#thanks for the pic @perfectisaskinnedknee !

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I love everything about this. Mike, please cook me dinner in your kitchen studio.

@ashestoashesfnm97 - Becca and I are looking for the video this was screencapped from....do you know/have it???

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ya - even though i had no idea what he was saying..he does seem to be grasping a little more for words...

also, pretty sure this would be the same day as these pictures:

Mike Patton, italian interview, sept 2000

Probably, this interview took place right before the concert at Arena Parco Nord in Bologna, during the Independence Days Festival. A nice thing to know: the guy interviewing Mike is also from the US, his name is Derek Simons. Enjoy!

Interviewer: Siamo qua con Mike Patton dei Mr Bungle nonché di mille altri gruppi. So che devi salire sul palco tra pochissimo ma per quei pochi che in Italia ancora non ti conoscono, una domanda semplice semplice: descrivi il suono dei Mr Bungle. // Here we are with Mike Patton from Mr. Bungle, who's also been part of a ton of other bands. I know you're about to go on stage in a bit, but for those folks in Italy who might not know you yet, here's a super simple question: tell us what Mr. Bungle's music is like.

Mike: fiuuu, questo è difficilissimo! // Fiuuu, this is very hard!

I: (sarcasm mode on) no è semplice! // Oh no, it's easy!

Mike: no no no, un suono particolare, meglio (da) comprare il disco e scopri così. Io non posso descrivere. // Well, it's a unique sound, better to buy the album and discover it for yourself. I can't really describe it. (Mike Mike Mike, we don't expect these mistakse from you: "da" is incorrect here and you should have said "lo scopri così/ lo scoprirai così).

I: il disco "California" sta andando bene. // "California" is doing well.

Mike: sta andando abbastanza bene, benissimo no, diciamo a un livello modesto, sì.// It's going pretty well, not great, let's say at a modest level, yeah.

I: ma siete contenti? // Are you guys happy?

Mike: sì, però noi siamo contenti con poco, eh. // Yeah, but we're happy with very little, you know. (sweet smile and "contenti con poco" is fuc*ing native)

I: ho letto una lista di tutte le canzoni cover che fate nei vari concerti, ci saranno 80 diverse canzoni. Come mai questa passione per le teme delle colonne sonore dei film? // I've read a list of all the cover songs you perform at different concerts, there are 80 different songs. What's the reason for this passion for film soundtrack themes? (some mistakes here but our US friend has a pretty good italian, I remember him, LOL).

Mike: ma più che altro è che le nostre canzoni, che scriviamo noi, dopo un po' diventano un po' noiose e dobbiamo aggiungere qualche spezia, così. E i cover sono... è per questo motivo che suoniamo i cover. // More than anything, it's just that our songs, the ones we write ourselves, can get a bit boring after a while, so we have to add some spice to them. And the covers... that's why we play covers. (In Italian, "cover" is feminine so "le cover", not "i cover").

I: c'è un qualsiasi stile musicale che è rimasto da provare per voi? // Is there any music style left for you guys to try?

Mike: sempre. C'è sempre qualcosa da imparare, da provare. Però più che altro da imparare. Quanto tempo più che suono più che realizzo che più che so che non conosco niente, che non so niente. // Always. There's always something to learn, to try. But more than anything, to learn. The longer I play, the more I realize that I don't know anything, that I know nothing. (A bit chaotic but our grammar is a mess with this kind of phrase. He wanted to say "più suono, più mi rendo conto che non conosco niente, non so niente". Btw, the meaning is clear).

Mike: ciao ciao a tutti che stanno guardando "Surfing", ci vediamo! // Hi to all the people out there who are watching "Surfing", see ya!

In this interview, his Italian isn't at its best. Probably, he spent some time abroad during the summer, and he was a bit incorrect here and there. By the way, it's always more than good!

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i do think mike attracts a particular type of obsession and there are definitely people out there who take it way too far... but like what exactly are we doing here that isnt bog standard bandom stuff lmao 60 years later and people are still shipping simon and garfunkel or the beatles or whatever i dont think we are treading over new ground here like come on now

ya, it actually is a little teeny tiny bit heartbreaking that I think Mike himself doesn't even realize how or why he attracts some over-the-top obsessive folks/intense parasocial feelings...but he does...

but for real like...lol....i'd say we're actually like...kinda mild here??? and also it's a tiny fandom for mike on this site in particular??? I don't know if i should....admit this proudly, but amongst other things, my previous bandom circles definitely had like vore, furry, non-con, etc. and like, all those musicians survived 😂

it kind of boggles me that after all this time fandom™ is considered cringe by like...people I would consider boring™? Like...even if it's not sexual, if you're not thinking weird thoughts about public people you're interested in.....what the heck is the point??? we've got our big ol' human brains to what..."healthily enjoy" something? lol

that all being said...to me, and i imagine to the other folks here, there is a big, big gulf between the kind of shooting the shit we do about this guy we think is interesting, and like....legit pathological parasocial behavior. If I ever thought anyone interacting with this blog really felt they had a "special personal connection" with Mike or needed to contact him directly or anything like that...I'd would absolutely feel like I'd have to try to ground us a bit.

and finally - to tie the Mike fandom cringe to the Mike buzz cut ask....I mean....I'm NOT saying he's asking for some weird obsessive fans but like....come on...this guy?:

he's at least asking for a crowd to spit in his mouth...and that's kind of the same thing.

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Mike Patton LOVES the idea of this hardcore life full of drugs, illicit sex, ink, brawls, blood but only as pretend, something he can wash off at the end of the day, or whenever he's done with it, to move on to the next session of dress-up in a different direction. He only wants to be perceived while wearing a veneered coating, slicked with sweat.

So what is it of him that we as fans fall in love with? The person he is projecting? The person inside that we'll never know? The mystery that is the dynamic between the two? There is something in those deep brown eyes, in his breath as he throws back his head, ready to scream.

(scans from Tomahawk in STUFF magazine, Edit: totally not in the magazine - separate polaroid shots by the same photographer -thanks to @perfectisaskinnedknee for getting the pics to me!!)

edit: photos by Patrick Hoelck 2003

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long live the cowboy shirt - best outfit of the tour so far

Mr Bungle at Roadrunner, Boston MA 2023

thank you to @perfectisaskinnedknee for the review/pics rec!!! 😘😘

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Mike's perfect belly/ bellybutton thread when? This needs to be a thing!!

Mike's perfect belly/bellybutton thread RIGHT NOW! ready??

That bellybutton is so friendly!

Please - if you got 'em, post em - for the anon's sake at least.

And thanks to @perfectisaskinnedknee for some pic support!!

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Michele a Bologna, forse

I've always loved the top two pics, and thanks to @perfectisaskinnedknee there is a third!