The film tells the story of THE RESIDENTS, a renegade sound and video collective from San Francisco. Their story spans more than 40 years and is clouded in mystery. Many details surrounding the group are secret, including the identities of its members.
The film opens up on a fairly recent performance as well as an opening statement from the filmmakers: “There is no true story of The Residents…The secrets of The Residents will never be revealed by anyone but The Residents, and so far they aren’t saying much. Part of what The Residents are about is their camoflage, and any understanding of them must take into account both their organized noise and their organized silence.” Which was followed up by a quote from one of the many interviewees of the film, Matt Groening, the creator of The Simpsons: “Our knowledge is still incomplete. Anything is possible.”
The best “story” of the film was of how the name came about.
This collective sent Warner Brothers a collection of home made recordings thinking “If Captain Beefheart can do it, so can we.” They did not put their names on the package, and when the exec at Warner Brothers wrote them back (which they didn’t think was going to happen) he addressed it to “Residents.” The rest, as they say, was history.
Second best story, was the story of the Eyeball masks. First off, the masks were first envisioned to be big silver globes, much like a silver tree ornament, but designers and production shot them down as it would be hard to breathe and impossible to see out. When eyeballs were brought up, each with a different color iris, a designer was found who found a way to make the masks work. The band didn’t want to do too much with the eyeballs with top hats because they didn’t want to be known as the eyeball band. But their partners said it was good for marketing, and so it stuck. Most of the time the people inside the masks were volunteers and not the musicians themselves.
Music was not all this collective dabbled in. Videos and films were on the agenda as well. All of the Residents’ videos are now a part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.
The Residents have released more than 60 albums, and their stage shows are legendary works of art, much of which is stocked in a fridge in the same Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection.
The filmmakers interviewed artists The Residents inspired like Les Claypool from Primus, and Dean Ween from Ween plus, fans who adore them, and industry leaders who claim The Residents are “the best experimental art band of all time.” All in all, it was a fantastic documentary with never a dull moment! The film puts forth a story about perseverance and chasing your dream. The Residents never compromised, and while that might have led to a few internal struggles when business or money came into the picture. they stuck to their guns and created art and music and videos on their own terms which in turn, just like similar ethos from bands like the Big Boys, inspired many people to be weird, take chances and make their own art.
Believe it or not, there is an equation that can help you understand who is a member of the Residents:
- Find a person.
- Call them “The Residents”
- As long as what they do fits the concept
- Name your cat Spot
*Editor’s note: The residents might not actually exist.
Directed by DON HARDY, THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS is gearing up for its Los Angeles Premiere on June 6th at the annual DANCES WITH FILMS FESTIVAL.
More info here: http://residentsmovie.com/
