The Residents: Fans, foes or TBN?

[StevegSr]

The Residents. What's your opinion?

[loosefish]

A beautiful bunch of freaks. Love them lots. The seventies stuff is their most heralded (correctly), but i also highly rate God In Three Persons, Animal Lover and Demons Dance Alone. Some of the more recent albums sound a bit lightweight to my ears though.

[Zeuhlmate]

I have 3 albums + 1 Snakefinger album. Great stuff!

[zravkapt]

They're great. So is Snakefinger.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Third Reich and Roll is the only one I have but it's brilliant.

[Facelift]

Fan, but my collection of their stuff - apart from Stars and Hank Forever (1986) - ends with Mark of the Mole (1981).

Anything else from 1982-2000 that I should look for?

[ProgArtist]

Incredibly bizarre, creative stuff! I have about six or seven of their albums, of which Eskimo is one of my favorites. I was surprised to discover that it's divisive even among Residents fans. Strange eskimo-esque chanting and tribal rhythms over haunting wintry soundscapes and weird sound effects? What's not to like?

[ProgArtist]

Fan, but my collection of their stuff - apart from Stars and Hank Forever (1986) - ends with Mark of the Mole (1981).

Anything else from 1982-2000 that I should look for?

Similar to my situation. I have a good portion of the stuff up through "Mark of the Mole" (which is great). I do have the follow-up, "Tunes of Two Cities", which is okay, but would be better if a bit more diverse.

[JKL2000]

They amused me and my friends when I was in college - especially the Commercial Album and Eskimo. I saw them live once, on their 13th Anniversary tour at the old Ritz in NYC, which was a very interesting experience (Snakefinger opened for them).

But to be honest, I couldn't really listen to that stuff anymore - it would just seem irritating now. Maybe some of Eskimo would hold up, that was a pretty interesting album, and didn't have the annoying vocals.

I love that recording of Penn Gilette locked in a motel room with the full Ralph Records catalog for days, recording his thoughts, observations, and rants. - very fun stuff, you can find it online.

[zravkapt]

Anything else from 1982-2000 that I should look for?

God In Three Persons and from 2002 Demons Dance Alone.

[gpeccary]

Odd bunch of critters for sure. Bought wormwood as my first foray into them...to say it's...dense...is an understatement! Have a few more, but to me they aren't sittin around lisnin music!
Saw their most recent concert...without question the WEIRDEST show I've ever seen, but well worth the experience, and I'd do it again if they come around!

[wilcox660]

love their stuff up to early 80s. once they started using sampling and more keyboard generated sounds, severely less interested.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I love all of their work up 'til Mark of the Mole. After that I'm more inclined with their stage shows, not so much the studio productions.

Some of those early records - Not Available and Fingerprince in particular - contain a multilevelled sense of creativity beyond most other artists I've heard from that era. I remember when I first discovered Henry Cow, having already been listening to The Residents for quite some time and figuring it just right how Frith and Cutler would appear as guest musicians on many of their 70s recordings. Little resemblance between the groups as such, but a fitting parallel in terms of outrageous originality.

[Taped Rugs]

The Residents have influenced me personally (and many of my musical compatriots as well) from thier earliest beginnings, when they were promoted heavily in the early/mid 1970s at Rather Ripped Records in Berkeley. You can hear a lot of these influences in my own recordings over the years. As far as recordings that I like a lot after "Mole," the God In 3 Persons "Soundtrack" album is a really nice one, their collab with Renaldo And The Loaf: "Title In Limbo" is exquisite also. Their interpretations of James Brown, George Gershwin, John Souza, and Hank Williams also are all worth a listen. Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats, recorded in the 1970's, but released in the 1980's is also pretty interesting.

Ralph Records, which was originally the only outlet for Residents music, also has a lot of great non-Residents music on it, including gems from Rhythm & Noise w/Diamanda Galas, Club Foot Orchestra, Renaldo & The Loaf, and, of course, Snakefinger.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Ralph Records, which was originally the only outlet for Residents music, also has a lot of great non-Residents music on it, including gems from Rhythm & Noise w/Diamanda Galas, Club Foot Orchestra, Renaldo & The Loaf, and, of course, Snakefinger.

Not forgetting titles by Yello, Tuxedomoon, MX-80 Sound adn the US releases of Art Bears.

As for the "bizarreness" of the band, I always perceived them as a bit too art-scholarly cerebral and surreal to really fit the bill - as opposed to, say, Beefheart, Lothar/Hand People, Sigmund Snopek and the lot.

[pb2015]

I do have the follow-up, "Tunes of Two Cities", which is okay, but would be better if a bit more diverse.

I didn't realize until a few years ago that one track ("Mousetrap") is essentially a rewrite of a Stan Kenton tune titled "Eager Beaver."

[chalkpie]

She called my friend a picnic boy
I never could stand that
Oh she called my friend a picnic boy
And said he was too fat

I left her in the early morning
Looking at the rain
I found I could not take the pressure
So I took the train

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ O shid dose dudes could've learned a ding or dwo from Jun Anderzum.

[notallwhowander]

I'm a pretty substantial fan. I have to admit the later-day stuff doesn't have the bite and zing as the early stuff. However, they still do some cool stuff.

I guess I like the early '80s stuff best: Mark of the Mole, Intermission, The Commercial Album, the two Snakefinger albums Greener Postures and Chewing Hides the Sound, and the collaboration with Renaldo & The Loaf Title in Limbo.

I quite enjoyed the album of Elvis covers The King and I, the whole thing is rather sedate compared to the '70s stuff.

Of the later works, High Horses stands out for me. These were compositions written for one of those mechanical carousel contraptions that play music by clockwork. High Horses is supposed to simulate riding a carousel in acid. It's recorded binaurally so it sounds like you are riding around in small circle. The music itself is top notch.

I always catch a show, which is a whole other experience than the albums.

[Zeuhlmate]

Duck Stab 1978

[notallwhowander]

BTW for Gi3P fans, this from the Resident's site:

There was a private workshop reading for a God In Three Persons stage production. All I know is that it happened, and didn't even know about it until a few days before,honest. If I ever have any real info, it will show up here somewhere.

[Buddhabreath]

Love them more as a social commentary and art installation giving a satirical finger to society and its sheer insanity, but still many interesting musical ideas and lyrics that paint an alternate universe where prosaic anecdotes morph into uncanny tales of surreal and existential angst. My fav is probably still Not Available/Buster & Glen. For a good compendium of their films I recommend Icky Flicks.

[Haruspex Carnage]

Some of their stuff strikes me as head-ache inducing and chintzy...but live they're amazing.

[zombywoof]

Don't know their stuff well, but I love the mythology. Duck Stab / Buster and Glenn is my go-to record. I also have Not Available which is charming, but I can't resist the warped pop of the former.

[frippster]

I've made a few attempts over the years to delve into them but nothing has really stuck. Admittedly, I've only got a couple of albums of which Meet The Residents is my favorite. Like Ian, I do like the mythology and just that they're out there and have been forever. Strange as it may sound, that's probably good enough for me at this point.

I definitely need to watch that recent doc on them. Anybody seen it?