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.
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The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
My lover calls my teeth an invitation to my soul
But he does not understand the depth of my black hole
Fed by brothers basking in the season of the sick
My love is like a deadly poison lying on my lips
Every time they beat my body underneath the moon
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
The Residents’ "Song of Solomon" presents a disturbing and intense view of heaven as something to be hated. The opening lines of the song repeat “I hate heaven” with an escalating intensity that conveys both anger and desperation. This hatred is driven by the emotional turmoil of the singer, who is weighed down by dark thoughts and memories.
The lyrics describe a lover who does not understand the depth of the singer’s “black hole,” which may be interpreted as a metaphor for depression, anxiety, or other psychological traumas. The singer’s love is also compared to a “deadly poison” lying on their lips, suggesting a sense of danger or risk associated with their emotional state. In addition, the lyrics reference physical abuse (“Every time they beat my body underneath the moon”) and familial tensions (“the darkness of the doorway into my mother’s room”), adding to the sense of sadness and despair.
Overall, "Song of Solomon" presents a bleak and unsettling view of the afterlife, in which traditional notions of peace and harmony do not apply. The song’s intense and confrontational tone reflects the emotional intensity of the singer’s experiences, and the sense of hopelessness conveyed by the lyrics is deeply affecting.
Line by Line Meaning
Song of Solomon
The title of the song
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
The singer expresses their strong hatred towards heaven.
My lover calls my teeth an invitation to my soul
The singer's lover sees their teeth as a gateway to their essence, but fails to comprehend the singer's internal turmoil.
But he does not understand the depth of my black hole
Despite the lover's acknowledgment of the artist's teeth, he fails to grasp the profound emotional distress that plagues the artist.
Fed by brothers basking in the season of the sick
The artist's afflictions are intensified by their siblings, who revel in their own illnesses.
My love is like a deadly poison lying on my lips
The singer's love is toxic and destructive, akin to a dangerous venom.
I feel the darkness of the doorway into my mothers room
The singer experiences a sense of foreboding upon entering their mother's space.
Every time they beat my body underneath the moon
The artist endures physical abuse at the hands of others, often during the night under the moonlight.
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
The artist reiterates their deep aversion to heaven.
I hate heaven! I hate it! I hate it!
The artist concludes the song by repeating their strong disdain towards heaven.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: HARDY WINFRED FOX, HOMER FLYNN, HOMER III FLYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tomrhymer7468
Shocking and wonderful as ever! Thank you Residents! Made my ears feel bloody and raw! EXCELLENT!!!
@sir.public
One of the best songs ever made
@starless5668
I sometimes listen to this song just because how sweet the silence right after it is.
@Primordial_Void
Profile picture checks out
@starless5668
@Primordial Void Why?
@Primordial_Void
@@starless5668 Because Mark Hollis was a big fan of silence lol
@Garrison2
This song really changed my life musically. It was the scariest thing that I ever heard in my life! Thank you.
@carlabernethy2607
I have this record somewhere in my stash. Other than the sound and every other thing about how it makes you feel - I bought it when I was about 18 - and it still has the same effect!
@TehGav
Now that's what I call music!
@ElliottMichaels56
Sarcasm? Noooooooooo! Sarcasm? Yeah!