The Residents: C/D;S&D

Of course if the collection had been compiled more recently and included material from Demons Dance Alone and Wormwood (and also didn't fail to include anything from the God In Three Persons album, which is a strangely indefensible omission too imho) it might help to remedy the impression of the material gradually deteriorating in quality as you move backwards though time.

I love the Concentrates on Our Huddled Masses (especially the one for Reich). The editing in some places is so dense that they almost qualify as new pieces. In any case the 4 CD version is worth $60 for the 15 minute excerpt from Baby Sex alone.

That said, I think they're awful--I mean I have respect for anyone trying to do anti-music, and they succeed. But I don't mean it as a compliment; it's not only anti-music but anti-anti-music. I find them very, very puerile, and their later stuff seems infused with some sort of melancholia I don't think they earn at all. My buddy here listens to a lot of stuff I don't like, many things I do, and he's always draggin' out the Residents or the Firesign Theater (not the classic '60s stuff but their later shit, which is just actively unfunny). And I feel the same way about the Residents--they're not funny, their videos are totally geeky (except for the very early short ones), they're a total one-joke band. That whole thing with the eyeballs is just totally lame, they should've stopped that shit years ago. I think they're from Shreveport or somewhere--well, I say Louisiana's pop combo John Fred and His Playboy Band were both more avant-garde and certainly more listenable.

However, I kinda like "Eskimo," in a way; but none of it is anything I listen to for pleasure

Not to mention funnier. The Residents couldn't pull off "Judy in Disguise" if their eyeballs depended on it.

Obviously, they had a certain style. But that's an easy (and inaccurate) criticism that someone might make about any comedians that they didn't happen to like. I mean, if someone didn't like the Marx Brothers, couldn't they make the same allegation?

It's not true of the Residents, anyway. Just thinking of the first album, "Boots" is not the same joke as "Smelly Tongues," which is not the same joke as "Rest Aria," which is not the same joke as "Spotted Pinto Bean," which is not the same joke as "Seasoned Greetings," etc.

No, sorry, I just expressed myself badly - I think / agree that (with the notable exception of the album God In Three Person, which isn't represented on the comp.) there is a distinct overall downward trend between about 1980 and 1997 (when Our Tired Our Poor Our Huddled Masses came out)

"So how would more recent music correct this impression, as you suggest?"

I think 1998's Wormwood and 2002's Demons Dance Alone are major returns to form both in terms of both quality and "relevance" (or, at least, contemporaneity).

Early tapes make it clear that they actually can play instruments, they just made a point of taking instrumental technique apart at the exact moment the rest of pop was calcifying into stadium rock gloss & empty virtuosity. Taking the formulas of glossy, shallow pop, and making it all gloriously ugly and wrong, but still recognizable. And sometimes, so utterly, bafflingly wrong that it comes out far more mysterious and beautiful.

Beautiful Residents: Not Available, Eskimo and "Six Things To A Cycle", the main theme of which is probably my favorite thing they've ever done.

http://www.theresidents.co.uk/articles/books/art_cutler.html

An extraordinarily large number of people have described Trout Mask Replica as ".... possibly the worst album I've ever heard"; so it's entirely possible that - at least as far as I'm concerned - your description may be the highest possible accolade.

It goes for upwards of $50 used when you can find it these days, I should have xeroxed my friend's copy...

http://www.rzweb.org/books/sonic.html

40-something rock critics are loving the album though, so who knows. (I don't think most Residents fans are 21 years old.)

Because I have a great friend/Residents fanatic whose musical taste is very different from mine but with whom I share a lot of likes, I've heard a ton of Residents music over the years. I still find it, no matter how eloquently he defends it, puerile.

I think you're probably right - indeed, I suspect that the reason the last couple of Residents' projects (Wormwood, Demons Dance Alone) have shown such a long overdue return to form is that they did seem to have stopped trying to produce all-singing all-dancing fully-integrated multi-media conceptual arts projects, and were just concentrating on making music for it's own sake again.

Let's hope Animal Lover doesn't represent a step in the wrong direction.

Besides Buster and Glen (have it also on a 3 incher in the euro ralph 2fer) I haven't really heard anything else. What do I need NOW? Is this the catchiest stuff? I really have no idea. To me it's THE monolith of fucked avant rock.

The Commercial Album sounds interesting...

But if you're loving this, you can't go wrong with any of the albums released 1980.

