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#Post#: 300--------------------------------------------------
CUBE-E (Project of the Week for 6th of March)
By: moleshow Date: March 6, 2017, 9:01 am
---------------------------------------------------------
little note about this one- it'll be going for 2 weeks as
opposed to the regular singular week. this is for 2 reasons. i
don't want anyone to feel rushed, and i dont want to get to next
December and end up with only like, singles to talk about. so
we're trying out this! we'll see how it works. i would like to
know what y'all think about it.
so, here we go! Cube-E: The History of American Music in 3 E-Z
Pieces.
#Post#: 303--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: moleshow Date: March 8, 2017, 4:13 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
since i have a while to write this up but have a busy 2 week
comin' up, i've decided that i'll do my review in 4 posts!
they'll go as follows:
Buckaroo Blues, Black Barry, The Baby King, and how those 3
interact, and my thoughts on the project as a whole.
this would mean, of course, that this post is dedicated to
talking about Buckaroo Blues!
---
the footage on the Equals E boxset was my first exposure to
Cube-E as a whole. the Burning Love video was probably the first
one i saw from it, but i'm not sure. while i found it pretty
early on in my Dive Into Obsession, it clicked for me almost
immediately. i like cowboys, i like The Residents, and i like
things that leave me with an excited feeling with their
eeriness. what struck me about it was that it was consistently
and overwhelmingly beautiful. the glowing gazes of the Singing
Resident and the dancers was, for the lack of a better word,
perfect. the use of a minimalist stage setup is simply tasteful
- a projected background and a fire. the viewer gets a feeling
of peering in and viewing the group of cowboys simply sitting
around a fire, paying no mind to their observer until they feel
the need to do so.
the music, in all its MIDI glory, gave me chills. the
transitions between songs was definitely something i took kindly
to. the section flows seamlessly into itself. when there is a
pause, it would seem that the Rz found the exact amount of time
that was needed for it to feel right. it all plays very nicely
together. i've heard that some people find the sound of MIDI to
be cold or soulless, and i would have to disagree very strongly
with that. the audio on the saxaphone seems to be a Casio
DH-100, which is a wacky looking instrument but the
trenchcoat-sporting cowpoke made it work. i particularly enjoyed
that during The Stampede, they went from that role to the role
of the nester and back again.
when From the Plains to Mexico starts, the Singing Resident
turns to us with a ghoulish, glowing smile with eyes to match.
we are granted the privilege of hearing a short story - a little
memory from the narrator. i like that this feeling carries on
throughout. we are carried into the section with The Theme from
Buckaroo Blues, with a peak of intensity residing in The
Stampede (although it can be argued that The Stampede is only
the peak of a suspenseful and panicked energy, and that the
real peak is in Saddle Sores.), and a gentle return to where we
started. but the slow return brings with it the song Bury Me
Not, which brings out the strongest reaction in me from the
whole section of the show. some of the things i adore about that
cover are...
-when the other performers walk behind the Cowboy Cross of sorts
in a sluggish and mournful way.
-how from the words "He moaned in pain, till over his head the
shadows of death grew thick like lead." to "While the cowboys
gathered to watch him die.", the cowboy in the cross position
does a series of smooth, slow writhing motions and ends syncs
with the Singing Resident to assume the cross pose once again.
-when the Singing Resident pulls the flowers out of his shirt
(this always gave me chills).
-as the talking portion begins, the Singing Resident is beside
the now-illuminated Cowboy Cross, almost as if presenting that
image to us to observe, and then places the flowers on the
ground.
it's really quite excellent.. the contrast between it and Saddle
Sores, connected only by Cowboy Waltz (a track that lifts the
mood set by the previous song) seems intentionally strange -
we've heard nothing but stories of love, loss, terrible
mishaps... and then we're met with idealized, imagined versions
of lives lead by cowboys. it calls to mind the view of
stereotypical cowboys shown in television and movies, and how
someone could become convinced that the reality was anything
like that. the cowboys all exert themselves with dances that are
fairly silly, but they do so without shame; child-like wonder
and awe have overtaken them!
of course, this playfulness wears them out, and they wind down.
one pulls the campfire back as they sit around it with lowered
heads. the trenchcoat cowboy closes off the section with The
Theme from Buckaroo Blues (Reprise, giving Act 1 of Cube-E: The
History of American Music in 3 E-Z Pieces a wonderful sense of
symmetry.
