Author Topic: ANIMAL LOVER (Project of the Week for 12th of December)  (Read 495 times)

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moleshow

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ANIMAL LOVER (Project of the Week for 12th of December)
« on: December 12, 2016, 09:02:53 am »
"In The Residents' Animal Lover, the creatures who don't really mind if they are animals take an existential look at the upright animal whose normality is sliding toward the wrong end of the spectrum. The human beasts live in a world of primal darkness, their heads forever stuck in the ground like frightened ostriches living in a constant murky dream state."

this week is a week for Animal Lover, because Animal Lover is excellent.

i'll make a post later with my thoughts and feelsies on it later, but for now this is all on y'all.

(sidenote, i was not aware until today that Paulie's review of the album was on the site.)
« Last Edit: April 21, 2017, 09:56:20 am by moleshow »
"All our lives we love illusion, neatly caught between confusion and the need to know we are alive."

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moleshow

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Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (12th of December): ANIMAL LOVER
« Reply #1 on: December 12, 2016, 05:56:46 pm »
...it would just so happen that "later" is now.

one main thing i find really interesting about this album is the aspect of it that seems to involve humans being observed by animals in various states. humans in isolation, humans in groups. most of the stories/songs involve at least one isolated individual interacting with a group, and that individual is connected to the animal(s) that observe them. sometimes the interaction goes beyond observation, but not always. it comes across as heavily trying to communicate a sort of difference in human/animal interaction that is identical to the misunderstandings and nuances or human/human interaction, i think. humans behave in ways that make them less human, animals behave in ways that make them more human.

so, with On The Way (to Oklahoma), you've got the man who is isolated from a larger group, and fixates upon his animal observer (the tiger). the interaction appears when the man leaves the meat for the tiger and i guess some security guards (the group) take him away.

Olive and Grey... i have no idea what the song is directly about, even after reading the story. but what you've got is a similar scenario, where an individual is targeted by a group, and his animal observer attempts to interact... very briefly. it's interesting that the interaction really never leads to much of anything. it stops at an attempt.

What Have My Chickens Done Now? is such a beautiful track, i mean... (kissing my fingers as perhaps a chef would, to express joy and satisfaction) it's... excellent. musically, it oozes this sinister essence that is absolutely delightful. once again, we have an isolated individual interacting with a group. the animals observe the injustices occurring, even coming too close for comfort to it. the old woman actually does not seem to be the one really being observed? it would appear that the sisters are the true target of the chickens' fixation, as well as their feathery hatred. and yet, the story only implies the potential for action from the chickens. they continue to just... observe! and they observe as the old woman questions if her animal observers could help her. these first three tracks have a lot of that "individual crushed by a group with a common goal" type of stuff.

Two Lips has an electric, manic and chaotic energy that is particularly enjoyable, since Tulip Mania was a real thing and often when we look back on historical events like that, it loses the energy that comes from experiencing something in the moment. Two Lips gives it life, and that life is a confused, speeding one. we have, for the first time in this album, an individual who is at least partially part of a group! and this man speaks of the wild nonsense that is at the core of the thoughts of his group... but he is swept up in these beliefs, seeing that they could do no harm. but our animal's observations come later on! the ant sees the result of the man's hubris, as all he has left is his tulips. the concept of "from everything to nothing" comes up again during the album.

Mr. Bee's Bumble deserves a Grammy.

Inner Space is really our first encounter of a human in isolation being observed by an equally disconnected animal. but since the experiences and interpretations of scenarios between humans and animals contrast in tone, the mouse sees the woman as a singular good in a cruel world. the woman seems to view her actions as inconsequential. but it is worth noting that in the woman's hopeless grief, her father is hardly there. the mouse is ALWAYS there. they are both, to each other, all the other truly has. they simply view this differently.

