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Messages - moleshow

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181
RZ Project Talk / Re: A Thread for The Ghost of Hope
« on: November 05, 2016, 11:05:24 am »
Don't forget Nolan Cook on guitar... my thoughts are ...wait and hear

me? forget Nolan? never.

182
Feel free to contribute!

It's serious-talking time. Time to stop playing around. Thus, capitalization.

Before this most recent Gio entry, I dismissed the "life in reverse" concept to a certain degree. The way in which I saw it was that Talking Light was the "death" of previous concepts and notions of what we, as consumers of the variety of things they produce, considered to be The Residents. They took all previous incarnations and interpretations of how the group operated, and flipped them upside down. But not without throwing their own spin on it. The concept of Randy, Chuck and Bob is an exercise in how identity functions, and how far the border between their created fiction and manipulated reality could be pushed, blended and blurred. The concept toys with how we differentiate between what is real and what is not. This is largely due to their use of comedy. But more on that in a second.

The concept is a singular thing in three parts - obviously. But it stretches out something that could be and is usually done in a quick and precise manner. While it may not look like their material from the Eskimo era, the concept within the context of The Residents does something so quintessential and classic. It chews up and spits out an idea. The idea here is a broad one, and is simply applied to the concept of a celebration that is almost ceremonial in nature. It also causes a massive amount of discomfort, generally, for those with a concrete idea of The Residents. Who they are (or in this case, aren't), what they do, how they do it, how often, etc... All of these ideas are rendered null and void. They take quite fondly to breaking formed attachments to self-made ideas that go against what they do, or so it seems. I wouldn't know. I'm not a Resident. (Or I am, but only to the extent that everyone is a Resident by existing within a culture, or being inspired, or even having an idea.)

So how does this concept of taking what they appear to do in a singular project and stretching it out work? From a personal, and mostly unaffected by outside ideas sort of perspective, it is the birth, life and death of a concept. And it works both ways, oh-so-wonderfully enough. Talking Light kills an idea,  and creates a new one. Wonder of Weird is the life of that concept, no matter which way you go. Shadowland both revives a somewhat familiar concept and also cuts the idea's head clean off.  It is the act of making the process, or the appearance of the process, visible. Relating to the concept of conceptual, figurative nudity, it is not that they have revealed the depths and details, the nakedness of what they do, to us. They have created an image of what that could look like. But the discomfort occurs to the same extent, and raises the question of "how much can we see before it is 'too much'?" The issue there, is that as consumers and as people, we adapt or reject. More often than not, we adapt. A situation, a set of circumstances, an event. All of those are presented to us. It is easier to reject on a surface level, but adaptation allows for more long-term success than rejection does. So we see them present to us this nudity, and we adapt to it. And thus, we survive through it. But not without confusion, fear, worry, despair and the myriad of other consequences that clutch on to the coattails of unfamiliarity.

I would go as far as to say that this discomfort is intentionally forced upon us. The pushing, blending, blurring of the boundaries of what we are willing to accept and adapt to manifests in this way. One eventually begins to question things. The question worth focusing on is this:

How much identity can be attached to something before it can no longer be considered anonymous?

This sort of questioning is what makes Wonder of Weird so undeniably Residential in nature.

Randy is a variety of things. (Particularly beautiful is not one of those things. Or maybe it is. I'm not you.) He is a character as much as he is a person. He is a third of a work in depicting levels of identity and personal exposure in three parts. He is uncomfortably revealed. He is an example and an exaggeration of the way in which people act.

There is a certain saying about never meeting your idols. That saying is often used in reference to musicians. The Residents, to a certain degree, are those. With the lack of a character that could be idolized, an individualized idea of what a Resident could be like could be created, even if this kind of daydreaming betrays the basis of The Residents. Randy is not someone who can be idolized easily. He is pitiful, he is afraid, awkward, stubborn and excessively emotional (to some). He is not even "normal". He stands out. But this is what allows the blurring of the reality The Residents present to us.  He is over the top to an extent that allows the observer to be able to step back and say "this is a character," allowing them to believe what they want to believe. Having something to believe in is comforting. But they pull us right out of that comfort with an instance of tragedy during Wonder of Weird, when Maurice is hit by a car. They create empathy through these moments. It is an essential example of the "hypothetical exposure of internal workings" idea, put into action by the blurring of reality through  a weaving between honesty and extremes.

This is specifically emphasized with the contrast between Randy Rose and Charles Bobuck. (And to a further extent, Lionel Bob, because Randy explicitly states that no one knows what he does.) Charles is open about the most mundane of things, but it is up to the individual observing and consuming the writings and music he offers to believe in and trust his word. It is believable through its simplicity. Randy's Tumblr has a specific style to it. Only the most important (although I use that term loosely) and "plot"-relevant events are mentioned; a story that becomes unrealistic through its exclusion of the mundane. When Charles left (cry break goes here), Randy mentioned it in a Randyland months after it occurred. The delay could convince someone that he would not mention it. But after episodes of detachment from actual occurrences, it all starts to hit at once. There is something inherently realistic about that delay, but the precision with which the acceptance of the events being realized is presented to us keeps us out. The exposure is only skin deep. They reveal as much as they hide. Nothing is truly a "slip-up". They show what they want to show.

