[.ca] The Residents: Icky Flix

From Amazon.com:
No question about it: there has never been a band as determinedly warped as the Residents. Over the course of a career now deep into its third decade, the quirky quartet have never revealed their names or their faces. But what they have shown, aside from a predilection for titles like "Duck Stab" and "Santa Dog," is a consistently unique and compelling musical and especially visual sensibility. It's all here in Icky Flix, an extraordinarily comprehensive DVD that brings together some 17 pieces spanning the group's career, from 1976's "The Third Reich 'n' Roll" to recent items like "Burn Baby Burn" and "Bad Day on the Midway." And not only is there visual content galore--in 2000 they also rerecorded the music for almost every piece, with users given the choice of listening to either the original or the new track. (The new versions are a little smoother and better produced, but essentially the same--i.e., dissonant, jarring, strange, a bit like Captain Beefheart without the Delta blues flavor, referencing everything from "We Are the World," "Holy Holy Holy," and "Wipe Out" to James Brown and John Philip Sousa.) The visuals defy literal description, as the Residents and their various directors undertake a dazzling multimedia journey, combining film, video, still photography, computer animation, and more to create images that range from dark, surreal, and grotesque to funny, endearingly wacky, absurd, and even beautiful (it's not a bit surprising that some of this stuff now resides in New York's Museum of Modern Art). There's only one Residents--and while that may be a good thing, so is this remarkable, fascinating document. --Sam Graham

Unabashed creativity:
Available, or not available : a true Residential question, as you know. So grab this one while stocks last. You can never know how long such anabashed beauty/creativity will remain at your disposal. You've been warned.

The reason DVDs were invented - literally:
Back in the 70's, innovators tried to come up with a system that would allow you to watch a musical film and have several different audio tracks. First, they came up with the laserdisc, and from this came DVD. FINALLY, DVD is being used the way it's supposed to. This is just a great quality DVD all around. (I mean, you can watch the music videos with a choice of TWO audio tracks - that is just so f-ing CLASSY!) The music videos are all pretty rockin, and often thought-provoking. The Residents are just the best, aren't they?

My eyes have seen the glory!!:
Disturbing.Wonderfully disturbing.You have the option of listening to the original songs or the remix of the old songs. Personally I like the originals.Warped and twisted.Disturbed the living hell out of my friends so bad that they left the room.Gingerbread man concentrate one of the best videos on the collection. After a few watches it grows on you like an obscene fungus. Delightful.

LARD SCABS:
In addition to their groundbreaking musical output, the Residents are famous (and infamous) for their equally bizarre and innovative experimental film work. ICKY FLIX collects almost all of these films, providing new soundtracks for every piece as well. There are some real surprises here: "Vileness Fats", the abandoned Residents epic; a new video for DUCK STAB's "Constantinople"; the "GINGERBREAD MAN Concentrate"; and a wealth of really great hidden videos, ranging from an Australian TV show appearance to a piece of live "From the Plains to Mexico". "Freak Show" and "Bad Day on the Midway" are represented here as well, in "concentrate" form (how I wish Amazon carried the Roms!). Of course, their most famous works are here: "Third Reich and Roll" (which tells the story of the rise of rock music beutifully and with humor); "Hello Skinny"; "One Minute Movies" (four songs from THE COMMERCIAL ALBUM); and "Songs for Swinging Larvae" (by incredibly weird British band and Residents pals Renaldo and the Loaf). Some of these are interesting mostly for Res fans: "Where is She?" is as disturbing as it is funny. This goes double for "Just for You", the last movement of a piece called "Disfigured Night" (a clever play on Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night"), which was conceived for a German television show. Even funnier than the Residents' weird stage presence are the facial reactions of some of the audience members (one girl has her eyes closed tightly, her hands clasped together as if in prayer... that reaction never fails to make me laugh out loud). So, my overall verdict: if you're not a Residents fan, don't buy it. If you're not, though, I wouldn't imagine you'd even consider spending the money on it. So if you are, it's a good investment. God knows how much music there is here: original songs, plus remakes, plus the hidden bits... it's a dream come true! And don't miss the "commercials" between songs; they're great!

INSANE:
If you like being scared/confused out of your mind, this is the DVD for you. If you don't like the band the Residents, and enjoy things that are "normal" to you, do not buy this DVD. I found it entertaining, yet extremely scary. It is the craziest thing I have ever seen, I can say that.