Duck Stab/Buster & Glen

The only reason this is here is because it’s from before streaming, when if you bought a shit album you had to convince yourself you liked it.

Their bio states they have no face, no names, no gender. I wish they had no album.

Sometimes I think I'm okay; I am a normal, well-adjusted human being. But then I remember how much I genuinely enjoy The Residents.

This is exactly the kind of electronic, avant-garde, wacked out shit I signed up for.

It's brilliant. I can't imagine Ween, Primus or any number of wonky abstract acts existing without this existing first. And they beat Daft Punk to the masks. And they ruined Happy Birthday. It is a thing of great wonder and I love it.

1 Oh my God it’s the eyeball dudes. I’ve heard of these guys, but I’ve never listened to anything they’ve put out, mostly due to the general discomfort they give me. And I gotta say, going in with just that knowledge, somehow all of my expectations were met. Yep, it’s just a bunch of weird noises and voices for 35 minutes. There’s a certain 60’s Saturday morning cartoon vibe buried in all of the chaos that I think I had mild appreciation for, but that’s probably the most positive thing I can say about this album - when I realized the first track Constantinople is the band’s most popular on Spotify, I knew I had a very, very long listen ahead. Ironically, compared to many of the other albums I’ve rated poorly thus far, there’s actually quite a bit that’s remarkable and stood out to me across my listening, but I feel like trying to express any of it into any kinds of words here would be a massive waste of time for everyone involved. I’m convinced that no one actually listens to this kind of stuff out of pure personal enjoyment, and it instead becomes known and popularized from the kinds of reactions you get from people when you put it on. If you’re into really bizarre or trippy stuff for whatever reason, I guess give this a listen. If you’re looking to enjoy some new music, I suggest listening to quite possibly anything else. This shit made me want to listen to The Beatles. In summary, art rock is dumb - there’s nothing profound about making your music unlistenable. At least this one wasn’t as aggressive as that Suicide album.

NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE If you've arrived at this album with the intent to take the Residents seriously then you've already failed. Their Dadaist approach to music has allowed them to experiment and venture into areas that no other musical artists would dare approach. A complete disregard for melody and structure gives them free reign to explore dissonance, new forms of instrumentation, and (most importantly) humor. The Residents revel in being inaccessible and strange. That being said, it's not a very pleasant listening experience, is it? It certainly excels in being an abstract horror for the ears, but it's rarely something that I would listen to for my own enjoyment. Perhaps that is the end goal of the Residents, given their reputation. It's an album worth trying at least once. NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE

I don't want this in my life

Okay, this is epic. Time for a break from all the humdrum rock albums, here's something freaky deaky. Album so weird that I had to play it on my headphones so as not to scare everyone in the house, including the dogs. Love how creepy the vocals are sometimes, really processed to hell and back. The fact that this is from the '70s makes it that much more impressive. Could you imagine walking into your son's room in 1978 and hearing him listen to this? I'd probably call the police. Never heard of these guys before, but color me intrigued. "Constantinople" is absolutely insane, and I loved the really weird birthday song on here. I would rather hear a dozen more albums like this from the forgotten freaks living in tunnels beneath our world than hear another Elvis Costello snoozer. Spooky fun! Favorite tracks: Constantinople, Blue Rosebuds, Birthday Boy, Hello Skinny. Album art: Love love love the color scheme, I'll repeat it as many times as we get one: red/white/black makes for some of my favorite covers out there. A psycho magician guy making the titular stab of the titular duck. Great show. 4/5

The correct way to do that avant-garde type shit.

This shit is wild. I'll stab a duck right now if Gene and Dean Ween didn't go ape over this at some point in their lives. I'm not sure how to rate this. I liked this a lot but it's not a "put it on anytime" album. You need to be in a really specific mood for this. Oh dear, that overall community score is just too low. I guess it has to be a 5 now. I'm doing my part.

This must be a joke. I’ve been reviewing these albums for over two years and this has to be the worst one yet.