#Post#: 312--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: CheerfulHypocrite Date: March 19, 2017, 1:18 pm
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In 1698 doctor of physick Thomas Guidott popularised the waters
of Bath, writing, "A true and exact account of Sadlers Well,
or, The new mineral-waters lately found out at Islington
treating of its nature and virtues: together with an enumeration
of the chiefest diseases which it is good for, and against which
it may be used, and the manner and order of taking of it."
This still quite rural location became famous for both water and
for music. More wells were dug and the exclusiveness of Sadler's
Wells declined along with the quality of the entertainment
provided. The clientele became, "vermin trained up to the
gallows". By 1711, Sadler's Wells was characterized as "a
nursery of debauchery."
By 1989, Saddlers Wells had a brief respite from the inevitable
downward progress when the Residents visited before the
departure of the Lilian Baylis Theatre. It was not a great time
for Theatres. The Minister, Mister Luce, even answered questions
about the ungreatness of the times in Parliament.
[quote=Mister Vaz]
To ask the Minister of Arts how many theatres he has visited in
the last 12 months ; and if he will list them.
[/quote]
[quote=Mister Luce]
I have made 19 such visits since December 1988. In that month I
visited the Apollo theatre, Shaftesbury avenue, and the Unity
theatre, Liverpool.
In 1989 I have so far visited Sadlers Wells (on 18 January and 3
April) ;
the Old Vic (16 February) ;
the Royal National theatre (1 March) ;
the Tricycle theatre (8 March) ;
the Mercury theatre, Colchester (22 March) ;
the Derby Playhouse (25 April) ;
the Marlowe theatre, Canterbury (3 May) ;
the Theatre Royal, Norwich (8 June) ;
the Theatre Royal, Margate (30 June) ;
the Stephen Joseph theatre in the Round, Scarborough (12 July) ;
the Cricklade theatre, Romsey (14 July) ;
the Hawth theatre, Crawley (28 July) ;
the Theatre Royal, Newcastle (12 September) ;
the Theatre Royal, Brighton (27 October) ;
the Theatre Royal, Bury St. Edmunds (9 November) ;
and the Savoy theatre (28 November).
On 1 December I shall again visit the Unity theatre, Liverpool.
[/quote]
The Minister was not simply going to the Theatre for a night
out. He was invited to each to hear why they should not have
Arts Funding withdrawn. The list of Theatres provides a handy
guide to what the Government hated about Culture.
The Unity Theatre, Liverpool, was formed in the 1930s as the
Merseyside Left Theatre. In 1944 it became the Merseyside Unity
Theatre. It has maintained a radical and experimentalist theatre
tradition. It is based in a converted Synagogue in Hope Place
off Hope Street. The Minister was visiting because the Unity
Theatre had put on some plays by Black Writers.
Liverpool does not have a great record with Black People;
although, that may simply not be as true as the headline. It
might well be an alternative fact of Black History in Liverpool.
Take, for example, The Zong Massacre. The Gregson slave-trading
syndicate, based in Liverpool, owned the Zong. As was common
practice, they took out insurance on the lives of the slaves as
cargo. 133 slaves were thrown overboard by the crew beginning on
the 29 November 1781. In the resulting court case (Gregson v
Gilbert (1783) 3 Doug. Kings Bench Matter 232) yielded the
opinion:
[quote="Earl of Mansfield"]
had no doubt, though it shocks one very much, that the Case of
Slaves was the same as if Horses had been thrown over board ...
The Question was, whether there was not an Absolute Necessity
for throwing them over board to save the rest, [and] the Jury
were of opinion there was ...
[/quote]
Lord Mansfield was very much interested in ensuring commercial
law was upheld. The Insurers had argued that Captain Collingwood
of the Zong had made "a Blunder and Mistake" in sailing beyond
Jamaica; that the slaves had been killed so their owners could
claim against the insurance premium; and that Collingwood did
this because he did not want his first voyage as a slave ship
captain to be unprofitable. The slaves were treated as property
not people.
I had a ticket for Saddlers Wells. I could have gone. It was a
present. I had stopped listening to music for a while. The world
was in turmoil and it was not really possible to enjoy the
world. My friends were invisible people. Even in Karlsruhe it
was not possible. When I did begin to listen to Cube E: Live in
Holland I realised I could have been in the audience but, once
again, failed to accept a ticket from a friend. Sometimes people
are practical in the moment and idiots in retrospect.
