Flow of Madness

I was talking to my good friend and resident metal head expert in my life. He does not watch the show, but I show him clips. Ask him questions. For the most part he plays along with my whimsical obsessions. 

Anyway I promise this will be the last time I talk about Rich’s clothes. I hope. :) 

I feel like in Series 6 Rich is going through a Dad Rock phase. He has a Led Zepp tattoo and he was listening to some wicked Black Sabbath. I totally see him during this time period going through a massive Dad Rock phase. The muscle shirts and the denim are all from that era. Even the the Red Velvet jacket is from that era of music. The white t-shirts he wears quite a bit in Series 6 are prints from cover arts from back in the day. 

What is interesting is that Rich in Series 5 was listening to newer versions of metal which tend to focus on societal elements. That type of metal is sometimes creepy. Or tends to empower the listener in order to fight societal judgment and to encourage the listener to fight the status quo. Rich in Series 5’s major source of conflict comes from having a narrowed view point of himself in terms of being a Metal head. Him not letting certain influences in his life and his conflict about whether or not Grace fits into his world. He later decides that it does not matter if Grace does not fit into his world, because he wants her. Most metal thing you can do. Series 5 was about Rich finding a balance between who he is (metal) and allowing himself to accept new influences in his life. 

In Series 6, Rich goes through a traumatic tragedy of losing his girlfriend in a car accident. He has life problems. He is not a kid fighting for the downfall of the lame. But instead a man who has been through hell. We see the change in the way he talks to people and the way he dresses. Usually that is how tv series like to show change visually—is through fashion. We also see that he’s been listening to some awesome Dad Rock. Early metal also have some societal critique in it; however, most of Led Zepp and Black Sabbath and other Dad Rock early metal bands. Sang quite a bit about life. Especially death and loss. Black Sabbath has a great song that I listened to during a tough time called “In Memory.” Black Sabbath also has many songs about losing your mind to grief or feeling paranoid. Led Zepp sings deep songs about life, loss, and trucking on. 

I doubt they thought this much about Rich’s clothes. However it is pretty cool to think about. The clothes and the music that Rich listens to in both series match up pretty well with the story line. CRAZY. 

Both of these songs remind me of Rich’s psyche.