Tunes of Two Cities

Residents | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 1998)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: East Side Digital
• ASIN: B000000PMC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #137,605 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Alternating Dichotomies, March 29, 2007

By 

S. A DUNN (Chehalis, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tunes of Two Cities (Audio CD)

The songs on his album alternate between bright bouncy Residential music and dark primitive gutteral music. it represents the social clashes between the Chub and Mole cultures introduced to us by the Resident's album, Mark of the Mole.

The whole concept parralells many times in history when two cultures collide. One culture, The Moles were forced to migrate after a disaster, and the other culture, the Chubs were at first thrilled a the prospect of cheap labor. But then the Chubs were less than welcoming when "The great Machine" made the Mole's labor obsolete and then unwelcome. This music sonicly demonstrates the difference between the cultures.

HOWEVER.. as happens in the real world, some Moles and Chubs interbreed, creating the Zinkonites! The Zinkonites preferred the aborigone "Mohelmot" culture of their Mole forbearers over the plastic Chub culture. To discover the Zinkonite struggles of the prodegy of the Mole/Chub war, and the efforts of the Zinkonite hero, Kulla Bocca, then you must buy Part 4 of The Mile Trilogy, The Resident's Big Bubble!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most disturbing "Easy Listening" album you'll ever hear, September 14, 2005

By 

M. Davignon (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tunes of Two Cities (Audio CD)

This is by far my favorite Residents cd. Entirely instrumental, it alternates between 2 different musical cultures ("Chubs" and "Moles"). The Chubs' music is bright and cheerful at first glance, like easy listening, but there are just enough 'wrong' notes thrown in to make it not so subtly disturbing. The music of the Moles is the opposite. Their songs are made from outwardly frightening sounds - heavy breathing, subterranean mechanical sounds and insect-like scuttles, but on repeated listens you'll find them darkly fun and festive. As the cd progresses, you start to hear the influences that the 2 cultures have on each other.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Work...., May 18, 2005

By 

Nitram "xt." (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tunes of Two Cities (Audio CD)

While I agree with other reviewers that the Residents are an acquired taste, once the acquisition is made 'The Tunes of Two Cities' is right up there with the very best of their work.
The concept itself is brilliant and makes for a follow up to 'Mark of the Mole' that actually surpasses its predecessor in my opinion. Where maybe they had taken themselves a bit too seriously with MOTM, here they are back to their irreverent best and through that irreverence they reach some profound musical moments.
Depicting the music of two different cultures as different as the two groups described in HG Wells' 'The Time Machine', they roam between the twisted and ridiculous big-band kitsch of the leisure class and the guttural, percussive moans and whines of the subterranean workers. Through this they somehow create a haunting atmosphere and manage to continue the class dialogue of 'Mark of the Mole' but in a more subtle and satisfying way. It needs a few listens but then most good things do.