Meredith Monk - Turtle Dreams

Turtle Dreams, produced for WGBH-TV, originally aired September 2, 1983. Composed by Meredith Monk, performed by her and her Vocal Ensemble. For more information, visit meredithmonk.org.

[@darthmcgee2216]

The Turtle is the key to all this, if we get the Turtle working. 'Cause he's a funnier character than we've ever had in the movies.

[@amp6057]

I wanna cover myself in baby oil and cat liter, and then ride that turtle into the sun.

[@rokulus7910]

Meesa went to the sto-o-ore

[@CrazyCrethon]

Its like poetry....

[@gigan2444]

@@CrazyCrethon it rhymes.

[@mikemiller820]

@@CrazyCrethon lol damn beat me to it.

[@pikapal91]

I watched this video yesterday and my day ended in a Tum’s Festival!

[@mikemiller820]

Hahahaha dude I just watched that episode.

[@grandspringdale1564]

I'm having a Tum's festival right now😧

[@drdarkeny]

🤣🤣🤣 With Meredith Monk, EVERY days ends in a Tums' Festival, Mr. Stark!

[@darthmcgee2216]

IT TOOK 12 YEARS TO MAKE!

[@nickstav08]

It broke new ground!!

[@munkeypantsman]

A torture device for the modern age.

[@chirho100]

See what the wheel of the worst produces? Pure torture!

[@jessethebuilder2533]

There's a magic potion that makes you forget you ever saw this. It's called bleach.

[@calebhorton4701]

This is borderline experimental.

[@jasonfenton8250]

Borderline?

[@mistery5488]

@@jasonfenton8250 Love isn't always on time.

[@drdarkeny]

There is a thin line between "experimental" and "pretentious claptrap", Grasshopper....

[@nemanjajovanov]

'The light fell over and it's smoking'. Truly the pinnacle of Meredith Monk's career, and words to live by.

[@coastalsandwich]

This video is gonna explode in views now RLM have covered it

[@BBDragon66]

This has to be about massaging an elderly turtle.

[@rushnerd]

I cried laughing so much at Rich Evan's love for this.

[@IAmNotAHorse]

It’s about family, and that’s what’s so powerful about it.

[@CharlieAiredale]

Ain't no rule says a turtle can't have dreams.

[@boredfartless4221]

He can't have dreams that breach copyright or he'll be put on his back in the hot sun

[@darthmcgee2216]

The turtle wants that juicy Shaq meat!

[@schirmc1]

A classic "Air Turtle" reference.

[@FalconNest]

It's so dense! Every single image has so many things going on.

[@chirho100]

Breaking new ground!

[@prizzl0]

RLM once again arrives to bring an obscure piece of debatable art of an even more debatable quality to light. I am glad this exists. Just, maybe not for the creator’s intended reason.

[@johnbacon4997]

Love the term debatable art

[@nemanjajovanov]

@@johnbacon4997 Debatable art in depressing apartments.

[@TheLokiBiz]

Meridith Monk really isnt even all that obscure, as far as avante garde composers go - Given her success, I don't know if it's debatable whether it's art or not. It's quality of course is entirely subjective. I honestly have gone from appreciating it ironically thanks to RLM to genuinely kinda digging it though - that repetitive, hypnotic synth/organ line has honestly been stuck in my head all day lol

[@leoavantmusic]

My opinion of Meredith Monk is that Turtle Dreams is the only piece of art she's done that just isn't very good and obviously comes across more as something funny which because of RLM i 100% do find funny and ridiculous, but I honestly think most of her other art is actually really beautiful, watch the trailer for her art piece 'Quarry', about possibly her as a little girl during WW2 since she was born in 1942, Turtle Dreams appears to have no substance or anything emotional to latch onto, but a lot of her other work does have substance and evoke a lot of emotions.

[@mulder1979]

Quite possibly the most baffling thing ever seen on RLM.

[@mrpereza4518]

Exploding varmints is the most baffling thing I think

[@soxfan773]

Have you survived edged weapons?