Dead Men has an animal observer in willing isolation. the humans it observes are unable to act. once again, the animal observes in the aftermath, unable or unwilling to do anything. the owl is indifferent - if not simply annoyed. the lyrics are interesting, since it makes an interesting statement about how soldier are viewed in death. they are heros. untouchable, saintly. but they are still dead. (this is one of the returns of the "from everything to nothing" theme.) the owl sees this. in the end, a dead man is just a dead man. beyond a small portion of humans' views, they are not heros. they are dead. and the owl does not care for the war that they fight. the owl wants to eat the mice, but they hide beneath the bodies of the dead men. im inclined to believe that this is a metaphor - the owl could be many things, but the mice are potentially stand-ins for humans. they hide beneath the bodies of the "heros", to protect themselves from being seen and captured, but the mice are inevitably attracted to what fed the dead men (this could be a stand-in for beliefs), and cannot stay away. the owl cannot move the bodies. there is food elsewhere, but dead men are only in the way.

the morse code spells out DEAD MEN! aint that just... Delicious Content?

My Window somehow just... SOUNDS LIKE GRIEF. you have a human in isolation (connected weakly to a group through letters) and an animal observer... now equally isolated, although not always that way. the pigeon is uncertain and fears the man who seems to wander and soak in his loneliness. the pigeon thinks very little of whatever struggle the man is experiencing, and only fears for itself. it lives in paranoia. but, once again... the story leaves off without anything consequential happening! it is only implied. the man reaches out, but what does he do? is it something that has occurred to all of his other pets? we don't get to know!! yay for mystery!

Ingrid's Oily Tongue is such a nice breath of fresh air, since My Window is such a heavy and emotional track.

Mother No More is kind of... odd. you have two humans, isolated in a way unseen elsewhere in this album. i'm assuming it is a man and his mother. their animal observer has a comfortable disinterest... because cat. but also, the cat recalls how the man once was... and is no more. the man seems to experience something tragic, and returns changed. remember that "from everything to nothing" theme? here it is again, in full force! the man once could have interactions with consequence and reward with the cat, who remembers how he was quite fondly. but when the man returns broken, his hands are "treasure turned to trash". cats are not creatures that settle for less, and this cat is no different. the cat chooses to withdraw from its circumstances, to avoid dissatisfaction. but the animal observer recognizes the unsure and vague nature of the human it observes' scenario. i am inclined to believe that the story takes place before the song.

Dreaming of an Anthill (Teeming) has an echoing melancholy feeling, and it TOTALLY feels dream-like! the vocals, i feel, prepare the listener for...

...ELMER'S SONG! we have a human in isolation, with a group that he is a part of, but disconnected from. and an animal who seems to be irreparably isolated. the theme of animal observers in isolation coming into contact with humans who are equally isolated comes up again and again. the man seems to preach for the song, but his words reinforce his isolation, which seems to truly come from an internal disconnect from the people who listen to him. the man attempts to overcome his isolation by trying to connect with the chimpanzee, who has had isolation thrust upon her. the man attempts connection with her, but she simply observes. the hole that the man has torn in her is too large for anyone other than her mother to fill, but the man lacks the understanding to see how even with the chimp, he does not comprehend interaction. he has servants. he is important. but he is alone. he preaches the simple solution of allowing one's mind to retreat into sleep and escape from the burdens of life, but he seems to be incapable of doing so himself.
“Betty, love is a musical box of rocks, and I’m tone deaf.”
and the chimp simply observes.

The Monkey Man is a song so sinister, yet loving that it kind of surprised. it's reversal of the previous story. they are both isolated, but they find each other. while the chimp in the previous story understands the pain of the man despite her isolation, the monkey man understands the old woman and she understands him. it is despite nothing at all. they connect with each other. they need no words. the monkey man is targeted by a group. the old woman does not fear the monkey man, even if other humans do. she humanizes him, but the monkey man comes across as more knowing than any human around him or the human he observes. her kindness brings connection. and they exist in a constant state of unspoken communication, unspoken understanding. the old woman exists and understands. the monkey man observes and understands.

