Petting Zoo is a rarities compilation album featuring material by The Residents, it features the band's more commercial friendly material, presented in reverse order. It also features two newly recorded songs intended for their Demons Dance Alone album.
Background[]
The compilation was released to celebrate The Residents' 30th Anniversary. It was sold for the inexpensive price of $5 and features The Residents' more accessible material presented in reverse chronological order. This ordering style had become common for Residents compilations, with Our Tired, Our Huddled Masses, Louisiana's Lick and 25 Years of Eyeball Excellence all following this vague reverse chronological theme.
This compilation is most noticeable for including two songs from the group's then upcoming project, 'Demons Dance Alone', which would be released later that same year. It was to act as a sort of single release of the two songs, with its price being comparable to a CD single. The album also features five exclusive edited versions of previously released songs.
For maximum accessibility, no song on the album is longer than 4 minutes.
Track Listing[]
- Betty's Body (3:28)
- Wolverines (2:56)
- Kick A Picnic (2:25)
- God's Magic Finger.Road (3:20)
- Hanging By His Hair.Road (3:28)
- Fire Fall (3:35)
- How To Get A Head (Edit) (3:14)
- The Aging Musician (Edit) (2:51)
- The Sour Song (2:43)
- Jello Jack (Edit) (2:14)
- Harry The Head (2:56)
- Safety Is A Cootie Wootie (Edit) (3:52)
- Boy In Love (2:54)
- Would We Be Alive? (Edit) (3:59)
- Moisture (1:00)
- Hello Skinny (2:39)
- Constantinople (2:23)
- God Song (3:42)
- Smelly Tongues (1:44)
- Icky Flix Theme (0:56)
Liner Notes[]
At long last, because YOU asked for IT... a collection of ear friendly Residents music down from their incredibly productive 30 years as pioneers of new sounds and cutting edge technology.
Certainly The Residents' reputation for edgy recordings is not undeserved but it's a shame if everyone just assumes that all their music falls in that direction. They even write love songs, of sorts.
Think about it... You mostly buy the same music over & over... sullen boys in baggy pants with calculated messy hair. Real edgy (Yawn). Owning this CD could be the start of something new. Like when you went out in public with your baseball cap on backwards for the first time. Other people will think you are broad minded and intelligent when they spot this CD casually laying on the table. They don't have to know that you picked it up cheap, or that is is actually great music.
Thirteen things you may not know about The Residents:
1.In 30 years, The Residents have released 34 albums, plus a wide assortment of shorter works.
2.The Residents released the first ever Punk single, "Satisfaction," back in 1976, a full year before the Sex Pistols' UK release of "God Save the Queen." England's Mojo Magazine recently voted "Satisfaction" as the 74th most important punk single in history. Not suitable for this compilation, I might add.
3.After recording an entire album of songs that were one minute long in 1980, the group purchased one minute advertising spots on San Francisco's most popular Top 40 radio station & had the entire album, all 40 songs, played by the station over a period of three days. Billboard Magazine wrote an editorial about it questioning whether it was advertising payola, or art. 4.The Residents are credited with "inventing" the form of music video. Five of their earliest videos are in permanent collection at the Museum Of Modern Art in New York
5.In 1991 The Residents released their album, "Freak Show." In a show of media strength it came out as an LP, CD, soft & hard bound graphic novels, video, award winning CD-Rom, and a live production that ran for 21 performances at the Archa Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. 6.The Residents, in 1993, wrote a ten hour score for The Discovery Channel nature show, "Hunters."
7.They have also scored 5 shows of "Pee Wee's Playhouse" & assorted things for MTV. 8.Two years in a row, they won awards from Entertainment Weekly magazine for top computer entertainment software. 1995: "Freak Show" CD-ROM, 1996: "Bad Day on the Midway" CD-ROM. 9.Currently (2002, The Residents have a DVD in release, "Icky Flix", that is NOT concert footage. 10.Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller) was a part of the touring Mole Show in 1982-3 11.Marlboro cigarettes commissioned a performance piece for a German promotion in 1997. Paranoid that the group was making fun of them, Marlboro asked that there be no appearance by Residents' regular, Mr. Skull.
12.The album "Eskimo" was in the final list for nominations for a Grammy Award in 1980. It did not become an actaul nominee, however. Still The Residents were invited to the ceremonies & party & shared a table with Donna Summer. 13.The Residents have never done an interview, but a couple of them not wear their top hat backwards.
Happy 30th Anniversary to The Residents
Credits[]
- Written & Performed by: The Residents
- With help from: Molly Harvey, ODDO, Toby Dammit, Carla Fabrizio, Laurie Amat, Wool, Snakefinger, Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Diana Alden & Todd Rundgren.
- Produced by The Cryptic Corporation