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13 years; it’s been 13 years since this podcast began. A whole teenager-length of time since I myself was listening to this very first episode in high school. I wondered if it would be challenging to write about this episode, as I definitely listened to this opening pilot countless times that summer alone. I can tell you how it feels to be wrapped up in a warm blanket of memory upon hearing the opening song again, but I feel like a review should also come with a first impression. To that, I can remember the smile on my face as I sat in my bed in my parent’s house and listened to this episode from my tinny iPhone speakers on a humid summer night. I thought the show would be *scary*, when I first learned about it, and so was slightly on edge listening to the first couple of episodes, but kept being happily surprised by its tone and the world it was crafting.
Given that this is an auditory experience I’m writing about, I would be remiss if I didn’t first mention the voice of our narrator and guide to Night Vale, Cecil Palmer. It is even smoother and lovelier than I remember, perhaps the platonic ideal of a small town radio host. I recall that one of the things that drew artists and creatives to WTNV was sharing their renditions of Cecil and the other characters and entities of the show. I saw so many beautiful designs back then, so many drawings of angels and hooded figures and of course, Cecil. I think in my mind I will always imagine him as a Native American man, one of the very first artistic interpretations of him I ever saw floating across my Tumblr dashboard.
On the topic of voice, I think the creators of this show really hit on something simple but special with the radio show idea. Talk about effective use of your medium! Not only that, but it is a great en media res way to experience the world of Night Vale. There is a casual familiarity to Cecil’s explanations of the strange happenings that really sells to me that this is all par for the course for the citizens of this desert town. Yet we are still able to find ourselves, seamlessly, at the inciting action of a story: the arrival of Carlos and his team of scientists. They are trying to unravel the countless oddities of Night Vale and, as curious outsiders, are a perfect conduit for change and upheaval in a town accustomed to keeping its head down about the general ominous happenings.
And the imagery here, the unmarked helicopters, the secret police, the paranoia and conspiracy of small-town USA, the cultish hooded figures and vaguely-extraterrestrial lights above the Arby’s—the marriage of political and supernatural mysteries that so often color the worldview of the conspiracy theorist, ring true to me. In Night Vale there exist both 10-ft tall radiant multiracial angels and vaguely menacing government agents, and it is a place that I have known.
I’d like to take a quick second to admire the prose of this show; the first episode has a line that has stuck with me for many years for its precise and macabre comparison: “He has a square jaw and teeth like a military cemetery.” I also remember being instantly endeared towards Cecil for his open attraction to Carlos, and it was no less true this time around.
Speaking again on the effectiveness of the medium, the use of music here is just as lovely as I remembered. The ‘weather’ report actually being a song is another great way that the show subverts the listener’s expectations of the radio-broadcast format. Usually it is being subverted by the content of Cecil’s reporting: the strange happenings of the town, and by treating them like they are commonplace. But here we subvert the setup of the broadcast itself. And this is without even discussing Disparition’s ‘The Ballad of Fielder and Mundt’, the opening song I mentioned earlier. I don’t think I’m capable of untangling this song from the memories it carries, but I will say that even without the influence of nostalgia, if I heard this song for the first time today, I would still put it on repeat on my headphones because it’s that good. It’s an instrumental track—no vocals, but no less enveloping and consuming. The bandcamp page for this song tags it with the genres of “experimental,” “ambient,” “dark,” “electroacoustic,” and “gothic.” This is the exact kind of song, as I said, that I could listen to on repeat as I write or draw.
Now, WTNV is not a comedy podcast in the way many other are. Instead it is a surreal comedy. The humor in this, absurdist in the face of the unknowable, still manages to take me off guard and chuckle like it was the first time hearing it. I’d forgotten, somehow, about little offhand comments like the one from Old Woman Josie about her angel visitors—”She’s offering to sell the old light bulb, which has been touched by an angel (it was the black angel, if that sweetens the pot for anyone).” And the deadpan delivery of many of these lines, such as the NRA bit—Cecil describing the vinyl stickers the NRA was selling which proclaim “Guns don't kill people. It's impossible to be killed by a gun. We are all invincible to bullets and it's a miracle.”—works super well.
