The Residents: C/D;S&D

Members of the Residents' founder Hardy Fox's email list received the following message today: "RIP Brain Cancer Hardy Fox 1945 - 2018" 👁️ pic.twitter.com/npGUjiHk0M

— Aidin Vaziri (@MusicSF) October 30, 2018

The wording of that statement is so weird that I'm clinging to the hope that it's the brain cancer that's dead and not Hardy. Talk about clutching at straws!

Official announcment, RIP Hardy.

https://www.residents.com/news/?article=20181030-0621

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-ISfhLLJpc

Fascinating guy!!! R.I.P.

Backstory and lots of Homer quotes:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/obituaries/hardy-fox-dead.html

A still more detailed overview/backview & quotes of Chuck/Hardy, whoms the author was in some degree of contact with:
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/07/664314033/the-residents-unmasking-death-hardy-fox-composer-america-weirdest-band

I wouldn't call myself a fan now, but I definitely was in high school, and the Cube-E tour in NYC in 1989 was one of the coolest shows I've ever been to. There's a 7CD box coming out from Cherry Red, and I think I need it.

Cube-E Box – The History Of American Music In 3 E-Z Pieces pREServed

In the late 1980s The Residents embarked on what many fans still consider their greatest live project. “Cube-E – The History Of American Music In 3 E-Z Pieces” spanned almost four years and proposed to do nothing less than its title suggested, telling the story of American popular music, from its birth around the campfires of a non-existent Old West to its death at the hands of Elvis and the British Invasion, all in three easy pieces.

Performed on TV and on stage around the world between 1987 and 1990, the show saw The Residents fully embrace their loves of elaborate and imaginative staging, the latest in music technology and, of course, The King – Elvis Aaron Presley. It goes without saying that there was barely a dry seat in the house, and alongside live recordings and contemporaneous studio material this pREServed set includes the previously unreleased demos for the entire “King & Eye” album, which saw the group tackle twenty-something (you can count ’em!) of Mr. Swivel Hips’ hottest hits.

Spread across an inescapably unwieldy 7CDs at the group’s insistence, “Cube-E pREServed” is the final word in Americana cool. Or so it says here!

Remastered, expanded, and pREServed for future generations, this is the latest in a series of archival Residents reissues that will continue throughout 2020 and beyond. Look out for “Freak Show” and “Gingerbread Man” sets, coming to a record store near you!

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
BUCKAROO BLUES LIVE IN AMSTERDAM
1. FROM THE PLAINS TO MEXICO
2. THE THEME FROM BUCKAROO BLUES
3. THE STAMPEDE
4. TRAIL DANCE
5. BURY ME NOT
6. COWBOY WALTZ
7. SADDLE SORES
8. THE THEME FROM BUCKAROO BLUES (REPRISE)
BONUS BUCKS
9. SUZANNA
10. BUCKAROO BLUES
(STUDIO INSTRUMENTAL)*
11. FROM THE PLAINS TO MEXICO
(ITALIAN VERSION)
12. FROM THE PLAINS TO MEXICO (NIGHT MUSIC)
13. BUCKAROO BLUES THEME
(LIVE IN LONDON, 2001)
14. FROM THE PLAINS TO MEXICO
(LIVE IN NEW YORK, 2002)
15. BURY ME NOT
(LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 2011)
16. FROM THE PLAINS TO MEXICO
(LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 2018)

DISC TWO
BLACK BARRY LIVE IN AMSTERDAM
1. THE GOSPEL TRUTH
2. SHORTNIN’ BREAD
3. BLACK BARRY
4. FORTY-FOUR
5. ENGINE 44
6. NEW ORLEANS
7. VOODOO QUEEN
8. WHAT AM I GONNA DO?
9. ORGANISM
BONUS BARRIES
10. WISTFUL BREAK
11. VOODOO QUEEN/WHAT AM I GONNA DO? (REHEARSAL)
12. NEW ORLEANS (STUDIO JAM)
13. HOUSEHOLD WORK*
14. AMAZON*
15. FEVER DREAM*
16. THE TOY FACTORY (FANFARE MIX)*
17. GHOST MUSIC
18. FORTY-FOUR
(LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1997)
19. FORTY-FOUR (LIVE IN NANTES, 2014)
20. BLACK BARRY DYNASONE

