The Residents: C/D;S&D

These might be the contents:

http://www.crypticorp.com/indexarchive/archives/

Note that it does mention Bay Sex.
That would be something; especially if this means the original cassette with cover art (!) is included.

I'm assuming you mean Baby Sex and not some previously unknown concept album about erotic goings on in the Bay Area

Yep!

Also see this Spin article: http://www.spin.com/articles/the-residents-100000-ultimate-box-set-video
It says "563 songs...40 vinyl LPs, 50 CDs, and dozens of singles, EPs, DVDs, and CD-ROMs plus other releases."
The video says "over 100" items.

According to Popsike.com, people have paid over $3000 for *Santa Dog* alone:
http://www.popsike.com/php/quicksearch.php?pagenum=1&searchtext=residents&incldescr=&sortord=dprice&thumbs=&currsel=

Sebastian, thanks for sharing that link. However, I think that is the inventory of the *entire* Cryptic Corp archive, and *not* the contents of the $100K Ultimate boxed set. Notice the note at the top that says "Homer removed some items for the Fridge project 8-13-12. Subtracted from total." I have my doubts that the *B.S.* cassette would be included in the Ultimate boxed set.

So what's in the $5 mil box? If I were to guess, I might say that the buyer gets the ownership of all things Residents and the Cryptic Corporation.

Also, the Spin article says: Last year the group (now a trio) "revealed" their identities as singer "Randy," keyboardist "Chuck" and guitarist "Bob."

Of course those are fake names, too. Chuck is "Charles 'Chuck' Bobuck"...like the Name Game. Chuck Chuck Bo Buck. But it seems like they're hinting towards a big reveal.

This happened last year: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/the-scene/events/Residents-co-founder-Homer-Flynn-Art-Show-Up-in-Oakland-121331089.html

They're doing a 40th anniversary tour early next year. After that, I would not be surprised if they reveal their identities, thus ending the existence of the Residents.

Not these guys then?

http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1307/4663379322_1bc4e23d12_z.jpg

I have my doubts that the *B.S.* cassette would be included in the Ultimate boxed set.

I doubt that too, if only for the risk of them getting arrested. (Come to think they even pressed T-shirts with the cover art, back in the day!) Note that both Baby Sex and the Warner Brother albums seem to carry the number 43. Would that be the amount of copies they still got in possession? What format is the WB Album on then? Also, no trace to be found of Coathangers and Stuffed Trigger. Maybe they really never existed (except for the occasional song).

Early pressing Rez stuff sells for huge chunks, indeed, so it really is not impossible that some of these fridges will be moving. In addition, from all their subscription releases, none carry a number below 50. But these fridges will carry those numbers. Big deal for collectors, me thinks. Also: a genuine eyeball head.

As far as I can gather, the guys have been touring their asses of over these last few years (because album sales alone will not pay the bills anymore). They seem to be enjoying themselves, but as they really are getting on in years, how much longer can they keep such grueling schedules up? I do think this is a serious attempt at getting some retirement money in. Including a gamble: is there a nut out there who is willing to pay them 5 million bucks?

I don't think there is a need to reveal their identities in the end. Then again, as made up the names of Chuck and Randy are, the stories they tell with these characters may be based on a lot of truth. Randy of his blog, with all those (I think genuine) old pictures. And Chuck with the long story behind his solo album.

Would that be the amount of copies they still got in possession?

Instead of being the # of copies they have, in that case I think 43 is the box number, for the warehouse system they have. The key at the top says "title data media box total". Also the note at the top says "Most recent update - August 13, 2012 current box is 55 some 56".

how much longer can they keep such grueling schedules up?

I hear ya. Earlier in this thread, you also wrote: I believe that the band is seriously dying.

And Milton Parker wrote: something like 12 full length albums in the last three years! good grief. they're just going for it.

Totally. A last burst before they retire. The Residents Wikipedia page says that they moved to California in 1966. Let's say that the *youngest* they would have been then is 18. So in 2013, that would make them 65 years old at least. Retirement age.

Philosophically, I think they would be ok with revealing their identities at the end, as long as they did not make any new material as The Residents. I can't help but think of *Not Available* which was created under the intention of not releasing it, as adhering to the "Theory of Obscurity" (Wikipedia sez: Senada's "Theory of Obscurity" states that an artist can only produce pure art when the expectations and influences of the outside world are not taken into consideration.) But as we know, it was eventually released (when the band forgot it existed).

