The New Machine

"The New Machine" is a six-part suite by The Residents, from their 1981 album Mark of the Mole (the first part of the Mole Trilogy). 
The suite focuses on a Chub scientist, who attempts to build a machine to relieve the Chub society of their need for the Moles' labor, as more Chubs grow fearful and angry towards the Moles.
== History ==
The suite first appeared as the penultimate track from The Residents' Mark of the Mole album. They shortly afterwards re-recorded the song for their Res Dance '82 live in the studio sessions as a medley with Another Land. These sessions also spawned a short false start version which was released on the Mole Dance '82 box set.
They first performed it live on April 10th 1982 at The House, and then played it regularly on The Mole Show tours including the Uncle Sam Mole Show. A live recording from this was featured on the Mole Show live album. In September of 1984, they released the full April 10th show audio on the Assorted Secrets cassette, concurrently with a video of the song found on the Mole Show/Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats VHS, set to audio from a show in Holland. 
Between 1985-1987, The Residents performed an excerpt from the final part of the suite, "Success," during the 13th Anniversary Show. It was featured on the Live in the USA live album, but has only been mentioned in the track listing on the 1999 Live in Tokyo album, in other versions it's typically an uncredited part of "Ship's A'Going Down."
== Parts ==
*Idea
*Ugly Rumors
*Construction
*Failure
*Reconstruction
*Success
==Synopsis==
The room was blue. A man in a white coat lay asleep, his dreams disturbed him for he felt the weight of responsibility for the betterment of the world. He knew he was smart enough to contribute to society in some way. He awoke from his sleep knowing what to do, the moles, the poor moles working so hard in the dirty chub mines need to be rescued, he thought. They should be artists and poets, he continued. This man was quite certain that the reason the moles had told no Innisfree stories was that they were just too busy working the chub mines, this intelligent man went right to work which was all very well, but across town things were going less smoothly.
A meeting of some of the manlier chub leaders was getting out of hand, the issue of inter-marriage between moles and chubs had just been addressed for the first time and it was pretty obvious to these leaders that it was time to stop all of this before it gets any further. However, how to deal with so many moles was yet to be figured out, but back to the inventor with his funny machine.
Oh, he had it running, but it ran in a erratic sort of way. Suddenly! Something slipped, something broke, something fell into its throat and gagged the machine to silence. Had the inventor been a lesser man he would have given up, but he was not a lesser man. With one single stroke of brilliance, he repaired the sick device. The machine ran smoothly now. With a great deal of patriotic emotionalism the inventor presented the machine to the chub mine owners knowing that mole life would now be improved, but not knowing that the chub mine owners could clearly see in this machine a possible way to use it as a weapon against the moles.Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
==Lyrics==
===Idea ===
 Chub Scientist:
 Today I have declared myself to be a subject of the 
 will of the people.
 Too long have my studies and research been for my own
 pleasures and distractions.
 Civilization needs the minds of its people.
 My first project will be the freeing of our underground workers.
 There is no reason why technology cannot be called on
 to meet this challenge.
 A machine. A great machine. I see it now. Creatures!
 Seek your dignity! Scrap metal and I shall fight, 
 and you shall be the winner!
===Ugly Rumors===
 Chub:
 They lie about all through the day
 Thinking that they should be paid
 For all of 'em knowing how to breed.
 Producing more for us to have to pay for their food, too.
 They'll steal our daughters for their brides
 Expecting more than life provides
 A huge ungrateful straw stampede...
===Failure===
 Chub Scientist:
 Failure... Oh, my beautiful machine. My poor, poor beautiful
 machine. What have I done wrong? Where have I
 failed you?
===Reconstruction===
 Chub Scientist:
 But give up? Never! Not as long as 
 there are souls imprisoned in the dark life.
 Not as long as a whisper of life clings to
 my body. There will be freedom in the holes!
 All will hail the new machine! Yes! Yes!
 I think I've got it now. There, the spark leaps
 to life. The Golden Age quivers on the brink of 
 creation. Live, my machine! Live, my savior!
 You have my breath... You have my dream,
 my dream.
==List of releases==
*Mark of the Mole (1981)
*Mole Show (1983)
*Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour (1986)
*Mole Show: Live In Holland (1989)
*13th Anniversary Show - Live In Tokyo (1999)
*Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed (2019)
==See also==
*Mark of the Mole
*The Mole Trilogy
*Chubs
*Mohelmot
==External links and references==
*Mark of the Mole at The Residents Historical
Category:Mark of the Mole
Category:The Mole Trilogy‏‎
Category:The Mole Show
Category:Songs
Category:Suites