DISC THREE
THE BABY KING LIVE IN AMSTERDAM
1. OBER
2. THE BABY KING PT. 1
3. DON’T BE CRUEL
4. HEARTBREAK HOTEL
5. FOOL SUCH AS I
6. ALL SHOOK UP
7. THE BABY KING PT. 2
8. DEVIL IN DISGUISE
9. BURNING LOVE
10. TEDDY BEAR
11. VIVA LAS VEGAS
12. THE BABY KING PT. 3
13. LOVE ME TENDER
14. THE BABY KING PT. 4
15. HOUND DOG / OUT
BONUS BABIES
16. DON’T BE CRUEL (VIDEO EDIT)*
17. DON’T
18. SURRENDER
19. BURNING LOVE (TELE5 DEMO)
20. BURNING LOVE (TELE5 PERFORMANCE)
21. OBER (LIVE IN AUSTRALIA, 2005)
22. TEDDY BEAR (LIVE IN AUSTRALIA, 2005)
23. TEDDY BEAR (LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 2018)

DISC FOUR
CUBE-E LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1989
1. BUCKAROO BLUES
2. BLACK BARRY

DISC FIVE
CUBE-E LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO AND RECKLINGHAUSEN, 1989
1. THE BABY KING BEGINNING*
2. THE BABY KING MIDDLE*
3. THE BABY KING END*
PLUS
4. MR SKULL’S NYE SONG

DISC SIX
THE KING & EYE REMASTERED
1. BLUE SUEDE SHOES
2. THE BABY KING PT 1
3. DON’T BE CRUEL
4. HEARTBREAK HOTEL
5. ALL SHOOK UP
6. RETURN TO SENDER
7. THE BABY KING PT 2
8. TEDDY BEAR
9. DEVIL IN DISGUISE
10. STUCK ON YOU
11. BIG HUNK O LOVE
12. A FOOL SUCH AS I
13. THE BABY KING PT 3
14. LITTLE SISTER
15. HIS LATEST FLAME
16. BURNING LOVE
17. VIVA LAS VEGAS
18. THE BABY KING PT 4
19. LOVE ME TENDER
20. THE BABY KING PT 5
21. HOUND DOG
BONUS KINGS
22. DOG GLUE
23. JAILHOUSE ROCK RMX
24. SURRENDER RMX
25. HEARTBREAK HOTEL RMX
26. LITTLE SISTER RMX
27. BURNING LOVE RMX
28. A FOOL SUCH AS I RMX

DISC SEVEN
THE KING & EYE DEMOS
1. BLUE SUEDE SHOES*
2. THE BABY KING PT 1*
3. DON’T BE CRUEL*
4. HEARTBREAK HOTEL*
5. ALL SHOOK UP*
6. RETURN TO SENDER*
7. THE BABY KING PT 2*
8. TEDDY BEAR*
9. DEVIL IN DISGUISE*
10. STUCK ON YOU*
11. BIG HUNK O LOVE*
12. A FOOL SUCH AS I*
13. THE BABY KING PT 3*
14. LITTLE SISTER*
15. BURNING LOVE*
16. VIVA LAS VEGAS*
17. THE BABY KING PT 4*
18. LOVE ME TENDER*
19. THE BABY KING PT 5*
20. HOUND DOG*
21. I CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU*
22. DON’T*
23. SURRENDER*

*previously unreleased

Watched the documentary a couple of nights ago and it was okay, but it got me to remember that they're one of those bands which I have one album by that I adore (Not Available) yet got sidetracked from for several years. Although I kept playing live versions of Demons Dance Alone songs and I loved those too.

Is this one of those bands that have a few side projects and solo things which are as good as their best albums?

There are no side projects and solo things that I know of beyond the stuff Hardy Fox put out in the few years before he died, which I've never heard and which, in any case, he only started after he'd quit the Residents.

