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Herman The Human Mole

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Herman The Human Mole is the third track from The Residents' eighteenth studio album, Freak Show. Unsurpingly, this song is about a man named Herman who is half human and half mole.

Background[]

Writing & Recording[]

As much of The Residents' Freak Show is inspired by how the group felt on tour, Herman The Human Mole might showcase how The Residents see themselves. This is believed because of the songs possible refernce to "The Mole Show" as well as Herman's interest in making music privately.

The earliest demos for the song were released on the 2021 Freak Show pREServed edition, with the first being 'Spring 1990 Jam 2.' This jam contains rough instrumental of the songs intro as well as Herman piano break. This suggest that the plot of this song may have been developed either from this piano break or sometime during spring 1990. This instrumental was then touched up on in their "Pony Rink" demos. The song "Pony Rink 6" contains a much more finalized instrumental for the song.

Plot[]

The story of Herman begins with the song "Herman watches TV". This song, like many others from "The Mutes", starts with Tex, the ringleader, introducing Herman. Tex instructs the audience to peak into Herman's trailer to learn more about him. Then, in a graphic twist, we learn that Herman enjoys watching Spanish pornography on his TV. Once the true song begins a chorus quickly tells us some basic info about Herman. He lives quite a miserable life as a Albino covered in dirt and wishes he was old. Herman's life as a Freak is then very freely given to the listener by The Singing Resident.

Herman has a trailer

On top of it is grass He filled the inside up with dirt And made the sides of glass He lets you climb the steps Up to the top for free And look down through a little hole Above his old TV.

But if you want some more You pay to go inside The tent that goes around the trailer In which Herman hides. Herman plays piano When no one is around He has an upright baby Steinway

Underneath the ground.

—The Singing Resident, to Listener, Herman The Human Mole

Freak Show projects[]

The Residents Freak Show Comic-images-0

A page from the graphic novel

Freak Show Graphic Novel[]

Despite the residents' lack of interest in live performances, many of the Freak Show characters received lots of acknowledgment by the group. In 1992, artist Richard Sala was tasked with making a comic to represent Herman's backstory. This comic expands on the original song a ton and teaches us a lot about Herman. For one, he's actually not a mole at all. He's a normal guy named Ed. In summary, the comic shows how Herman had to go into hiding after he became the most likely suspect in a murder case involving some of his friends. After a tragic car accident, he ends up being found by some Freak Show managers covered in dirt. The greedy host senses some capitalistic opportunity and takes Herman under their wing, leading to the events in the song.

Freak Show CD-ROM[]

Screenshot (21)

Herman playing piano

Shortly after the comic was released, The Residents decided to explore the possibility of making a point-and-click adventure game based around the album. With the album only taking place at a circus, it proved to be quite a successful project. The residents actually choose to have Herman be the first person you get to interreact with. Unsurprisingly, the player gets to explore his trailer and find many of the items discussed in the song. After passing some no-enter signs, the player is actually able to enter the trailer and meet Herman face to face. Many charming bits of lore can come from this. The first thing the player will encounter in his home is a little answering machine with 12 numbers for the player to call. The most interesting one of these is when you call Herman's lawyer. The lawyer reveals to the player that The Residents (who are also in the freak show) actually stole the Freak Show songs from Herman. If the player goes deeper, you can find Herman playing his upright Steinway, jamming to all the tunes from the Freak Show.

Once the player reaches Herman's TV, they are greeted by a music video produced by Jim Ludtke for the game. Unlike the other freak show videos, its a rather simple lyrics video featuring some colorful text and 3D models of the eyeball and Mr. Skull. After finally reaching Herman, he decided to tell you his story. This then segues to the full comic being voiced by Herman and what some fans believe to be Steven Kolman. Thankfully this full rom has been properly archived on archive.org and is fully playable in your web browser.

Herman1995

Herman portrayed by Vladimír Gut on Freak Show live

Freak Show live[]

In November 1995, members of "Už Jsme Doma" were given the residents' blessing to perform a theatrical performance of the Freak Show. This led to almost every character being heavily represented in a live setting. Unsurpingly, Herman is featured in the show and his song was performed live for the first time at this show. His character is portrayed by Vladimír Gut and his story is almost directly copied from the album and CD-ROM. It is believed that Herman is Tex' keast favorite freak.

Legacy[]

This song has been performed by the band a number of times since the freak show project ended. It was quickly debuted by The Residents themselves in the first three nights of their Fillmore "Disfigured Night" show. Early performances included 'Herman The Human Mole', but was removed on the last two performances, with Mr. Skull announcing the death of Herman on stage. This performance like all others from disfigured night is simply a lyrical performance over a unique instrumental. The song was then put to rest until the beginning of their tour "Shadowland". With the song being considered a "second intro" in many ways its inclusion in a show about beginnings was quite fitting. This song was performed in every performance of shadowland.

Herman was also intended for inclusion on the unfinished 2004 Freak Show DVD, with new audio lines being revealed as part of Big Brother's winter '08 live streams. These streams also revealed a still unreleased demo called "Herman & The Barker". This demo features mostly spoken word performances from Tex and audience members who've seen Herman. The show also reveals that Herman has a credit card with the numbers 3580-4693-4008-3232.

Lyrics[]

Herman
Herman
Herman isn't happy
Herman isn't well
Herman is an albino
Not that you could tell.

Herman
Herman
Herman is dirty
Herman is cold
Herman is thirty and
Wishes he was old
But he isn't.

Herman has a trailer
On top of it is grass
He filled the inside up with dirt
And made the sides of glass
He lets you climb the steps
Up to the top for free
And look down through a little hole
Above his old TV.

But if you want some more
You pay to go inside
The tent that goes around the trailer
In which Herman hides.
Herman plays piano
When no one is around
He has an upright baby Steinway
Underneath the ground.

Story[]

Herman hides. He hates the light and he hates to be seen and he hates people. Painfully shy, the Mole Man is a recluse who never leaves his dirt-filled trailer. By billing himself as a Human Mole and allowing the freak show customers to peek into his windows for a small fee, Herman has transformed the liability of his self conscious behavior into a financial asset. Herman also has secrets, the most notable of which is that skin condition known as albinism, a condition that is easily concealed beneath a layer of dirt.

Appearances[]

Versions[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Clementina Street studio recording, 1990 (3:57)
  2. ↑ Shortened video version
  3. ↑ Live at the Fillmore
  4. ↑ Disfigured Night Rehearsal (4:15)
  5. ↑ Herman & Barker (2004, Freak Show DVD) (3:22)
  6. ↑ Herman Ft. Vladimir Gut (4:20)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Shadowland Live 2014 (3:22)
  8. ↑ Spring 1990 Jam 2
  9. ↑ Ponky Rink 6 (1:59)
  10. ↑ Shadowland: Live in Fribourg, Switzerland (3:17)

External Links and References[]

See Also[]

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