''Tweedles'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

by American

art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

band

The Residents The Residents are an American art collective and art rock band best known for their avant-garde music and multimedia works. Since their first official release, ''Meet the Residents'' (1974), they have released over 60 albums, numerous music vi ...

. It was released on October 31, 2006. The CD is accompanied by a two-part book: the first half consists of the album's spoken lines, and the second half contains the lyrics of the songs. It was recorded in 2006 when the Residents were invited by a friend in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

to try out his new recording studios. As The Residents' own studio was undergoing maintenance to make it earthquake-resistant and could not be used for a year, they took the opportunity to record a new album.

Concept

''Tweedles'' tells the story of an "emotional vampire" from a

first person perspective In video games, first person is any graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player's character, or a viewpoint from the cockpit or front seat of a vehicle driven by the character. The most popular type of first-person video gam ...

. He draws power from his well-developed ability to manipulate both men and women into seeing him as their perfect lover, at which point he uses that affection in order to secure sexual favors before moving onto his next victim, leaving confusion and pain in his wake while feeling nothing. The character is shown contemplating his internal conflicts, lack of empathy, and romantic idealism, which he deems "disgusting". Toward the end of the album it is revealed that Tweedles is the name of a clown alter-ego the narrator would have created if he had succeeded in becoming an entertainer.

Track listing

Tabasco

On January 1, 2010, The Residents released 'Tabasco', a collection of 3 instrumental demo tracks which would ultimately evolve into Tweedles. The album was sold through their digital download store, 'Ralph Sells Downloads'. On May 15, 2015, following the shut down of RSD, the album was re-released through the Ralphlet Outlet

bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

page for a limited time. The second version features new artwork. All three tracks are named after the

classical element Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...

s. 'Air' features early versions of 'Dreams', 'Life', 'Isolation' & 'Mark Of The Male'. 'Earth' features 'Stop Signs', 'Almost Perfect', 'Elevation', & 'Keep Talking'. 'Water' features 'Brown Cow' 'Dreams' 'Shame On Me' 'Ugly' & 'Susie Smiles'.

Track listing

Credits

* Composed & Performed By

* With Guests: Carla Fabrizio, Nolan Cook,

Gerri Lawlor Gerri Lee Lawlor (May 16, 1969 – January 28, 2019) was an American actress, voice actress and homeless advocate. She was the co-creator, along with Marc Gimbel and Stephen Kearin, of the fictitious Simlish language used in ''The Sims''. Law ...

& The Film Orchestra of Bucharest * Recorded By: The Artists & Kevin Ink, 2006 * Published By: Pale Pachyderm Publishing, BMI / Warner Chappell, BMI * Project Manager for Mute: Robert Schilling * Thanks To: Olivier Cormier Otano * Produced By: The Cryptic Corporation

References

The Residents albums 2006 albums Mute Records albums 2000s concept albums {{2000s-experimental-rock-album-stub