The Talk of Creatures

Ah, the Talking Light. I've mentioned before that the Talking Light version of The Old Woman is quite fantastic. In terms of other "covers", I particularly like the versions of Death in Barstow, Bury Me Not, and Die Stay Go. I should note that I'm only familiar with the setlist from the Bimbo's performance. I haven't even gotten a hold of Randy's Ghost Stories so clearly I'm not even qualified to talk about Talking Light! ...Just kidding, of course I'm still going to talk about it.

Anyway... Talking Light is definitely interesting. As I said before in the Shadowland thread, Talking Light is the most interesting part of the whole "Randy, Chuck, and Bob" trilogy, which makes sense if it really is done all in reverse. Beginnings are endings for all but a few, and The Residents are no exception. But it doesn't quite feel like an ending to a trilogy, it still feels like a beginning. There is that definite "early installment weirdness" regarding Randy's character before his blog appeared and In My Room/Randyland really solidified his character. But I guess that's really to be expected.

The ghost stories are all great. And spooky! My favorite from what I've heard is Perchance to Dream, but I have to admit I'm biased towards anything dream-related at all. I think The Unseen Sister is my favorite musically, and I'll listen to the instrumental version from Chuck's Ghost Music often. It is missing some Bob guitar in the beginning that is present during the Bimbo DVD performance, though!

I really like the stage design and overall vibe of this show. It is simply superb. The living room is generally inviting and all, but I find that it helps you get sucked into the show's narrative besides making you feel all cozy and stuff. While shows like the Mole Show and Cube-E were big and theatrical, this one's stage design felt less grand and more like... a high school play. Which isn't a bad thing, in this case! It sort of mirrors (heh... mirrors) the whole facade of The Residents' "cover band". It helped draw me in to the overarching narrative of the show. It overall stands out to me because it's such a unique stage design compared to The Residents' other live shows. I don't even think this paragraph made sense.

The Talking Light is quite confusing to me. I think there's some sort of commentary on TV and/or commercialism buried somewhere in this concept? That's what the Residents.com Historical seems to suggest, and even the Bimbo's DVD has an obsession with the television. I think that the "Talking Light" is not just the spooky spirit mentioned in the titular song, but can also be interpreted as a reference to the television itself. A TV is in a way a talking light.  But of course The Residents are pretty complicated so I'm not sure exactly what they're trying to say about this theme... or if that really was their intention at all. And if so, how do the ghost stories and the mirror people and even Randy, Chuck, and Bob fit into this theme? I have no idea. I suppose maybe one day I'll think about this hard enough to come up with a better answer, but for now, I'm still clueless.