The Residents – Whatever Happened To Vileness Fats?

Amazing songs. This should be heard by more resident fans! I knew they put out 30 min of the movie but I didn’t know there was a soundtrack released too! God bless amoeba Hollywood! Such a big and dope ass record store. I only get two hours every Sunday there so I do my best to look through as much vinyl as possible. Many hidden gems, like this one, everywhere!

Interested in buying this. Anybody reading this who owns a copy can message me privately and we can figure out a plan. :)

Those that know the Residents story probably know all the details of Vileness Fats, so I'll just give a brief overview. Starting in 1972, the Residents began writing & filming a movie, titled Vileness Fats. Trying to describe the movie to someone is hard, as there never was a 'complete' film (although 14 hours of footage exist), only a 30 minute edit (in 1984) and a shorter, 'condensed" edit (in the 2000's on the Icky Flix DVD) were released to the public, both not really making a lot of sense (especially considering that by the time they stopped filming, only half of the script was shot). Still, it involves a whole host of interesting characters, including Arf & Omega - a pair of siamese twins, Princess Edweena, and others (including a one-armed midget), all living in this town and dealing with problems (I guess that's one way to sum it up).

By 1984, fans knew of Vileness Fats, but no one had ever seen it or heard it (bar a track of dialogue being featured on the Santa Dog" 2x7"s set.) So fans rejoiced when an edited version (very, V-E-R-Y edited - from 14 hours down to 30 minutes!) appeared on VHS (along with footage from a Mole Show concert). Alongside this VHS, a soundtrack LP was issued, and I find it stands alone as a great Residents album.

Personally, I think the soundtrack LP (reissued on CD in 1991 by ESD) is MUCH more coherent than the film, only because the music stands on it's own - the film is very convoluted, and the viewer can't hear almost any dialogue (apparently done purposely).

Perhaps my favorite track is "Broccoli and Saxophones", if only for the lone song with vocals that is featured in the film - it's one of the standout parts of the film, with squawking saxophones and great vocals.

Either way, I recommend it - it makes for some great background listening, as unlike most Residents albums, there is no real plot to decipher, no story to follow, just some (mostly) instrumental music.

It should be noted that the CD reissue also adds the soundtrack to The Census Taker, another film the Residents did the soundtrack for (but unlike Vileness Fats, that was the extent of their involvement).