For more than twenty years he has been releasing, to only marginal commercial and critical success, playful and transgressive albums on labels in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan. In his lyrics and his other writing he makes seemingly random use of decontextualized pieces of continental (mostly French) philosophy, and has built up a personal world he says is "dominated by values like diversity, orientalism, and a respect for otherness." He is also known in certain circles outside the U.S. as a producer. He is fascinated by identity, Japan, the avant-garde, time travel and sex. Live Momus shows are rare but when he does perform he often sings the crowd favourite 'maf' from the Stars Forever LP.
He wears a patch over his right eye because he lost the use of it after contracting acanthamoeba keratitis from a contact lens case washed with Greek tap water.
Nick Currie currently resides in Osaka, Japan.
Marquis of Sadness
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They've announced his name
But we'll call him Marquis of Sadness
The professors say he's sad
He's the leading light of the Bitterati
But we will invite him to our party
I'll get along quite nicely in this university
They'll call on me at all hours for gin and sympathy
Bringing bad but intimate poetry
They've announced the new writer in residence
And the cleverest girls in the arts faculty
Must read poetry in his presence
And if our poems are bad
They'll still be evidence
Of our desire to make him desire us
I'll get along quite nicely in this university
In my little office with its sofa and its key
They'll call on me at all hours for gin and sympathy
Bringing bad but intimate poetry
Bad but intimate poetry
They've announced the new writer in residence
We've read all his books
And now we're longing for his presence
And the more he tells us we're bad
It might sound strange but in our madness
The more we'll fall in love with the Marquis of Sadness
I'll get along quite nicely in this university
In my little office with its sofa and its key
They'll call on me at all hours for gin and sympathy
Bringing bad but intimate poetry
Bad but intimate poetry
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
(Marquis of Sadness)
(Marquis of Sadness)
The song "Marquis of Sadness" by Momus is a witty and ironic commentary on the academic world of literature and poetry. The lyrics describe the excitement among students and professors over the arrival of the new writer in residence, who is dubbed the "Marquis of Sadness" due to his reputation for being a leading light of the "Bitterati". Despite his melancholy reputation, students and faculty members eagerly anticipate his arrival, hoping to gain his approval and attention.
The singer of the song imagines herself as one of the students in the arts faculty, who will read poetry in the Marquis's presence. She describes how the students will bring him their own works of "bad but intimate poetry," hoping to impress him and earn his favor. The line "the more he tells us we're bad / It might sound strange but in our madness / The more we'll fall in love with the Marquis of Sadness" suggests that the students are so enamored with the idea of being recognized and praised by a literary figure that they are willing to accept even harsh criticism.
The song is a sardonic take on the way that academia can sometimes prioritize elitism and exclusivity over authentic creativity and expression. It highlights the way that students and faculty members can become more concerned with impressing and pleasing those in positions of power rather than pursuing their own genuine artistic interests.
Line by Line Meaning
They've announced the new writer in residence
The university has introduced a new writer who will be staying on campus
They've announced his name
The writer's name has been made known to everyone
But we'll call him Marquis of Sadness
Despite his real name, we'll refer to him as Marquis of Sadness
The professors say he's sad
The faculty members describe him as a melancholic person
He's the leading light of the Bitterati
He is the main figure of a group of people who embrace bitterness and negativity
But we will invite him to our party
Regardless of his personality, we will still welcome him to our gathering
I'll get along quite nicely in this university
I will have no difficulties living in this university
In my little office with its sofa and its key
My cozy office with a couch and a key to access it
They'll call on me at all hours for gin and sympathy
People will come to me anytime of the day for alcohol and emotional support
Bringing bad but intimate poetry
Sharing with me their poorly written and personal poems
And the cleverest girls in the arts faculty
The brightest female students studying the arts
Must read poetry in his presence
They are required to recite their poems to him while he's around
And if our poems are bad
Even if our poems lack artistic quality
They'll still be evidence
They will still serve as proof
Of our desire to make him desire us
Of our attempt to make him be attracted to us
We've read all his books
We have familiarized ourselves with all his written works
And now we're longing for his presence
We currently desire his company and existence
And the more he tells us we're bad
And as he informs us that our skills are inadequate
It might sound strange but in our madness
It may seem irrational but due to our emotional instability
The more we'll fall in love with the Marquis of Sadness
We will develop deeper romantic feelings for the Marquis of Sadness
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness) Bad but intimate
The Marquis of Sadness is associated with negative but personal emotions and experiences
(Marquis of Sadness)
Repeated reference to the Marquis of Sadness, the melancholic writer in residence
Contributed by Kaitlyn K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
greenaum
Just watching this song again. It came back to me again the other day, I think in a dream or half-awake in bed. It came in little bits, the voice, then some of the musical bits, then most of the words, then... "Marquis of Sadness"! Nice bit of blue-screen work at 1:55! That was hard work, back in 1992! Took technical equipment you'd have to borrow from a college! No computer video in them days, not even the most expensive production suites!
