The Residents

[Guybrush]

Hola, Guest!

The Residents is one of those bands that have a fairly large discography, most of which is unexplored by yours truly.

So let's celebrate this legendary artist troupe and share our favourite things from their discography - or non-musical arts if you prefer.

What are some of your favourites?

[Lexi Darling]

The Third Reich n Roll is a masterpiece and so much of modern mashup culture owes a lot to it.

I'm not as versed in their other stuff, but I can definitely see their influence on later strains of oddball rock.

[Guybrush]

I'm mostly familiar with the fan favourites. Admittedly, it's because those were the mp3s that were easiest to get a hold of in the early days of the internet 🙂

I do remember there was a fairly decent webpage set up for The Residents that wrote about them being the world's most famous unknown band, or something along those lines.

Here's Caring, my favourite track from Demons Dance Alone.

[Guybrush]

Just relistened to this the other day, the song Shoe Salesman from Title in Limbo.

It starts out kinda eerie, then gets very silly towards the end.

I am not bitter
Nor am I out to get her
I care so very much for her
I just want her shoes to fit her

[Guybrush]

What happens if you mix Hank Williams' Kaw-Liga with Michael Jackson's Billie Jean?

You get something like this:

[Paul Smeenus]

Renaldo & the Loaf make the Residents seem like the 1910 Fruitgum Company

[Guybrush]

Not sure what the 1910 Fruitgum company is or means, but the videos for Music for Swinging Larvae was produced by The Residents, I believe.

I've listened to a little bit of Renaldo, having gotten curious about them from their Residents Collab and them getting taken under the wing of Ralph records early on. However, while I appreciate their experimentation in a general sense, I haven't quite heard any bangers.

I would be very interested in hearing recommendations if you have some 🙂

Continuing with The Residents, my favourite album is still Duck Stab. I could post several tracks from there and probably will, but I'll dole it out a bit.

My favourite from that album is Lizard Lady. It's a perfect mix of funny and a little unsettling. The lyrics are great.

What's a woman going to do but throw away her bread
Her feet are feeling funny as she lies beneath the bed
She reminisces of the pungent Adriatic Sea
And then she crawls and counts her cans and twitches like a flea

What she really likes to do is sit upon a pew
And make believe that time has stopped and motionless is new
Planes are stranded in the sky and drains are stopping, too
She alone is laughing under eyelids full of flu

She scurries hurries worries that the wicked will receive
Their candy from a handsome man and coffee from a thief
She gazes at a hourglass and asks it if it cares
And then she wonders if the lizard likes his lettuce rare

Lizard, yes a lizard, little lizard of the sea
Conspicuously alcoholic, flicks his tongue at me
Release me, release me lizard, blizzard of the bee
Mushed inside a sock you still dare me to die
Dare me to die at home
Coating all my lungs with honey, sticky coating running runny
Feet of lizard fly and stop and fly and stop and fly
And flicker tongue is licking out to find me, feel me, hide!
Hide from the tongue
The tongue is coming! Cruising! Oozing!
Over land and under ashes, in the sunlight, see it flashes
Find a fly and eat his eye, but don't believe in me.
Don't believe in me, don't believe in me
Don't believe in me, don't believe in me
Don't believe in me

[Paul Smeenus]

Not sure what the 1910 Fruitgum company is or means

It's where the name of the genre "Bubble Gum" comes from.

[Psy-Fi]

Not sure what the 1910 Fruitgum company is or means

Spoiler

1910 Fruitgum Co. - Yummy, Yummy, Yummy

[close]

[Guybrush]

Thanks @Paul Smeenus and @Psy-Fi. I get what you're saying

Possibly the first Residents-album I got acquainted with was their Commercial album, a parody of pop music and an album of 40 songs each lasting one minute. The liner notes say that to form a complete pop song, each song on Commercial album can simply be looped and played three times in a row.

My favourite from that album is Act of Being Polite. It also has a Residents music video, but I actually prefer this fanmade animation.

[Guybrush]

Probably the one song everybody knows from Duck stab or The Residents in general is - of course - Constantinople.

For myself as a teenager, I became instantly fascinated that someone would make something so funny, old-timey and kinda awful. Part of its attraction is obviously how granting it is - exactly the right song to throw in if you want to annoy your non-Residents-loving friends and family.