Fingerprince, Not Available, Third Reich and Roll -- 100% guarenteed

my favorite is Not Available. whenever one of the other ones isn't busy being my favorite.

I remember the first time I heard 'the executioner', when the guitar solo kicked in, I remember being so repulsed and horrified that sitting there thinking 'this is the ugliest music I've ever heard in my life, do I really want to go here? do I even want to be someone who owns this record?' then the guitar faded into the funeral march and it was too late

which album would you recommend to someone interested in them because of the Tuxedomoon connection?

Can't help you, never heard Tuxedomoon

A friend mentioned Residents to me recently and it occurred to me I've never actually tried to listen to their stuff before, which struck me as a bit odd. I just know them from bits I heard on college radio.

you pretty much can't go wrong with any Residents album 1972-1980. for tunes try either Duck Stab or Commercial Album. for concept albums try Fingerprince or Third Reich and Roll. Not Available is the emotional one.

you know what's good out of the recent stuff? Tweedles pulls off the whole literally stated narrative project they've been trying since God In 3 Persons -- but the music is better and the narrative's honed down to the ugliest essentials, I think it's the best thing they've done in 15-20 years.

Anyone know where I can hear The Bunny Boy? Prindle reviewed it today but I can't find a single place to download/stream it. Strongly debating whether catching them on the upcoming tour is worth the money.

for archeologist fans of 'Santa Dog' curious about sample sources: http://closetcurios2.blogspot.com/2008/11/concert-percussion-for-orchestra.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeo_Roldán

The fifth and sixth of his Rítmicas (1930) appear to be the first works in the Western classical music tradition scored for percussion alone. -- take that, Varèse

thinking a lot about this insane cover of Burning Love

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

feel like this belongs in the pantheon of totally transformative covers. as the first comment says it makes you look it up because it's hard to believe those are actually the real lyrics - now it's the Elvis version that sounds weird, not this one. also my favorite Residents outfit. wonder if those were the actual guys.

The Residents' Triple Trouble is having its New York premiere tonight at MoMA at 6:30 pm:
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/8565

It's the only screening they're holding, then beginning tomorrow it'll stream online for all MoMA members.

every time I listen to Residents stuff I'm struck by how ahead of its time it is. maybe not musically, like I know Devo were doing similar things around then, but in some other ways. like their graphic design - I cannot believe that Eskimo is from 1978, that album cover looks so much like something you'd see hanging up in the shop in like, 2002. they have 70s albums where it sounds like they're imitating Simpsons characters. even the concepts of stuff like Third Reich and Roll & The Commercial Album seem to me like internet-era projects. a lot of their videos remind me of like, Cool 3D World stuff. pretty remarkable really

More about Triple Trouble:

https://mcusercontent.com/d4b46e5c4250d808643c6623a/images/9dbec8d4-343a-2ea2-c5ce-aafadb822a0b.jpg

Virtual Box Office Premiere: The Resident's Triple Trouble
We are proud to announce the exclusive virtual box office premiere of The Resident's new feature film tonight at MIDNIGHT ET on Night Flight's The Movie Store. In Triple Trouble, directed by Homer Flynn, dive deep into the psyche of Randall "Junior" Rose (Dustin York) who is convinced that a fungus is a threat to humanity.
The film premiered theatrically earlier this month at the MoMA and arrives on Night Flight's The Movie Store for purchase and rental one week before anywhere else.

The Residents are including a FREE DOWNLOAD of two unreleased versions of classic tracks from the Residents' Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen opus with every purchase or rental of Triple Trouble, only on The Movie Store.
"The Residents continue to raise the bar by taking chances and pioneering new skills." — Kelly Park

What is this, "The Last of the Residents" or something? Looking forward to those dance numbers with the clickers making music with their sonar noises.

I see Fingerprince is getting a 2xLP + 7" reissue, if the price is right I might get it. its one of the most "cursed" albums I can think of

How do you mean?

well for one there are these promo images

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/meettheresidents/images/2/21/Fingerprincepromo.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170130074653

https://i.redd.it/z9d75qdshvw61.jpg

for two idk what it is exactly but I think it actually accomplishes the goal of sounding very off without necessarily trying to. its not just using prickly series of notes its layering a bunch of them on top of each other

furthermore it has the Marge Simpson voice in it which in itself is kinda freaky for a 70s album

wtf I love this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF2o5RDkq9A

God In Three Persons is not an amazing album overall but "Kiss Of Flesh" is incredible. Love a few others like "Hard And Tenderly"