The NRA bit there is also a good example of the writers taking the piss out of something it fundamentally disagrees with. We can see this again when Cecil talks about the white man with “the Indian-headdress” with obvious derision, likening his get-up as a racist caricature. There is acknowledgment of the world as a strange and unknowable place, and yet rather than anyone else here it comes from the mouth of someone unmistakably progressive in their beliefs. While I’m unsure if I fully processed it, this was extremely affirming to me at the time. You do not have to fully see yourself in a piece of art to enjoy it or to have it impact your life, and I’d say it’s even recommended to seek out art made by and about those who are very, very different from you…but I can’t pretend that the resonance I felt here was not a bonus.
You grow up in a small town—as many people do—and you have your preconceived notions about the world outside. About the ‘real world’, the one that adults inhabit, full of freedom and mystery and opportunity.
I feel like I was an entirely different person the first time I listened to WTNV. And I was, in many ways; life will do that do you. But it adds another layer of unreality to this listening experience for me. I feel—as I have felt many times in my life—like I am watching myself, the self of the past in this case, from the outside and observing their feelings as they hear these words for the first time. Despite the warm feelings of nostalgia, there is a distance there, there is a younger me that I don’t recognize reminding me they still exist within me.
I look forward to going on this journey together, and am excited to see what I rediscover about both myself and this lovely podcast. Until next time, goodnight listeners.
Goodnight.
Ah, the Glow Cloud; a classic! Somehow this episode had me wondering about the nature of Cecil’s beliefs and what role he plays in the community of Night Vale; thus far as the narrator he has faced all the strange happenings with a soothing, almost unnerving, sense of calm. Sure, the appearance of a floating cat in the station’s men’s bathroom (!!) does register as odd to him, but he pretty much takes it in stride, as if the floating is just as much a quirk of owning a pet as a particular cat’s personality would be. “Wish it wasn’t trapped in a hovering prison in the men’s bathroom,” Cecil says, “but listen, no pet is perfect. It becomes perfect when you learn to accept it for what it is.” And he certainly does not express concern with the Glow Cloud, echoing the Secret Police’s notion that if they stopped everything whenever something odd happened, they’d never get anything done.
Rather than being an outlier, though, Cecil’s views reflect the town’s. Even as the Glow Cloud drops rather large dead animals upon them, the citizens of Night Vale don’t cancel the little league baseball game or shelter in place or anything of the like. It’s reported on, locals give their observations, but life continues. There is something truthful in that notion, that we must so often go on as if things are ‘normal’ despite the absurdity of the world around us. But within the context of WTNV’s universe, it made me wonder how much are Cecil’s beliefs and how much are mandated, directly or indirectly, by the powers that be, such as the announcement of the City Council’s questionnaire about “mysterious sights that definitely no one saw and strange thoughts that in no way occurred to anyone, because all of us are normal, and to be otherwise would make us outcasts from our own community.” Cecil ends the statement by saying, “remember: If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget.” Maybe it would be more accurate to interpret his beliefs as being a method of survival in the face of corrupt governments and shadowy organizations?
I was delighted to realize that this episode’s weather was ‘The Bus is Late" by Satellite High. I am often reminded of this song when I’m waiting for the bus in the rain myself, but it had been a long time since I actually heard it, and caught myself chuckling at lines I had forgotten (”Oh, good here comes the bus--Aw, shit! It’s a different bus").
Finally, I found myself wistful at Cecil’s personal tangent about how quickly the Glow Cloud came and went, and how that relates to many big things we experience in our lives. “While they are happening, they feel like the only thing that matters, and you can hardly imagine that there’s a world out there that might have anything else going on. And then the Glow Cloud moves on, and you move on, and the event is behind you. And you may find, as time passes, that you remember it less and less.”
Somehow, I feel that this week’s episode felt shorter than the last, but I think that may be because I want to stay in the world of Night Vale just a little longer. ♡
This episode establishes some important concepts--namely the pattern of interns dying like Star Trek TOS redshirts, and the eldritch unknowable horror of the titular Station Management! I did have a fairly strong memory of Cecil cowering in fear from Station Management, but this episode leaves off on a cliffhanger that I don't believe is ever directly resolved; part of the mystery and horror of this episode's story, I suppose!
Of course we also have iconic bits like Telly the Barber's betrayal of the town (read: Cecil) by cutting Carlos' beautiful hair. More mention of Old Woman Josie, her angels, and hooded figures stealing babies around the town.