[@RafaCarrillo]

Man this episode of Best of the Worst was fucking hilarious

[@Charles-jj2su]

I still think SOS was the best.

[@DanArnets1492]

@@mrpereza4518 - No, that was just the funniest shit ever

[@spiderchap1857]

If I was in charge of a torture regimen for a mad despot, I would play this full blast whenever the prisoners tried to sleep.

[@prodhaisha]

the longer you listen the more insane you become

[@DonPeyote420]

Do you read Sutter Cane?

[@amp6057]

I've eaten 3 tubs of kitty litter now, and I don't see myself slowing down. Turtles are life. Turtles are the true door into the infinite abyss. Gonna go eat some more kitty litter.

[@B.-T.]

I WENT TO THE HYPNOTIST HYPNOTIST HYPNOTIST

[@CrazyCrethon]

After RLM this is going to shoot to over 1M views!

[@Knightfall182]

Can someone digitally insert Rich Evans into this!?

[@maxxam3590]

Can someone digitally insert Rich Evans into my life?

[@PabloYaos]

@@maxxam3590 Can I digitally insert Rich Evans?

[@JasonStevens]

Kick up that 4d3d3d3!

[@Knightfall182]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYKbg4WChLODY8U THEY DID IT!!!!!!

[@B.-T.]

@@Knightfall182 RLM pulled a Deuandra Brown on whatever that video was....

[@N333.]

It's like new age barbershop quartet

[@pkmovies92]

Do you see 333 everywhere too?

[@mikemiller820]

That line really got me on wheel of the worst.

[@Studeb]

Interestingly Meredith Monk's music was featured in The Big Lebowski, probably in the scene when Maude Lebowski flies towards The Dude while splashing paint on the canvas on the floor. There's a bit of redeeming factor for this music.

[@Studeb]

Just got to RLM mentioning another scene in The Big Lebowski, what are the chances?

[@ppotter]

"And you may find yourself / Living in a shotgun shack..."

[@nathanjs55]

Exactly what I thought of!

[@JeonardShadby505]

LETTING THE DAYS GO BY, LET RICH EVANS HOLD ME DOWN

[@mrwri]

I KNEW IT REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING! Except I'm pretty sure David Byrne was self aware. This comes across like something people who had seen David Byrne wanted to replicate with none of his charm or intent.

[@ppotter]

@@mrwri and his video was three years before the Turtle's folk.

[@SirHatchporch]

I had the same thought, ppotter. "Once in a Lifetime" is my all-time favorite video.

[@darthchop697]

What kind of drugs do I need to be on to enjoy this... or do I just need to be really pretentious and pretend I did i order to seem arty and intelligent?

[@dirkbastardrelief]

When I turn 50, I lost my sex drive. Then I lost my work drive. Even lost my hunger. The only part of me that was holding out was my old desire to be some kind of artist. Then I saw this video. Now I’m good. I’m OK with it. Dying, I mean.

[@nemanjajovanov]

What's a 'work drive'?

[@chosentonessournotes]

Kinda makes you sad, don’t it? That this woman was able to make a career out of _this?!_

[@Unpainted_Huffhines]

Red Letter Media brought me here.

[@o-o857]

It's about family

[@thenerd1019]

It's about hope, *shoots a woman* peace *Rips an eyeball out* and family *Nukes a planet*

[@B.-T.]

*VIn Torreto drives up* Get in loser we're going FAMILY

[@brainjefferson9348]

This makes me wanna eat cat liter

[@mtgAzim]

NO DON'T!!! You'll develop "Toxoplasmosis"

[@geovaughan8261]

In other words, stay away from germs.

[@pandab00gie11]

It's a story about family.

[@alanmerino9440]

"It sounds like a meow mix commercial." Local newspaper reviewing one of these experiences.

[@Irrelevant402]

HERE COMES THE RED LETTER MEDIA TRAIN!

[@DavesUps]

It subverted all my expectations.

[@bloodwizard21]

RLM has now cursed the algorithm with this...

