Britain’s sense of economic invulnerability is even more puzzling.
Why does a country that is significantly poorer than Germany, with fewer
internationally competitive industries and greater dependence on
foreign capital and managerial expertise, believe it can afford to quit
the single market? Britain’s economic performance is no better than
France’s and on some important measures – especially productivity – far
worse. Yet nobody from France’s political mainstream seriously thinks
that the French economy would thrive outside the EU.
Much of the British elite know little about how Britain’s economy
compares. Few realise that three-quarters of the country is poorer than
the EU-15 average;
that Britain’s growth performance has been mediocre at best; or that
there are relatively few British-owned and managed businesses with a
strong record of growth. There are bright spots in the British economy,
but its commanding heights owe much to foreign capital and expertise.
Foreign-owned businesses generate more than half the country’s exports,
and many of these exports are intermediate goods – links in
international, predominantly European, supply chains. These companies
are especially vulnerable to Britain leaving the single market. If the
British economy were more locally owned and managed, it would be easier
to understand the British complacency over the economic impact of
Brexit. But for a developed country so dependent on foreign capital to
do something so damaging to its ability to attract that capital has few
precedents.
Martin Kettle has an insightful comment on current division within Tory government's approach to Brexit. Not for or against, but which gets priority, controlling immigration (No 10) or free market (treasury).
Since No 10 will ultimately win that battle, the question is how the Treasury will react. In its determination to maintain the City of London’s global position outside the single market, the Treasury will find itself inexorably drawn down the road towards remaking the UK as an offshore, low-tax financial haven. Just at the very moment when the EU locks horns with Apple over sweetheart tax deals, so Britain may roll out the welcome mat to international corporations such as Apple, offering Britain as the new Ireland, or as a European Singapore.
GDP per head is up just over 1% since 2008 and real wages are still 7%
below their level at the start of the Great Recession in 2008. The
problem is that many who voted leave thought this was all about
immigration and EU rules, whereas in reality it was mostly about
austerity. The Poles, the Czechs and the Hungarians came to the UK to
work; they have higher employment rates than those born in the UK and
pay far more into the system than they take out. It is clear that the
rising number of immigrants has put pressure on public services but this
was mostly because Osborne under-invested in services in order to
shrink the state. They paid their taxes, but Slasher didn’t invest that
money in new schools, houses and hospitals.
And enlisting a world-class vituperator to help him express his rage. :-)
Meanwhile there's a 30 year retrospective album of Momus songs coming out, selected by the man himself.
Thoughts on the tracklist.
I see why Lucky like St. Sebastian has to be there, though I'd like to see Little Lord Obedience or The Rape of Lucretia rather than Paper Wraps Rock.
From Poison Boyfriend I don't particularly dig Murderers, the Hope of Women. Would rather see Eleven Executioners, Violets or the haunting Islington John. The other two are obviously the right choices. (I'm a big fan of Sex for the Disabled, but understand its historic moment is over.)
Great selection from Tender Pervert and Don't Stop the Night.
Morality is Vanity is an excellent song.
Hipopotamomus? Meh! Bluestocking is throwaway. Marquis of Sadness is much wittier and has all the "perv" credential Momus might want here. Personally I used to like Ventriloquists and Dolls but began enjoying The Painter and his Model more. Hipopotamomus itself and Monkey for Sally are far more musically striking and disturbing. Song in Contravention is more beautifully lush. This is a weak selection from one of Momus's best albums.
Too much Voyager. Voyager and Summer Holiday 1999 are classics. Cibachrome Blue if you want to capture the overall feel. But Spacewalk is excess to requirements. (And I think Afterglow is better if you insist on 4 tracks from this album.)
Platinum fine. Enlightenment is a good song ruined by a couple of horribly clunky lines that spoil what would otherwise be emotionally powerful. Rhetoric, nah! I'd have Breathless instead. And I love Christmas on Earth. Shame not to find a way to fit it in.