Today's weather was alright, but not one of my favorites. Definitely a folksy song if you're feeling that kind of vibe!
Also note that I downloaded this episode on Spotify to listen offline while traveling over the weekend--BIG mistake; the ads really broke my immersion! Won't be doing that again.
Don't you hate it when prehistoric beings come through a portal and disrupt the town's local PTA meeting?
I think this episode did a great job at poking fun at small town squabbles, the violence and exploitation inherent of American football (the high school sport, not the band), and general government corruption. One of my favorite little bits was Cecil's personal interjection into a parent to parent argument from the PTA meeting. "In this reporter’s opinion, Susan Willman is dangerously obsessed with the New York Times best-selling Freakonomics books. Dangerously so." Love to see Cecil using his platform to be a little petty XD
Despite the chaos already seizing the town, poor Carlos has no chance to offer any thoughts on the dinosaurs or rift in spacetime, as he is far more concerned about time--or rather, the lack there-of in Night Vale. Carlos is reported to have spoken the ominous line, “There is no time. No more time." This is a bit of a callback to a few episodes ago when Carlos and the other scientists reported that the sun didn't set at the right time. This suggests that time is breaking down or, perhaps, that Night Vale functions outside time itself. Either way, it seems to be freaking Carlos and his scientists out something bad.
Another of my favorite bits that I alluded to was in reference to Night Vale's high school football team. "Coach Nazr al-Mujaheed told reporters he’s particularly excited for the progress junior quarterback Michael Sandero made during the off-season, after that sentient lightning bolt struck him and give him the strength of two Jeeps and the intelligence of a heavily concussed Rene Descartes." What a wonderful line XD
In the end, the dinosaur's reign of terror came to a close after its body was found dead, stripped of its flesh and partially turned inside out a dozen or so yards from the Dog Park. The City's Secret Police made the connection between its death to the Dog Park overt by prematurely denying any connection at all: "City Council and Secret Police have issued a reminder that Night Vale citizens of all species and all geologic eras are not to enter, look at, or think too long about the Dog Park. This reminder, they say, is completely unrelated to anything that may or may not have happened today."
This episode's weather was excellent; 'Closer' by the Tiny. I actually didn't realize that this song had been featured in WTNV, and was definitely the first time I ever listened to the Tiny back in the day.
"Close your eyes. Let my words wash over you. You are safe now."
I love that Cecil has once again thrown caution and the unspoken rules of Night Vale to the wind by directly addressing that which must not be addressed; in episode 3, it was Station Management, and now it is the titular Shape in Grove Park (otherwise known as "the Shape in Grove Park that No One Acknowledges or Speaks About").
More developments; Carlos seems to be missing, or at least has not been seen since his panic over the concept of time ceasing to work in Night Vale. The intern death counter has also jumped to 2 casualties with the vaporization of Leland.
I quite liked Cecil's little existential spiral--the solipsistic wonder if anything outside of himself is real. To even describe it as a spiral is probably overstating it; Cecil seems quite calm even as he is facing the possibility of being "literally the only person in the world," and I think that is a huge part of Cecil's charm. The relative calmness and untroubled demeanor he keeps in the face of constant reality-shaking absurdity.
I was left to wonder in this episode if Cecil, when it comes to speaking on topics that are outright NOT to be spoken about, is feigning ignorance or if he is acting in direct defiance to the idea of being silenced. Cecil continues to speak out even when under direct threat, as seen in Station Management. By virtue of his profession and identity as a radio host, he cannot be silenced, or he loses his narrative (and existential) meaning.
This week's weather was Jerusalem by Dan Bern. I quite like this song, and I like that his declaration that he is the Messiah towards the end reframes the opening lines: "When I tell you that I love you/Don't test my love/Accept my love/Cause maybe I don't love you all that much." Very Old-Testament god. It's almost something beautiful; 'don't test my love, accept my love,' as if to say, all you need to do is accept god's love...but he also will not allow you to test it, unafraid to punish his followers.
After his lapse into solipsism is broken by Leland's death, Cecil goes into a monologue on the nature of life and the futility of words. I find this interesting coming from Cecil as our narrator; while he proclaims that "I am speaking now but I am saying nothing," and "you should not draw meaning from this." I find this takes on a meta sort of meaning when he says the line, "And I would like to say in the most nebulous terms possible, and with no real world implications or insinuations of objective meaning: Goodnight, listeners. Goodnight."