I didn't hear this til Momus dumped all his old songs from his old label onto his website a few years ago. When this came out I was but a callous youth. Too young to appreciate the wisdom of dirty old men, even in young men's bodies, doing pop that was also pretty good art. Well not "art", something good. Good pop. But then yup he dumped his old albums a few years back. This is a better song on Hippopotamomus than the eponymous title song actually, which isn't so good, sorry, it's just ol' Mome singing about his time among the dinosaurs, or possibly early mammals, and generally trying to get a lot of shagging done. Reincarnation doesn't change who you are apparently.
This uses the word "sad" in the early '90s sense too, right? Professor Momus (the character, not the real man) wrote books that were very confessional and heart-wrending andd "honest" and all that shite, I think they were big back then. So he thinks his feet are nicely under the table at whichever second-rate uni he's managed to shag his way into a job at as Artist In Residence.
But while the staff, burnt-out, sold-out, and creatively spent, think he's the bees knees, the young 'ns think he really is "sad" and that's why the name suits him. They're not at all impressed by a middle-aged bloke (played by a too-young Momus) cruising college for easy student fanny. He thinks it's a genius scheme, they're not impressed by his scheme or by him. So they start off giggling but by the end they're giggling AT him, and calling him "sad", any reverence has gone.
What a plan though, boning dozy students on a horrible pull-out Argos couch bed and seducing them with supermarket gin, and tales that alternately brag his modest achievements, and share his PAIN, opening his heart in the way that's impressed all his readers, who are also pretensious and stupid washed-up middle-aged fanboys, and whatever other arts fad their friends talk about.
So really it's the hubris of Prof Momus that's being pisstook.
If you want a couple of criticisms (and I realise it's not a big-budget production), one of the girls seems dressed more like a dodgy porno schoolgirl than an actual student. And Momus of course is rubbish as an alcoholic middle-aged washed up wanker, because of course he isn't one.
Of course now we're all old enough that it seems like quite a nice idea, banging students and getting paid for it. Nah I still have some pride!
Actually my mate did Art at Brighton Uni just a few years later, back when the newspapers still printed the Turner Prize for a laugh, all the YBA bollocks. And they don't teach you to paint, they don't teach you technique. They teach you some art history. But mostly modern. And mostly, to sum up, it's bollocks and blagging. "Everyone's an artist" and (bleurgh!) "Who's to say what's art?". That's what people in the late-90s thought modern art added up to, bollocks, blagging, and getting the Saatchi brothers to look at you so you could buy a house. They were bollocks too, bringing the philosophy of stocks and shares (the "bigger fool" theory) into art investment, particularly the idea that a new and untested artist could be worth millions overnight just because the right people said they were. Ridiculously incestuous, and it would be alright there being no talent but there weren't any ideas either. Everything ironical, that fucked up the '90s. TV and culture being full of twats behind arseholes on purpose, cos irony. That's all, irony an aim in itself.
I'd have had those art teachers define art in front of me off the top of their heads at their annual review. If nobody can even say what Art is, why are they attempting to teach it? Seems a doomed endeavour surely.
Anyway I don't like the 1990s culturally but I do like Momus! Yeah!
greenaum
Just watching this song again. It came back to me again the other day, I think in a dream or half-awake in bed. It came in little bits, the voice, then some of the musical bits, then most of the words, then... "Marquis of Sadness"! Nice bit of blue-screen work at 1:55! That was hard work, back in 1992! Took technical equipment you'd have to borrow from a college! No computer video in them days, not even the most expensive production suites!