I actually kind of like the finality of the idea of an unmasking. Like, the moment Charles Gocher died, the Sun City Girls ceased to exist as a band. No reunions.

I'm thinking of seeing these guys when they hit town in February. I've never seen them live and the chances look to be dwindling.

Damn, these dudes were waaaay ahead of the curve on the whole "shitty 90s computer graffix" seapunk thing

'Randy's' tumblr and 'Chuck's' blog are sometimes really affecting. I do get the sense they're wrapping it up. I hope they publish a real memoir - these stories are as entertaining as Fagen and Becker's.

how much longer can they keep such grueling schedules up?

I thought part of the whole "Who are the Residents?" mystery was that they could possibly be sending out players to be the Residents on tours.

This box set is hilarious, and yeah $100,000 is a ridiculous amount of money, but with as much cred and as big a career as they have I bet they set out of 'em.

I thought part of the whole "Who are the Residents?" mystery was that they could possibly be sending out players to be the Residents on tours.

As the concept, the 'group' could exist as long as mankind will hold out. It would have been awesome if there was a group that operated truly anonymous. That didn't feature any accented voices (or that featured many from different regions of the world) or that didn't draw their music from one particular culture or country, so that their origins and whereabouts were anybody's guess. In that regard, the sound and concept of the Residents has always been too much rooted in American culture and in the taste, abilities and views of a particular group of musicians. We may not know there names, but we can certainly identity them by the characteristics of their work. because of this, I too think that the group will, and actually already is in the process of, wrapping up.

The only Residents' album I know is the "Commercial Album" but that seemed quite focussed on personal grief, maybe I'm misunderstanding it..

Just got this from a Barbican mailout.

Sat 18 May, Hall
Underground cult band The Residents showcase their 40 year career. Sex, shrugs and anti-rock 'n roll, it's all in their Wonder of Weird.

Holding up the underground since 1972, The Residents celebrate four decades of unbridled creativity with The Wonder of Weird, their 40th anniversary tour.

Having recently come out as Randy, Chuck and Bob after years of anonymity, the group now presents itself in concert as the ultimate offbeat power trio, pared down to guitar, keyboards and vocals. Shrugging its collective shoulders, the band re-interprets and devours its classic material like a hungry horse inhaling hay, while still stumbling along at full speed.

In addition to showcasing their vast music catalog, the performance also reveals the raw soul of The Residents' lead singer, Randy Rose. After disclosing that his current life partner is a cat, Rose proceeds to confess the failure of eleven marriages while boldly baring the residue of a life-long sexual addiction. Sex, shrugs and anti-rock 'n roll - it's all there in The Residents' Wonder of Weird.

Include me in

I saw them in London before, I think they were promoting the "Icky FLix" DVD, when was that?

I saw that, somewhere on the South Bank iirc, 2003?

Oh shit, 2001!

http://freq.org.uk/reviews/the-residents-icky-flix-live-at-the-queen-elizabeth-hall-london-9th-june-2001-icky-flix-dvd/

Same tour I caught, Molly Harvey was on that one, she's great

Really digging on the long-form incidental music coming out recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of2T5vKaLmw

I saw them on the Cube-E tour in New York, and even then it seemed like they'd been around forever.

There's an official webpage for the Ultimate Box Set, here, listing the contents: http://www.residents.com/home/page15/

Here are some excerpts from the "Disclaimer" section:
3. The contents of the UBS can also be purchased without a refrigerator for $99,000.

8. This offer is good until June 30, 2013, or until the 5 Million Dollar object is sold. The offering can be cancelled at any time by The Cryptic Corporation.

So...#8 would lend credence to my guess that the $5M Dollar Object is the ownership of the Cryptic Corporation and all things Residents. Maybe it's a key to their warehouse? Also, note on the page that the $5M price tag does not include shipping and handling!

Got my Barbican tickets. Well excited.

Glad you got through in the end. I have tickets to see them February 1st. Very excited.

According to Big Brother - who runs the Residents' website - none of the boxes have sold yet :-(

we should start a kickstarter to have one as a Residents lending library in Brooklyn

Saw my first show last night and it was well worth the 20 year wait.

