here's hoping you don't get sick. But as an EU citizen resident in Germany, surely you're covered by whatever national health scheme they have there?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

You could sell them back to Humana and help the third world! I know Gordon Brown is trying to do that anyway, but it looks like George Bush isn't going to let him.

[thetemplekeeper.livejournal.com]

Then you are Skeletor? I thought it was just a silly cartoon...

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.