Shadowland is the closing of those doors, if the trilogy is to be taken in the order in which it is presented. Randy hardly speaks to the audience. He has said what there is to say. In reverse, he has not found a reason to speak yet. He has no story to tell yet, minus the exception in which he has to explain Charles' departure (which proved to be genuine in nature and not only a point of plot).  It is classically "Residents" in nature. They are presenting songs that fit a theme, and stories come along with it. They do not reach out. They strip away the comfort and confusion given in Wonder of Weird, where Randy has a moment of vulnerability. There is no tenderness here.

Talking Light is similar in nature, but creates the illusion of them reaching out. Randy tells stories. The songs tell stories. The videos tell stories. And within the concept of revealing the birth, life and death of a project, a planned step away from the constant flow of the story of the show itself, when Randy is replaced by a mirror person. This is scarcely mentioned. Sometimes things happen, and no one ever finds out why. This is another instance of the stripping away of comfort, although disappointment and loss require expectation, and at that point in time, there was not much comfort being given, and there was not much to take away.

They both frame Wonder of Weird similarly. While the stories were not reserved to the shows, both those following Randy's blog and those who weren't could enjoy (even if those who weren't simply got less of the goodies). He creates an absurd openness, but one that normalizes absurdity in what he tells of his life. He shows that no, he does not lead a normal life punctuated by peaks of oddity - the occasional ups and downs. He describes a life of constant, polar extremes. And the stories are all deeply personal, in a different manner than the stories told in Talking Light. There, his stories relate to him, but have a constant theme of abnormal experiences. He simply experiences them. In Wonder of Weird, the stories are fundamentally about him and The Residents (hardly two separate things, but it's hard to be sure). He only speaks about himself because of the 40th anniversary, but The Residents are not nostalgic. Quickly, the stories turn into broader topics, and then move from there to Randy speaking about the recent past, then to current happenings, although this is by force of requirement. But in a subtler way, he speaks about the future in the Marching to the Sea/Intermission track.

"We will die pretending to be a band," he sings. This theme of taking old songs and making new songs from them and placing new meaning to them, giving new context is condensed and represented strongly in that singular line. Within the context of a show about life and their 40th anniversary, they say exactly what their intentions are. They march forward with that statement. One foot in front of the other. Marching to the sea. And hilariously enough, it is not even the last song on the setlist. That within itself represents a way in which even when things logically should end at a certain point, they can be pushed forward past what one would assume to be the right place to end. They take everything a step further, and that's kind of fun. Re-contextualizing, reshaping, redoing, constantly. Never quite done. There is a humor to how the show ends with Santa Dog... And Dead Wood. Santa Dog essentially belongs more than anything else, but they push it so far back to make one question if they will fulfill that expectation. They do, but then follow that with a song that is tonally and lyrically on a whole other side of the spectrum.  It is solemn, unexpected, and has a feeling to it that seems to speak to the feeling of unfulfilled expectations. It's about wishing for something, anything. Something else. Anything else. There is an uncertain tone to it finishing with that. One is inclined to wonder if that is the end? Not only of the show, but to the concept as a whole? And of course, it isn't. Musically, the show ends on a groovy, upbeat tone. It gives hope.

To the disenchanted, the excluded, the odd, that is what The Residents do best.

The RCB trilogy is not the largest diversion from the earlier workings of The Residents. It behaves similarly. It's an act of adaptation. Rejection of change has no place in their works. They adapt, and they move forward because of that. That's what they've done all along.

(Let me know what you think of all this!)

183
RZ News and Non-News / Re: Secret Records Residents LP
« on: November 03, 2016, 12:11:18 pm »
it's 13th Ann. Live in Holland. tasty!

184
RZ Project Talk / Re: DDA Album Cover Interpretations
« on: October 29, 2016, 04:01:56 pm »
more of a lyrical interpretation but has anyone else noticed how the title track sums up the album in hindsight?

"you can know a needle's eye
or a hungry baby's cry
[...]
silver linings came and went
when I was an innocent"

wealth, child rearing, thundering skies, innocence; all themes and topics of the album.

something to think about anyway.

huh, weird! i'd never thought of it like that, but it really makes sense.  neato.

185
Yep. I'll get the regular from MVD. I just can't get behind Psychofon.

wowza, why's that? is it because they do the whole limited edition thing?

188
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 10:09:29 pm »
p. 21 and 22

http://imgur.com/hSm5C0L

(last page)

189
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 10:05:54 pm »

190
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:54:18 pm »

191
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:48:05 pm »

192
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:43:55 pm »

193
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:38:10 pm »

194
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:17:25 pm »

195
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 09:16:31 pm »
p. 7 and 8 (had to upload onto imgur since this thing decided to throw a tantrum. so it goes.)

http://i.imgur.com/mbAdmlH.jpg

196
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 08:47:55 pm »
p. 5 and 6

197
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 08:46:41 pm »
p. 3 and 4

198
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 08:46:04 pm »
p. 1 and 2

199
RZ General Board / Re: I Murdered Mommy thread
« on: October 26, 2016, 08:45:32 pm »
Howski was kind enough to scan his copy of the booklet. will have to upload them one by one, but thats ok.

200
RZ General Board / Re: Actual Bunny Boy conversations
« on: October 26, 2016, 02:49:10 pm »
wonderful! can't wait to see more. from this, it would appear that the emails revealed some of the better hidden aspects of his character.

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