Man, that was fun.
http://i39.tinypic.com/3499w7r.jpg

Eeeh, you were there too? I really liked most of it, with a couple of duff bits. Thought the bantz was pretty lame most of the way through, though. Kind of got pressured into abandoning Clinic in favour of a pint elsewhere, too.

what the hell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d26AQFkMJtI

*sound of furious typing in San Francisco office*

wtf

they have those things copyrighted right?

Not just the eyeballs but also the dancing is exactly like what the Residents did last time I saw them.

you know, she may have asked them if it would be ok to do this.

for all we know, she could be related to one of them ?

http://m.nbcbayarea.com/nbcbayarea/db_/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=MnH7Zjgd&full=true#display

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/weird/100000-Ultimate-Box-Set-Sold-and-Delivered-228739581.html

While thumbing through the items before the trip, Flynn said, “To be honest, as you get older, there’s a point where you realize most of your life is in the past, it’s not in the future. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a future and it’s not that you don’t feel positive about it, but still, you know you’re never going to live as much of a life again, as what you’ve already lived.”

am I the only guy who didn't know that it's generally accepted two of the four original members left in '82, and the ones who were left really weren't on the level of the two who'd departed musically nor were they really that into the obscurity concept except as a marketing angle -- all of which accounts for both the extreme change (drop in quality, to many ears) of the music and the beginning of the band as a touring entity?

But none of that is generally accepted. What is generally accepted is that, of the two Residents left, Homer Flynn was both the lead vocalist and the main creative element in the band's graphic design (pretty important in this band) and that Hardy Fox (the 'keyboard player') was responsible (difficult to tell how much, though I could speculate) for a lot of their music. Can't be sure what Jay Clem did in the Residents, but has he done anything in music since? He does play the main character in the Vileness Fats film and he was, sort of, the face of the Cryptic Corporation and he definitely contributed vocals on occasion. Meanwhile it's generally accepted that, fourth member, John Kennedy was the 'money guy' in the band, but I'm not sure he even existed tbh! I've never heard of an interview with him or seen a photograph of him. There's film of the Residents 'at home' at 444 Grove Street in 1976 and Clem, Flynn and Fox are all there but no John Kennedy.

As for the decline, there could be all sorts of reasons beyond the two that left being the talented ones in the organization - for instance, moving over to digital had a deleterious effect on the quality of the band's music imo - but, hey, a band declining as they get older and not being as good in their 60s as they were in their 20s/30s, it's hardly a novel situation!

misspoke, I just didn't know it was generally accepted that there'd been four and two left, which seems to be what people do say. while I was going down the rabbit hole about this yesterday I found a post I didn't save on some prog-related forum that was kinda snooty but seemed otm - it said Clem was the musical brains of the outfit and talked about thirds over chords which I think is right, I think there was a strategy to the writing that goes missing after '82. Clem's an attorney now I think.

that said, I love Eskimo unreservedly, great record

I found a post I didn't save on some prog-related forum that was kinda snooty but seemed otm - it said Clem was the musical brains of the outfit and talked about thirds over chords which I think is right

Yeah, two left, but it seems it was much more a business disagreement than an artistic one, Clem & Kennedy thought taking the Mole Show out on the road would bankrupt them (and Ralph/Cryptic Corp.) and it virtually did. Which ties in with the idea that those two were more involved in the business side of the operation.

I don't know what thirds over chords means tbh, can you give an example of it in Residents' music before 1982? Maybe Jay Clem was the musical brains behind them but somehow I doubt it, who know though? Anyway I'm no expert on the Residents post-1982 but what I have heard sounds like the same keyboard player as their earlier music, i.e., Hardy Fox.

has anyone ever watched those "Cool 3D World" videos? gives me a vibe that nothing but the Residents weirdest stuff does.

New album, The Ghost of Hope, out March 24 (CD, vinyl). Also upcoming shows as The Real Residents, and mentions recent ones as Randy, Chuck and Bob, The World's Greatest Residents Cover Band:

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1102557630070&ca=df6cf40e-c50b-477d-8613-2f17f5aacb37

if that link doesn't work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8DjpU7ompc

Following their long tradition of projects based on narrative themes, The Residents are pleased to announce the release of The Ghost of Hope, a historically accurate album based on train wrecks from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

After discovering a series of vintage news articles highlighting the dangers of train travel in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and inspired by the era's graceful language, the group contrast that eloquence against the sheer horror of these devastating events. In their own unique style, the band has constructed a highly original series of tone poems quite unlike the music of anyone else - except, of course, The Residents. The album features guest collaborator Eric Drew Feldman - who has worked with everybody cool, so he's already in your record collection.