There is Snakefinger, of course.

There's the collaborative album with Renaldo and the Loaf (which was excerpted on the '80s CD of Not Available).

Yes, of course.

IIRC the first Snakefinger album, Chewing Hides the Sound, was a stealth Residents album; they're the backing band on it.

A few days behind on email, as usual:

The Residents Visual History Book
The Residents: A Sight for Sore Eyes, Vol. 1 Announced Today
Out January 7, 2022, Read about the Book via BrooklynVegan

Includes 7 inch record of the unreleased
Not Available-era track, "Nobody's Nos.”

Pre-order Launches Today, Watch the Teaser Video Here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa3slEx2RTs

In conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the legendary experimental music and art collective The Residents, their first fully authorized visual history book, The Residents: A Sight for Sore Eyes, Vol. 1, has been announced today via BrooklynVegan. Published by Melodic Virtue, the book contains rare and unseen photos, artwork, and other ephemera. Aaron Tanner has been given unprecedented access to The Cryptic Corporation’s archives to create a limited edition coffee table book covering everything from their beginnings in San Mateo up to The Mole Show.

...Excerpt from The True Story of The Residents:
A Brief Summary of Known Facts, Top Secrets, Hazy Details,
Veiled Hints, and Blatant Lies (1979) by Matt Groening:
There is no true story of The Residents. You should know that right off. The secrets of The Residents will never be revealed by anyone but The Residents themselves, and so far they aren’t saying much. This report offers some insight into The Residents and their work, but their favorite breakfast cereals will remain a mystery. Part of what The Residents are about is their camouflage, and any understanding of them must take into account both their organized sounds and their organized silence. The best this report can do is note the various statements and point out the gaps. Our knowledge is still incomplete. Anything is possible.

The book features an introduction by Les Claypool (Primus) and exclusive quotes from Danny Elfman, Paul Reubens, John Linnell (They Might Be Giants), “Weird Al” Yankovic, Andy Partridge (XTC), Penn Jillette, Eric Drew Feldman (Captain Beefheart's Magic Band), Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers), Aaron Freeman (Ween), James McNew (Yo La Tengo), Zach Hill (Death Grips), Eric André, David J (Bauhaus), Cedric Bixler-Zavala (The Mars Volta), Josh Freese (The Vandals), Rob Crow (Pinback), Dan Deacon, Don Preston (The Mothers of Invention), Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten), JG Thirlwell, Blaine L. Reininger (Tuxedomoon), Sam Coomes (Quasi), David Janssen and Brian Poole (Renaldo and the Loaf), and many more!

This book also contains a black vinyl 7" record of the unreleased Not Available-era track, "Nobody's Nos.”
A deluxe edition is also available that is limited to 500 copies, signed by the band and author, and includes a picture disc of “Nobody’s Nos” along with a 24-page softcover book, Duck Stab/Buster & Glen Notebook, that contains never-before-seen notes and in-progress lyrics for the legendary album.

The Residents: A Sight for Sore Eyes, Vol. 1
LIMITED-RUN OF 2000
9" X 9" casebound, 356 pages
PUBLISHED: January 7, 2022
CATALOG NO: MVP005
ISBN: 978-0-578-92935-4
LCCN: 2021917435

Pre-order URL: https://www.melodicvirtue.com/collections/the-residents

About the author:
For more than two decades, Aaron Tanner has been creating unconventional design work for legendary acts. He has produced authorized books on the Butthole Surfers, Ministry, Face to Face, and now The Residents. Prior to publishing, he was Ween's resident designer for over 15 years and maintained a diverse client roster that included Pixies, Explosions in the Sky, Epitaph Records, Secretly Group, Temporary Residence Ltd., and pet celebs Lil BUB and Doug The Pug. A musician and life-long fan of music and the arts, Tanner has won numerous national awards and has been recognized by several prestigious international design publications.