[@BlakeSiefken]

This is borderline experimental

[@soxfan773]

Sub what?

[@AwfulWaffle8474]

IT BROKE NEW GROUNDS

[@prizzl0]

Also, since Red Letter Media couldn’t explain it, can Meredith Monk please explain to us what this is meant to convey? The more I watch it the more baffled I am

[@darthmcgee2216]

In all seriousness Meredith said her point was to make an album of voices and noises that would be dreamy and such as the world was to everyone as they were an infant. Where you heard things but didn't really understand them.

[@DystopianUtopia8]

@@darthmcgee2216 well she must have had a terrible childhood.

[@LLFoolJ]

@@darthmcgee2216 I mean there isn't a pleasant sound in any of it. It sounds like a nightmare

[@FEVfallout]

@@LLFoolJ hahahaha

[@choosybeggar3309]

Anyone else watch this whilst enjoying a single plum floating in perfume served in a man's hat? voy cooauge

[@OnTheFarm1984]

I 100% agree with Rich Evans. This is just the worst.

[@rokulus7910]

The best of the worst.

[@Anthony755]

It's like poetry because it rhymes.

[@thekaiser7555]

You know what rymes with "Blow Me?". Answer: Blow me.

[@TheComicbookguy78]

The organ makes me think of 60s psychedelic mood music and a splash of film noir horror.

[@originalhulahoop72]

hey, RLM people, this vid apparently has audio issues. Here is the one with the fixed audio: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHPPn6WIiruZpZI

[@patsprankcalls]

The whole thing is an audio issue...

[@CRHE]

@@patsprankcalls The comments on that video are mostly people saying this is brilliant.

[@DeSaxofoonVanPeter]

@@CRHE Of course they are, the audio issues are fixed on that video

[@gustavoaguado5449]

Yes, the comments that video had over the years are hilarious (they all think it is so good).

[@patr1415]

Anybody know why that comment section has only 30 comments but like 300,000 views? This vid has 35,000 but over 200 comments.

[@elducces]

good to see all the RLM people here

[@josenob1]

This syncs up with every song. It's a great music video for everything but itself.

[@nspinicelli]

Red Letter Media, never change. We need this in these dark times. This video's gotten more traffic from Red Letter Media than anything else.

[@TheFunklin]

I can honestly say I watched all of this a year before BOTW covered it, and I was so happy when I saw it on the wheel, and I jumped up with so much excitement when it was the first one selected

[@EdEatsFood]

I had this experience, but even greater, because that was my DVD on the wheel

[@DanArnets1492]

@@EdEatsFood - I'm so sorry for you

[@johnlopez9014]

Rich Evans recommended this.

[@aaronjconti5420]

I played this video and now all my plants are dead! Thanks a lot Red Letter Media.

[@MagCynic]

Can anyone explain to me what was the point of this video? I'm legitimately curious. I know it's supposed to be avante garde and experimental, but what was the end goal here?

[@darthmcgee2216]

To not let your children accidentally eat kitty litter.

[@robertsyrett1992]

Modernist performance art of the period was obsessed with abstraction and aesthetics of the absurd. This is basically the 1983 equivalent of vaporwave.

[@captainjurgh8142]

Feels like they literally made the new genre of the music but sadly forgotten

[@brettlessard2532]

thankfully art has evolved since 1983

[@xsneedzx]

Thanks, red letter media

[@trippjohnson7393]

Thanks Red Letter Media!

[@mrzolo4503]

I like it thanks Meredith.

[@chirho100]

Now do one about a giraffe 🦒 dreams ! Rich Evans would like that.

[@eurybot4659]

18:47 when you make a good point in a debate but the other person refuses to acknowledge it

[@kosmara1901]

LOL

[@sereneavatar]

So this recording details the rite at which the incantation that summoned Tim & Eric was performed?

[@commonfatpokemon1806]

What the f*** does this mean

[@williamjameslehy1341]

The sound randomly cutting out every few minutes pushed this over the edge from weirdly amusing to unwatchable.

