The Residents - Icky Flix
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Movie Reviews of The Residents - Icky Flix
Movie Review: OUTSTANDING DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
What a treat for enthusiasts of the mysterious Eyeball Ones! The reclusive Residents are approached with the proposal of releasing a DVD collection, which they oppose at first ..... until they concoct a way of using the DVD technology to create a new concept around some early videos. The result: an interactive chronicle/gallery of many remastered videos, films and digital media created by this most curious, fascinating and slightly disturbing ensemble. Using the DVD's alternative soundtrack capabilities, you are given the choice of hearing the original recordings, or new treatments of the songs, which they probably did to make the project more interesting than a sort of "best of" rehash anthology. Like that would matter to us. The collection is astounding: Almost two hours of pristine Residential archives, all rerecorded with new soundtracks that you don't have to listen to if you're a purist. Of particular interest is the Songs for Swinging Larvae section, with their interpretation of material originally done by British counterparts Renaldo and the Loaf (whose recordings now seem tragically on the vanish). Their tendency towards "concentrations" of their lengthier works is put to good use, in the case of Vileness Fats (their first ever created project, this is actually the 3rd version of the original soundtrack, which was never released due to poor quality), and the software titles The Gingerbread Man and Bad Day on the Midway. Fans of the latter title will greatly appreciate seeing the digital masters, beautifully clear, touching on familiar elements of the story, just enough to tease the unfamilar viewer, as well as taking outrageous liberties with the game guidlines. See, with The Residents there are no rules as we know them .....
There are also selections from Freak Show (their premiere CDrom venture), the Commercial Album (the extraordinary One Minute Movies), the legendary Hello Skinny, a reworked video of Constantinople and other previously unseen videos, a sumptuous serving of smirky surreality by this anonymous collective consciousness .... which has for nearly thirty years kept a select few of us vastly entertained and with overall greater hope for humanity ......
The Residents are not for everyone. Their video realizations, like their recorded material, takes many dark and disturbing detours; the techno/naive music is both mesmerizing and jarring, and utterly orginal. Fans of Sugar Ray and Britney Spears are not likely to care for it; fans of Primus, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Marilyn Manson might. As for me: I'm a pants-down Residents fan, and I just bought me a piece of Video Heaven for a mere twenty bucks.
We are simple, you are simple, life is simple, too. Icky Flix is simply superb.
Movie Review: LARD SCABS
Summary: 5 Stars
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!
Movie Review: Not for the timid !
Summary: 5 Stars
Having seen The Residents live twice, I can say they are more of a perfomance troupe than a musical band. From low budget to hi-tech, computer graphics to black-and-white, and everything in between, they certianly do entertain on this DVD. But, the question is, is this YOUR idea of entertainment? For the average Joe, probably not. Moody, ugly, beautiful, and at times twistedly funny, this one hour collection of visual interpretations of thier music does absolutely nothing to clear up who The Residents are or what they're doing. But that makes it all the better. Art for art's sake. My favorites are the 10 minute "The Gingerbread Man" and the "Bad Day On The Midway" video. Made me want to dig up and play the old "Bad Day..." CD-rom. When all is said and done, anyone would have to admit they have never seen anything quite like this. At times I'm reminded of some Frank Zappa instrumental music that was put to claymation (The Amazing Mr. Bickford), but that's a stretch.Several... reviewers have whined that thay bought this DVD on some... critic's recommendation, and they didn't like it. If this behavior amuses you, you'll love this disc.
Movie Review: GREAT, BUT NOT FOR EVERYONE
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, let it be known that I am a huge fan of the residents. aving said that, this DVD is one of my all time favorites. This a a retrospective of the strangest and most original musical group to ever grace our planet. The images range from disturbing, to out right comical. The music is pure residents, attempting to describe it any other way is pointless. The newer recordings on this disc are produced using dolby 5.1 sound that moves around the room and sometimes will shake the walls with it's bass.If you are a fan, or even casual listener, of the Residents, buy this DVD NOW!! If you have never heard of the Residents and are not a fan of VERY strange experimental music. Do NOT buy this DVD. As I said I love Icky Flicks, but my wife, and just about everyone else I know hates it.
Movie Review: PARDON THE PUN - "The EYES have it!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Having always had an extremely open mind to music that 'strays' from the typical, I'm ashamed to admit that my first exposure to The Residents wasn't until this year. I had certainly been aware of them - "hey, it's that band with the eyeballs for heads!" - but simply hadn't made myself available to their music, or better, art. Oh what a sheltered life I've led.....this stuff is absolutely AMAZING! I'm not going to try to describe it; I don't believe anyone's review could do justice to the sheer 'twistedness' of their work. If you were the kind of kid that got a kick out of "Mad" or "Cracked" magazine, you'll love this. If you're a Zappa fan, you probably already love them. If not, give this a try....you'll see...