About Melodic Virtue:
Melodic Virtue is a small, artist-friendly independent publisher dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacies of underground bands through limited-run coffee table books. Originally founded in 2004 as a graphic design studio by Aaron Tanner, Melodic Virtue produces fully authorized books that offer an immersive, and definitive, visual history of bands outside of mainstream music culture. Each authentic and unusual story is told through compelling design, rare photographs and artwork, and gripping first-hand anecdotes from their fans and contemporaries.
More info, links, graphics here:
https://mailchi.mp/girlie/the-residents-celebrate-50th-anniversary-w-visual-history-book-ft-danny-elfman-les-claypool-they-might-be-giants-and-more-out-jan-7?e=fdd9971b11

The current live band is incredibly killer!!!

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/hardy-fox-the-residents/

funny you should bump this, I'm actually pretty mad at them for leaning into their pro-NFT stance:

From the office of The Cryptic Corporation:
The Cryptic Corporation has recently learned of a negative backlash over the offer of NFTs based on DUCK STAB! Alive!, The Residents’ recent appearance on Night Flight +. Fortunately, The Residents DO NOT engage with social media, the great evil polluting the culture with endless and unaccountable negative energy. The Cryptic Corporation has long relished its role of shielding, protecting and enabling these artists and will continue to do so.

That said, GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK!

No one beneath the Cryptic umbrella is getting rich, but we do like to pay our bills. The Residents have had FIVE TOURS canceled, postponed and/or rescheduled in the past two years. During that time, The band was invited to revisit DUCK STAB! as part of Night Flight’s 40th Anniversary celebration; the group was happy to accept and the video has received universal acclaim, but the production expense was far greater than we have recouped. A few months later, Cryptic was approached by the video’s collaborators with the idea of creating a limited series of NFTs with the hope of recovering a portion of these expenses.

It’s hard to see this as a greedy or unreasonable position, but we do live in a capitalist culture that offers infinite choices in terms of where one spends their disposable income. No one is being forced to buy anything, but if you don’t like our products, please take your money and spend it somewhere else.

Thanks
Homer Flynn
The Cryptic Corporation

my response, from a comment to a friend:

man what a bummer. old guy doubles down on wrong decision, news at 11. maybe Negativland could offer some pointers, I just saw their tour in November. and yes, I will take my money elsewhere, especially after that disastrously brickwalled "expanded remaster" series.

i cant imagine getting upset at them for this who cares

I do, because NFTs are a scam and suck

also they haven;t made a good album since 1980

yes they have. wormwood is awesome. freakshow is sick. their current live line up is the best one since cube-e. they are awesome. nfts are a scam so dont buy one? im sure people said cd roms are a fad.

homer isnt here saying NFTS ARE AWESOME THEY ARE THE FUTURE INVEST INVEST INVEST he's like "dude i need to pay the bills so please be understanding when i get an opportunity that someone wants to give me money for stuff" this is this dude's day job and he has people on the payroll. negativeland isn't a good comparison.

i've not followed the NFT threads on here but have been party to a lot of discussions elsewhere about how NFTs might be subverted into something that isn't a scam and doesn't suck. i guess time will tell. but, i don't think i have an issue with the residents paying some bills from selling NFTs. who is gettimg scammed there?

the buyers, I imagine.

and NFTs are bad because all blockchain technology is bad, there's nothing about the excessive energy usage that can be reformed

that shit has erased literally all the gains solar made w/r/t CO2 emissions over the last decade, god damn right I'm pissed off at these credulous senile motherfuckers

I love both of you guys and would FAP anytime but I am really so mad about this, I'm just gonna unbookmark

ok ilu2 but i already wrote this stuff xpost!

man it's expensive to put on a residents show. the costumes, the sound, the films. its a whole production!

and you are no longer choosing to support one of america's best long running avant garde musical troupes that has never been backed by any corporate money, has been a 100% diy since day 1 independently run effort, mostly by two guys that love to create, but now just one since his best friend died and who has lost thousands and thousands of dollars that they depend on to live because of covid cancelling their tours because... their fans choose to support them? look that's the free market and you're free to do whatever but i feel like your anger is misplaced here and nfts have become an easy thing to hate on. yah they are stupid. big deal. (i made fun of bitcoin when it first came out btw and also im poor).

but ok if they fuckin up the earth than ok

agreed and that's the reason i have declined to get involved with them. i still hold out some hope that there is something positive within the NFT idea that can be co-opted in a non blockchain environment to make artist payments fairer and instantaneous. that of course could be utopian thinking.

