Momus: Stars Forever

Nick Currie may be king of fop-pop, but that doesn't stop him from making music of remarkably clever crudeness as Momus. Case in point: Momus' The Little Red Songbook contained a song, "Walter Carlos," about famed synth maestro and sex-change recipient Wendy Carlos traveling back in time and marrying her former self. That's just the kind of ostensibly tasteless but nonetheless imaginative humor for which Momus is notorious, humor that listeners may or may not actually find amusing. A growing cult of international fans has; Wendy Carlos did not, muddling up the works of Momus' American label with vain and frustrating legal action. Since Momus is also known for the songs he has written for others, many compiled on the recent 20 Vodka Jellies collection, Le Grand Magistery and Currie devised a unique and convenient method of paying those legal bills. Intentionally recalling the Old World practice of patronage, Le Grand Magistery announced that anyone willing to donate $1,000 to its plight would in turn be immortalized in one of Currie's songs. Not a bad idea, as Stars Forever illustrates. A two-disc set packed with 30 of said songs, plus eight winners of the Momus karaoke contest and one lengthy interview with Currie, Stars Forever is a hilarious example of the singer's cult appeal. The songs themselves are like especially smart Mad Libs, written around various personal factoids provided by the generous donors. The subjects/benefactors range from fans to groups of fans ("Indiepop List"), to industry folk (Momus' PR firm Girlie Action and the Minty Fresh record label), record stores ("Reckless," "Other Music"), and famous fans ("The Minus 5," "Jeff Koons"). As usual, the songs themselves are just as likely to concern bodily functions ("Steven Zeeland") as Shakespeare ("Minty Fresh" is full of references to The Tempest), while the music thankfully has begun to return to a more Pet Shop Boys-esque faux-disco direction, barring Currie's libertine persona. Stars Forever is a novelty, to be sure, but at least the collection itself is novel.