This is currently one of the lowest rated albums on this site and while it’s not exactly an instant 5 stars for everyone, I would argue this whole experience would be much more rewarding if the author dug deeper with inclusions like this instead of the complete discographies of everyone who ever feuded with a Gallagher brother.

I did this project to get out of my comfort zone. Maybe my comfort zone wasn’t so bad.

10/10 The Residents are so fucking cool and crazy this is beyond just music, it’s transcendental art

Dogshit

It’s like Primus’s even weirder uncle.

I love this mental stuff, I don't care. Go away and listen to your War On Drugs albums.

The Residents are bit like communism in that I like them better in theory than I do in practice. And maybe it’s the years I’ve spent listening to weird, out-there music, but this record isn’t nearly as unlistenable as some of you make it out to be. In fact, I’m willing to bet if someone put Tom Waits’ phony-ass gravel voice over top of this music, most of you a) wouldn’t realize it wasn’t actually a Tom Waits record and b) would be falling all over yourselves to praise it.

Just when I thought this experiment has shown me the lowest lows, this crap comes around the corner and proves me wrong

Started off thinking it was shit, but it was a grower not a shower, and after a while I started to enjoy it somewhat. Not enough to rank it alongside my other 3 stars. But I will listen to more of them, and perhaps it will continue to grow. Definitely not one for the gym. Probably not the best whilst driving. Potentially alright in the bath, if you've munched down a handful of mushrooms beforehand.

This makes me want to Ducking Stab myself in the ear holes.

This free flowing, unbridled creativity. One of the best compositions of all time, and The Residents kept it up for decades to come! Legends.

To review this album for its musical merit would make about as much intellectual sense as appraising the aftermath of a bloody and horrific car crash for its colour scheme or aesthetic. It would be an insult to all involved. Instead, I will evaluate this album for the only purpose it can possible be useful for; a method of torture during interrogation: “Highly effective! If I was subjected to it once more, I would gladly rat out everyone I’ve ever known and loved, just to switch it off - 5 stars”

This needs to be removed from this list

they say that art disturbs the comfortable and comforts the disturbed. an album that would make zappa proud, no doubt. dissonant, alien, surreal, anxious... a majority of the songs seem less like songs and more like cries for help. a few decent tracks like the one i've picked make you feel like you're in a demented moshpit, but a giant majority are just... weird.

My kind of humor, my kind of madness. I like things that both alienate and fascinate which this album does in abundance. Disjointed melodies, surreal lyrics, and unsettling atmospheres, what more could you ask for?

It's like if the Max Headroom hijacking incident was an album

Cool. Cool cool cool. So glad I got to hear this before I died. Look, I've heard plenty of "weird" shit in my time, and I'm completely open to absorbing all forms of artistic expression. And yes, I hear the Primus and Ween and all of that in this album. But this is just boring. It's not particularly challenging or satirical the way a Zappa or Beefheart record would be, and there's nothing here that keeps me invested in terms of melody or production. It feels like Outsider music without sparking a sense of curiosity for how it was created. The band's decision to keep their identities anonymous is perhaps the most intriguing thing about all this, but even then, I really don't care who's behind the masks. Maybe people did back in 72.

They no longer need to waterboard people for info - they just play this album out loud, it's more effective Whoever added this to the list needs to be checked over by a mental health professional because they're clearly not doing well 1 ⭐️

This is without a doubt the worst thing I've ever heard. I'm actually glad it's on this list to raise awareness for people to stay far away. At least with some genres like heavy metal I can kind of understand why some people might enjoy it. No one enjoys this music. This is nauseatingly bad. 0/10 (0/5)

God I wish I were that duck right now

what in the fuck did i just listen to. absolute trash. Avant-garde art experiment masquerading as "music"

