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.
Skratz
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sheets are crumpled into an Oldenburg
Three hairs rolled over his undershirt
A spare tire rolled under his overshirt
But ... Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernail)
Ollie wasn't young like he was last night
Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
The sheets still showed the yellow spot
Ann ran her tongue along the ridges by the Gulf
Thoughts slipped into valleys
Concealed by dense Mexicali underbush hair
A flag ran up his pole
And waved firmness with wings
But ... Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernails)
Ollie wasn't at all as young like he was last night
Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernails)
The sheets still showed the yellow spot
The lyrics of "Skratz" by The Residents are cryptic and open to interpretation. The song is full of disjointed images and fleeting thoughts that suggest a sense of decay and loss of youth. The opening lines paint a picture of a man in bed, with cool bedposts and crumpled sheets that resemble a Claes Oldenburg sculpture. The mention of three hairs and a spare tire suggest a middle-aged or older man who is no longer in his prime. The repeated refrain of "Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz" along with the detail of dirty fingernails conjures up the image of someone scratching a persistent itch, which could symbolize a feeling of restlessness or dissatisfaction.
The second verse introduces a woman named Ann, who runs her tongue along ridges near the Gulf, perhaps suggesting a sense of exploration or experimentation. The mention of valleys and dense Mexicali underbush hair might be a metaphor for hidden desires or secrets. The image of a flag running up a pole and waving firmness with wings could be a symbol of strength or independence. Overall, the song seems to be about the fading of youth and the acknowledgment of mortality.
Line by Line Meaning
The bedposts are cool to the touch
The bedposts feel cold when touched
The sheets are crumpled into an Oldenburg
The sheets are wrinkled like a piece of artwork by Claes Oldenburg
Three hairs rolled over his undershirt
There were three strands of hair on his undershirt
A spare tire rolled under his overshirt
He had a spare tire around his waist that was visible under his overshirt
But ... Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernail)
There was a sound of scratching, possibly caused by dirty fingernails
Ollie wasn't young like he was last night
Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernails)
Ollie appeared older than he did the previous night, as indicated by the scratching sound of dirty fingernails
The sheets still showed the yellow spot
There was a stain on the sheets that had not been removed
Ann ran her tongue along the ridges by the Gulf
Ann licked her lips and tasted the salty air near the Gulf
Thoughts slipped into valleys
Concealed by dense Mexicali underbush hair
Thoughts and memories were hidden by thick Mexican underbrush in Ann's mind
A flag ran up his pole
And waved firmness with wings
He became aroused and experienced a sense of strength and power
But ... Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernails)
The scratching sound of dirty fingernails continued
Ollie wasn't at all as young like he was last night
Scratz, scratz, scratz, scratz
(Dirty Fingernails)
Ollie was noticeably older and the sound of scratching fingernails continued
The sheets still showed the yellow spot
The stain on the sheets still had not been removed
Contributed by Lillian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
shesaid destroy
the residents invented industrial genre 3 years before throbbing gristle
JustFunTimeDoingNothing
No, before Throbbing Gristle, there were COUM Transmissions. Its a project that was organized by Genesis in 1969. It mainly consisted of future TG members. The first "annual report" was released in 1975 and this album launched in 1974. Likely, the produced Industrial Rock 1 decade prior to
Tzur lifshitz
The most insane song i've ever heard it took me five listens just to understand what even plays in the background
Sir. Public
1 day someone will make some surreal eerie analog horror animation to this song that causes the Residents first album to blow up.
WolverFox
The song that introduced me to The Residents! <3
onegathers
the finest song from their finest moment (if you pretend the 'third reich n'roll' didn't exist)
Syd_Bunny
I kind of want to do an animation for this song :)
Beckoning Chasm
It's interesting that the image really predicts the Beatles' solo careers.
bjwwilcera
it's like laurie anderson on speed.
dav3fk
right, the beatles with haloween drawn on their faces is way cooler.