I didn't hear this til Momus dumped all his old songs from his old label onto his website a few years ago. When this came out I was but a callous youth. Too young to appreciate the wisdom of dirty old men, even in young men's bodies, doing pop that was also pretty good art. Well not "art", something good. Good pop. But then yup he dumped his old albums a few years back. This is a better song on Hippopotamomus than the eponymous title song actually, which isn't so good, sorry, it's just ol' Mome singing about his time among the dinosaurs, or possibly early mammals, and generally trying to get a lot of shagging done. Reincarnation doesn't change who you are apparently.
This uses the word "sad" in the early '90s sense too, right? Professor Momus (the character, not the real man) wrote books that were very confessional and heart-wrending andd "honest" and all that shite, I think they were big back then. So he thinks his feet are nicely under the table at whichever second-rate uni he's managed to shag his way into a job at as Artist In Residence.
But while the staff, burnt-out, sold-out, and creatively spent, think he's the bees knees, the young 'ns think he really is "sad" and that's why the name suits him. They're not at all impressed by a middle-aged bloke (played by a too-young Momus) cruising college for easy student fanny. He thinks it's a genius scheme, they're not impressed by his scheme or by him. So they start off giggling but by the end they're giggling AT him, and calling him "sad", any reverence has gone.
What a plan though, boning dozy students on a horrible pull-out Argos couch bed and seducing them with supermarket gin, and tales that alternately brag his modest achievements, and share his PAIN, opening his heart in the way that's impressed all his readers, who are also pretensious and stupid washed-up middle-aged fanboys, and whatever other arts fad their friends talk about.
So really it's the hubris of Prof Momus that's being pisstook.
If you want a couple of criticisms (and I realise it's not a big-budget production), one of the girls seems dressed more like a dodgy porno schoolgirl than an actual student. And Momus of course is rubbish as an alcoholic middle-aged washed up wanker, because of course he isn't one.
Of course now we're all old enough that it seems like quite a nice idea, banging students and getting paid for it. Nah I still have some pride!
Actually my mate did Art at Brighton Uni just a few years later, back when the newspapers still printed the Turner Prize for a laugh, all the YBA bollocks. And they don't teach you to paint, they don't teach you technique. They teach you some art history. But mostly modern. And mostly, to sum up, it's bollocks and blagging. "Everyone's an artist" and (bleurgh!) "Who's to say what's art?". That's what people in the late-90s thought modern art added up to, bollocks, blagging, and getting the Saatchi brothers to look at you so you could buy a house. They were bollocks too, bringing the philosophy of stocks and shares (the "bigger fool" theory) into art investment, particularly the idea that a new and untested artist could be worth millions overnight just because the right people said they were. Ridiculously incestuous, and it would be alright there being no talent but there weren't any ideas either. Everything ironical, that fucked up the '90s. TV and culture being full of twats behind arseholes on purpose, cos irony. That's all, irony an aim in itself.
I'd have had those art teachers define art in front of me off the top of their heads at their annual review. If nobody can even say what Art is, why are they attempting to teach it? Seems a doomed endeavour surely.
Anyway I don't like the 1990s culturally but I do like Momus! Yeah!
zxvxzx
This is simultaneously the best and the worst commentary on a music video i have ever read.
Wish you luck, good sir!
N C
Another phenomenal Momus classic. I feel like this should have been a radio hit but Momus only appeals to smart people with good taste and the US, at least, is empty of good taste and smart people so Momus fans are precious and I think Momus will be considered a classic in his time.
Dominic Carlsson-Wragg
Excellent. I liked the little videos in the Man of Letters documentary. Do all the songs have full length videos or were they pretty much as we saw them in the film? In any case, any chance of seeing the unreleased The Sadness of Things' video up here soon? I remember you once said you had it packed away somewhere. :)
xishimarux
I love this.
Erin Merle
Mar-kwiss!!!! Love it.
greenaum
That's how it's said in English. The Queen would say it that way. Were Momus trying to seduce her (and now she's single again I bet the dirty sod's been up there with a bottle of Lambrini and 20 Benny Hedges).
djugel
I love this video... why are all the new/great video's falling out of sync? is it me??
ÅᑎƬwΛN aƦᡶur0 ᗩNᗪƦΞϟƠИ
0:43 da face of purest sleaze, i love it lool
Teerath Whang
best video ever