Tweedles! is a concept album by the avant-garde band The Residents, told from the point of view of a sexual predator. Many have been shocked by such a dark topic, and I understand that the subject matter is kind of gruesome, but I don’t see that as a reason not to listen to it. The Residents have always been challenging from the very beginning, and I doubt if this album was intended for a comfortable listen. I admire them for not caring about what others think, and for staying devoted to their art. Anyhaps, it isn’t as if the art world hasn’t focused on the darker aspects of human sexuality before this. And let’s face it, popular thrillers are full of sexual criminals much worse than the one featured here; society has become desensitised towards this sort of thing. I think that maybe what really makes this album unique and what gives it such an unsettling nature is its execution.
Everything is told from the first person. Most of the songs contain spoken-word sections, so it feels as if this character (described by some as a kind of sexual vampire due to his constant thirst for new lovers) is actually speaking with, confessing to and confiding in us, the listeners. And I found him to be a rather intriguing and complicated individual. For the most part, he disgusted me in how distant and cut-off he seemed to be from the things he has done. Then again, there were times when he did appear to be apologetic about his actions, or at least aware of how society sees them as immoral. Most worrying of all, there are moments when one can feel sympathy for, or even identify with him because of his loneliness and feelings of isolation. Which makes me wonder: is he meant to be a sociopath? Because he is undeniably similar to the serial killer John Wayne Gacy (I suspect that he provided quite a bit of inspiration for this album) in many ways. Like Gacy, Tweedles (as he calls himself) has destroyed the lives of many, but even when admitting this he does have a tendency to take the blame away from himself. When he experiences regret and pity, it’s only for himself. In the end, however, I could only think of him as a repugnant individual.
As you can see, the packaging of the CD is very clever. Another thing I found interesting was the use of some sort of folk music in the background. The story behind this album goes that the band were invited to try out an acquaintance’s studio in Transylvania (which explains the whole vampire concept) and recorded some local music there. You can also detect various other noises in the background, some of them disturbing and others not, that add to the songs’ complexity. It doesn’t stick to one style either, and has a variety of influences. Like most of their works, it has a lot going on in it, but the cacaphony here seems more ordered in its chaos.
In short, this is a fascinating portrait of an unrestrained id, disgustingly sex-obsessed and monstrous in the lives he’s destroyed, but still human. I do recommend giving it a go, but I would advise you to listen to something a bit more comfortable afterwards.
The Hawkline Monster 