Not enough Ultraconformist. Last of the Window Cleaners obviously has to be there. But there are underrated classics like Ultraconformist itself and The Mother-in-Law. The Cheque's in the Post is a bit of a crowdpleaser that doesn't charm me much.
Philosophy of Momus is one of his weaker albums. As close to "filler" as Momus gets. He's right about Sadness of Things and Cabinet. I'm not sure Microworlds adds much. 20 Vodka Jellies, OTOH, is another "bit random" collection, packed with pleasurable upbeat tunes. London 1888 and End of History are obviously big songs. I'd have been inclined to try to find space for a couple more. There are plenty of greats to choose from on this album.
Ping Pong was wildly hyped. But I think he's right to just stick with the much covered I Want You, But I Don't Need You and The Age of Information (an incredibly prescient piece of internet philosophy)
Born to be Adored is great. I don't like Old Friend, New Flame. But I see why it's pretty definitive of Momus and the Analog Baroque moment.
Stars Forever is so varied musically and tied up to its concept (song-portraits of patrons) that it would be hard to get a "representative sample". About 70% of the Stars Forever songs are great and the two he's chosen are from that 70%. But they aren't particular stand-outs. The most interesting thing about Tinnitus is that it's really looking forward to the Folktronic style he goes on to explore in the next album. And mysteriously NOTHING from the Folktronic album makes it into this compilation. Is he just going for a twofer? Trying have one song represent both Stars Forever and Folktronic? Looks like it. He's already on disk 3 and only half-way through his spectacular discography.
Plus there ARE two songs from Folktronic : Pygmalism and Going for a Walk with a Line. And these obviously HAVE to be in the collection as they're two of his best songs from this period (if not two of his best songs. full stop.) But they're from the "extras" part of the disk, not Folktronic proper (at least that's how I read them). Perhaps it was hard to find one. Finnegan the Folk Hero of HTML is a bit twee. Psychopathis Sexualis maybe?
Oskar Tennis Champion is one of Momus's greatest albums. Certainly the extremely inventive beginning of his "modern" (2000s+ ) style. It deserves to be well represented. No arguments about Beowulf and The Laird of Inversnecky, though I'm surprised by Scottish Lips. I'd have thought Is It Because I'm A Pirate? would be the obvious third here.
He's right to skip quickly over Otto Spooky. In my opinion, Momus's least pleasurable album. Even though it has Bantom Boys and Cockle Pickers which are ambitious experiments. Life of the Fields is arguably a kind of last hurrah of of the Folktronic style and maybe appears for that reason. It's so so though.
Ocky Milk, in contrast, is like Vodka Jellies, another compendium of big, enjoyable tunes (that also manages to competently incorporate quite a lot of his weird experimentation). It's under-represented here. Though perhaps hard to do justice to it.
Of course, now he's having to rush. We're half-way through disk 3 and we're only starting on the really new stuff. Home produced albums which tend to have more songs on them than those made with expensive studio time in the 80s. The lush Joemus collaboration Widow Twankie deserves its slot here. Hypnoprism is woefully under-represented. As is Thunderclown. In comparison, two songs from Bibliotek seems generous. Though Erase, Momus's experiment with another folktronicesque genre - Hauntology - is worthwhile. Two each from Bambi, Terpsicore and Glyptothek are fair. Though I'd prefer Catholic App, Unreconstructed or Spore to The Hiker. (System of Usher is fantastic.)
And I wish he'd found room for Old Nick at the end. While Momus's last-of-the-album mawkfests (Ex-erotomane, Gibbous Moon) are often legendary, and The Vaudevillian is the uber-tearjerker of an ending, Old Nick's sly twist on the convention is equally fulfilling, and somehow sums up the Momus project better.
Anyway looks a great compilation for those who don't know or have Momus's ouvre. (I pretty much do have all these tracks, most of them legally.)
