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Just a question......THE RESIDENTS are ,just now, putting out yet another "career spanning" box set! Is there really anyone wild enough about these people to warrant another 4 CD retrospective? I have to say it's cheap enough in price.....but, I also have to say, "Again??"!

Maybe it's for the "beginners"? But after many of the real "lost" items (the Warners albums, etc. ) of their catalog have been "leaked" out ,and/or issued over the last few years....why another box set? Maybe I'm just old and jaded? But didn't they just ,within the last few years, leave "physical releases" behind? In any case.....here they come again........."snooze".....

I just knew it! They are a bit of "old news". Their newest album seemed interesting.....but,it hasn't been the same at least since the 1980's!

Yeah, I'm a Residents fan I loved The Ghost Of Hope. I'm also really dying to see their upcoming film "Double Trouble" even though it appears (from the only trailer so far) to be feeding off camp (compared to the surrealism of Vileness Fats and many of their various videos)

In a way, they're just like Zappa in the sense that their first 12-15 years where raw, very 'experimental' and innovative compared to both of their later stuff which tends to be far more polished and fixed in style.

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Trying to find the on switch but I kept getting my eyes poked out by her perky tits. I am not in trouble, for no trouble is worse than spilling milk.

I became a Residents fan in the late '70's. I first noticed their name in the liner notes for an album by another artist, including them in a list with Harry Partch, Moondog and Sun Ra as examples of American music mavericks. As a fan of the aforementioned artists, I had to check out the Residents. The first five or six albums absolutely floored me.
I am a rabid fan of their music up to Mark of the Mole. After that, they started to lose me.
I did see them in Montreal for the 13th Anniversary show, which I loved. And a year ago last April, I was in Montreal again for the Shadowland tour. I went to this show because they were showing "The Theory Of Obscurity" documentary, plus I was curious to see what The Residents were up to after all these years. I loved the documentary, but was disappointed with the Residents concert. The theatre they were performing in was a tad run down and a touch seedy. It struck me as a fall from grace for the boys. I thought their glory days were definitely behind them.
However, I still think they are much more interesting than a lot of bands operating today, and will always check out what they're up to.
As a sidebar to this, shortly after getting into the Residents, I also got into Renaldo and the Loaf. They were often described as "a British Residents". Plus, they were also on Ralph Records, so I was keen to check them out as well. In the last two years , I've picked up all the Renaldo/Loaf re-issues on the Klanggalerie label, the most recent being the "Title In Limbo" deluxe edition, the Renaldo and the Loaf/Residents collaboration from the early '80's. If you love early Residents, and don't know about Renaldo/Loaf, check them out.

I worked with a guy in the 90s who I would talk to about music. He said once that he "used to" listen to the Residents. I didn't get it. For me, the only people who turned their back on music were people who listened to disposable music like Cyndi Lauper or nsync. I could see how someone could like such things because their friends did or it was playing everywhere they went. But, The Resdients? Imo, it seemed like if someone went down that rabbit hole, they weren't likely to turn their back on it.
It seems that some people stop listening to The Residents when they hear an album that is markedly different from the previous one that they liked alot or maybe they cover a topic thats a bit tooooo unsettling. But, one of the things I like about The Residents is that they are not afraid to cover new ground or extra-weird ground. Some say that quality waned over the years. Not imo. They just morphed into something that some don't enjoy. I certainly like some albums more than others and I've been weirded out by many Residents albums. But, I always to end up finding that I like what they did. Creativity ain't always pretty.
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Don't Be Stupid Unless You Want To

One thing I love about the Residents, which often isn't the case for the more "bizarre" music groups, is that their music is "weird" and they have the very strikingly unique stage shows and all, yet their lyrics are always really deep and emotionally driven. The story format of many of their songs also grow a sympathy for the subject matter (which can often be horrific and existential). Their juxtaposition is always effective.
Also, just like Frank himself did, they're been constantly reinventing themselves throughout their career. And that's good to see!

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Trying to find the on switch but I kept getting my eyes poked out by her perky tits. I am not in trouble, for no trouble is worse than spilling milk.

To add to that though, for a band that wear eyeball and Santa outfits; they sing about a lot of really serious and important real life stuff (even in the story format songs).

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Trying to find the on switch but I kept getting my eyes poked out by her perky tits. I am not in trouble, for no trouble is worse than spilling milk.

heh

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that's what happens when you don't read you loose your link to higher thinking

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I'm petulant, and I'm having a frenzy...

I received the "Meet The Residents" and "The Third Reich and Roll" 2 cd reissues in the mail today, and am having a Residents Day ( and probably weekend ) here at home. The reissues sound great and are loaded with pertinent bonus tracks. Great booklets as well. Next up in their reissue program is "Fingerprince" and "Duck Stab", two of my favorites.

Awesome! Great albums

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Trying to find the on switch but I kept getting my eyes poked out by her perky tits. I am not in trouble, for no trouble is worse than spilling milk.

Yesterday's mail brought the next two installments in the Residents reissue program, "Fingerprince" and "Duck Stab/Buster and Glen". As with the first two 2 cd reissues, these are great, and have been getting a lot of play. However, it won't be an exclusively Residents weekend, as yesterday's mail also brought the latest in the Miles Davis Bootleg Series, 4 cds of Miles last tour with Coltrane from Europe 1960. Lots to listen to.

I'm a recent convert, and absolutely love this band. Kind of going down a big rabbit hole now.
I have the "Theory of Obscurity" DVD, and like the "80 Aching Orphans" 4 CD compilation A LOT.
Recently I got the iconic eyeball t shirt & pREServed edition of "Meet the Residents".
I pre-ordered "Duck Stab", and eagerly await it's arrival.

Major earworms have ensued.

I'm going to their live show on April 7 in Sonoma CA.

Have fun with them - it's lonely and personal music. My kids loved them when they were little- I used to sing them "Hello Skinny" and "Mahogany Wood" as lullabies. Now, they're teenagers and have no time for "weird shit that gets you no friends".
That doesn't make The Residents worse, tho'

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"I have learned from my mistakes, and I am sure I can repeat them exactly."

Get 'em into Zappa. That way, they can listen to weird shit that gets them political enemies!

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You're probably wondering why I'm here
(not that it makes a heck of a lot of a difference to ya)

I think they've worked that one out on their own - actually they respect Zappa, but never liked the music.

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"I have learned from my mistakes, and I am sure I can repeat them exactly."

Yes they're probably lots of residents fans still but the effort that goes into their music is more spiritual than the music you can make one of those songs in about 10 minutes