Wednesday 2 October 2013

Threadneedle has stolen some people from Nikko Asset Management

Some workers, some staff. I'm not sure it's anything to worry about. It won't affect Nikko, and maybe Soo Nam Ng and his mates will enjoy working at Threadneedle. 'Who are his mates, Mikey?' Er ... Christine Seng, Weixiong Liang, and Wee Jia Low. 'I've never even heard of Nikko, man.' No? Oh.

Nikko is Asia's leading asset management firm. And it has the freedom to lead. 'Eh?' It has the freedom to lead, Voice. 'What do you mean?' Nikko AM is not a division of a brokerage house, bank, or insurance company. Unbelievably, it is the largest independently managed investment company operating locally across Asia. Its independence means that it can think and act like an owner on behalf of its clients. 'Oh, amazing! Just brilliant, man!' Yeah. And see if you can dig this, son: Through its experienced senior management team, Nikko AM has been transformed from its foundations as a trailblazing Japanese firm into the unique, independent Asia-based asset management company it is today. 'I'm impressed, Mikey.' / So, Nikko will be okay, I think. It won't miss Soo Nam Ng and his mates.

_________________________


Getting back to what I was saying about Dylan's lyrics. There's nothing mysterious about being mysterious - if you know what I mean. / For example, I can understand what's going on here:

The motorcycle black madonna
Two-wheeled gypsy queen
And her silver-studded phantom cause
The gray flannel dwarf to scream
As he weeps to wicked birds of prey
Who pick up on his bread crumb sins
And there are no sins inside the Gates of Eden


There is no mystery. Clearly, Dylan is trying to create mystery by putting meaningless (though temporarily striking) phrases together. Only the last line is understandable, and it's not particularly original.

But here's some real mystery from Jimmy Webb:

By the time I get to Phoenix she'll be rising
She'll find the note I left hangin' on her door
She'll laugh when she reads the part that says I'm leavin'
'Cause I've left that girl so many times before


Absolute clarity. You can understand every line. The mystery is how Webb was able to dream up such a classic verse.

Of course, Dylan has his moments of clarity. Boots of Spanish Leather is one of his best lyrics.