Open Letter to the Residents: Give It Up!

It pains me to say this, here on a blog with so much information and adulation of the great anonymous band The Residents. But there comes a time in each group's life when it becomes unmistakably clear that it is time to hang it up. Some groups, most notably The Rolling Stones, can't seem to bring themselves to quit in the face of increasingly ridiculous recordings and past their prime posturing.

Unfortunately, The Residents have joined their ranks. Their last couple of recordings, such as the utterly horrid "Animal Lover", have been abominable. Their latest, "The Way We Were", is, if possible, even worse. The release contains a CD and DVD of the "What is Music?" performances that The Residents put on in Australia. Many fans wondered if the show would make it to the US. After hearing this CD and suffering through the DVD, you'll be glad it didn't. The arrangments of the songs are completely uninspired. Only the backing band, most notably guitarist Nolan Cook, sound like they were actually present for the performances. Molly Harvey's vocals are feeble, and Homer Flynn, aka Mr. Skull, one of the two remaining original band members and "leader", is nothing compared to how he sounded years ago when the group had something unique to offer.

So, after 33 years in the music business, I'd say it's time for them to call it quits. Everyone who cares knows who the "anonymous" band members are (and who the original members no longer present were), we've all grown tired of $40 "limited edition" releases that totally suck, and fresher sounds are waiting to be heard.

If The Residents still have a sense of humor, they should quietly disappear, without a trace, back into the obscurity from which they came so long ago.