# Residents Appreciation Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 23, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914 "2001-11-23T17:20:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/1 "2001-11-23T17:20:22Z")
[Not Available](http://www.residents.com/albums/classic/notavail.html) is IMHO the best **Residents** album _ever_. Very dark, very obscure. While I love all their albums, this one is just, I dunno, _brilliantly weird_. And to think I was _seven_ years old when it was put out… What’s your fav Residents Album? ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/2 "2001-11-23T19:40:24Z")
Crafter\_Man: Not a Residents fan. But did you see the Greenpeace whaling protests? Big eyeball heads on the protesters. After visiting their site, I had to look for the Residents on the internet. Chrome ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/3 "2001-11-23T20:17:52Z")
Actually, I like _The Commercial Album_ best, but most of their stuff I’ve heard is really good. Where can I get the full version of Fur Elise, I love their take of it on the extracts and concentrates thing [sub]which I forget the name of and I’m at work so I can’t just grab the CD.[sub] ---
**Author:** ![Fogglethorpe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Fogglethorpe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fogglethorpe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/4 "2001-11-23T20:36:17Z")
“But a sentence existing inside of a rhyme Is only just a token left spoken in time” Yes, “Not Available” is weirdly brilliant, or brilliantly weird, or…? I am always glad to find another Residents fan. My favorite release by them is the first, “Meet the Residents”, an obvious jab at The Beatles’ first release. On the cover, hey posed in a similar manner as The Beatles, except of course for the eyeballs. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/5 "2001-11-23T23:23:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fogglethorpe \* > \*\* > My favorite release by them is the first, “Meet the Residents”, an obvious jab at The Beatles’ first release. > On the cover, hey posed in a similar manner as The Beatles, > except of course for the eyeballs. \*\* **Meet the Residents** is a _very_ cool album. The only problem is that I’ve heard it so many times that the magic has sort of worn off. I _love_ the piano stuff… Another album I really like is **Mark of the Mole** , which is probably the most “ghostly and eerie” of their albums. It was also the album that first turned me on to them. Does anyone have **Eskimo**? That’s the only classic album I don’t have. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2001, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/6 "2001-11-23T23:29:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > **Actually, I like _The Commercial Album_ best, but most of their stuff I’ve heard is really good.** **Commercial album** is a very “fun” album IMO. No creepy nightmarish stuff, just hilarious tunes! The songs are ingenious, and should be required listening by anyone who wants to be a songwriter. (I’m serious!) On the CD are some extra tunes that are really great, such as “Song For TV Show” (or something like that). ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/7 "2001-11-24T02:59:22Z")
From _The Commercial Album_: “hour by hour day by day Love leaks out And goes away” * * * A former UWEB member here (Uncle Willie’s Eyeball Buddies). The Residents are extraordinary. I have been a huge fan of this band for 20 years, from _Santa Dog_ to _Roadworms_. While I love the Residents lyrics, I have a special fondness for their cover songs. IMHO _Goosebumps_ is one of the most brilliant recordings of all time. Not only are these re-workings of Mother Goose rhymes chilling and beautiful, but the inspired idea of playing all the musics on instruments purchased at Toys 'R Us is perfectly carried out. The Residents changed the way I listen to music. I currently do a 5 hour radio show every Wednesday night here in Charlottesville on the local college radio station, and I always try to play at least one of their tunes. * * * “If you like to pretend that you’ll never get old, You got what it takes to ROCK ‘N’ ROLL.” from \*Gingerbread Man \* ---
**Author:** ![pharoah\_chromium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@pharoah\_chromium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pharoah_chromium)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/8 "2001-11-24T06:05:25Z")
Hmmm – a thread where someone might actually know from whence I derived my user name, if they also followed all the tangents. Yes, Not Available is the best. I have to admit that I haven’t bought anything past “The Big Bubble”. A deficiency that I’ll have to correct. I’ve seen them in concert twice – The Mole Show in Washington DC was one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended. ---
**Author:** ![Fogglethorpe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Fogglethorpe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fogglethorpe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/9 "2001-11-24T17:05:56Z")
I have lost track of the Residents of late…are they up to anything, or have they disbanded for good? Also, does anyone remember when Snakefinger died? One more thing…does anyone have anything by Renaldo and the Loaf? Were members of the Residents in this band? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/10 "2001-11-24T18:08:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fogglethorpe \* > \*\*One more thing…does anyone have anything by Renaldo and the Loaf? Were members of the Residents in this band? \*\* Renaldo and the Loaf worked with the Residents on Ralph Records in the late 1970s early 1980’s. _Songs for Swinging Larvae_ is a wonderful example of Renaldo’s work from that time. The songs are manic and perhaps even more bizarre than those of the Residents. The Residents and Renaldo had one collaborative effort entitled _Title in Limbo_ which has never to my knowledge been released on CD. (However, some songs from that LP are available as “bonus tracts” on certain Residents CD’s) Renaldo’s song “Hambu Ho Do” is a masterpiece. The title purportedly comes from a sign on a discarded hotdog stand. All the lyrics to this work also seem to be missing letters so that repeated listenings allow one to catch (or guess at) bits and pieces of the intended words. This is Pure Heaven for a puzzle fan. One last note: If you ever get a chance to see the absolutely weird and wonderful video work the Residents and Renaldo did together, don’t miss the opportunity. I believe these are still available from some sources, but I’m not 100% sure. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/11 "2001-11-24T20:20:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biotop \* > One last note: If you ever get a chance to see the absolutely weird and wonderful video work the Residents and Renaldo did together, don’t miss the opportunity. I believe these are still available from some sources, but I’m not 100% sure. \*\* There is a DVD of those videos out. It’s very cool, with a new music track as well as the original versions. Everything from _Third Reich And Roll_ to _Wormwood_ is represented\* along with _Vileness Fats_ and _Songs for Swinging Larvae_. **Crafter Man** I don’t have _Not Available_, the darker stuff of theirs I have is \*Gingerbread Man, Wormwood,\*and _God in 3 Persons_ which was a tad too dark for my taste. So is _Not Available_ closer to _Gingerbread Man_ or _God in 3 Persons_? ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2001, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/12 "2001-11-24T23:52:38Z")
