Corkscrew King

Momus’ new track, “Corkscrew King,” (you can download it here) gets inspired by comedian Shimura Ken:

It’s a song about impotence. Now, impotence is a serious affliction, but it’s slightly less serious when it affects a spoiled old feudal lord who practises ‘sekuhara’ (sexual harrassment) on his courtly ladies and concubines. It’s less serious when you’re both an idiot and a famous comedy character. This song runs together Ken Shimura’s Bakatono and Henna Ojiisan roles and mixes the resulting Frankenstein’s monster with the poet W.B. Yeats, who believed potency and creativity were closely linked and, in old age, had a Steinach operation to revitalize his failing virility. He also got tight with a guru called Mr Swami who taught him about tantric sex in Majorca: ‘The Yogi, dressed in bright pink and looking like a bright carnation, sat with his hands folded on his ample paunch.’

More on the process of creating the song here.