So, I manage to fantasise about what if I had been in the
audience. The Netherlands are a marvellous place - what I have
seen of them. I was told the night life and social scene was
magnificent. Unfortunately, I was being practical. Which meant
doing practical things and not enjoying myself. Which was fine.
It made the fantasy all the more desirable.
The Buckaroo Blues and The King and Eye sections were
marvellous. Solidly worthy and all of that. But it was the
Middle Passage Black Barry that I really care for. The Zong
navigated the Middle Passage which was the name for the eight to
ten week journey across the Atlantic on slave ships. Maybe the
Residents hate the Beatles because of Slavery. It would make
sense. Black Barry crosses Buckaroo Blues and The King and Eye
much like the Zong.
The King and Eye is a marvellous pun on The King and I the
musical that took Yul Brynner to fame. Ironically, Brynner was
also a UN Special Consultant on Refugees. The King and Eye is at
two removes from the original story of Anna Leonowens
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Leonowens,
a widow with two
young children, was invited to Siam by King Mongkut, who wanted
her to teach his children and wives the English language and
introduce them to British customs. Presumably, King Mongkut was
immune to the British Idea of imposing a caste system onto the
world; or, perhaps, Anna was a sultry woman touched by the
Oriental. Her grandmother might well have been Indian - a faux
pas on the part of her Grandfather. That kind of cultural shadow
suggests The King and Eye owes more to the ideas of the Civil
Rights Movement and the radical transformations of the 1960s
than it does to adulation of Elvis Presley.
The King and Eye convinced me that the Residents hired an Elvis
Impersonator to front the entire debacle. Not that I am decrying
a debacle. Far from it. If I were imagining being in the
Audience in Holland, a debacle would be the apotheosis of the
performance. The Moment that the Narrator - the Ageing
Impersonator - realises it is all over is the moment that the
Beatles begin vomiting out their Scouse
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouse
version of his class Blue
Suede Shoes. At the other end of History to King George III, The
King and Eye blunders into an ignoble death of another king. The
end of The King and Eye section of The History Of American Music
in Three E-Z Pieces is the perfect moment to begin to play Third
Reich 'n' Roll making it the "End of History" in a Frances
Fukiyama sort of way.
Buckaroo Blues is a bizzarely seductive foreshadowing of later
storytelling works. The idea that MIDI music is somehow inferior
fades with the first praire dog howls. There are hints of all
sorts of cowboy poets from the New Mexican S. Omar Barker's
Buckaroo Ballads (1928) right through to Johnny Cash in Bury Me
Not On The Lone Prairie. The origins of Bury Me Not On The Lone
Praire lie in the Sailors Song "The Sailor's Grave" or "The
Ocean-Burial".
"The Ocean Burial" was written by E.H, Chapin in 1839, and put
to music by George N. Allen. As an adaption of "The Sailor's
Grave" it not only connects the Prairie and the High Seas but
the multiple sectarian factions that made America great by
transporting slaves through the Middle Passage. The Sailor's
Grave has several versions including some from Scotland which
are anti-Irish and some from America which hint at the
innovations that would be taken by the Cowboy Poets in getting
to the lone prairies. The core of Buckaroo Blues is the kind of
folk music that links working communities together.
In the delusional version of Cube-E there is little room for
Buckaroo Blues as it simply sets the stage for the Middle
Passage of Black Barry. It gives hints as to why the Residents
hate the Beatles but not a full and expansive explanation. It
simply ensures that the arrival of Black Barry is as radical as
the arrival of Jazz was in the Dada Era between the last
Imperial War of 1914-1922 and the first Liberal War of
1939-1948. History gets rewritten a lot. These may not be real
wars or, indeed, accredited by actual historians.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None by Freddy "the
Horsekisser" Nietzsche, puts forward the fictional sayings of
Zarathustra, whose namesake was the founder of Zoroastrianism.
It also inspired the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra (Opus
30) by Richard Strauss. In the Delusional Version of Cube-E the
whole of Black Barry is structured to begin with slave chants
and end with an overture (Ober) that combines Autobahn by
Kraftwerk with Also sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss.
Which then foreshadows the need to play Third Reich 'n' Roll
after The King And Eye. It is a complicated delusion. The
Autobahn hints and nods towards the late Philip Lithman while
Also sprach Zarathustra hints at the turmoil and optimism of the
1960's. Even being told that Ober does not contain these tunes
has no role in the delusion. The supposed twelve bar blues
structure simply builds to a magnficient crescendo that proves
everything is true.
