Allmusic had this to say about the Residents: "Over the course of a recording career spanning several decades, the Residents remained a riddle of Sphinx-like proportions; cloaking their lives and music in a haze of willful obscurity, the band's members never identified themselves by name, always appearing in public in disguise -- usually tuxedos, top hats and giant eyeball masks -- and refusing to grant media interviews. Drawing inspiration from the likes of fellow innovators including Harry Partch, Sun Ra, and Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, the Residents channelled the breadth of American music into their idiosyncratic, satiric vision, their mercurial blend of electronics, distortion, avant-jazz, classical symphonies and gratingly nasal vocals reinterpreting everyone from John Philip Sousa to James Brown while simultaneously expanding the boundaries of theatrical performance and multimedia interaction.
It was commonly accepted that the four-member group emigrated to San Francisco, California from Shreveport, Louisiana at some point in the early '70s. According to longtime group spokesman Jay Clem -- one member of the so-called Cryptic Corporation, the band's representative body -- they received their name when Warner Bros. mailed back their anonymous demo tape, addressed simply "for the attention of residents". Finding no takers for their oddball sounds, the Residents founded their own label, Ralph Records, for the purposes of issuing their 1972 debut "Santa Dog", released in a pressing of 300 copies which were mailed out to luminaries from Frank Zappa to President Richard Nixon. Their debut full-length, 1974's "Meet the Residents", reportedly sold fewer than 50 copies before the group was threatened with a lawsuit from Capitol Records over its cover, a twisted, dada-esque parody of the art to "Meet the Beatles".
The follow-up, 1974's neoclassical excursion "Not Available", was recorded with the intention of its music remaining unissued; locked in cold storage upon its completion, only a 1978 contractual obligation resulted in its eventual release. 1976's "The Third Reich 'N Roll" was the next official offering, a collection of pop oldies covers presented in a controversial jacket portraying Adolf Hitler clutching an enormous carrot. After a 1976 concert in Berkeley, California which cloaked the Residents behind an opaque screen, wrapped up like mummies -- the most famous of only three live performances mounted during their first decade of existence -- they issued an abrasive 1977 cover of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", which became an underground hit on both sides of the Atlantic at the peak of the punk movement. As the decade drew to a close, the group released a flurry of recordings, further building upon their growing cult following; among them were 1978's "Duck Stab", 1979's "Eskimo" (purportedly a collection of native Arctic chants) and 1980's "Commercial Album", a compilation of 40 one-minute "pop songs" that aired on San Francisco radio only because the Residents played them during the advertising time they bought.
In 1981 the Residents embarked upon their "Mole Trilogy", a prog rock collection of albums -- 1981's "Mark of the Mole", 1982's "The Tunes of Two Cities" and 1985's "The Big Bubble" -- recounting an epic battle between a pair of tribes named the Moles and the Chubs; a lavish, multimedia tour, "The Mole Show", followed. In the interim, the group also mounted another ambitious project, the "American Composer" series, although only two of the projected titles -- 1984's "George & James" (a reinterpretation of songs by George Gershwin and James Brown) and 1986's "Stars & Hank Forever" (celebrating John Philip Sousa and Hank Williams) -- ever appeared. Instead, in the wake of financial and corporate difficulties which resulted in the creation of a New Ralph label, the Residents issued the one-off "God in Three Persons" (a talking blues outing), and 1989's "The King and Eye" (a reinterpretation of Elvis Presley standards).