The Whispering Boys shows us a group unlike what we've seen before. it is not spoken by a singular, isolated individual. not even in part! the group is spoken of. they are unified. the bat observes, lured to them by instinct, but finds a more human connection, understanding and longing in its observation. the bat does not understand why the group is present, but understands that they have a connection between them that exists outside of human or animal lives. the group is isolated from other humans, but merge in their separation. the bat observes, wanting what it cannot have.

Burn My Bones is, musically, a wild ride. the human is a man, isolated and a wolf in a similar state, although perhaps the isolation of the wolf is a natural state. it seems to bring forth in full force the idea of a human becoming inhuman, as an animal observes. the wolf does not comprehend what happens to the man, as he is reduced to instincts and primal feelings of anger and hunger. the man seems to be consumed by some urge outside of himself? he becomes more animal but after committing what seems to be a murder (although i am not sure, it seems vaguely supernatural.. the postcard offers no help in decoding) he is left with a human request for how his remains should be handles. it is actually quite similar to On The Way (to Oklahoma), as a human becomes more animal, is observed by a confused animal as the human twists into something inhuman and unreal, and is dragged partially back to a human manner of existing, either by consequence or internal desires.

...good stuff
« Last Edit: May 03, 2018, 01:45:46 pm by moleshow »
"All our lives we love illusion, neatly caught between confusion and the need to know we are alive."

CheerfulHypocrite

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Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (12th of December): ANIMAL LOVER
« Reply #2 on: December 15, 2016, 03:31:06 pm »
Animal Lover is not a work to take half heartedly. Either you jump in from the accapella On The Way To Oklahoma and let the psychogeography well up in an eruption; or, you would be better off listening to the later works of Arvo Paart. There are fifteen tracks: twelve animal and three are people. Imaginary Jack is some sort of sixteenth Track. When you are doing numerology, these things are important. It can get confusing if you just jump in and explain: there are 12 Chinese Zodiacal Characters, Three Residents without stories and then Imaginary Jack who is the Fourth, and most Anonymous, Resident. As Demonstrated by Penn Jillette when Juggling at the Mole Show. But this fourth is slightly diminished - the Devils Interval. The key to understanding this was demonstrated on the grimy stage of The Royal Court, Liverpool, in the 1980s. Once you know that Penn Jillette can juggle it all becomes clear. The rest just hammers on past.

Animal Lover, arrived between the Loneliness of Demons and The Patmos Bunnies. There were others My copy of Animal Lover came from His Master's Voice (HMV) Records. Probe Records having ceased to shelve Residents sometime around the bad years. These were the years of 'managed decline'. When the Government decided that Liverpool could slowly depopulate and cease to exist. Some time between the Moles and Wormwood,  the City had become a morgue. We had all migrated to other places. Our Chub overlords had destroyed our Mole Culture. Really. By Animal Lover time, things were changing again. Which was a good thing. There was the promise of a Liverpool becoming the Capital of Culture for the whole of Europe. Which attracted quite a number of migrants back. Moles were coming home.

The Mute Records sleeve was a small - and to my mind, satisfying - hard backed book. Nice to hold and read while listening. With a shiny new Red Car, that had it was even possible to take a drive and listen on the shiny new Compact Disk Player. So I went to

利物浦 中国城

 There I was, in a car, just off 納爾遜街, looking at the entrance to 中国城. The biggest 牌坊 outside 中國. It was a kind of episode of Firefly but in real life. Now, I know that San Francisco has a Chinatown. But nothing like this. The gate to the Town is huge. Made in Shanghai to recognise the importance of the Oldest Chinatown in Europe.

Chinatown Entrance

It is bragging, but it is bigger than the Gate in San Francisco. Which is tiny in comparison. But no less important.  This gate is the only authentic Chinatown Gate in North America. Which says something. San Franscisco has a real Chinatown; and a real quote from Sun Yat Sen: "ALL UNDER HEAVEN IS FOR THE GOOD OF THE PEOPLE". The Gate in Liverpool has no such excitement.

