A new theory of everything

[imomus]

Two things for you today, an article in AIGA Voice about why we aren't allowed to display cultural goods at home in the sexy, innovative ways they're displayed in stores and exhibitions, and an mp3 of the lecture I gave last Friday in Birmingham.



"I want a new theory of everything," I sang in my song Lady Fancy Knickers, "-- a tub of custard, a manky carpet and a piece of string". Well, The IT Culture, the Daniel Hunt Lecture I delivered last Friday at the invitation of the University of Central England's Visualization Research Unit came pretty close to putting custard, carpet and string -- in the form of recurrent themes on Click Opera -- together to make a big picture, a sort of snapshot of where we are now, as I see it, in terms of technology, philosophy and politics.

Keen Click Opera readers will have seen these themes before. But where the lecture succeeds, I think, is in connecting them up. Here, for the first time, I begin to find tentative, unexpected connections between, say, Kim Cascone's essay "The Aesthetics of Failure" and the Bush regime's motto (well, it would be if they could speak Latin) oderint dum metuant -- let them hate as long as they fear. Or between the idea of identity politics, culture and situation being about wanting to be loved "warts and all" and the ideas of Marshall McLuhan about how displaced media stop pretending to be a "window on the world" and start hoping to be loved just as "li'l ole me". Or between the idea that satirists look in the mirror one day and see their enemies, and the idea that, in a world of power laws where there's a star spike and a long comet tail, there can't really be true pluralism because those "famous for 15 people" people in the tail are all defining themselves in relation to the stars in the spike... Above all, it's about the question "Who gets to be what Hegel called the concrete universal? Who gets to be IT?"

I did this lecture -- a "hobbyhorse probe", I called it on the night -- without much preparation and very few notes, really just extemporizing. Of course it's a fairly superficial skim across some huge themes. But I think it all came together quite well in the end, tying up lots of strings. Here it is, anyway.

The IT Culture (24.8MB mono mp3 file, 54 mins. 12 secs.)

Thanks to Greg Sporton, Robert Sharl and Catha Knuth, girlfriend of the late Dan Hunt, who told me all about him. The UCE VRU's own website may soon be hosting an enhanced version of this file with visual inserts that'll pop up on your iPod, so keep an eye on their website. Oh, and you may also like to know that Last.FM has an rss feed for future Momus events. It lists my next two London appearances, but not the Madrid concert I'll be playing on Saturday, December 16th at NeuClub. Mainly because it hasn't been announced until right now! More details soon.

Comments

[iamrighthere.livejournal.com]

I love your LJ posts. You open my head up and bump importand stuff into it. Since I watch only one show on TV, there's lots of room in there.

Will you be playing in the States anytime soon? DC maybe?

[xishimarux.livejournal.com]

Stupid RSS feed of future Momus events. Not like your coming to southern california anytime soon :pouts: haha. Just curious is your speech up for digital manipulations? :)

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Sure, why not? Just don't make me say "This is Momus, Vote McCain 2008" or something.

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks. This should be interesting. I'd previously only been familiar with Chuck Hagel from his opposition to the Iraq war and did not know he did philosophy too. Will look into that.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I was talking about Chuck Hegel, the bantamweight boxer who later became a big soap star in Paraguay.

[(Anonymous)]

you're a panic

[st-ranger.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy both your music and your blog. But I think it's interesting that in at least one past post you indicated your distaste for Steven Malkmus of Pavement. To me, there is no greater album on earth than Pavement's Wowee Zowee. I enjoy your unique view of culture but at the same time, while you seem to espouse pluralism, it seems like a particularly academic, monolithic pluralism which only allows for one view. Like a Hellenistic view of reality which afforded Greek philosophic thought as being supreme, whilst at the same time undermining the idea of the polis and advocating the empire. You seem to enjoy certain cultures, which I think is cool, and interesting; I mean, what access to Japanese culture do I have, as an American living on Social Security as a lifelong "mental patient"? Youtube representations of Kamihi Karie, and the few albums of Pizzicato Five I was able to buy when I was working. However, I do not share your... idolization of any particular culture, and I certainly do not share your idea that each culture must remain intact without outside interference. (Or at least this is what I seem to interpret from your posts). The history of the world has been one of intermingling cultures, and subsequent fragmenting into subcultures, which in turn become culture themselves. I don't think it's a bad thing if American culture seeps into the world (I'll admit that I'm a Californian, just to put on the table my bias) and I look forward to any seeping into my culture of "outsider" values. I do not think, as you seem to often imply, that this will lead to a deadening of culture itself. To me, it seems that this will lead to more grist for the mill of the subculture machine, the machine which inevitable grinds out future cultures, mostly on a local level. So, I'm able to enjoy the negative space of many of your compositions, while still revering the complete lack of negative space in Pavement albums. I hope you don't view this as an attack, because I think you're a swell guy with a viewpoint which should be expressed. I just don't necessarily agree with it. I'm all for the intermingling of all cultures into a huge amalgam of thoughts and ideas and points of view. Anyway, thanks for blogging.