Curiously, this is the most listenable Residents album I've had the opportunity to explore so far. That duck voice in "Constantinople" and many other tracks from this 'double-EP' reminds me of the sorts of surreal antics David Lynch would perform as a musical artist many years later. The result is moody and disturbing, but also evocative, and often endearing (in keeping with Lynch's cinematography). Some of the textures and instrumentations are hypnotic. And many moments are frankly groundbreaking for the time period. It might be a stretch to consider any Residents album as "essential records", yet I respect the 1001 Albums book for trying hard to include the weirdest sort of experimental music that can exist, here rubbing shoulders with blatantly commercial pop artists whose success in the charts is light-years away from the underground fame painstakingly reached by the dadaist outfit (the problem, as always, is to decide which sort of experimental stuff you must select). Ironically, I will say the same thing about the Residents than the thing I've recently said about the Monkees or Britney Spears: a compilation or playlist of the best cuts in their discography is probably more satisfying and dynamic than discrete studio albums. That said, being the underdog that they are because of their niche "artistry", the Residents deserve as many benevolent takes and open-minded assessments as they can garner. Which why I will bump my own grading of this album a notch. This won't save this record for its infamously low global score on this app. But it will be my good deed of the day. 3.5/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums, rounded up to 4. 8.5/10 for more general purposes (5+3.5). Number of albums left to review: 77 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 397 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 230 Albums from the list I won't include in mine: 297 (including this one)

Fun to see something this demented appear on this list. #residentssweep

Well this was a wild ride, but not particularly fun. This arty type genre of music certainly pushes the boundaries of what we consider to be music with only a vague resemblance to traditional melody, rhythm and vocals. Similar to say Trout Mask Replica, it takes considerable effort to get through, but the extremely poor and muddled audio quality ultimately makes it a frustrating exercise.

Having to listen to this album borders on psychological torture. It’s only 35 minutes but is a continuous assault on the senses. 1/10

Fucking awful.

Cry, you one star weenies, cry! Your dismay and confusion amuses me! I'm a fan of weirdness. I see a white rabbit with a waistcoat and pocket-watch, I'll follow 'em down a hole. I see an album put out by a bunch of tuxedo-wearing eyeball-heads, I'll give it a whirl. In both cases, it's the unexpectedness of it all, which can often be uncomfortable and disturbing, that provides the value. This definitely feels like a wander through wonderland - at times childlike, nurseryrhyme-esque, at others downright menacing, and often both at the same time. There's an internal logic that consists at least in part of being anti-logical. I dunno, I found it pretty stimulating! "Birthday Boy" is the only track I don't want to enthusiastically listen to a bunch more times... Fave tracks - "Constantinople", "Semolina", "Hello Skinny"

this website is full of idiots

This sort of feels like the evil version of Sparks. I mean, you got high register, goofy songs that take some getting used to, especially when it comes to this album. However, the Residents are not here to make pop masterpieces, but rather avant garde art that can be hard to stomach for the average person. Me liking this album does not mean those who don't are dumb, because of course not, this is just straight weird. I'm just intrigued and pulled in by the shock of it all, so when you get something that actually rocks, it really does rock. If anything I'd say the amount of songs makes it repetitive to listen to, not so much strange, although that is certainly there. I don't know man, I just think this is a neat collection of the anti-mainstream and macabre, and it scratches some itches doing so.

I'm not sure "enjoyed" is the right word, but I appreciated hearing this. It sounds like people allowing themselves to be the strangest version of themselves, and I find that inspiring. Interesting reading about their long and storied history, avanti garden approach and anonymity. I am amazed that they are still active as a band in 2023.

"Duck Stab/Buster & Glen" is the fifth studio album by American art rock group the Residents. Experimental rock. Yeah, I'd say. "Duck Stab!" was originally released as an EP. It sold out quickly and was re-released with the B-side "Buster & Glen," which was intended to follow up "Duck Stab!" A decent critic description of their music is "songs as nursery rhymes that blend the sinister with simple." A pennywhistle and a voice which sounds like the singer just engulfed helium opens "Constantinople." The pace picks up with horns. It's musically busy and sounds like a skit. "Sinister Exaggerator" darkens the tone with synth keys, a beat and foreboding, exaggerated strings. The narrator is telling someone that he is basically a piece of shit. The lyrics include Elmer Fudd, oyster beds and saliva. A distorted gazzo or maybe a violin begins "Bach Is Dead." The vocals repeat "Bach Is Dead." It's a song about musical elitists and that there is other good music out there. "Lizard Lady" has piercing keys, muffled vocals and a woman screaming. Oh, it's about a woman getting kidnapped by a lizard. "Weight-Lifting Lulu" is a chilling song musically and lyrically as the singer describes a man who loves Lulu's charm but not her weight-lifting body. The man gives a gun to the grandfather who shoots her. Didn't see that coming. The best way to describe this music is the sound of distorted notes of instruments which carry the melody mixed with a background of 50's/60's cartoon music and nonsensical lyrics which sometimes might have a deeper meaning. And, yes, somehow I liked this album because of all this. I think their favorite instrument might be the gazoo. Their influence is undeniable for bands such as Primus. The Residents have 60 albums overall. I wouldn't recommend trying to listen to them all but you might get a kick out of some of the songs on this album or you might feel like throwing your shoe through the window.

