Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)

Pure synthesis, pure comedy, pure efficiency — "Opportunities" is the sound of late-capitalist logic applied to romance and friendship with the deadpan delivery of a classified ad. The track runs on a motorik pulse, tight and unsentimental, while Tennant and Lowe trade pitches to each other with the affect of two people negotiating a contract rather than forming a human relationship. The genius is that neither party seems to notice how hollow the exchange is; they're both sincere, which makes the satire sharper than any winking irony could achieve. Lowe's refrain is almost sweet in its directness — he has the brains, wants the looks, wants to make lots of money — a perfectly honest distillation of aspiration stripped of its usual romantic packaging. The production is deliberately minimal, almost thrifty, as if the song itself is watching the budget. It's a track for irony-literate people who still catch themselves wondering if they've been optimized out of their own lives.