I picked up “Third Reich and Roll” on vinyl just because of the weird cover art (especially Dick Clark holding a carrot. Great stuff. They also appeared as themselves in a Matt Howarth comic, I think featuring the Bulldaggers. (Howarth is a Philadelphia-area artist whose heavily into various forms of electornica music and features artists in his books. He turned me on to Yello, Wire and Conrad Schnitzler when my tastes were strictly radio-driven.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/13 "2001-11-25T05:10:39Z")
Don’t forget the great cover songs the Residents have produced. A personal favorite is their original interpretations of the Hank Williams Sr canon in _Stars and Hank Forever_ (finally re-released on CD). ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/14 "2001-11-25T11:37:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Biotop \* > > One last note: If you ever get a chance to see the absolutely weird and wonderful video work the Residents and Renaldo did together, don’t miss the opportunity. I believe these are still available from some sources, but I’m not 100% sure. \*\* > > There is a DVD of those videos out. It’s very cool, with a new music track as well as the original versions. Everything from _Third Reich And Roll_ to _Wormwood_ is represented\* along with _Vileness Fats_ and _Songs for Swinging Larvae_. > > \*\* You beat me to it. “Icky Flix”. My birthday present from last year. Do not try to live without it. Surely they are as much a visual band as aural, how can you not have the videos? How can you not have the KKK hooded “Third Reich and Roll”? How can you not see Skinny of “Hello Skinny”? How can you not wonder about what visuals they finally came up with for “Constaninople”? And “Songs for Swinging Larvae” is enough reason by itself. And the animation for the stuff from “Freak Show”. (I also recomennd “Freak Show” the DVD) So my album recommendation is the DVD “Icky Flix”. ---
**Author:** ![Fibonacci](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Fibonacci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fibonacci)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2001, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/15 "2001-11-25T17:43:45Z")
I’ve always been partial to Diskomo, however this may be the thread to brag that the crown jewel of my Residents collection is an autographed copy of Mark Of The Mole on brown vinyl. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/16 "2001-12-03T01:48:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biotop \* > \*\* > _Songs for Swinging Larvae_ is a wonderful example of Renaldo’s work from that time. The songs are manic and perhaps even more bizarre than those of the Residents. The Residents and Renaldo had one collaborative effort entitled _Title in Limbo_ which has never to my knowledge been released on CD. (However, some songs from that LP are available as “bonus tracts” on certain Residents CD’s) \*\* _Songs for Swinging Larvae_ is without-a-doubt the strangest album in my repertoire. It’s less mainstream than any Residents album IMO, and that’s saying a lot. I find the music interesting, though I could do without the annoying singing. My CD version of **Not Available** contains six songs from _Title in Limbo_. Again, interesting stuff, but not exactly to my taste. > [@](#): > > \*\* > If you ever get a chance to see the absolutely weird and wonderful video work the Residents and Renaldo did together, don’t miss the opportunity. I believe these are still available from some sources, but I’m not 100% sure. \*\* I have a VHS of their music videos. I _love_ the Residents videos, particularly the 1-minute vids of **Commercial Album** songs. And their video of Swastikas on Parade (Land of 1000 Dances?) has just _got_ to be seen. But Renaldo’s video (of _Spratt’s Medium_) is so disturbing that I have trouble watching it. I also have **Whatever Happened to Vileness Fats** on VHS. Now _that’s_ bizarre sh\*t! ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/17 "2001-12-03T02:00:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grendel72 \* > **Crafter Man** I don’t have _Not Available_, the darker stuff of theirs I have is \*Gingerbread Man, Wormwood,\*and _God in 3 Persons_ which was a tad too dark for my taste. So is _Not Available_ closer to _Gingerbread Man_ or _God in 3 Persons_? \*\* I don’t have _Gingerbread Man_ , but I do have _God in 3 Persons_. I guess I never really considered Gi3P to be “dark/eerie” stuff. Actually, I consider their “darkest/ghostliest” album to be **Mark of the Mole**. Great stuff. I also believe MotM was the first Residents album to get “rave reviews” from the (dreaded) music critics. (Not that I care…) ---
**Author:** ![Fogglethorpe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Fogglethorpe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fogglethorpe)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/18 "2001-12-05T02:00:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biotop \* > \*\* > > The Residents changed the way I listen to music. I currently do a 5 hour radio show every Wednesday night here in Charlottesville on the local college radio station, and I always try to play at least one of their tunes. > > from \*Gingerbread Man \* \*\* Which station, and is it available on the web for listening? ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/19 "2001-12-05T02:40:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fogglethorpe > \*\*\*Which station, and is it available on the web for listening? \*\* **WTJU** --91.1 in Charlottesville, Virginia. I’ve been doing _The Hep Imp Show_ since May. (“Experimental Music” at its finest!) It can be heard from 1am to 6am every Thursday Morning. Unfortunately, we’re not on the web yet, though I understand plans are in the works. ---
**Author:** ![Fogglethorpe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Fogglethorpe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fogglethorpe)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2001, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/residents-appreciation-thread/94914/20 "2001-12-05T19:55:42Z")
Not many stations doing things like that anymore, Biotop. It sounds exciting. Let me know when the webcast is up and running…I’d love to listen.