Todd Rundgren
TRTV

His Patronet, the company set up in the nineties, gave the opportunity, through a simple subscription (hopefully paid), to access the music and sound creations (and for the audio) that Todd Rundgren was gradually producing. And the bizarre musician experimented with software, sampled sounds and invented new ones, produced effects, wrote music and songs for the most disparate purposes, including television, whether it was for TV themes, jingles for quizzes, transitions for American showgirls, or whatever... Everything that was produced, every idea whether good or bad, was made available to the "subscriber": a sort of "Todd Rundgren minute by minute," in short.

Specifically for the subscribers, the two volumes of this "TRTV" were born in '98 and '99, consisting of two EPs which were later combined and marketed as a single product.

What one can listen to is a Rundgren free to be, without having to prove himself up to his best works, just as unconcerned with the purpose of surprising us all with the special effects that characterized his outings under the name of TR-i.

The sounds are intentionally and inevitably both synthetic and homemade; "Where Does The Time Go?" seems to be played with a children's Roland, "Mary & The Holy Ghost" is an excellent crossover between certain modern free jazz and something more current, seemingly house, and even with almost drum n' bass lines. "Aliens In The Family" is strictly a TV theme, while "Red Dwarf Pilot" is nothing more than the sequential union of seventeen tunes, as if scrolling through a phonebook for just the right sound for SMS, MMS, voice calls...

The refrain of "The Surf Talks" is irresistible, while "Jerk" is an example of how capable good Todd is: a homemade industrial rock (therefore not industrial but artisanal) with a twenty-dollar PC microphone (as expressly indicated on the CD). A couple of outtakes from previous works, a hard-rock track transplanted directly from one of his most famous live bootlegs, and the "gift" for the fans is wrapped up.

Obviously, "TRTV" is anything but a must-have, but it can be defined as another further testament to this artist's prolificacy and versatility, both in sound construction and songwriting. There's little excellence, but it's fitting to highlight the courage of someone who imposes on himself to escape the repetition of profitable clichés to get to the bottom of his own inspiration, wherever that bottom may be.

Rundgren has inspiration to sell, and he was right to sell it all with his Patronet. The problem is that he persisted in selling it also through the official channels of CDs and EPs, products that would require a much more serious intent compared to this "TRTV".

A more careful and less impulsive management of his discographic releases and less overall anarchy, we are sure, would certainly have benefited his image over his forty-year career. And when a CD is made for the fans, it means it ought to remain only for them. It can become a rarity, a gem, and a must-have even if it is not.