They did put out that $100k box set in a fridge, so this kind of seems like a Residentsy thing to do imo. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be mad about it, mind you, just that this one doesn't surprise or shock me.

ks, you should still be making fun of bitcoin.

while NFTs suck and are irredeemable, I do admit that it is, as emily says, a very Residentsy thing to do. I guess I can be a little more forgiving when it's a band that's gone out of its way to sell as few records as possible

this discussion and the Spotify discussion go hand in hand - musicians get paid shit for streaming (and often the label just takes it all), and we're on Year 3 of a pandemic which has stopped most bands from touring, so what exactly are they expected to do?

HE RESIDENTS, NELS CLINE, JOSH FREESE AND IVA BITTOVÁ HIGHLIGHT POLYHEDREN COLLABORATIVE MUSIC PROJECT PSYCHIC FROM COMPOSER AND PRODUCER DREN McDONALD

Streaming/Sales Profits Benefit Bay Area Music Project, an After School Music Education non-Profit Program that Brings Music Lessons to Children who Otherwise Couldn’t Afford Them
...The collaborations for this project started organically, with McDonald seeking out vocalists for the first few singles. As momentum began to build around the release of the singles, he decided to extend the project and release a full length. Next he reached out to friends The Residents and Josh Freese to take part. Because Freese had always been a Residents fan, McDonald saw an opportunity for further collaboration. In fact, the song “Sixteen Gold Candles” was the result of sending files back and forth for many months.

While Dren has collaborated with The Residents many times in the past, it had never been with music. He’d helped design limited edition releases, tour merchandise, stage managed and even been on stage with them - as a costumed glob of human jello! While The Residents remain anonymous (50 years since their inception), they don’t tend to collaborate with too many other artists. They just don’t see ‘eye to eye’ with a lot of other folks, so it was definitely a special occasion to be able to bring about a collaboration that involved them and someone of Freese’s talent. Josh’s latest record, “Just A Minute, Vol. 1” (Loosegroove) is a record of 1 minute songs (perhaps inspired by The Residents’ Commercial Album of all 1 minute songs), including “The Ghost of Hardy Fox” (Hardy Fox was revealed as one of The Residents after he passed in 2018). Freese is no stranger to creating musical oddities, as he’s also been a consistent collaborator with Devo, Nine Inch Nails, Danny Elfman, A Perfect Circle, Weezer, and The Replacements.
...The resulting full-length polyheDren album collaboration is a shared musical vision that lies somewhere between funk, electronic, post-rock and world music with each guest artist revealing an unexpected performance to each track. Track listing as follows:

1. Two Sweet Sixteens and Four Weddings (feat. Rini)
2. Tethys Express (Album Mix) (Feat. Rini)
3. Sixteen Gold Candles (Feat. The Residents & Josh Freese)
4. Film Stars (Album Mix) (Feat. Moorea Dickason & Daria Novo)
5. Lonely Lullaby (feat. Iva Bittova)
6. Scorpions a Lot (feat. Nels Cline & Rini)
7. Buckaroo Moon (Album Mix) (feat. Sangin Sara & Daria Novo)
8. Planted a Flower (Album Mix) (feat. Ali Paris & Misha Khalikulov)
9. NelsScorpions Altered a Lot (feat. Nels Cline & Rini)

Polyhedron definition: poly=’many’ hedron=’base’, a 3 dimensional shape with polygonal faces and straight edges. New shapes in music.

josh at itsalivemedia.com
http://www.facebook.com/itsalivemedia
http://www.twitter.com/itsalivemedia
http://www.instagram.com/itsalivejosh

http://www.itsalivemedia.com

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"