[@melodraminha]

slow cyclical motions of the everyday…i dun wanna live in a turtle dream

[@florinivan6907]

Boyhood took 12 years to make but this will take 12 millenia to forget.

[@iannis5416]

please re-upload this with fixed sound!it's amazing!

[@iannis5416]

Thank you for the reupload!

[@TheLokiBiz]

I looked this up after seeing the Red Letter Media episode featuring it, because I wanted to watch it ironically or whatever - but the more i watch it, the more I kind of sincerely dig it. That hypnotic synth/organ line has been in my head all day lol

[@pfelon]

IT BROKE NEW GROUND!

[@liberate72000]

I think Tim Burton should get behind the reboot of this asap! It truly captured the mood of a generation.

[@grandspringdale1564]

The only thing stuff like this did for gen X was make us love Metallica that much more👍

[@ethanwright4176]

Who’s watching this because of RLM?

[@maxxam3590]

Everyone, my friend.

[@chirho100]

Just us RLM viewers, no one watched this since 3 years ago.

[@maxxam3590]

@@chirho100 Yeah, I can imagine it was a pretty dead vid before RLM.

[@hackintosh3899]

It's like they ripped off the start of Pink Floyd's Shine on You Crazy Diamond, that was released almost a decade earlier and then went nowhere for 30 minutes. I imagine taxpayers paid for this somehow. Rich is right.

[@soniamegias]

Yeah, THE SOUND DOESN'T WORK WELL! Please, fix it... it's not fair for the piece...

[@paulplus5704]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHPPn6WIiruZpZI FIXED!!

[@mandridhugh9555]

Anyone notice that the fixed audio version of this video on youtube's got 0 new comments on it from the past 3 years?

[@DanArnets1492]

I commented on it but noticed I was all alone

[@kumatoni5245]

2:50 She went to the store

[@DystopianUtopia8]

When you go to hell, this tape plays on a loop with bad tracking.

[@maxxam3590]

And when you go to Heaven, it's the same but with Rich Evans in it.

[@JasonStevens]

You are walking through a desert and you find a tortoise. Tortoise? What’s that? - know what a turtle is? Sure - Same thing.

[@chirho100]

That was beautiful and my tears are lost in the rain.

[@cs_sweetnsour]

the sound...truly. anyway to re-up with a fix or is this the only audio you have for this clip?

[@jackschimmelman6355]

do you think the interruptions could be intentional? Missed seeing this piece in NY. I think they did it at La Mama if I remember correctly. anyway, it probably is a mistake -- the constant interruptions.

[@EduardoCachucho]

Jack Schimmelman Google often does this when it thinks there are copyright infringements. A pity this is an amazing version

[@jackschimmelman6355]

thanks, Meredith. I'm one of your biggest and most loyal fans since 1969!!

[@mortalexo103]

Yeah. I figured I'd see my RLM peeps here.

[@brandonkeys4349]

My nigga on the right turned up at 6:52, he hit that Milly Rock

[@maxxam3590]

Doesn't quite work without Rich Evans digitally imposed.

[@slybuster]

Enchanté. Mr. Richard Evans, noted online critic of the film and visual media arts, hath brought moi hither. His work has been referenced widely in the LGBTQ++ community; distributed by none other than Ellen Degeneres and noted screen actress Julia Roberts. Adieu. *Vagina.*

[@grandspringdale1564]

The only real interesting thing about this is that the woman with black hair "was" kinda cute🤷‍♂️

[@geovaughan8261]

I swear this video needs a page on SPC.

[@B.-T.]

You mean SCP Foundation?

[@flammableghost]

I can't tell if the audio cutting in and out is an error or an intentional stylistic choice

[@AngelsandCookies]

I'm here because of the radio guy on TikTok

[@JaziB]

Meredith may have gone too far in a few places.

[@CrazyCrethon]

But she is the key to all of this...its like poetry.

[@B.-T.]

She went too far in too few places.

