Rounding out the series, "Fruits into the Underground", is Beets: A Collection of Jazz Songs. But not just any jazz songs. One's performed by Snakefinger, Winston Tong, Eric Feldmen, Sun Ra, and others posted by Psychic Hut. I just downloaded it myself (Thanks Lucky!).
Here's another Ralph Records sampler; Potatoes, A Collection of Folk Songs posted on WMFU. The line-up includes The Residents (of course), Renaldo and the Loaf, Half Japanese, Snakefinger, Negativland, Bongwater, and others. It's also out of print. One of the comments left on WMFU mention's Graham Kerr's cooking tips. I'm listening to this for the first time too.
",,, another crazy comp. not really kids music. can be creepy and experimental. if you like "key of z", you'll love this" -- Amazon reviewer
Frank Johnson is The Resident's computer and that's who picked these favorites! C'mon, doesn't everyone name their computer? You can find this Ralph Records sampler at Psychic Hut. This includes the "B" sides to some of the popular singles Ralph has released up to 1980. So unless you have all their singles, then you don't have these either. Enjoy!
Live at Melbourne University 05/03/80. This bootleg is well done and it's such a treat to hear Snakefinger live. Every song sounds new. But other than that, I don't have any more information on where this recording came from. So all I can say is, "Thanks to the original uploader" and enjoy!
Grab it here. It features MX-80, Snakefinger, Tuxedomoon and The Residents with great artwork by Gary Panter. I've never seen one of these samplers posted before. Thanks Filthy Sick Blog!
"This album is a rethought excursion into the twisted and depraved minds that spent twenty years creating a bunch of music -and then, for some reason, decided to spend another few months dissecting that very same music and gluing it together in strange new ways" -- from The Residents blog
The eighties are a challenge to put together with The Residents starting to issue their back catalog, releasing cd's on more than one label and doing joint projects like this one. Snakefinger also plays on this cd. I thought I had "Title in Limbo" and I didn't. But I did find it posted here (lots of interesting things there). If your not familiar with who Renaldo & The Loaf were, the Wikipedia has a good write-up.
There are several versions of the 13th Anniversary Show: Holland / Tokyo / Japan / USA (which also contains the eulogy for the missing eyeball mask stolen in L.A. and introduces Mr. Skull, which I don't have). Snakefinger toured with The Residents for all of the shows.
The liner notes for Eskimo claimed The Residents attempted to recreate "a living context" for the Eskimo's unique culture, songs and ceremonies that had been passed down for generations. The result was more like live-action stories without dialog rather than traditional songs. Eskimo received widespread praise from critics and the public (still does).
To prove their point, The Residents followed up with their "Commercial Album" in 1980. From the liner notes:
"Meet the Residents" was the public's first introduction in 1974. They offered the album by mail order for half-price. One of the more notable tracks on this album is "Smelly Tonques". Many people bought it for the cover art even though they only sold 50 albums at the time. And they were probably the first group to get in trouble with copyrights.
In 1976, The Residents continued to deconstruct popular 60's music that had made it to the top 40 with Third Reich 'n Roll, taking aim at the music industry and mass-consumption. They used loops (samples didn't exist yet) which included more copyright problems. The Residents also produced one of the first music videos with this album, which has been widely seen on UTube. 
This is a collection put together by the fan club, UWEB (Uncle Willie's Eyeball Buddies), of outtakes and previously unreleased material. Three tracks (the first, second and last) were live performances of material that he was working on for his next album and an indication of the direction his music was heading. "Death Collage" was assembled by The Residents in tribute to Snakefinger. The material spans his work from 1971 - his last show in 1987 and to my knowledge, is out of print.
Snakefinger had joined The Residents for this album and his influence can be heard. With the cd release of "Fingerprince", The Residents were able to put all the material for their opera (Tourniquet of Roses) onto a single format, the way it was originally conceived. Previously, it had been divided between a double album, called "Fingerprince" and another called "Babyfinger" due to the length. This was a pivotal transitional album for The Residents and many of their later works were extended from "Tourniquet of Roses".
This is Snakefinger's first full length album which was co-written with The Residents and produced by their label, Ralph Records. It seems that Philip Charles Lithman (Snakefinger) has been a very busy guy lifting himself out of obscurity over the last couple of months with a My Space page, an excellent overview (including his first single, "The Spot") and another website listing several other releases. I suggest you grab them. Even though "Chewing Hides The Sound" has been posted elsewhere, I'm going to list it here as well because it's just that good.
Snakefinger (Philip Charles Lithman 1949-87) was also known as the 5th Resident. He got his nickname because his fingers looked like snakes when he played guitar. Both his guitar work and imagery are very imaginative, vibrant, and unique. There will never be another like him.
City Tree by Dan S, inspired by stiletto.love.