Chinatown Entrance

Both gates are obviously linked by an imaginary line. Which ensures that whatever happens in one place is mirrored in the other. Liverpool had the Beatles and San Franciso the Residents and Chinatown has the Pagoda Orchestra.



Pagoda Orchestra

The whole system of things being in balance works. Which is why the Animal Lover reading and listening needs Chinatown.

Nelson Street is not the best place to listen to anything. But this is home. In the 1960s and 1970s this was where the family Doctor was to be found. Liverpool being, for better or worse, a Port. It meant that Doctors tended to be immigrants from one place or another. For a while there was a Polish Doctor but she got pregnant and ran off with a man who owned a Restaurant. When you grow up in a Port you get used to foreign voices and culture being a mixing pot. When people get upset by Lennon's Woman Is The N_gg_r Of The World - and software hides the word behind stars- they fail to appreciate the cultural and historical background. John Lennon is responsible for the lyrics but his phrase was not at the time deemed to be racist. He was also able to be deeply offensive without resorting to racism. Lennon also came from a City where there was deeply entrenched racism and deeply antiracist sentiments. When Toxteth erupted in 1981 it was because of decades of racism; but there had also been riots in the City in the second World War, defending Black Airmen from their more racist White Comrades.

In Chinatown the Doctors were Lithuanian and Irish with mostly Chinese Patients. Going to the Doctors involved hearing lots of different accents. From the Tonal to the weirdly European. Seeing men - Chinese Men - of a certain age, looking shifty because they worried they would be repatriated to Communist China. It had happened before when the Holt Shipping Line had sent the Chinese Merchant Seamen back to China at the end of the Second World War in an act of cattle boat racism. But here was home. The best possible place to listen to Animal Lover. It is on the way to the Doctor's which was near Number 10 - the Boarding House. The magical connections never really cease.

The boarding houses in Chinatown were not all, for want of a better phrase, very welcoming. Some were Opium Dens and others were Flophouses or Brothels. At the Top of Chinatown was the Scandinavian Hotel. So called because it was Scandinavian.


It was owned by a Doctor. Whose medical practice was host to most of the Chinese communuity. There, at the corner of Nelson Street (納爾遜街) and Duke Street (公爵街) in the part of the City that was, essentially, the Baltic Quarter. Thus is the way with ports. Full of people. Full of Life. The Boarding Houses in and around Chinatown were empty by the 1970s. The deported Sailors haunting them. It is a strange place to listen to evocative musics.

The Symbolism of fifteen - the tracks excluding Imaginary Jack - include some remarkably necessary clues. The Lo Shu, magic square, was found on the back of a turtle by some Chinese Emperor or other. Since it did not happen in Liverpool or San Fransico, we can pass over the detail. But, it is right there in the Chinatowns of the Cities: the numbers of the Lo Shu add up to 15 - horizontally, vertically and diagonally. This is an astounding revelation. There in Animal Lover.

Lo Shu Map With Turtle


Which reveals the secret names of the Residents: horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Perhaps not the most Human of names, but secret names rarely are. Like Tigers, being curious or Bats being fascinated with the stench of burning night flesh. Nobody mentions a Turtle. Not really.

The Lo Shu originated around 2205 BC when the Emperor discovered the magic square on the back of a turtle. First we need to remember the Fifteenth President, James Buchanan, unmarried, active Freemason and most criticised for the handling of the Crisis that lead to the American Civil War. During his last month, seven States left the Union. He was followed by the Sixteenth President, Lincoln, who was shot in Ford's Theatre Washington D.C. and died on the 15th of February 1865. James is a variant name of Jack and Lincoln, a dead president, becomes the Imaginary Jack of Buchanan's Real Jack. which is just like being Mister Skull. The big revelation is not the origin of Mister Skull in Abraham Lincoln, but that the Fifteen Tracks other than Imaginary Jack reveal that one of the Residents is, in fact, a Woman.

Which is where diligently reading might lead to the question, "why are these oriental connections in the slightest relevant". To which I merely remember that the second track - "Olive and Gray" - has a marvellously Chinese sounding introduction. So why not simply accept the chinoiserie. It is there. You just need to deanonymise it.

