#twilight asylum

[monkytown]

So what do you do when you’re out of time? You panic. This is panic. Panic is red.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

I didn’t put “the end” since it’s sketchy but yeah, that’s how it ends. Kinda. I wanted to turn the pens into bananas but I also wanted to make a serious ending so, oh well. It’s probably not what Banana Pie had in mind but then again it’s Banana Pie so, what did he expect. And since it all began with Bãneana, I suppose it’s fitting.

Banana Pie left after three days, patients were tired of eating only bananas.

[monkytown]

Shorter than the usual six panels, but eh. The hardest was to illustrate what was happening without ever showing what happened. Which is also what usually motivates me.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

[monkytown]

This is also called a transition.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

[monkytown]

Very slowly getting back to it.

I changed the style a bit to draw faster, but also because I couldn’t stand redoing or reusing the backgrounds. Also I can’t do hooves, and the first name Banana Pie was meant to give was Broadhoof. It’s okay. Rose is a patient stallion.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

[monkytown]

... Eh, close enough. No more exposition, time to story. Finally.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

[monkytown]

We’re slowly, veeery slowly getting somewhere.

(A Banana Pie Story, parts 1, 2-1, 2-2, 3, 4-1, 4-2, 4-3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)

[maxclose]

Twilight Asylum

Twilight Asylum

Oscar

BASF, 1976

Twilight Asylum

Kevin’s Magic Aeroplane

High On Life

Three Cheers for the Working Man

Remember the Star

In the Morning

Jeremy

Old Soldiers Never Die

Take Me Back to the Good Old Days

The glam rock of Oscar is part disco, part prog, and 100% fabulous. Very little is known about this British band, but the album is adorned with hideous little figurines characterizing each song. It is hard to take Oscar seriously when instruments like theremin and sound effects are used on the odd but enjoyable opener Twilight Asylum that lends its name to the album.

Twilight Asylum chronicles the residents of the Twilight Asylum, paying particular attention to a “Mr. Dick”, perhaps a reference to the recently impeached American President: “We love you Mr. Dick\and all your little tricks\But we think you’ve gone too far this time\ and that’s why we’re taking you to the twilight asylum”. Underpinned by a disco hi-hat pattern, the song is weirdly danceable and its vocals are remarkable compared to the mediocre talent in that department. Conga drums and a descending guitar line provide musical color. The band goes off into a Zappa-esque fanfare of cheesy brass that sounds almost synthetic. 

While the Rolling Stones put down the working people on Salt of the Earth, Oscar has a genuine salute to them (Three Cheers for the Working Man) that opens in a swirl of an acoustic guitar. The drums are tight and heavy and keep steady time as the band launches a rather conservative critique of English society. With “half the country on the dole now”, reflecting the socioeconomic situation of the UK at the time, the band champions the people making the economy flourish along with a weekly, honest working wage. Strings glide through the track, adding a flavor of baroque rock to the song, and the choruses, which ought to be stronger, but are sung in a wavering male chorus that is not particularly harmonious. Some of the lyrics ring a bit hollow and sarcastic, especially the refrain- “now he (the working man) has got it better\hope he can remember!” 

The records best track is the sobering, literally, In the Morning. It’s a lament for a man whose wife is a prostitute (it appears), punctuated by graceful strings, more tight drumming, and a catchy chorus. “In the morning\Everything has changed\We’ll be on our way” the band sings with the help of an impish sounding children’s choir. The song is all too brief, but the chorus is what uplifts the entire track.

The most disco song on the album is the pop fluff of Jeremy that casts light on a high-profile death. It takes place over a strong disco beat, and tight unified guitar lines, but it lasts, like most of the other songs on the record, for only a few minutes, not the best for dancing. Also who wants to dance to a song about a dead person?

Twilight Asylum is a quintessentially British album that is a mirror to the times. It reflects both musical styles that were popular, glam and disco, and political aspects of life, especially on tracks like Three Cheers for the Working Man and Kevin’s Magic Aeroplane.