On 3 January 1889 Friedrich Nietzsche kissed a horse. This was
put down to tertiary syphillis but may have been manic
depression. It was during this period his sister began to take
control of his writings and Nietzsche became associated with the
Hitlerian Fascism. The Horse Kissing Phase came after alleged
brothelling - which may, or may not, have been with men or
women. The Nietzschean argument that ideas of equality allowed
slaves to overcome their own condition without hating themselves
makes sense in Black Barry as the Middle Passage of Three E-Z
Pieces. By denying the inherent inequality of people slaves
acquired a method of escape. They create the new. Which is what
Black Barry does. Freddy the Horsekisser went mad for the
benefit of Black Barry.
Everything about The King And Eye that connects to Buckaroo
Blues is created by Black Barry. The King is little more than a
night soil gatherer elevated to monarchy by luck and transformed
into an Impersonator of Black Barry or, perhaps, Elvis. The
truly creative core of all three pieces is Black Barry. As
lamented in Wonderful:
[quote]
Life would be wonderful...
If our good friend Snakefinger
Hadn't had a heart attack
If we had a negro singer
Who could do some mellow rap
[/quote]
Everything seems to be about the immigrants - both voluntary and
involuntary. Buckaroo Blues has wandering cowboys, Black Barry
has people imprisoned by the ancestors of the Beatles and The
King and Eye has the inevitable end of the King at the harsh
hands of the Beatles. Which is really why the Residents hate the
Beatles: Slavery.
The Unity Theatre is housed in a Synagogue. Which is where it
arrived after being closed down by the Minister, Mister Luce.
Take away the funding and they will disappear being the enduring
theory of Arts under the Tories
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tory.
Much like the Zong where the
assumption was always that business could trump morality and
people could be dumped overboard. For a century or two, the
Beatles exported slavery to the Americas. Not personally. Then
at the end of the 1950s, just as America was thundering into a
tumult of Civil Rights and the starting of the final croakings
of Slavery, the Beatles come along with a bunch of tunes they
had stolen from Black Culture.
There is a rumour that, during the first Liberal War of
1939-1948, the Third Reich had two sets of powerful,
directional, radio transmitters that transmitted Jazz. Not the
anodyne, derivative Jazz of the Master Race that was permitted
within the Reich but Jazz with actual Negros and other
Untermenshen. The two beams of transmission were rumoured to
cross above Liverpool. Thus giving a powerful radio presence
with subversive music over the City. Thus, the young Beatles
would have been influenced - even prenatally - by the presence
of Black Music. It might well be apocrypha; but the truth is
Liverpool was always well supplied with music from America and
the rest of the world through the Shipping trade. Perhaps the
Beatles simply heard a lot of bootlegs.
Without a healthy hatred for the Beatles - dubbing them George
Crawfish, John Crawfish, Paul Crawfish and Ringo Starfish - the
Residents were always ready to summon the presence of Black
Barry. Just as the Beatles were able to summon huge crowds to
chant and swoon, somewhere the Residents had learned to summon
demons of their own. Black Barry is that demon.
Before Ober Black Barry manages to live with a little bitty
woman, in poverty with her big feet. Which led him towards a New
Orleans. A feat repeated with the Loris Gréaud: Sculpt whose
entire existence seems contingent upon the whims of a Voodoo
Queen. Even in The Gospel Truth can be heard the rising tones of
what might be the longest Shepard Tone
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shepard_tone
experiment in
history. By the time we get to Voodoo Queen everything from
Church music to the erotic keyboard tappings of the likes of
Little Richard. In stark contrast to Buckaroo Blues and The King
And Eye - whose preoccupations are narrow by comparison - the
story of Black Barry throbs with variety.
When What Am I Gonna Do sleazes into Organism it becomes
apparent that Autobahn has been lifted. Not only Autobahn but a
gamut of other tunes such as the theme to Born Free. This is not
the same as the critique of the appropriation of Inuit culture
in Eskimo this is North Louisiana's Phenomenal Pop Combo
appropriating anything careless enough to stray within earshot.
From Strauss to the Beatles to Partch, each moment slides yet
one more musician into the mix. As if, in a single work, the
Residents had decided to complete the American Composers Series.