The Residents sound like a band that you’d see playing in a bar in an early David Lynch movie. I couldn’t listen to this LP before I went to bed because I was sure it would give me nightmares. The fact that they can create such an eerie, uneasy vibe is worth an extra point or two. I added another point when I saw in Spotify that it was released in 1972, which would make it “proto” something or another. But that seems to be a typo. 1978 sounds about right.

Amazing. A perfect 1 star.

This wasn't any dumber than Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

# Album Name: Duck Stab-Buster & Glen # Artist: The Residents # Rating: 1/5 # Comments: Absolute dog shit. This is not music. This is wank. # Top Tunes: You wot? Absolutely sweet FA # Would I listen to it again? I wouldnt give this one to my worst enemy.

When the album first started I had to check whether or not my speakers were broken. They weren't it was just the horrific music ( if I can call it that ). I couldn't even tell what instruments they were trying to play. I thought the worse music I ever heard was my sister playing the voiln. However, this is a billion times worse. If I could rate this with negative stars I would. Whoever put this on the list of 1001 best albums was either stoned, drunk or paid a handsome fee to sneak it in. I should have listened to my friend "No, please El G, I beg you, save yourself this torment" Sorry Chris

fire. cool experimental different ugly dissonant creative music. i love that shit

I was 15 years old in 1986 and just starting to explore alternative music to the Top 40 radio that I had grown a bit bored with. Back in those days, it was hard to discover things outside the mainstream. I was starting to listen to a lot of Triple J radio (the ABC’s youth station, then Sydney-based),which would play music that was quite out-there, especially late at night. The Residents toured Australia in 1986 for their 13th Anniversary Show, and Triple J played a short radio documentary about the Cryptic Corporation and played their records. I think they played some albums basically all the way through – I certainly remember them playing the Residents-adjacent Snakefinger album ‘Night of Desirable Objects’ in its entirety. I was too young and baby-faced to get into the shows at the Tivoli or Selinas, but I was really intrigued by these outsider musicians. It gave me the impetus to track down the types of record stores that would actually stock this type of music, which led me to Red Eye Records, a Sydney institution, still open to this day. A lot of the records in Red Eye were obscure imports, eye-wateringly expensive for a teenager like myself. (I still find their prices uncomfortably high – I moved on to other stores that stocked the music I wanted and who would look after me. I ended up working at one of those stores, Scratches Records in Newtown until it closed in the mid 90s. My favourite store these days is Beatdisc at Parramatta, shout out to Tom and Pete). But Red Eye did have a few second-hand Residents’ records, including a 7” EP version of Duck Stab, that I snapped up. A small Australian label, AIM, also briefly released a few Residents’ records locally at reasonable prices, including the 13th Anniversary Tour Live in Japan album, which is probably my favourite Residents’ album to this day. It acts as a bit of a “best of” the early Residents, played with a spooky and spacious intensity. I intrinsically “got” The Residents – their best records are heavily informed and influenced by pop music, but played with an eerie and unsettling outsider perspective (especially their 70s releases – Meet The Residents, Commercial, Duck Stab, Third Reich’n’Roll). I loved the anti-technique, which appealed to me as someone with a strong interest in making music but little actual technical talent. You didn’t need to be a great musician or have a lot of expensive equipment to play music like this or be a good-looking rock star type, you just needed ideas and a point of view. I still find it inspiring. Their interest in multi-media meant they were often at the forefront of musical development. In retrospect, it’s hard to believe their videos were played in MTV, but they were one of the few bands to make videos as short films. The Residents influenced what I look for in music. I still like music with a strange and sideways approach, especially if that includes a slightly disturbing humour. Their later albums are often too high concept for my taste (I generally don’t like concept albums), and there is now such an enormous body of work that it is hard to know how to approach it all. It’s hard to decide what is a good representational work from their idiosyncratic and diverse oeuvre. But Duck Stab is a good place to start, I think. It is certainly where I started. I did eventually see the Residents on their 2016 Australian tour. It was a strange and beautiful and funny and disturbing show and just what I wanted from them. Is Duck Stab (or The Residents in general) to everyone’s taste? Well, probably not -- there’s a reason this is one of the lowest rated albums on the 1001 list. But Duck Stab is special to me. I find The Residents’ creativity inspiring, and especially this record. It demonstrates how far you can push the pop music form. And I do think everyone _should_ try this at least once. The Residents (and Duck Stab in particular) opened my ears to new ways of listening and to the fact that there were whole worlds of music that existed a long way outside the Top 40. I will forever be grateful for that insight. I hope that listening to this will have the same impact on someone else as well.