If there's a primary metaphor within this collection it is certainly found in that humble word 'hope.' When powerful men of the world build political campaigns around this simple four-letter word and fail, one wonders what life might become without it. Regardless, whether it be historical and literal, symbolic and metaphorical or simply nonsense, The Residents remain mum.

THE GHOST OF HOPE

"My heart is warm with the friends I make and better friends, I'll not be knowing,
Yet there isn't a train I wouldn't take, no matter where it's going."
-Edna St Vincent Millay

While the great poet's romantic relationship with train travel was undoubtedly heartfelt, she was definitely not traveling by rail as the 19th century neared its end. The dangers posed by increasingly fast trains, coupled with heavier and heavier cargo loads, moving across an aging rail system, made derailment a common occurrence.

In addition, the primitive communications and safety mechanism of the era often resulted in either head-on collisions or, conversely, "telescoping," which occurred when a stationary or slow-moving train was hit from the rear by another train on the same tracks. When this happened, especially in winter when the cars were heated by coal-burning stoves and illuminated by kerosene lamps, the wooden passenger cars were quickly engulfed in flames, resulting in a quick and unpleasant death for those surviving the initial impact. In retrospect, a simple fact was obvious: this revolutionary technology was progressing faster than society could regulate or control it.

Utilizing various techniques, including music, sound effects and text from actual newspaper accounts from the era, The Ghost of Hope purports to recreate several of these horrific incidents. While the dangers described in these factual events are now largely confined to the past, humanity perseveres, valiantly thundering ahead into the uncharted realms of digital technology, genetic engineering, artificial intelligence and the attempt to spread our seed throughout the cosmos. Meanwhile, have we learned from the past or are we doomed to repeat our mistakes on an ever grander scale?

Tracklist:
Horrors Of The Night
The Crash At Crush
Death Harvest
Shroud Of Flames
The Great Circus Train Wreck of 1918
Train vs Elephant
Killed At A Crossing

The CD and Vinyl can be ordered at the MVD Shop or on Amazon

Website: http://www.residents.com

THE RESIDENTS

Alternately seen as a rock band, an arts collective and a spirit,The Residents have been regarded as icons in the world of experimental music for over forty years. In addition to their groundbreaking work in the areas of trance, world fusion, electronica, punk, industrial and lounge music, the group has also been credited with being among the originators of performance art and music video. Their early videos are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and their Freak Show CD-Rom was featured in MOMA's "Looking at Music 3.0" exhibition. Their four decade long career has also taken them into the world of film and television music, having scored numerous films and TV series as well as several projects for MTV. In addition, the group is also thriving in the world of digital media having released ten DVDs, and two internet series.

Recently, performing as Randy, Chuck & Bob, the World's Greatest Residents' Cover Band, the group celebrated its 40th anniversary with a trilogy of tours: The Talking Light, Wonder of Weird and Shadowland. No longer content to merely impersonate a band, The Residents unexpectedly morphed into a power trio, gleefully plundering their vast catalog of music to the delight to their fans. Not content to rest upon their justly lauded laurels, the group is currently reforming as The Real Residents, a four piece combo that will celebrate its debut at the prestigious Blue Note jazz club in Tokyo, performing six shows from March 21-23, 2017.

should I pick up this comp Y/N

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/comp/the-residents/80-aching-orphans-45-years-of-the-residents/

I've made it all the way through to the Mole Trilogy but don't have it in me to pick up 700 more albums

uh... wow

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8094982/the-residents-reissues-vintage

It begins Friday (Jan. 19) with the reissues of 1974's Meet The Residents and 1976's The Third Reich 'N Roll, featuring more than 30 previously unreleased tracks between them

Oh wow

Didn't know Hardy Fox had left the Residents - shouldn't they just be called The Resident now?

http://freq.org.uk/reviews/the-residents-meet-the-residents-third-reichnroll/

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg264

^^ first press release I've seen which basically drops all pretenses