mosaic metonymy desire

[(Anonymous)]

Wed, Nov. 22nd, 2006 12:56 pm (UTC)


mosaic metonymy


hi momus seems you try to understand current(liberal democratic)human relation from position of the euphoric individual the interface s body and technology ?sociological whilst lamenting the retreat of subjectivity fromthe public space(S).
By identifying ourselves as fitting into idiotic positions of marketing wet dreaming analysts IKEA bracketting we would identify our subjectivity our creative potential with the ego ideal posited by the supposed desire of the Other. what is important here is not to identify, the desire of the Other is enigmatic cannot be known. This is the point where the confusing tramatic desire of the other gets easily reconfigured as the figure of the demanding devouring Other. Too subjectivise this desire of the Other ,in other words to step out of both Freudian castration and Marxist alienation (the workers and the unconscious chains of automatons signifier ,metonymy, rather than accepting the substituting stupidity of the signifier of the Others desire,we got to shake up the configuration of our fudamental fantasy which maintains our relation to the Other by attempting to consolidate(stucture)a coherent subject, the ideal ,the ideological ,the sexed, the cultural etc, figures of representation.
SO rather than accepting the desire of the Other as something we aspire to<idealism. DEsire being fleetingly glimpsed and enigmatic. We discern that it is the actual desirousness ,the ability to be desiring,a desiring subject ,that magic substance which Plato sees in Socrates,and calls it Agalma (Symposium),which may become not our s but the cause of our desire. The desiring being based on the otherts lack,the desiring referring to the phallus that is something we can never have,as assumed being human once we have it we dont desire it,and so the metonymy of capitalist substitutions, Here again we witness the collapse of the two other and Other,resulting in further alienation and paranoid splitting into love hate rivalries ,precisely what is demanded of us by marketing Other.Yet more alienation within the Other as language and as desire. Rather than identifying with the desire(demand) of the Other, that is in order to escape the imaginary trappins of both western suffering and japanese cuteness ,and we know about these,we need to continually shake up the fantasy by reconfiguring oue relation to this identification ,be wary of the image,the ego idealism. By acknowledging the enigma of the others desire we can maintain a distance of dignity rather than exotically attempting to cannibalise the others desire through identification(LOVE or HATE). By situating our own split subjectivity in that magical void ,in that enignatic space of the Cause of the subject ,the desire of the other,the difficult task of assuming our own cause ,the possibility of escape from the mosaic metonymy market place that reduces us to player in a prescribe roles of competitors in love hate ego relations.Cultural rivalries<wars,orientalism .exoticisms etc,.., desubjectivise the other by identifyin their desire as something we can grasp,get hold of , understand the kernel, the truth of their precious substance.their desiring being.LOVE? I dont think so!!! BY avoiding over identification,loving ,therapeutic,imaginary and marketing proximity we can cross over positions and assume our own cause in the place where the Others desire ,a foreign alien desire once had been. this is the meaning of FReuds "where it was there I shall be". The traversing of the fantasy afterafter seperating from the mOthers desire The professionalisation of emotionsand the cognitive rehash of Nietzche Kafkas and FReuds dicovery of anxiety and unconscious, the pharmacological suppression of the split subject of of unconscious desire that interrupts the metonymic mosaic of caoitals signifying automaton.The assumption of our tramatic experience between language andthe experience of pleasure\pain that is jouissance.Traversing the fantasy , we subjectivise this tramatic encounter with the others desire, we assume responsibility for jouissance unconscious hate and its counterpart lack of distance in love or exoticism. Enda. Recent Friends Calendar Archive iMomus

Re: mosaic metonymy desire

[st-ranger.livejournal.com]

Im sorry, I love all the big words, and I am quite attracted to academicism, being somewhat of an outcast of my own more plebian cohort, but this is just trash postmodernism. Thro out the right words and string your sentences on webs of gossamer nothingness. Say something! Come out and say it! You come across as a spam email for intellectuals, indicating everything, signifying nothing.