I have no idea how to rate this. I hated almost every second, but this is what I signed up for in the first place. You just have to admire this complete commitment to whatever artistic vision they decided on. If you think Tom Waits is only slightly odd, this might be for you.

I...was confused by this. I was expecting Throbbing Gristle 2.0: at what point do you go from noise to music? This was not that, and I don't know if I /enjoyed/ the utter batshit nonsense that was happening but I do damn well respect its existence.

Still more pleasant than listening to country music.

another album where i dont fault people for the low rating but think there is a lot of exaggeration around how bad it is. that goes double for the people that couldnt even be bothered to listen to the entire thing.

This isn't good by any metric you can measure, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun listening to this one.

Definitely unique. It's weird giving this 3 stars, as I usually give that to middle of the road, not particularly good, not particularly bad albums. This album isn't one of those, but flip-flops between "I wish I never had ears" and "This is musical genius"

Controlled, early New Wave gibberish - trying to be annoying and bizarre on purpose - and succeeds. +1 for effort.

Driving to work and listening to today's album was surreal. Getting up early and driving to work in -14 degree weather to go to a place that in the grand scheme of things I don't really want to be. Nine to five for over 20 years and to listen to this. I was going a little loopy. Bach is Dead almost broke me, but I've been loopy many times in my life. The last 3 tracks saved me from fully losing my mind. The stars mean nothing, I don't know what to do. Is this better than U2?

And I thought Captain Beefheart was weird. Wow. And according to AllMusic, compared to their other albums, this is "probably the least experimental of the bunch". Still, I'm glad I listened to (some of) it. Many of the songs, like "Laughing Song", remind me of Les Claypool quite a bit. Interesting to see that Primus, Mr. Bungle, etc. didn't actually invent the circus-freak-music wheel. 2/5 for novelty, but probably will never listen to this group again.

This was a trolling attempt right

Never again

what the literal fuck is this

I’m glad we live in a world where different people come to music for different purposes, but the purpose this album serves (or at least seems to serve) isn’t for me. I won’t say it’s “bad,” but I can confidently say I will not be returning voluntarily.

This is...something. If I hear the word Constantinople one more time I may scream. Blue Rosebuds is awful too. At least its only 35 minutes long?

Welp, I found my tolerance line. This Ducking Terrible.

15 seconds in, I felt that duck's pain.

this is not music -1/5

dadaism in music form

Fucking awful

Bro, c’mon. No. Skip

This is painful, do I actually have to finish? I did, but through gritted teeth bc that was hot trash. Also lol at them first sending me to the deluxe 2 hour edition foh. I’d rate this lower if I could.

