Amazing Blonde Women: Momus demos from 1988

[imomus]

The recent arrival from New York of my boxes -- all my earthly possessions, basically; mostly books, records and tapes -- means that I've been delving, on recent rainy days, into my past: fishing out tatty treasures, reliving old glories and digitizing the cassette tapes, which -- before the internet came along -- used to be the centre of my world.



As a result, today I can proudly present, live from a pile of boxes in my kabaretkeller, a sort of Momus Basement Tapes podcast -- an mp3 of 80 minutes of my home-recorded demos from the year 1988.

Amazing Blonde Women: Momus demos from 1988 (mono mp3 file, 80 mins, 36.6MB)

So, rewind twenty years. It's 1988. I'm an ambitious Creation Records artist living in a tiny room (with a red plush curtain, a bed, a basin, some bookshelves and a sheet of Chinese newspaper covering a yellow fluorescent bulb) in a rather grand back street near the top end of the King's Road. I'm writing the songs that'll make up the bulk of my "Tender Pervert" and "Don't Stop the Night" albums. On these demos (made with a Casio SK1, a guitar, and a Fostex 4-track) I'm both praying and playing, toying with my three main interests: literature, my own fated (or ill-fated) fame, and the love of women. This Momus is a singing author, a pervy 80s moralist, a displaced French chansonnier and -- as Alan McGee later put it -- "a legend in his own lunchtime".

Morality is Vanity
How Do You Find My Sister?
Amazing Blonde Women
Junk Jewelry
Trust Me, I'm a Doctor
Junk Jewelry (reprise)
The Guitar Lesson
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Ice King
I Was A Maoist Intellectual
Bishonen
Susceptible
The Charm of Innocence
The Homosexual
In the Sanatorium
Blame Mame
The Hairstyle of the Devil
Last of the Window Cleaners
Tango Ballad (Brecht / Weill)
Lord of the Dance

Comments

[bearzbub.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing.

[(Anonymous)]

This is lovely. Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

Fantastic, big thanks.

[(Anonymous)]

Nice one, thanks!

[rckdjbear.livejournal.com]

The extended 12inch mix of The Hairstyle of the Devil is my most favorite,ever!

[dzima.livejournal.com]

Are you sure you were not in The Proclaimers?

[pradoc.livejournal.com]

Thx ! Nice works.

[cheapsurrealist.livejournal.com]

Thank you. This made my morning.

[sakuraamplifier.livejournal.com]

Cool to hear the beginnings of "Voyager" showing up in "Amazing Blonde Women". I can't wait to get through all of these.

[electricwitch.livejournal.com]

I´m too spastic to get it to download, but pretty good anyway. Obviously I appreciate the title.

1988 OK

[(Anonymous)]

Hello Nick,

Call it coincidence or telepathy ?
I haven't checked this site for several months, and I land on it (via an MP3 blog) on the very day that you post these demos (that I will lap up) with this picture I took on what I'm sure must remain one of the most peculiar/memorable/dreadful gig settings you must have known !

Livappy,

JC Brouchard
http://vivonzeureux.blogspot.com

[peacelovgranola.livejournal.com]

i like these...like a more hip, more prog-leonard cohen...

[niddrie-edge.livejournal.com]

ha ha can leonard cohen be any more hip?

2007.

[(Anonymous)]

finally hearing these has made my year. seriously! (matt)

[thisisnoisland.livejournal.com]

It is great to hear these

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, momus, that was so great. Thankyou!

[hiljaaa.livejournal.com]

Wow, in 88 I was into collecting Teenage Mutant Turtles gum stickers. There were 50 different stickers, finally I got them all. The gum lost its flat taste very fast, even if you stuffed 10 pieces in your mouth at the same time. Talking was impossible with all that chewing gum in your mouth, drooling was easy.

I cant wait for more boxes.

[stanleylieber.livejournal.com]

domo

[telephoneface.livejournal.com]

This is so cool thank you! I feel like I have to share and now I do:

Super Madrigal Brothers play Ave Maria (http://www.supermadrigalbros.com/en/Super Madrigal Brothers - Ave Maria (remix).mp3)

[(Anonymous)]

Fantastic, just goes to show you that you should a been number one in the hit parade with Ice King! You are also a vastly underrated guitarist Nick! Great times from the 80's indeed! The whole world shoul've turned Brouchard/Currie

[(Anonymous)]

Marvelous, thanks Momus.

bowler

[eustaceplimsoll.livejournal.com]

Brilliant!