Perhaps the apparent presence of Autobahn was simply a sly nod
to Snakefinger whose cover of The Model plundered Germany with
equal facility.
And in doing so, the North Louisiana's Phenomenal Pop Combo
summoned Black Barry the secret Vodoun deity behind all modern
Western Music: from Blues to Jazz to Rap and back. Which is, to
all intents and purposes, what the Residents achieve a survey of
by the end of Ober. The History Of American Music is summarised
in an eight note theme that recurs. When you listen to Third
Reich 'n' Roll after hearing The History Of American Music In
Three Easy Pieces then you hear the same motif sliding in and
out of everything. Until, eventually, you hear whifflings of
Vileness Fats and you realise the lesson that the old
musicologist, Senada, had imparted to the Residents. At which
point the overture of Ober becomes the retrospective culmination
of the process begun in The Gospel Truth.
At this point the truth occurs: the whole of Black Barry has
been the narration of the rise of something from deep within.
Even Also Sprach Zarathustra becomes melded with that eight note
motif and anything that follows will be merely a variation on
silence.
When Black Barry ends there is a realisation that the whole of
Cube-E continues the works of Stars & Hank Forever and George &
James and, in some strange ways, completes the project without
ever mentioning it to anybody. The History of American Music is
part of the History of Black Music. Much as though American
Composers might want to suppose an Exceptional American
Identity, it is an illusion. Much like the uniqueness of the
Beatles. There never were "Four Lads from Liverpool". There was
always just mythopoesis. Which is what the Residents saw early
on in their career. Which is where the idea that the Residents
hate the Beatles comes from: the fact that making myths is hard
work. Black Barry is an epic work of mythopoesis that constantly
gives insight. It encapsulates the horrifying truth of the Zong
Massacre: that slavery really did form the nation. Like it or
not. It encapsulates the stunning truth that, History is not
just about writing down a list of dates and people. It is about
the accumulation of experiences - even if you have no idea who
the people accumulating the experiences are.
The names of the people thrown overboard from the Zong
HTML https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zong_massacre
are not, generally,
believed to be recorded. When the Residents invoked Black Barry
they were calling upon people more anonymous than themselves
such as the Zong Cargo. The Cowboys of Buckaroo Blues and the
King of The King and Eye have something of an identity. Whereas
Black Barry was only accessible through the music that the
Beatles has stolen. As a History, Cube-E bears as much thought
as Third Reich And Roll. Which is, in a very perverse way, how
the anonymity of the Residents connects them to the murdered
slaves of the Zong: Anonymity.
#Post#: 313--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: moleshow Date: March 20, 2017, 12:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
the time has come for Black Barry.
this section of the show that, due to the fact that i had
trouble understanding what it was and how to hear/see it, i
neglected for quite a while. i can comfortably say that i have
managed to overcome this. i can also comfortably say that the
Equals E audio is the best for this section for a couple of
reasons - the song Voodoo Queen isn't shortened and has a bit
more personality because of that, it leaves in the screechy
strangeness of the guitar on Engine 44 (i think thats the track
with it?) as well as in New Orleans... little tweaks that make
the section feel more honest. Live in Holland is plenty nice,
but a little too polished.
The Gospel Truth is a wonderful beginning to the section. it
starts with a repeating, sampled singing, with a tone that
stands on the border of "crushingly mournful" and "hopeful". the
instrumentation behind it rises as the 2nd section comes to
life. a projected image of a tree, a field and a fence appears
all at once. then, 3 figures in tattered clothes and glowing
eyes (one of them bringing along a particularly familiar,
ghoulish smile). they stand in a line, all very close to each
other, moving wildly in a dance that we will, by the end of this
section, come to recognize as one of worship. they rearrange
their positions into a line where all 3 of them are fully
visible to the audience - they reveal themselves while swinging
from side to side, heads hanging. then comes the sound of what
seems to be children singing and rhythmic clapping sounds. the 3
figures on stage match this with what appears to be a game of
patty-cake. they then step back in time with the music. they
move in a stiff manner. very bizarre.
