Talk:Ralph Records 10th Anniversary Radio Special!

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Notes From Ralph

"Talking with Homer one evening [in] March 1982, [we] decided that it was a wonderful idea to have someone [from] the outside world have a look at Ralph Records and report what he saw upon hearing the music. Penn Jillette was our choice, an entertainer in San Francisco.

He had a cassette deck. He did, of course, have to plug it in and turn it on and off himself. He would listen to the music and comment, and I imagine there were times he had the machine off because it did get the best of him for a period of time.

[Ralph Records] possibly [provokes nervous breakdowns or neurosis], [...], especially with his remote exposure. It was making it so highly concentrated. The only thing he had going except the interior of the room. He had some adjustments to make. The music is also unusual, it's new, and the originality of the music is something to overcome.

I wouldn't do it to a good friend. This man is a professional, and he did it for money.

We had great faith in Penn, who has done so well. It's the professional I would lock away in these conditions and not a friend."

- John Kennedy, JJJ Interview, 1982

"He denies now that he had any breakdown. He said, " Oh if anybody gets in there for so long, [they will] have a few weird moments" or something like that. I've listened to the tape, and he got pretty far out there. We didn't necessarily put some of the weirdest stuff. [...] When he was way out there, we left some of that stuff off. We've been accused of having brainwashed him because, at the end of the whole thing, he definitely has a rose-y positive view towards Ralph Records and almost seems Hare Krisna about it. But I don't know, now he seems to be devoted to the whole thing."

- Homer Flynn, JJJ Interview, 1982

"I did a radio special for them when I had never heard of The Residents, they locked me, or had me stay, in a motel room for one week, during which I listened to only Residents music and commented on it into the microphone. [...] I had never heard of them. Then I got a letter from this company that said 'Have you ever heard of The Residents or Ralph Records.' I wrote back and said 'No,' then three days later I got a contract that said 'Do you want to make x amount of money for being put in a room and listening to music.' And I said 'Certainly.' I went in there and listened to the music for one week, and they recorded 50 hours of me talking into a microphone alone, then edited it into an hour and a half radio special. I became a real fan of that music."

- Penn Jilettte, interview, 1983

Cosmichobo1 _(Admin) (talk) 16:35, February 18 2023