WOW WE FOUND THE WORST ALBUM this album is fucking weird. also two hours long. This stressed me out to listen to. If I could give less than one star, I would

Pure trash. I couldn’t rate this low enough.

Jesus, I can't believe I made through the entire album. This just may be worse than that dude who named all his albums after himself. I kept thinking this is what an album by the Munchkins from Wizard of Oz would sound like. I laughed a couple times, then realized I had another 30 minutes of this stuff. Then I cried a little and finished the album. For me, this may have taken over the #1 spot of the worse things I have ever heard musically. Will not revisit. Will never listen again. This is where I wish you can rate as a negative number. Will, loving your reviews! Keep it up. Ha.

Yeah…no thanks…

The soundtrack to an art school version of the Smurfs, leaning heavily on Gargamel as the antihero. Mostly tedious crap, with occasional brief moments where it is mildly entertaining.

What the fuck

I started this album while I was driving on the highway and Constantinople had my laughing so hard for how insane is sounded I nearly went into a ditch. This has to be just music for an arthouse installation or something. Clearly nobody said no to these guys at any point and you know what, I'm really glad they didnt. I dont get it, I dont understand it, but I'm so glad high octane garbage like this exists. This has to be a joke entry so I will treat it as such.

WTF is this? Why have I never heard of this? And, more importantly, why do I love it? Everything about this is deeply disturbing.

New forms camouflaged as jokes, this looks forward to the mighty Sun City Girls with gibberish outburst and musical non sequitur, but there’s an underlying seriousness: this weirdness is thought-out, has structure and love for the rock and pop forms that it’s mutating. Never got round to them, the zany reputation a mild repellent, so pleased to find something cooler and demented. “Semolina” is Kraftwerk reconfigured for The Jetsons. Snakefinger is a find: blown-out skronk from a blues-emigrant from Tooting.

It is one of 4 albums that are rated lower than Kid Rock and so it deserves to be rated highly just to see that monstrosity where it belongs. I did really enjoy this for the ambition. It was difficult to listen to but in a way which was about challenging boundaries - it was more sound as art than music. I could definitely hear the influence on Swans and probably many more.

Have you ever had a fever? A really bad one, when you’re sweating in the night, the room is spinning and you’re not sure if you’re asleep or awake, and you can see the shadows in the corner of the room writhing in the darkness. The music of The Residents is a little like that. Each track is a unique experience, like a David Lynch movie in miniature - by turns disturbing, horrifying or bleakly funny. At heart it’s an elaborate piece of performance art that’s been running for over 50 years. An anonymous collective, hidden behind giant eyeball masks, making records full of strange and disturbing music, as well as elaborate installations and ground breaking digital projects. This is art that is designed to provoke a response and is the exact opposite of easy listening albums that drift by without ever engaging you. There is considerable musical skill behind these pieces, and this album was the first one to feature the legendary guitarist Snakefinger. I could guess before looking at the other reviews that this would polarise opinions and the scores seem to be either ones or fives. In the words of Janice Nicholls, I’ll give it foive! Eyeball-tastic!

This might be my favourite listen so far. I want more avante garde and less top 40 rock. I could turn on the radio or listen to the Muzak at the grocery store any day of the week if I wanted to hear Kings of Leon. The purpose of album generator is to be exposed to weird statements like this.

Weird music but good for that

My whole life, this has been the music that’s going through my head whenever I’m trying to be normal at parties or networking things. I just never knew what it was until I heard duck stab. It was weirdly comforting to know these freaks are out there I agree w Sean’s take that I’ll probably never listen to this again, but I am glad that it exists. Without the threat of someone making something like this, all art would be devalued as an enterprise. Breaking my crusade against collectives in this one instance because I’m guessing these guys didn’t make a TON of money making deranged nightmare lullabies so it might have been difficult to make it work as a straightforward venture

Honestly been craving something a little offensive and controversial, list has been a little snoozy lately. This is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. Is it good? I am not totally sure, but they are absolutely going for it. Reminded me of TV on the Radio (they covered Hello Skinny I read), Primus (Claypool played with them), Pere Ubu energy too. Read that Trey and Fishman (Phish) went to an NYC show in the 90s and said it changed their lives. Another collective, Frank, let em have it.