Shortnin' Bread rises up out of the track almost
instantaneously. what i enjoy a fair bit about this is that the
movement between tracks is so smooth and the dancing figures
come toward each other as if they're being collectively drawn in
against their own will. they reach out with desperation. they
move between wild reaching motions and coordinated. my dear
friend Horned Gramma described this track as being "like the
winds of hell". i definitely agree. Black Barry feels like a
sign on the side of the road as you travel toward your
destination. and then we move into Fourty-Four, perhaps one of
the greatest songs from The Residents. the narrator communicates
an enraged, troubled tale of his life. his movements are wild,
violent. but on a dime, he freezes in a pose each time he says
"fourty-four" and resumes his desperate motions. he screams,
begs to be freed from the number that simply will not let him
be. the track ends, and they rearrange themselves once more.
Engine 44 is the track that splits Black Barry into two. i am
not sure yet on what the theme seems to be with either of those
is, but there is a different feeling in them. the figures are
now arranged with their backs turned to the audiences as an
increasingly chaotic tune plays. they simply swing lights,
reminiscent of those used by the dancers during The Secret Seed
for the Mole Show. then, all at once. it ends, they leave, and
return for New Orleans. ghostly white hands are projected above
them. the figures now wander drunkenly, perhaps limping,
occasionally dancing or holding themselves together across the
stage. they repeat the occasional dances of worship. two dancers
wander off as the projection fades and Voodoo Queen begins. we
will undoubtedly see them again. the Singing Resident is all
alone. he tells no one all not to follow him and then begins a
jaunty, bouncing dance. he almost seems to be luring in,
inviting the ghostly figures in tattered dresses that arrive.
with their shredded parasols, their movements can be best
described as a haunting of the stage. they move in and out of
sync, tormenting a frightened Singing Resident as they spin
their parasols or spin themselves around the stage with dresses
billowing. they briefly go down to the level of the figure that
they seem to be tormenting before resuming their motions. one
gives their victim a gift - a box. they step in unison as the
track ends, uncontrolled organ winding down. the background
light becomes pink, the ghosts stand stiller than they did
before. What Am I Gonna Do begins. the tone is one of confusion
dampening optimism. our Singing Resident is unsure of what to do
with what he (?) has been given. the figures lower themselves to
the ground. they all search for something "to believe in". this
highlights the presence of religion in places where desperation
comes down heavy and constantly. slaves were forced into
identities and religions that were not their own. but they
worked with what they had been given.
"Even if it ain't quite right, give me somethin' I can pretend.
That might do me some good."
finally, through the open door of being willing to accept that
which will give hope or create even the illusion of a light at
the end of the tunnel, Organism begins. all figures leave the
stage. fog rolls in before a pink background. the figures from
the beginning of the act come out over, crossing white lights
are projected. their hands are in a position of prayer. they are
synchronized as the organ rings out. they drop to their knees.
they praise, they pray, they worship. they make way for a tall,
shadowy figure that drags itself forward. as the two worshipers
leave the stage, it stands tall. a halo of sorts appears behind
the black box-head (the box not unlike the one handed to the
Singing Resident during Voodoo Queen), arms outstretched. two
cowboys in tattered rags ride behind it. Buckaroo Blues and
Black Barry have become one. a voice tells us in simple terms
about the strange, god-like figure that has come before us.
"Two white horses, a-runnin' side by side."
"Me and my lord, we gonna take a ride."
through the suffering, desperation, confusion and torment of the
section, salvation has appeared. it is vague, towering presence,
but it is welcoming. it is loving. the voice tells us of the
fact that this suffering has paved the way for a closer
connection to their god. the image is one that strikes a certain
chord for me. after the chaos and fear, the music with a terror
and resentment that clings to the listener, that which is
unknowable welcomes us.
#Post#: 314--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: eggoddleo Date: March 20, 2017, 12:56 am
---------------------------------------------------------
All twins are connected, they say. Some twins are still born.
Such is the case for unborn Presley, fated to become King of the
Underworld while his brother became The King of Rock and Roll.
Elvis said he felt connected to his brother. He also said that
he felt as if a part of him died with his twin. Half of Elvis
walked in the underworld while the other half walked among the
mortal one. The loss of his brother imparted him with the gift
to part the veils between this world and the next. We wouldn't
have rock'n'roll as we know it without this gift. Of course, we
wouldn't have it without Chuck Barry, either.
Even with two weeks to prepare for this piece, there is no way I
can sum up my thoughts on Cube E in an orderly fashion. First
you have the evolution and devolution of musical motifs. The
emergence of Also Sprach Zarathustra from the chaos of musical
quotations in Ober is quite striking when you realize Elvis
entered the spotlight to this very music. Then you have The
Beatles reuniting him with his long lost brother to the tune of
Blue Suede Shoes. Lets not forget the genius jumble of
arrangements in Buckaroo Blues and Black Barry nor how the music
of The Baby King seems to increase in sonority as the elderly
Elvis impersonator's performance increases in confidence.