Re: mosaic metonymy desire

[st-ranger.livejournal.com]

Oh and also, I would just like to say that despite my posession of a phallus, I still deire the phallus in others. Call me transgressive!

[desant012.livejournal.com]

I'm glad someone else out there dislikes Pavement, and that whole style of music, and the music that that music spawned. It's sooooo boring.

"Wowie Zowie" should have been called "Wowie ZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzZzzzzzZZzzowie"

[(Anonymous)]

I dont think wowee zowee is boring music, I think this is an amazing album although I did kind of get bored of Malkmus after this album. What I dont get (and no offense Momus, you are my favorite active music artist hands down, big props on Ocky milk), is how you can be so overly(imho) critical of this music, is it just the rawness of the performances or the sarcastic tone you don't like. I dig it, but there is no accounting for taste.

[imomus.livejournal.com]

That wasn't me saying "Wowee Zowee" was boring, it was Harriet. I bought WZ and liked it. I went off Malkmus later because of his political statements against "leftists". But I think he's a gifted guy, a great lyricist. I suppose it's the Ezra Pound problem; what do you do with poets who get cranky and right wing in their old age?

[(Anonymous)]

I guess that was an assumptive post, anyways I do love Ocky and your blogs are always interesting, cheers.

[(Anonymous)]

Wait I did not say wow zow was boring. I love that record. Listen to father of a sister of a thought over and over again. Reminds me of calen. Harriet herself

[(Anonymous)]

So beautiful and plaintive. Can't be comforted. Sounds like dylann' sharpened heel. Look out the window and hunk about decisions, open he books

[(Anonymous)]

What I meant to say was that song makes me want to open my books stupid books they're quite boring

[translucent.livejournal.com]

I can't remember whereabouts this snippet of information was in the lecture, nor do I believe I'll be able to catch it this time round - what was the name of the dub artist with the microscopic beats?

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Pole.

[translucent.livejournal.com]

Cheers!

[hello-mike.livejournal.com]

AIGA's site is beautifully designed.

Downloading this lecture-of-sorts now.

[st-ranger.livejournal.com]

You are wonderful, but must the world think so? Or just the enlightened literati? Let's break it all down, into a mud of dirty craziness. The invisible radio creature agrees!

[cityramica.livejournal.com]

Your voice is so soothing. I put on your lecture and my kitten and I took a nap. It was great. Almost slept through work. You should read childrens books.
btw, is it still cool if i use a Momus song for a pornographic film soundtrack? :)

[imomus.livejournal.com]

I should think that's in order, Mischa.

[cityramica.livejournal.com]

fantastic. i look forward to "working with you".

[(Anonymous)]

Crazy only listen to butthole surfers anymore

[cap-scaleman.livejournal.com]

I smell the beginning to a book with all those click opera entries that are tied together with this lecture along with a textual version of the lecture along with further notes from you Momus.

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

Fun lecture--well done. Puts your writing into context.

I rather like Eno's term "drifting clarifier". Very apt.

Might these concepts in themselves be an inhibiting factor to the creative/intuitive process? Paralyzing? Self-fulfiling? Can one keep these notions in the forefront of one's mind and still be able to write or make images?

If metapors are horizontal, and metonyms are vertical, then what are pataphors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pataphor)?

warwhatisitgoodphor

[niddrie-edge.livejournal.com]

Mmm Interesting.

Hypertexting? The "a href" jaunt into new grids, charts, maps? Hologrammatical? It seems there is intention in pataphors? Not just exquisite corpsing?

Excuse me if I assume I sense where you are "coming from" with your hinting, perhaps, at the "lost " state of creativity. Something Eno might share in his mescaline buddhist, honour thy errors, always carry a screwdriver perruque (http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/post/poldiscourse/perrugue.html).

How different writing is from a voice. Nick's tones have a minimal Scottish inflection. A real gent. I'd have him round for dinner.

I kept thinking theres something beyond these "histories". Something De Certeau like if I could just nail him. Thanks for the link W.

[(Anonymous)]

Gomma get a bike gonna paint it blue dancin with the tequn. Don't give a shut anymore

[(Anonymous)]

Never mind all that gash. Isn't is time you wrote something about Japan's greatest living artist: Shunsuke Nakamura!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwuZyWV_PaQ&mode=related&search=

here is where i m

[(Anonymous)]

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=57892212&MyToken=07f38124-6995-4d55-b539-de4c594ef6bfML