Literally what the fuck 9/10

this brought an absolutely mental energy to getting to stansted airport, spending ages walking to passport control, then finding out all the trains were cancelled and joining a thousand person queue for a national express. I do love this music, The Residents are great, but my god this pranged me out.

If art is supposed to make you feel something, Duck Stab is unsettling and strange. Not for everyone.

I actually really liked this because of how silly it is. Dark, sinister and cartoonish. I don't think it's one I'd pick up and buy but I wouldn't turn it off. At least it's interesting and funny. Giving it a 4/5 because I thought I'd hate it and was pleasantly surprised. Even the album art is ridiculous.

I know why people may hate this - it's weird, it's psychotic, it's odd and offputting at times. This is pretty much why I loved this. I haven't felt this uncomfortable listening to an album for a long time. Some absolutely demented work on this. I thought it was great. Absolutely compelling.

Duck Stab On first listen I felt this was too deliberately daft, but there was some strange charm to it that made me look forward to listening again, and I started to enjoy and admire it. I think it just manages to stay on the right side of studied, performative eccentricity, as its intentional oddness seems, to me, to have a point to it - in creating a disquieting, creepy atmosphere with ominous bass, discordant synth and primitive, eerie childlike melodies it make it a strangely compelling album, evoking an odd half awake, half dreaming state. It’s not an easy listen, and not exactly the album to work to when you are trying to put a budget together, but amongst the atonality and strangeness there are some extremely effective passages and moods. The bass does great work on tracks like Sinister Exaggerator, Blue Rosebuds, Laughing Song (which reminds me very much of the score from Beverly Hills Cop II), Elvis and His Boss, Semolina, and Weight-LIfting Lulu, shifting between dubby atmospheres, rhythmic pulsing and more conventional melodic playing. Some of the synth lines and motifs are great too, Sinister Exaggerator, Bach is Dead, Lizard Lady, Birthday Boy, Krafty Cheese and The Electrocutioner, and it’s all augmented by some nice guitar parts here and there. Coming after the sterile musical dead-endness of Afghan Whigs I really appreciate that this is so unique and singular, and its off beat appeal definitely grew with every listen, and I wanted to keep giving it one more go. It’s on the border of 3 and 4, it’s a fascinatingly odd album that I really liked, and despite feeling like I’ll only come back to it when I’m in the right mood, I’ll be a bit generous and tip over to 4. 🦆🦆🦆🦆 Playlist submission: Laughing Song

Очень странное. Трудно представить, что происходило с людьми, которые слышали эту музыку в 72-ом году. И слышал ли эту музыку вообще кто-то. Лучшая песня - Semolina.

A fascinating and entertaining 35 min. Like listening to a creepy cartoon.

As a longtime Primus fan, heard a few familiar tracks on this one. This is nice and weird, love it!

This album is straight up anti-music if I've ever heard it, even more so than something like Captain Beefheart. Supremely strange but so intriguing and unsettling at the same time. I didn't know I wanted this in my life but will most likely be coming back to it. 7/10

“I have no idea what’s going on.” -Towlie, South Park These guys miss the mark of typical music by so much, so often that they made a new mark. Experimental art rock? Um yeah. The amount of LSD consumed while making this album has got to be impressive. I should hate this, but I don’t. I like it. Like I said: I have no idea what’s going on.

A new experience for me. At first I was very put off by the vocalist's off key voice, but it suits the lyrics. I can't listen to this as background music ... yet. Over time I may be able too, but there is so much crazy in this, that my mind keeps getting drawn in to the sound and lyrics.

My Gawd this is a hard one to rate. I have never heard of The Residents. I did not know what to expect. I wouldn’t call it music. I wouldn’t buy it. I wouldn't recommend this to others. But this album made me create images in my head to fit the sounds I was hearing. This album evoked emotions with its rhythmic patterns and voices. Oddly, I found myself liking it. And that’s how I can confirm that I am weird. 3/5

That was innovative to me. And it actually has a point