DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
The Talk of Creatures
HTML https://rzforum.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: RZ Project Talk
*****************************************************
#Post#: 490--------------------------------------------------
PROJECT OF THE WEEK (20th of October): TALKING LIGHT
By: moleshow Date: October 20, 2017, 3:17 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
THE MIRROR PEOPLE!
yes, that's right, the time has come! Talking Light is here.
DISCUSS AMONGST YOURSELVES. this one goes until the 1st of
November, at which point another thing will be the PoTW.
i'm quite excited about this one!
#Post#: 500--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (20th of October): TALKING LIGHT
By: moleshow Date: November 6, 2017, 11:12 am
---------------------------------------------------------
did i say 1st of novemeber? because i meant... whenever i feel
so inclined to change it. anyways.
i think my top tracks for TL are He Also Serves, Lillie, The
Sleepwalker and Demons Dance Alone. the fluidity of the setlist
is... fun, i guess, but i wish some of those were on TL Bimbo's.
ah well.
what really stands out to me about the start of the RCB Trilogy
is the ghost stories. they are, without a doubt, my favorite
part. they all radiate tension and hesitance. i think they're
particularly visually compelling. the hazy, dreamlike visuals of
The Unseen Sister stands out in particular. some of the effects
used are distinctly a product of the technological capabilities
of the time (thinking of the visual roughness of Milton), but it
also can work to their benefit (i'm fond of how it works out in
Perchance to Dream).
their drive to tell stories is clearly stronger than ever with
this project, and it would seem to me that Bunny Boy played a
large part in that. the idea of having a narrator connected to
(but not necessarily easily viewed as) The Residents seems to
have a heightened appeal. so that's something. it's an
acknowledgement of how they are perceived and then subverting
that perception by assuming identities. perhaps not identities
of real people, but identities of a "Residents cover band"- that
is still, apparently, The Residents. it's mental gymnastics, and
it can make a lot of people frustrated or even angry. somehow,
that feels intentional. clutching to ideas of who and what they
are serves no purpose. though they may assume the shape of a
container they construct, they are not the container. they are
the amorphous liquid that slips in and out of it with ease.
i like the stage setup and the costuming a lot. it's both
familiar and foreign. sure, it's a living room, but it's a
Residents living room. the way they interact with the space is
fun too. the handheld projector is so neato, and i love how they
display funny lights on the circular disks in the back during
songs. really wild stuff. the idea feels both well developed and
full of potential- potential that allowed for everything that
was to come (and is still coming!) i like that Randy's mask
changed a few times before we got our current look. because,
like, Yeesh. that face at the start of the tour was sort of...
jaundiced and not great. but now he looks fantastic, with his
liver spots and all.
i could go on about the stories, and i will.
Night Train to Nowhere has always fascinated me. something about
Singing Rz reading all of the stories is compelling to me.
Florence and Milton are, quite honestly, better on it than on
Randy's Ghost Stories. this is not to say that the latter is
bad, no. but i prefer the former. Ghost Snake's visuals on the
DVD are so fun, and the hot dog mask.
the hot dog mask.
i sort of wish there was the video for Phantom Fingers on there,
because i think that one is special. as he describes his unique
ability, the clapping in the background is both ironic and
delightful. you can hear the satisfied, knowing smirk in his
voice. i also like the way he says "stomach".
Perchance to Dream is interesting to me, since it's an evolution
of the Howard story from the Adobe show. sort of a deep cut,
that one. but that one feels like it's Molly's by default. i
don't think it would be the same if anyone else were to tell it,
because it would be different. because it wouldn't be the same.
ahem. it has this sweet undertone of understandable delusion to
it. so sweet, and coming from a place of such hurt, that it
feels cruel to think "well, no, you can't sleep 24 hours a day
because that's a coma." logic takes a back seat to emotion
there, and it would be cruel to point it out.
Milton is, like, Actually Creepy. hearing the descriptions of it
Milton burning alive in the garage spoken with a tone that
implies the presence of a lie is unsettling. the details of his
singing, the hints of something much larger going on behind his
death... whough. it's a lot. and the ending of "I can't kill him
again! He's- he's already dead." yee-goddamn-haw.
the truly spooky one is The Talking Light, obviously. there is a
deep tragedy to the ring having been in the baby's hand's the
whole time. the desperation and exhaustion of the child's mother
almost sends chills down my spine. the whole thing is wild and a
lot of fun. and super duper creepy-spooky-scary. perhaps
Spooktacular.
ok, i think that's it.
#Post#: 501--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (20th of October): TALKING LIGHT
By: Meisekimiu Date: November 7, 2017, 8:44 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
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.
*****************************************************