[schmarian.livejournal.com]

these are a nice treat, as I can't be the only one who misses this phase of your career. I await further reports on the contents of your boxes with interest.

[truthandmethod.livejournal.com]

Strangely enough, I hear someone who could be a friend of David Tibet's in some of these early recordings.

Mojo

[(Anonymous)]

why not put these and more on an official release?

calling out in transit

[(Anonymous)]

Funny that this post comes on the heels of your declaring that you may have missed your true calling as an art student and/or Art Teacher (hey, ich bin ein Berliner, that's a Rufus Wainwright song!). Having been separated from the lion's share of your worldly possessions for so long, do you think maybe you had a break in continuity that allowed you to "blossom" (some might say wither!?) as a blogger/journalist/artophile?

Re: calling out in transit

[imomus.livejournal.com]

Living without your past makes you feel young, I was quite enjoying that!

Retro-Currie

[pay-option07.livejournal.com]

Any of these tunes fly with the Nihon-Jin?
I prefer some green to easy pussy!

Campai!

Re: Retro-Currie

[lord-whimsy.livejournal.com]

How about easy green--oh, I can't even say it.

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!! Demos of some of my most favorite Momus songs! I think I might have orgasmed, I'm not really sure.

GOD DAMN IT THIRD TIME

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

I have split up the songs from the single mp3 you posted:
Morality is Vanity (http://www.sendspace.com/file/8wg25j)
How Do You Find My Sister? (http://www.sendspace.com/file/lepx0h)
Amazing Blonde Women (http://www.sendspace.com/file/qu1cd0)
Trust Me, I'm a Doctor (http://www.sendspace.com/file/lgzvbz)
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (http://www.sendspace.com/file/pzcxaw) (Question: is The Guitar Lesson sandwiched in between the short intro and the rest of the intro? I can't seem to find The Guitar Lesson anywhere in the recording you've provided)
Ice King (http://www.sendspace.com/file/mhx0od)
I Was a Maoist Intellectual (http://www.sendspace.com/file/yutheo)
Bishonen (http://www.sendspace.com/file/hbnxxc)
Susceptible (http://www.sendspace.com/file/valyuq)
The Charm of Innocence (http://www.sendspace.com/file/r4g5au)
The Homosexual (http://www.sendspace.com/file/riu8kv)
In the Sanatorium (http://www.sendspace.com/file/i0q4zk)
Blame Mame (http://www.sendspace.com/file/5ybujd)
The Hairstyle of the Devil (http://www.sendspace.com/file/oci99h)
Last of the Window Cleaners (http://www.sendspace.com/file/greqkp)
Tango Ballad (http://www.sendspace.com/file/yrlp0s)
Lord of the Dance (http://www.sendspace.com/file/8t0pby)

And for those too lazy to click on all of those links, I have zipped and uploaded it:
Amazing Blonde Women- Momus Demos From 1988 (http://www.sendspace.com/file/ajpio6)

[(Anonymous)]

thank you for vacating the city. good riddance old man. you look old even when young! poor bastard, EXPLAINS ALOT.

[microworlds.livejournal.com]

I think you just contradicted yourself. First you call him "old man" but then say he's young in the next sentence. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, ANONYMOUS!

And what do you mean by "EXPLAINS ALOT?" Is that an insult on his looks? Because I really see nothing wrong with him at all. Do you have insecurity issues?

[davidgladwin.livejournal.com]

Well, this is certainly a treat! I do hope there's more booty like this in the hidden corners of your archive.

Naturally, I would prefer to hear such delights in lossless audio, but this will do nicely, unless you fancy letting them leak out losslessly via the likes of Dimeadozen or Zomb Torrents.

I'd be happy to help with such an endeavour, should the need arise...

How Dare I Be So...

[davidgladwin.livejournal.com]

I've long felt that The Guitar Lesson shared a certain something with the How Dare I Be So Beautiful? section of Supper's Ready by Genesis.

Having now heard the demo version and noted that it doesn't conclude with a quizzical "a flower?" should I perhaps find something more pressing with which to concern myself?

[womanonfire.livejournal.com]

perfect. thank you.
first time i hear most of these songs.
you have a sexi voice (well, in 1988) makes me think of you in... a whole new way ;)

blair witch momus

[dr--ben.livejournal.com]

ha excellent. the rubbishness of the technology makes it much more realistic.