.Not long ago, an unsolicited DVD arrived at The Residents' studio. Since the location of the group's private inner sanctum is a closely-guarded secret, the appearance of the disc was definitely regarded as a little strange. Other than the occasional piece of junk mail, nothing ever arrived at The Residents' intimate work space without an invitation. But the envelope containing the disc bore a ...
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The Residents - The Bunny Boy(Santa Dog Records, 2008)4.5 out of 10A portrait of the reviewer as a young man, yes, but not as young as when I was just past boyhood, when I first heard the Residents as a 14-year-old and decided this Cryptic music was uberphenomenal. Their '70s catalogue, even through the earliest '80s, was and is seen by me as one of the finest and longest runs of fine records m...
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Anonymous performers The Residents, or the four interior decorators of the Apocalypse (as they call themselves on their MySpace page) will follow-up the digital release of their new album The Voice Of Midnight with the album's physical release on November 20th. The visual performance group's latest is adapted from the short story, Der Sandmann, by Prussian writer E.T.A. Hoffman, first publis...
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Most certainly not of this reality, the Residents have always presented one of the most honest alternative pathways. The concept behind the recording that became known as "Not Available" was to truly never be released. Thus allowing the artistic expression to not be influenced by pending opinions. Or something to that effect. The concept of a French philosopher. Well, recording delays for fu...
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Here are my thoughts from three years ago on Animal Lover by the Residents. If you haven't heard this one, just pretend that IT'S their new album and go listen to it. Also, "RzWeb" is now defunct, the excellent fan-created, Cryptic Corp.-inflated resource website for the Residents. Residents.com is alright now, and has more content than you might imagine, but RzWeb was a delightful cross-refere...
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The new Residents album is frankly quite poor. I'm sad about it, but I won't cry for long; I can't expect all their gambits to pay off. It is, however, probably their worst major release since The King & Eye (an Elvis Presley cover album from the late '80s)... Why doesn't it work? Animal Lover (released in 2005, and still my pick for the best album of that year) steps lightly, paints with deep ...
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After recording an LP made up of 40 one-minute songs, "The Commercial Album," The Residents found it appropriate to create this video consisting of four one-minute movies. Working with director Graeme Whifler, the group developed a more sophisticated look than the earlier "Third Reich 'N' Roll." This film is also in the New York Museum of Modern Art film collection.1980, The Residents/Graeme Wh...
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I finally got my River of Crime CD-Rs today. They look nice, though I do wish the packaging were an actual digipak instead of the cardboard slipcase. But since I can't even use the CDs for another month, I guess it doesn't matter yet.Just started listening to the first episode. It's like some of the old radio serials my dad used to play when we'd go on road trips, but somewhat darker than the
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The Residents have set up a new online repository of rarities and other miscellaneous songs. They're in MP3 format and expecting to be paid on the honor system, with a suggested donation of $1/song.Why do I have a bad feeling they'll be getting a whole bunch of money from me soon?
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I've just downloaded The Residents' Cube-E: American Music In Three E-Z Parts. I've had an old cassette of the concert for a long time and I thought it was time to upgrade to hi-fi. This new one must be a different recording, because it's noticeably different. The songs are the same, but it's definitely a different recording. Makes me wonder, after The Rez always complained about how there were...
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"Title in Limbo is an album by The Residents in collaboration with Renaldo and the Loaf, released in 1983 on Ralph Records. Guest performers include Snakefinger (guitar and violin), and vocalist Nessie Lessons. The album was originally recorded during four days in 1981, when Renaldo and The Loaf were on vacation in San Francisco, but they were unable to finish the album before the duo went home...
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