Quinceañera – The very important birthday - is birthday number fifteen. Quinceañere is a grand fancy dress celebration when a girl turns 15 years old and means “one who is 15”; which is much the same as the Residents: a grand fancy dress.  This is the day the young girl officially enters womanhood. Often the birthday girl will give away 15 candles. It is an important day in many countries including Mexico where the Residents are rumoured to have been found on more than one occasion. The Fifteen Tracks of Animal Lover conceal the identity of Imaginary Jack. They are candles. Fifteen Candles. Which is proof enough that one of the Residents, probably the Juggling Resident of Gillette's legerdemain, is female; or would be if the theory is true.

The Proof, if proof be needed, that Imaginary Jack is a Jill: Imaginary Jack is split into 6 pieces which are a single track. Tracks, particularly sporting tracks go round. Which makes Imaginary Jack six things to a cycle. Women have cycles. Which is not really the most appropriate subject for polite conversation. Six Things To A Cycle graces the pages of Fingerprince, which ensures that the parallel creation of Imaginary Jack and Six Things To A Cycle result in the most appropriate obscurity of all: nobody realising that Jack is a Jill and that she hides in plain sight. This is not the standard of proof required in, say, Science; but it is sufficient to get past an Alcoholic Justice of the Peace on a Sunday Morning after a particularly Hard Days Night the previous Saturday.

So the Total sixteen tracks contains twelve tracks about animals and four about the Residents. It also reveals that the Secret Resident, the one juggling all the other Residents, is a Woman - so not a Jack but a Jill - and that the other three Residents are, nominally, called horizontal, vertical and diagonal. There, hidden in plain sight so that nobody would ever know. Everybody just assumes the Residents are Male or that they are anonymous. With effort they always have a face. Which was the lesson of the Dog watching Olive and Gray.

The thing about the twelve Animal Lover Animal Tracks - aside from the three about the Anonymous - is that they form a calendar. That means we can reconstruct the entire back catalogue of Residential Output in a unique Residential Calendar. Each Track names an Animal. Which, given the, by now irrefutable, Chinese Connection, forms the Residential Calendar. Which they must have ripped off from the Chinese Animal Calendar. Which means that all of the Residents Back Catalogue has a unique dating system: which makes sense if you recall that Senada was off researching something or other in that Arctic Air - a Tribe of Mongolians. Whose Calendar is made from the same stern stuff as the Chinese one.

The Chinese order of the years is given as starting with the Rat. Which sometimes gets translated as mouse. The Residents, not being native Madarin speakers - and overwhelmed by the choice of dialects - never really translated the years properly. How could they: too busy making Art.

So the Chinese order of the years is this:

甲 申 Monkey Jan 22 2004–Feb 08 2005
乙 酉 Rooster Feb 09 2005–Jan 28 2006
丙 戌 Dog Jan 29 2006–Feb 17 2007
丁 亥 Pig Feb 18 2007–Feb 06 2008
戊 子 Rat Feb 07 2008–Jan 25 2009
己 丑 Ox Jan 26 2009–Feb 13 2010
庚 寅 Tiger Feb 14 2010–Feb 02 2011
辛 卯 Rabbit Feb 03 2011–Jan 22 2012
壬 辰 Dragon Jan 23 2012–Feb 09 2013
癸 巳 Snake Feb 10 2013–Jan 30 2014
甲 午 Horse Jan 31 2014–Feb 18 2015
乙 未 Goat Feb 19 2015–Feb 07 2016

And we know the order of the tracks on Animal Lover is this

On The Way (to Oklahoma)
Olive and Gray
What Have My Chickens Done Now?
Two Lips
Mr. Bee's Bumble
Inner Space
Dead Men
My Window
Ingrid's Oily Tongue
Mother No More
Dreaming of an Anthill (Teeming)
Elmer's Song
The Monkey Man
The Whispering Boys
Burn My Bones