After losing control of the Ralph label as well as their back catalog, the Residents regained the rights to their music in 1990 and began reissuing long-out-of-print material as well as the new "Freak Show", a meditation on circus sideshows and carnival dementia. Four years later, Freak Show was reissued as a CD-ROM, marking the group's first leap into the new digital interactive technology; "Have a Bad Day" followed in 1996, and included the soundtrack to the CD-ROM game "Bad Day on the Midway." In 1997, the band celebrated their silver anniversary with the release of the career-spanning overview "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses". "Wormwood: Curious Stories From the Bible" followed the next year, with "Roadworms" (songs from Wormwood as performed in the stage show) being issued in mid-2000. They followed that up with the awesome "Icky Flix" DVD, an incredibly detailed collection of their videos that featured both old and new soundtracks, 5.1 Digital Stereo Surround sound, countless hidden videos and in-depth histories of each individual track. That was followed by another one of their rare tours, which saw them incorporate the DVD into their live act and bring out guest singer Molly Harvey for some truly creative duets. The "Petting Zoo" retrospective followed in the spring of 2002, acting as a budget sampler for new fans and giving old fans something to tide them over while several high concept projects neared completion. The first was "Demons Dance Alone", a complicated pop album that hearkened back to the catchier material from "Duck Stab" and the "Commercial Album". That was followed in 2002 by a live retrospective called "Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town" that contained 3 cd's and a DVD, and a further look at their past via remasters and remixes put out by EuroRalph (including a remix of their previously unreleased and notorious "Warner Brothers Demo"). A DVD of the Demons Dance Alone tour came out in 2004 and another new project, "Animal Lover" was released in 2005."
Summer of 2006 brought the internet download project, The River of Crime: Episodes 1-5. River of Crime was their first project with Warner Music Group's Cordless label. Following the success of "River of Crime", The Residents launched their weekly Timmy video project on YouTube. In 2007 they did the music for the documentary "Strange Culture" and also released a double instrumental album, "Night of the Hunters". On the Fourth of July, 2007, the planned October release of their latest project with Mute Records, The Voice of Midnight (a music theater adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's short story Der Sandmann), was announced on their website.
On the 21st of May 2008 they announced on their website that their first North America tour since "Demons Dance Alone" for a project entitled "The Bunny Boy" is set to begin on October 9th in New York — later an earlier date was added for Santa Cruz. Soon, it was announced that the tour will also include Europe, starting November 13th. On June 3rd, the Residents.com website boasted the planned release of "The Bunny Boy" which was released on September 1st. The website had posted information in which Foxboro claimed this would be a Farewell Tour; it was later revealed that this was nothing more than a mistake by Foxboro.
In October 2017, Hardy Fox identified himself as both the anonymous primary composer and producer for The Residents as well as the pseudonymous Charles Bobuck.
Hardy Fox died on October 30, 2018.
Devotion
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Perhaps we should have parted then. I was saying how important that they
Were and what a fortune could be made if they would let me try. But I did
Not understand why they took in and had to stand by those who were so
Worthless to them both. Then they got extremely angry, shouting that the
Seedy gang behind them may not have much value in my eyes...but they were
People and were needing what we give and if you see them like you see some
Roaches on the floor, then the sad one must be you who sees himself as too
Criticize someone who has been compromised but really have no values of
Your own, so maybe you should leave and find some, steal or beg or maybe
Buy some from a smiling banker or a store. At first I was too shocked to
Believe they would suggest that I should levae, and what was even worse
Was that I saw that they preferrred their gutter rutting friends above my
Smugly strutting. And I admit it stunned and humbled me. So I begged and
Then beseeched them, "Let me stay and you could teach some sense into this
Tired old mind of mine." And of course we reconciled with hugging arms and
Tugging smiles that left me more secure, but still in doubt. I truly loved
And felt devotion for them both, but I was broken up and feeling powerless
Inside. I must become important to them, intertwined with roots into them,
Or else I'd loose my false and newfound pride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Residents' song "Devotion" tells the story of a narrator who has a falling out with someone they care deeply about. The song opens with the singer admitting they said something that upset the other person and wondering if they should have just parted ways then. The singer had been discussing how important the other person was to them and how much they could benefit from working together, but hadn't understood why the other person was still associating with people the singer saw as "worthless."
