Meet The Residents: America's Most Eccentric Band

by Ian Shirley

Eyeball-to-eyeball adventure into the weird and wacky world of The Residents. Who are they?

Genres: Music

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1998

Reviews

[Geoff Winston Leghorn Balme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty years into the future? Well I have a ticket to see them this coming May and while I can't be sure the industry hasn't passed it on down to the kids, that's well on 30 years since the writing of this book!
My main interest has never been a revelation of the identities of these wonderful artistic forces, my interest, as always, is in how they managed to do something that they knew would never reach most people and likely never really make them gobs of money . . . how does one keep that ball rolling for 5 decades? Not just the endless releases of challenging but tremendously rewarding lps/cds but also in the concepts (all Residents albums are concepts, some more engaging than others) and art poured into them, and films, and live productions. There's so much going on with a Residents product it's like a whole box of history and culture.
This book has some flaws, there are some typos that make it seem like an underground product. There are even some missed quotes from the records, "Please Everybody if we haven't done everything we could've we've tried" is the loop of Lennon on Third Reich and Roll (and yes this Nazi artwork is extra difficult decades on (somehow easier as satire then), but all in all our author gives us a fine introduction to the first couple of decades of The Residents as artists, though, The Residents themselves apparently wouldn't endorse the final product, we're sure that's just part of the endless motif of anonymity and mystery. I often feel that the Butthole Surfers and Einsturzinde Neubauten must have had their hands on early works and once you've immersed yourself in the free music concrete madness it's sometimes difficult to go back to plain pop music. I'm not saying anything is better or worse, that makes no sense in art, but there is a complexity and depth to the Residents output that is unmatched by anything except maybe Sun Ra (a solid influence).
So Strap in Fans - this plus all the new liner notes from the Preserved editions may finally elucidate how these great American artists tick!

[James Muro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the Residents first 25 years or so. One frustrating thing is that I wanted more information but then that’s part and parcel of the mystery surrounding the band. I can tell you this: I will be on a kick of listening to their music for the rest of the month, most definitely.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive and detailed examination you can find of this band, who have been recording steadily since 1972, yet have not publicly revealed their identities! A surprising amount of behind-the-scenes interviews and a few enticing B&W photos add to the bizarre history.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting detail of the Residents' rise with all the ups and downs along the way. Makes a nice companion for listening to their back catalogue.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great