Secondly, you have the visual presentation of the performance.
Small touches on the dancing cowboy's style of dress reveals an
Eastern influence on Cube E revealing that the project is not
only about reuniting the estranged siblings of black and white,
country and blues, but of East and West too. You can even hear a
slight Japanese influence on the music. Back on the topic of
visual presentation, I'd have to say that Black Barry may be the
most tasteful depiction of minstrelsy, tokenism and slavery ever
rended by presumably Caucasian artists in the avant garde
"tradition".
I'll gloss over how the procedure of thesis, antithesis and
synthesis of Cube E mirrors a similar progression in God in 3
Persons and move onto my favorite moment of the 3 EZ pieces:
What Am I Gonna Do into Organism. As someone who chooses to
pretend rather than believe, the wavering sense of faith in
these pieces speaks to me. I've always been taken by how these
pieces are paired with the presentation and hefting of a black
box. I think the blackness represents a blank slate. A perfect
sky free from the imperfection of light. An empty canvas on
which you can project all your hopes in dreams. It is the Big
Unspeakable G. And to The Residents, I think that Unspeakable G
sounds a lot like rock'n'roll.
#Post#: 315--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: moleshow Date: March 20, 2017, 2:06 am
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unfortunately, i don't have as much to say about The Baby King.
but i'll bring up what i find is notable.
the fact that it is all told by an aging Elvis impersonator
speaking to his children adds a couple of layers to a section
about Elvis. the aspect of impersonating Elvis is fascinating.
you have the aspect of the tradition of elevating a person
beyond their personhood into a cluster of traits, and then into
an idea. an individual is sucked dry of that which is not simple
and then filled with air, ready to be filled with whatever and
whoever wishes to fill the empty space for a period of time.
they may not fit, they may leave open space, but they will try
to fill it. our impersonator is aging and no longer trying to
meet a desire of the culture, but still telling those who will
not experience that phenomenon in the context of that specific
person themselves.
the music in this section is just okay, in my opinion. it's so
heavily visual and Live in Holland really disappoints with the
addition of little "popping" noises to imitate old vinyl on it.
i don't like it. (this is not to say that The King and Eye isn't
great! i love their renditions of the songs, with the original
concealing factors stripped away and the ugliness laid bare
before the listener.)
but the Night Music version of Teddy Bear is desperate and
depraved. the dancers entwine each other in a red string while
our faux-Elvis holds it around his finger, observing. the
dancers then become violent and entangled in their knotted
string, unable to free themselves from that which they invited
to hold them together. desire and disgust conflict so intensely,
while the aspect of being unfortunately inseparable becomes
visible. there is no resolution. the heart with the roses during
Fool Such as I is lovely as well.
when the dancers get all their neon attire for Love Me Tender,
it's enchanting. it's enhanced by the fact that the Elvis
impersonator has shifted to mimic the tale he tells his children
shortly after about The Baby, where he gets all old and fat. and
dies. but our King has a snazzy belt and cape. he looks like a
hero. he pleads to the audience, he begs, beseeches. for them to
love him. to need him. after all, he is the King of Need, but
always a Baby. the tune of Hound Dog is allowed to breathe fully
as the lamp turns off. having shed the weight of the temporary
identity's fate, our impersonator lightens the mood by dancing
around a little with the puppets a little bit. it's precious and
lighthearted. there is a similar childlike joy to his behavior
that is also found in Buckaroo Blues' presentation of cowboys
during Saddle Sores.
sort of touching, i'd say.
#Post#: 316--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: moleshow Date: March 20, 2017, 2:14 am
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overall, the project seems unique in that it was their first
endeavor in a primarily live performance that exists without
referring back to a specific album or specific works from The
Residents. it acknowledges that the American Composer series
longed to be something more but never reached it. instead, it
became something new. navigating disappointment and creating
beauty from it is quintessentially Rz. Organism gives me just...
the wettest eyes. the whole show is so, so beautiful.
lovesit
#Post#: 391--------------------------------------------------
Re: PROJECT OF THE WEEK (6th of March): CUBE-E
By: moleshow Date: April 20, 2017, 12:37 pm
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OLD TALK ^
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NEW TALK v
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