The next spotlight in our “II Much II Listen II” series is number 987 in The List, submitted by Elegansen.
Normally in this series we take a look at how an album named “II” compares to the “I” that came before it. That’s not technically possible here as Palmbomen II is a self-titled album, with the “II” referring not to a second album but rather to it being the second version of Kai Hugo’s Palmbomen project (i.e., I = live, II = studio-only).
But! Each of the fourteen tracks on this “II” album is named after a character from The X-Files! So maybe, MAYBE, what we should be doing here is comparing the track on Palmbomen II with the relevant X-Files character/episode, i.e., the “I”. You with me?
Okay, here we go: Wah wee wah wee woo wahhhhh.* (Warning: X-Files spoilers ahead. Also, all the songs sound like old VHS tapes – delicious delicious old VHS tapes.)
- Peter Tanaka
- I (S2.E09 “Firewalker”): Tanaka is a systems analyst for a research team working inside a volcano in Oregon, where something is killing people. Tanaka meets an untimely end, chest-burster style.
- II: No Tanakas were harmed in the making of this song, but perhaps don’t listen to it while inside a volcano. Metaphorical chest-bursting may still occur.
- Cindy Savalas
- I (S4.E13 “Never Again”): Savalas is the ex-wife of Ed Jerse who, immediately after their divorce settlement, gets a tattoo of a pin-up girl. The tattoo talks to Jerse in Jodie Foster’s voice, obviously, convincing Jerse to do some horrible things.
- II: If you and this song don’t end amicably, perhaps don’t get a tattoo afterwards, even if you’re a huge Jodie Foster fan.
- Lorraine Kelleher
- I (S3.E21 “Avatar”): Kelleher is the madame of Carina Sayles, a sex worker who Assistant Director Walter Skinner spends a night with.
- II: If you purchase Palmbomen II so that you can spend a night with this song, it’s unlikely that any of the proceeds will go to Kelleher. However, perhaps buy it on a Bandcamp Friday (e.g., September 6) to ensure all the money goes directly to Palmbomen – we simply don’t know what sort of business arrangements Bandcamp has these days.
- Teena Mulder
- I (in many episodes, learn first name in S5.E08 “Kitsunegari”): Elizabeth “Teena” Mulder is Fox Mulder’s mother. She lied about a LOT of things.
- II: If you listen to this song, you will not necessarily become the parent of someone who believes in aliens, but there are no guarantees. At any rate, this song will not lie to you, because the truth is out there.
- Carina Sayles
- I (S3.E21 “Avatar”): Sayles is a sex worker who spends what ultimately turns out to be her last night on Earth with Assistant Director Skinner.
- II: There’s a video that goes with this song that has nothing to do with the Sayles in X-Files, so perhaps the song provides Sayles with an alternate timeline that has nothing to do with Skinner. At the very least, if you spend a night with this song, no one will accuse Skinner of murder.
- Samuel Aboah
- I (S4.E03 “Teliko”): Aboah did not have his own pituitary gland, and had to be, uh, creative to deal with that.
- II: If you listen to this song, your pituitary gland should stay intact, depending on the volume you listen to the song at.
- Mary Louise Lefante
- I (S4.E04 “Unruhe”): Lefante goes to get a passport photo taken, but ends up getting a lobotomy.
- II: Listening to this song while getting a passport photo taken may result in the photo being rejected. However, it thankfully should not lead to anyone being lobotomized.
- Vic Trevino
- I (S3.E18 “Teso Dos Bichos”): Trevino is actually the real name of the actor who played Dr. Alonso Bilac, an archeologist working at a site in Ecuador.
- II: If you listen to this song and happen to be a renowned archeologist having a show or film made about your work, Trevino may be hired to play you.
- Gerd Thomas
- I (S2.E10 “Red Museum”): Thomas takes videos of people through peep holes, kidnaps them, and writes shit like “HE IS ONE” on their backs before releasing them into the woods, as a supposed protest against human-testing hormones for cows. Yeah.
- II: This song may be trying to tell us that we’re unwilling participants in an experiment on what music cows like. But, like, I’m fine with that, at least that’s not creepy AF.
- Caitlin Ross
- I (S4.S10 “Paper Hearts”): Ross was kidnapped by serial killer John Lee Roche, after Fox Mulder makes the mistake of releasing Roche from jail. Mulder then finds Roche and saves Ross.
- II: In the alternate timeline of this song, Mulder isn’t so stupid and doesn’t have to save Ross, because she’s perfectly safe and far far away from both Ross and Mulder.
- John Lee Roche
- I (S4.S10 “Paper Hearts”): Roche is a super creepy serial killer of young girls. He toys with Fox Mulder, planting the idea that maybe he abducted and murdered Mulder’s sister, Samantha, whose disappearance in their childhood is essentially Mulder’s driving force throughout the show. Mulder ends up killing Roche.
- II: This song doesn’t make Roche any more real or any less dead, thankfully. I really wish this was a song about Samantha instead – who gives AF about Roche. I suppose Kai Hugo does, and it’s one of the songs on the album that get a video, but at least the video doesn’t actually have anything to do with Roche (again, thankfully).
- Jesse O’Neill
- I (S2.E09 “Firewalker”): O’Neill was a grad student on the same research team as Peter Tanaka (see track 1), working inside a volcano where something is killing people. Like Tanaka, she also meets an untimely end, but she first handcuffs herself to Dana Scully to try and kill Scully too, so…
- II: If you listen to this song, you will not end up handcuffed to Scully, but you will also not die from volcano spores.
- Rebecca Waite
- I (S4:E06 “Sanguinarium”): Waite is a nurse and practicing witch who seems to be responsible for plastic surgeons at her hospital going into some sort of trance and doing horrible things during surgeries. She however dies after being hexed herself, and so it turns out her spells were attempts to protect patients.
- II: Listen to this song if you’re about to go for plastic surgery or near any evil surgeons, for safety.
- Leo Danzinger
- I (S4:E16 “Unrequited”): Danzinger is a Vietnam War veteran who becomes involved in a former POW’s attempt to uncover what really happened to some still-missing American POWs. Danzinger isn’t in the episode’s credits.
- II: This song serves as credits for Danzinger, I guess? There’s also a video for this song, but, as with the other videos, it has nothing to do with Danzinger. So, is he really given credit in the end? Is he actually still missing? Did he ever exist at all? (Wah wee wah wee woo wahhhhh.)
I want to believe.
*How to type out The X-Files theme song, as suggested by @jsit (thanks, Jay!).
https://1001otheralbums.com/2024/09/03/ii-much-ii-listen-ii-palmbomen-ii-palmbomen-ii-2015-netherlands/
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