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The Chubs (sometimes spelled Chubbs) are a fictional species of humanoids, the antagonists of The Residents' Mole Trilogy, consisting of the albums Mark of the Mole, The Tunes of Two Cities and The Big Bubble, released between 1981 and 1985.
The Chubs are largely portrayed as a lazy and vapid culture, primarily concerned with its own comfort. They duplicitously welcome the hard-working Moles into their coastal city after the Moles are flooded out of their ancestral homes in "the Pit", intending to use the hole-workers for cheap labor in the Chub mines.
The Chubs grow to resent the Moles, however, and a brief war leads to simmering tensions between the two cultures for decades to come.
History[]
Mark of the Mole (1981)[]
A chub in real life, 2011
The then-unnamed Chubs were first depicted in The Residents' 1981 album Mark of the Mole; after the tunnel-dwelling and hard-working Moles are forced to flee their flooded homes in "the Pit" to the distant land of Chubsville, they are at first welcomed by the resident Chubs, as they duplicitously intend to exploit the hole-workers for labor.
However, some Chubs become anxious, and tensions begin to develop. A Chub Scientist, wanting to free the Moles from their lives of labor in the Chub mines, develops a machine capable of doing the labor in their place. Instead, the machine is reconfigured to become a war machine, and the Chubs use it to attack the Moles, resulting in a brief war.
The battle results in a stalemate, with many wounded and harmed. The Moles and Chubs continue to live together uneasily.
The Tunes of Two Cities (1982)[]
The Tunes of Two Cities is a cultural "documentary" album, showcasing the music of the Chub and Mole cultures. Chub music is derived from early-to-mid 20th century big band jazz and swing, in stark contrast to the more tribal, industrial sounds preferred by the Moles. The Chubs are also pictured for the first time on the cover of the album.
The Comix of Two Cities (1982-1983)[]
Shortly following the release of The Tunes of Two Cities, Matt Howarth began working on a comic book adaptation of the series, titled The Comix of Two Cities.
The first issue was released on October 26th 1982, at the debut of The Mole Show.[1] The first six issues were published between October 1982 and March 1983 through Ralph Records and Howski Studios. The full series of twelve issues was later published by AEON in 1996.[2]
The Mole Show (1982 - 1983)[]
"Chubsville" backdrop design for The Mole Show, 1982
Despite largely depicting the events of Mark of the Mole, The Mole Show adds one important factor to Chub lore: their name, revealed during Penn Jillette's monologues. Computer animations depicting the Chubs were also featured in the Mole Show/Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats? VHS in 1984.
The Big Bubble (1985)[]
The liner notes of The Residents' 1985 album The Big Bubble (Part Four of The Mole Trilogy) details the fate of the Chubs and Moles following the events of Mark of the Mole.
Following their short war, the Chubs and Moles continue their uneasy co-existence, and begin to crossbreed, producing a third culture referred to as Cross. Certain Cross created a political movement (the Zinkenites) calling for the creation of a traditional Mole nation. The leader of this movement, Kula Bocca, arranges to have a garage band, The Big Bubble, play at one of their rallies.
At the rally, The Big Bubble's lead singer Ramsay performs "Cry for The Fire", a song featuring a verse in the forbidden Mohelmot language. At the end of the show, Kula Bocca has Chub officials arrest the band as a publicity stunt, hoping to stir sympathy for the Zinkenites.
Kula Bocca later has Chub ally Frankie DuVall sign The Big Bubble to his record label Black Shroud Records; for which they record a self-titled single and album.
See also[]
- Chubsville
- Elmwurst
- Mohelmot
- The Mole Trilogy
- Mark of the Mole
- The Mole Show
- The Tunes of Two Cities