The other person gets extremely angry at the singer, shouting that the people behind them - the "seedy gang" - may not be valuable in the singer's eyes, but they are still people who need help. The other person accuses the singer of being too good to help those who are weak or compromised, and of not having any values of their own. The singer is shocked and humbled by these accusations, and begs to stay and learn from the other person.
The song ends with the singer declaring their love and devotion for the other person, but also acknowledging their sense of powerlessness. They want to become important to the other person, inextricably linked to them, in order to maintain their newfound pride.
Overall, "Devotion" is a poignant exploration of power dynamics in relationships, the ways in which we try to assert ourselves and our values, and the flaws and blind spots that can exist even in well-meaning people.
Line by Line Meaning
Shortly after I first met them, something that I said upset them and
Soon after we first met, I said something that offended them and caused them to be upset.
Perhaps we should have parted then. I was saying how important that they
Maybe it would have been better if we ended our relationship at that time. I was telling them how valuable they were and how much money we could make if they let me help.
Were and what a fortune could be made if they would let me try. But I did
I was suggesting that we could make a lot of money together if they gave me a chance. However, I did not realize how much their loyalty to those who were not of high worth was to them.
Not understand why they took in and had to stand by those who were so
I couldn't comprehend why they would welcome and stand by people who were of little worth to them.
Worthless to them both. Then they got extremely angry, shouting that the
They became furious and raised their voices, explaining that the seedy group they associate with may not appear valuable in my eyes, but they were still human beings deserving of the same respect and care as anyone else.
Seedy gang behind them may not have much value in my eyes...but they were
While I may have regarded the group they associated with as despicable, my view of them had no bearing on their worth as people.
People and were needing what we give and if you see them like you see some
Those people were human beings who required the same necessities and kindness that we all do. If I saw them as just pests on the floor, it was I who had the issue.
Roaches on the floor, then the sad one must be you who sees himself as too
If I viewed those people in the same light as roaches, it would reveal my own sadness and arrogance.
Good to do something for the weak or ones with warts. You disdain and
If I thought myself too good to help the weak or those with flaws, it displayed my disdain and judgmental nature.
Criticize someone who has been compromised but really have no values of
If I condemned someone who has been compromised without having any solid values of my own, it made me a hypocrite.
Your own, so maybe you should leave and find some, steal or beg or maybe
If I didn't have any values of my own, perhaps it was time for me to leave and find some for myself - whether through honest means or otherwise.
Buy some from a smiling banker or a store. At first I was too shocked to
I could purchase values from a banker or a store if I were so inclined. Initially, I was too taken aback to respond.
Believe they would suggest that I should levae, and what was even worse
I couldn't believe that they were suggesting I should leave, which was a terrible thought.
Was that I saw that they preferrred their gutter rutting friends above my
What was just as bad was that I saw how much they favored their lowlife associates over me.
Smugly strutting. And I admit it stunned and humbled me. So I begged and
I had been proudly strutting around, and their preference for their friends over me left me shocked and humbled. So I pleaded with them to let me continue learning from them.
Then beseeched them, "Let me stay and you could teach some sense into this
I implored them to let me stay and allow them to teach me some wisdom.
Tired old mind of mine." And of course we reconciled with hugging arms and
I acknowledged that my mind was tired and in need of improvement. After some embracing and reconciling, we made up.
Tugging smiles that left me more secure, but still in doubt. I truly loved
After our embrace, we exchanged smiles that made me feel more secure, though I remained somewhat unsure. Nonetheless, I truly cared for them.
And felt devotion for them both, but I was broken up and feeling powerless
I had a strong sense of admiration and loyalty to them, but I also felt shattered and powerless inside.
Inside. I must become important to them, intertwined with roots into them,
I needed to become integral to them, with roots that intermingled with theirs.
Or else I'd loose my false and newfound pride.
If I didn't become important in their lives, I would lose the sham pride that I had recently acquired.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
seesei128
One of my favorite Residents albums. My favorite period for the band too. Love the kookiness of the music. Thanks for the upload.
Irosław Zazar
Funeral of white elephants