[@SirHatchporch]

Why are all the Red Letter Media fans commenting here instead of on the re-upload with fixed audio? kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHPPn6WIiruZpZI

[@Anto_Skum]

Because that one is sacred.

[@SgtxAnus]

Rich Evans should do something like this but just all the noises he makes normally be the singing

[@balluduku]

This is awesome (to say the least)! But isn't there a way to fix the constant muting? It makes it kind of hard to watch... (Or maybe it's a feature...?)

[@darthmcgee2216]

That's the genius of Rich Evans!

[@paulplus5704]

soniamegias 5 years ago Yeah, THE SOUND DOESN'T WORK WELL! Please, fix it... it's not fair for the piece...

[@vittoriaoliva8924]

eccezzionale artista

[@majimagoro8359]

Where can i download the song withought the audio cutting out?

[@DJ_Macphisto]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHPPn6WIiruZpZI The same video, but audio is fixed. You're welcome.

[@majimagoro8359]

@@DJ_Macphistoyou are the real mvp thanks

[@magmavision2000]

I have 3 interpretations: 1. This is about the aftermath of an event that destroyed civilization, most likely a nuclear war. I can explain this since you see abandoned, decaying cities, chard bodies, and the fact that the turtle is the size of cars, I think the turtle is getting out of the water so it doesn't die from nuclear radiation, but the radiation is already doing stuff, like making the turtle grow. I can't figure out the moon part though. 2. It represents a bygone era. The music has a Gothic church organ feel to it. You got cities straight out of the 50s abandoned. The mummified bodies of our ancestors stay on Earth as we go into the future (hints the moon at the end). 3. There is no meaning and I'm probably thinking too deep into it.

[@bobcooper82]

I vote 3. But thought I dig your thought process.

[@JasonStevens]

It’s blade runner told through dance.

[@chirho100]

So your saying mutant turtles? What if the turtle is a teenager too?

[@johnstriker480]

Darn you, RedLetterMedia hacks....!! xD

[@chirho100]

I know, this is more ingrained in my memory then, Messaging the elderly.

[@kacperiwomatuszewski5395]

Is the audio dropping out an element of the performance? I'm confused...

[@otoya_igetdistracted]

how does Dallon always find things like this??

[@camotophat]

Can someone please show me a site where I can buy this on DVD? PLEASE?

[@maxxam3590]

You can find a cheaper and better frisbee at any store.

[@Guesswhoboo12]

I'm here because my seven year old said she had a turtle dream, so I typed in "turtle dream song"...and here I am.........

[@maxxam3590]

Serious question: has your seven-year-old been watching RedletterMedia videos?

[@Guesswhoboo12]

Nope

[@DanArnets1492]

@@Guesswhoboo12 - Red Letter Media talked about this (absolute) piece (of crap) like 8-9 months ago

[@maxxam3590]

@@Guesswhoboo12 Your seven (or probably eight by now) year old still hasn't watched RLM videos?

[@boredfartless4221]

We demand an explanation

[@darthmcgee2216]

It's about massaging an old man who walks like a turtle. You have to be careful to stimulate blood flow in his lower legs because of diabetes.

[@amp6057]

@@darthmcgee2216 I have a bellybutton.

[@supercold1171]

Post-Modernist Grief: The Movie

[@thereisnocontenthere]

That long sucking on the straw at the beginning, the rubbing the gloved hands together...this is a joke. There's no way the creators weren't in on the joke.

[@choosybeggar3309]

Nope. Its real. Its supposed to be avant-garde. Theres no joke.

[@user-tz5sl1xz7h]

I LOST MY BALLS! Perchant! Ya hah bleh membehis. (but seriously, I am intrigued)

[@gzz8551]

2:09 - 2:20 is legitimately some of the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. Just their faces...

[@johndoe-xu1on]

THEY DRANK THE 'KOOL AID" IN THE BEGINNING

[@wormgod7520]

Frank what is this?

[@crixxxxxxxxx]

There was actually a point at which this was shown on TV?

[@jamesdasilva9939]

The best part of the art hack fraud is the Rich Evans remaster.