I often read Cecil's voice as, if not overtly sarcastic, than as quietly satirizing the chaos around him. And I wonder if him insisting there are no real world implications or insinuations is like the creators of Night Vale poking fun at the idea that art shouldn't speak to real world issues or draw comparisons to our lived experiences. Then again, this could be me reading way too far into something that's already said its piece.
"We do not have answers. I am not certain that we even have questions. I have chosen to not be certain of anything at all."
Today’s proverb: Lost? Confused? Lacking direction? Need to find a purpose in your life?
While there is no mention of Carlos or of his team of scientists in today’s episode, we do have the first mention of Steve Carlsberg! I think it turned out that there was a root cause of Cecil’s hatred for Steve, and it might have to do with a familial dispute or shared background, but I cannot for the life of me remember; I’m excited to fill in the gaps on these little details that time has worn from my memory. It’s like hearing a story secondhand and then finally going to read it yourself.
More mentions of the Dog Park, this time with Mayor Pamela Winchell’s insistence that it is not real, and that “there isno digital, static-y hum” emanating from it.
The mayor also said, “citizens are not even supposed to be consciously *aware* of the Dog Park,” a choice of words I find interesting. If they’re not supposed to be aware of the Dog Park under normal circumstances, why the electric fence and insistence that nobody was allowed inside? Were these things added after folks (like Cecil) had already noticed and began speaking of the Dog Park? I have to wonder, under the levels of High Strangeness that Night Vale operates if most folks there have something of a sixth sense, a trait that the ‘powers that be’ try to suppress.
Was happy to hear the horoscopes section in today’s episode! As I am a funky little air sign Libra, I will share what Cecil deigned to be my life’s forecast:
“Libra: Your dreams will be filled with prophetic visions. Write them down. Hopefully, there are some lottery numbers or sports scores in there.”
I have been known to have very vivid dreams, so that one was funny to me for multiple reasons.
Some topics in this episode made me reflect on all the issues that, since Night Vale’s debut in 2012, have accelerated to an extreme degree. Cecil’s mention of climate change for Virgo’s horoscope (”Go see a movie today. It’s a great escape! Especially from all this pollution and dangerous UV radiation. Say, is that mole new?”) for example, hurts just a little more than I expect it did when I was in high school. They were all relevant topics of the day back when this episode first aired, but feel sharper and realer now. That may also just be a symptom of adulthood and my growing awareness of the world around me, but. There are so many times when life feels like a caricature of itself, like the give and take of ideas at high-speed has wound around to produce the most outrageous world possible.
I'm getting off-topic...but those are the things I was mulling over while listening to this one.
Today's weather was Aye by Dio--didn't realize that Netherlands rap went so hard or could be so funky XD
"Poke about in the black recesses of the past until it devours our fragile present.”
As the title implies, today's episode has a focus on the history of Night Vale. We do learn some things, such as sparse details about the founding of the City Council in the 1800s and the fact that those same founding members still serve today, centuries later. Cecil is, perhaps predictably, stopped from revealing too much:
"All records of this meeting were destroyed, and… according to a note being passed to me just now, I am to report to City Hall for reeducation effective tomorrow morning. Oh, dear."
I can't tell if Cecil's little 'oh dear' is genuine, or if this sort of thing is par for the course for him by now, but it did make me chuckle. I'm wondering where he got this information in the first place, if it was really so clandestine.
A bit I thought was funny:
"The cave paintings mainly resemble smudges now, after their original discoverer attempted to power-wash them off the wall because he, on religious grounds, did not believe in the past."
This just reminds me of my grandfather's inclinations towards a sort of young earth creationism with his skepticism of dinosaurs and the theory of evolution. Anyway, I think this line with all its absurdity highlights the sort of anti-intellectualism we've been seeing on the rise lately.
While I know that it is probably more a reflection of the episode's theme of history and acknowledging our moment in the grand scheme of things, I find it interesting that Cecil's closeout statement is about time. More so, that it mentions how we are all experiencing time--considering the plot thread weaving in the background so far of time slowing down in Night Vale.