And we even bothered to read the Book of stories instead of sitting in a Red Car at the Gate to Chinatown just listening to the Residents; we also know the Residential Order of Animals from the Tracks are this

THE TIGER
THE DOG
THE CHICKENS
THE ANT
THE MOUSE
THE OWL
THE PIGEON
THE CAT
THE CHIMPANZEE
THE MONKEY MAN
THE BAT
THE WOLF

And we also know that the Chinese Year Cycle starts with the Rat but the Residential Year Cycle starts with the Tiger we can conclude that the correspondences between Chinese Years and Residential Years are as follows:

ChineseNameDatesResidential
甲 申 Monkey Jan 22 2004–Feb 08 2005THE TIGER
乙 酉 Rooster Feb 09 2005–Jan 28 2006THE DOG
丙 戌 Dog Jan 29 2006–Feb 17 2007THE CHICKENS
丁 亥 Pig Feb 18 2007–Feb 06 2008THE ANT
戊 子 Rat Feb 07 2008–Jan 25 2009THE MOUSE
己 丑 Ox Jan 26 2009–Feb 13 2010THE OWL
庚 寅 Tiger Feb 14 2010–Feb 02 2011THE PIGEON
辛 卯 Rabbit Feb 03 2011–Jan 22 2012THE CAT
壬 辰 Dragon Jan 23 2012–Feb 09 2013THE CHIMPANZEE
癸 巳 Snake Feb 10 2013–Jan 30 2014THE MONKEY MAN
甲 午 Horse Jan 31 2014–Feb 18 2015THE BAT
乙 未 Goat Feb 19 2015–Feb 07 2016THE WOLF


Which reveals some marvellous facts. We are currently in the Residential Year of THE TIGER, once again; and, the Mole Tour was, largely, in the Year of the Ant. next year, from some time about February, we will be Dogs. Happy, smiling Santa Dogs, once again. Which leads to one tiny, final mystery. R. Bhakti Klein. Apparently there for the Group Vocals, but found nowhere else. Not for me to cast aspersions - for I am no Priest. But R. Bhakti Klein is an anagram of Thinkable Irk. Which, for overthinking the meaning of Animal Lover suggests knowing what R. Bhakti Klein means.

So, sitting reading, again in the Residential Year of THE WOLF (Chinese Year of the Goat), I discover that Bhakti is Sanskrit for "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety" - which describes the ambience of Animal Lover in several ways. Well Klein is in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana which is closer to Shreveport than either San Francisco or Liverpool. Admittedly the Klein in Ouachita Parish is a little mixed up and more like Kline, but then so is this.

Animal Lover is a more religious and cultural experience than other things like, perhaps, Not Available. Perhaps it was the influence of Wormwood or just the word Parish.

[/td][/tr][/table]
« Last Edit: December 15, 2016, 06:32:41 pm by CheerfulHypocrite »
Not altogether reliable for facts.

moleshow

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Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (12th of December): ANIMAL LOVER
« Reply #3 on: December 16, 2016, 09:12:55 am »
CH, what would we do without you? (your calendar idea lines up well with the release of Ghost of Hope... and 12 years back from '05 is Cube-E... what have you FOUND??)
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TwistedRichie

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Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (12th of December): ANIMAL LOVER
« Reply #4 on: December 25, 2016, 11:05:48 am »
I believe Olive and Grey is based on a weird hysteria of missing **** hysteria.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koro_(medicine)#Africa
Men had a delusion that their **** was missing and would claim it had been stolen by a witch doctor or someone.


In My Window, I had the impression that the narrator had befriended pigeons in the park and had even named them. Now food was scarce. In desperation, the narrator lures his pigeons by name so he can kill them and eat them.
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moleshow

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Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (12th of December): ANIMAL LOVER
« Reply #5 on: December 25, 2016, 03:09:59 pm »
oh, nice catch! i would have never guessed that.

interesting take on My Window, too.
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OLD TALK ^
---
NEW TALK v
"All our lives we love illusion, neatly caught between confusion and the need to know we are alive."